THE
GLOBAL REVIEWS OCT. /NOV. ISSUE
Gaza...the war of shame Emir of Qatar, self-defense does not apply to occupation... and genocide is a disgrace to the international community.
REAL NEWS EVERY MONTH FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
Israeli ground forces inside Gaza as Palestinians take stock after intense overnight bombardment Sderot, Israel CNN
—
Israeli ground forces
hit 150 underground targets in the north
are inside Gaza after entering the enclave
of
the
overnight, as Palestinians experienced what
striking
what
they have described as the most intense round
it
terror
of airstrikes since Israel began its retaliation
tunnels
against Hamas’ October 7 terror attack.
underground
called
and
combat
spaces
Israeli forces “went into the Gaza Strip and
and
killing
expanded
several
Hamas
the
ground
operation
where
infantry, armor and engineer units and artillery
operatives.
with heavy fire are taking part,” Israel Defense
Hagari
Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel
Gazans who had
Hagari said Saturday morning.
moved of
of injured. He said people had brought the
enclave,
said south
Wadi
Gaza,
“The forces are in the field and continue the
a
waterway
fighting,” he added, without giving further
bisecting
details.
center
Hagari’s words confirm the military operation
strip, were in an
has undergone a significant expansion after
area
he
what it had earlier described as two “targeted
a
“protected
raids,” which took place on Wednesday night
space,”
and
and Thursday night. Both those raids saw
would
receive
ground forces withdraw after a few hours.
more food, water
the of
and
the called
medicine
However, it does not appear as though any
today, though he
major ground offensive aimed at seizing and
did not give any
holding significant amounts of the territory
details.
is yet underway. In a fresh call for Gazans to
More
move south, the IDF spoke of an “impending”
million
operation.
live in the enclave,
than
2
people
which spans just Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his
140 square miles
country had entered “a new phase in the war.”
and is one of the
“Tonight, the ground in Gaza shook,” he said
most
in a statement.
populated places on Earth. For weeks,
dead and the wounded to hospital using
people living in the territory have faced
everything from bikes, cars and donkey
“We attacked above ground and below
Israeli airstrikes and a growing humanitarian
carts.
ground. We attacked terrorist operatives at
situation, with shortages of water, food and
all levels, in all places. The instructions to our
fuel.
Hospitals have lost contact with each other,
forces are clear: the operation will continue
At least 7,650 people have been killed and
he said, after communications networks
until a new order is given.”
more than 19,450 more injured in Israeli
were cut across the strip. “People are
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to
desperate to find some news about their
said Saturday that the goals of this stage of
the latest figures released by the Palestinian
loved ones and their families,” he added.
the war are to destroy Hamas and return the
Ministry of Health in Ramallah, drawn from
more than 200 hostages the militant group
sources in the Hamas-controlled enclave.
densely-
took on October 7 and still holds in Gaza. Netanyahu confirmed he spoke with family
Al-Dikran said that after a pause of several hours, airstrikes had resumed again in central and northern Gaza, adding that
members of the hostages and said he vowed
Mourning in Gaza
to them that he would exhaust all options to
Gazans mourned the loss of their loved ones
return their loved ones home.
on Saturday following a night of intense
Near the Gaza border, staging grounds once
Israeli airstrikes, with many gathering at
The IDF on Saturday conducted heavy
teeming with hundreds of Israeli tanks,
Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah in
artillery strikes against northern Gaza, with
armored personnel carriers and bulldozers
central Gaza.
multiple explosions heard every minute.
have mostly emptied out when a CNN team
Video captured by CNN shows multiple
visited.
bodies, including those of children, covered
A CNN team on the ground at an Israeli
in white shrouds or thick blankets, placed on
checkpoint
near
returning from the direction of Gaza, back to
the ground in the hospital yard.
witnessed
intense
their forward operating positions.
Dr. Khalil Al-Dikran told CNN the hospital had
explosions and air power. Smoke could also
The IDF said on Saturday that its warplanes
received 22 bodies overnight and hundreds
be seen rising from the enclave. Some of the
CNN
also
observed
2
some
tank
units
artillery fire had continued uninterrupted through the night.
the
strip and
perimeter continuous
explosions were so strong that the impact
Elon Musk said SpaceX’s Starlink satellite
diplomatic sources familiar with the Qatar-
could be felt physically where the team was,
communications network would support
led negotiations to release hostages told CNN
around a kilometer (less than a mile) from
internet
that there has been “significant progress” in
the border.
recognized
The IDF reserve soldiers manning the
besieged enclave.
connectivity relief
for
internationally
organizations
in
the
the talks but issues still remained. Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar’s
position told CNN that Friday night was by far the most intense night of bombing.
In
Communications
Israeli troops have cleared out a large
Minister
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and advisor to
said
the
the Qatari Prime Minister, told CNN’s Becky
perimeter around the Gaza Strip, fearing
government “will use all means at its
Anderson on Saturday that the escalation
incoming anti-tank weapons.
disposal to fight this.” In a statement posted
on the ground is making the situation
on X, Karhi wrote there is “no doubt” that the
“considerably more difficult.”
Aid agencies lose contact
response,
Israel’s
Shlomo
Karhi
that
service would be used by Hamas “for terrorist
Communications in the enclave have been
activities.”
severely disrupted, leaving aid agencies out of touch with their staff on the ground.
Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel, the US and Hamas to release
While communications are largely severed
the hostages held by the militant group.
within the territory, according to the local
Four hostages have been freed so far.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO)
telecoms provider Jawwal, those with Israeli
Director-General,
or international SIMs appear to have some
The White House said on Friday it was having
patchy connections.
“active conversations” with Israel about a
Tedros
Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday morning that reports of the intense bombardment are
Fate of hostages remains unclear
“extremely distressing.” He added: “We are
The expanded operation has left families of
humanitarian pause to help get hostages out of Gaza.
still out of touch with our
In
staff and health facilities.
conference, families of
I’m
the hostages said they
worried
about
their
safety.”
a
Saturday
news
told Netanyahu in a meeting
they
would
He said that it is “not
accept
possible”
in return for everyone”
to
evacuate
an
“everyone
patients or find safe shelter
deal,
under such circumstances,
secure the immediate
and the “blackout is also
release of all hostages.
which
would
making it impossible for ambulances to reach the
“We
injured.”
Prime Minister that an
clarified
to
the
immediate exchange of The WHO posted on social
everyone for everyone
media that health workers,
is a deal the families
patients and civilians in
would consider and one
Gaza spent the night “in
that has broad support
darkness
from all of Israel,” family
and
fear”
as
they were “subject to a
representatives
total communication and
in a statement. “Bring
electrical blackout.”
the more than 200 hostages taken to Gaza
said
everyone home now.”
fearful for their loved ones. Such an agreement would involve the
The organization said hospitals across Gaza are operating at maximum capacity, unable
A group lobbying for the families of Israeli
release
to take in new patients whilst also “sheltering
hostages spoke of “the most terrible of all
Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons.
thousands of civilians.”
nights” as emotions spiked with the IDF’s
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club, a non-
“There are more [people] wounded every
expansion of its ground operation.
governmental organization dedicated to
hour,” the WHO said. “But ambulances
“Anxiety, frustration, and especially enormous
addressing the concerns of Palestinian
cannot reach them in the communications
anger that none of the war cabinet bothered
detainees
blackout. Morgues are full. More than half of
to meet with the families of the hostages
estimates that this amounts to 6,630 people.
the dead are women and children.”
to explain one thing – whether the ground
It
reiterated
humanitarian
a
call
ceasefire,”
for
“immediate adding
that
of
hostages
in
Israeli
in
exchange
detention
for
centers,
operation endangers the well-being of the
On Saturday, Hamas released a statement
229 hostages in Gaza,” said the Hostages and
stating the group was “immediately ready”
Missing Persons Families Forum.
to engage in such a comprehensive trade, though this type of deal would be hugely
safe passage must also be ensured for “desperately needed medical supplies, fuel,
Hagari told reporters on Friday that the IDF
water and food into and across Gaza.”
had notified the families of hostages about
controversial in Israel.
the expanded operations and reiterated the Several United Nations agencies have also
military was “committed to the national task
reported losing contact with their local staff
of returning all hostages.”
in Gaza.
Prior to the expanded ground campaign,
By Amarachi Orie, Zahid Mahmood, Ivana Kottasová, Kareem Khadder and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN 29. October 2023
Palestinian Death Statistics, Doubted by the U.S., Remain a Subject of Controversy The White House and Israel say Hamas is exaggerating the toll, but U.N. experts believe they are likely to be correct and even undercounted
T
massive
U.S. nor Israel have their own tally or a way to
toll for the 50-day war between Israel and
bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip,
independently count the casualties in Gaza.
Hamas in 2014 was 2,310 people according to
the exact scope of Palestinian casualties
The Biden administration says its doubts
the Ministry of Health, 2,251 people according
has become yet another controversy after
about the veracity of Palestinian statistics
to the U.N. and 2,125 people according to an
President Biden questioned statistics published
were triggered by the Oct. 17 blast at the Al
Israeli government investigation. The main
by the Hamas-run Gaza health authorities.
Ahli Hospital in Gaza. The Gaza Ministry of
disagreement was about what proportion of the
The Gaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry
Health quickly put the number of deaths
victims at that time were made up of civilians.
said Saturday that the death toll has topped
there at 500, later revised to 471, and blamed
7,703,
Israel
hree
weeks
including
into
1,863
Israel’s
women
and
3,195
for
what
it
called
a
“massacre.”
Despite Hamas’s political control in Gaza, many
children, information it says is based on data
of
the
doctors
and
bureaucrats
compiled by hospitals. The United Nations,
The U.S. and independent experts say that
compiling the statistics are not affiliated
which verified and documented deaths in
the explosion in the hospital’s parking lot
with the Islamist movement and the past
previous conflicts in Gaza, says it is unable to do
was most likely caused by a malfunctioning
accuracy of casualty statistics gives credence
so now because of the sheer scope of violence.
Palestinian
rocket
aimed
at
Israel.
U.S.
to current numbers, some officials with the
intelligence
officials
put
the
number
of
U.N. and with nongovernment organizations
Some U.N. officials, however, say the real
fatalities in that incident at the lower end of
operating
number of casualties is likely significantly
100 to 300 people. The Gaza Health Ministry
“We believe that the numbers being reported
in
Palestinian
territories
say.
higher because the health ministry’s tally
says it still stands by its original statistics.
in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories, they may not be perfectly accurate
doesn’t include people still under the rubble. are
not
reliable.
They’re
on a minute-to-minute basis but they grossly
reliable,”
John
Kirby,
National
reflect the level of death and injury on both
strategic
sides of the conflict,” Michael Ryan of the World
people, leaves little doubt that the Israeli
communications, said on Thursday. “I would
Health Organization’s Health Emergencies
airstrikes campaign, launched in response
frankly recommend you don’t choose numbers
Program said at a press conference last week.
to the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7, has
put out by an organization that’s run by a
exacted a steep toll on Palestinian civilians.
terrorist organization.” The U.S. and European
Some 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians,
nations classify Hamas as a terrorist group.
were killed in the Hamas raid on southern
“The
numbers
Voluminous video and photo evidence coming
just
not
out of the coastal enclave, home to 2.1 million
Security
Council
coordinator
for
Israel on Oct. 7, and more than 220 others
The White House said Thursday it doesn’t dispute that thousands of Palestinians have been
In the two other large wars since Hamas seized
were taken to Gaza as hostages, according
killed. A senior Israeli official told the Journal he
control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority
to the Israeli authorities. Four hostages, all
believes “several thousand” Palestinians have
in 2007, however, the overall numbers of the
of them women, have since been released.
died in Gaza, but said that thousands among
Ministry of Health largely aligned with statistics
them were Hamas combatants. Neither the
compiled by the U.N. and Israel. The Palestinian
4
The
Gaza
Ministry
of
Health
numbers
don’t
differentiate
combatants.
But
between the
and
people, terrorists, who are alive today because
current
we decided not to hurt people around them.”
civilians
ministry’s
statistics indicate a much higher proportion
terrorist organization by Israel, a charge it denies. Al Haq’s team in Gaza tried to do the same
of women and children among the fatalities
The mass displacement of people within
in the first three days of the war, but then
of the continuing Israeli bombing campaign
Gaza—partially as a result of Israeli warnings
largely
than in the 2008-2009 and the 2014 wars.
to evacuate the northern part of the strip—
the
also plays a role in the high number of civilian
attacked, there is no safe place in Gaza,” said
suspended
houses
of
their
our
activities.
“Now
workers
were
field
62%
casualties. Around 1.4 million Gazans have
Shawan Jabarin, the organization’s director.
of the deaths in 2014 and 61% in 2008-
fled their home, with multiple families often
“They are taking care of their families.”
2009, according to U.N. data, they make
crowding in the homes of friends or relatives.
While
adult
males
accounted
for
up only 34% of fatalities in the current
Hospitals contacted by The Wall Street Journal
Ministry
Khalil al Khatab, a surgeon at Al Aqsa Hospital
in Gaza confirmed that they have received
of Health. Israel disputes this breakdown.
in Deir al Balah, said the house of his cousin,
thousands of corpses and said that children
another doctor, was hit on Oct. 24, killing the
account for a large proportion of the victims.
conflict,
according
to
the
Gaza
In response to U.S. questioning, Gaza health
man’s wife, two daughters and teenage son.
authorities on Thursday released the names
“This war is nothing like the previous ones,”
Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al Shifa Hospital,
of the 6,747 dead whose identity healthcare
he said. Their names appeared on the list of
said children made up around 38% of the
workers were able to confirm. A further 281
fatalities released by the Gaza health authorities.
2,241 deaths the hospital reported to health
people remained unidentified at the time of the
authorities through Thursday. At Kamal Adwan
report’s release and were buried in mass graves.
Before the current war, the U.N. in partnership
Hospital, 70% of the roughly 300 deaths it
“We have to document any killed person who
with local human rights groups, verified and
reported so far to local authorities were children.
comes to the hospital. We number them all,”
documented conflict-related fatalities, with the
said Marwan Abusada, a senior surgeon at Al
U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
“Hospitals are overflowing with dead bodies,”
Shifa Hospital in Gaza who is also the director
Affairs publishing a running tally of casualties.
said Zaher Sahloul, president of MedGlobal, a U.S.-
general of international cooperation at the
“It’s nearly impossible at the moment to
based charity that has a team of doctors there.
Palestinian Ministry of Health. “But we still
provide any U.N. verification on a day-to-
have a number of people under the rubble,
day basis,” a UNOCHA spokesperson said.
Maj. Nir Dinar, the IDF spokesman for the
we don’t know how many. We estimate 1,000.”
The mechanism through which Gaza hospitals
international
report the dead, however, remains unchanged.
Palestinian civilians are suffering. “We are
The near-total communications blackout in
press,
didn’t
dispute
that
hitting Hamas and hitting them hard,” he
Gaza, with the severing of mobile phone and
“In the past, there wasn’t a big discrepancy
said. “I don’t deny there are many casualties in
internet connections that began Friday night,
in numbers. There is no reason for us to be
Gaza, and many of them are noncombatants.”
is likely to make the collection and verification
casting doubt on that process in the current
of casualty numbers even more difficult.
context. No one involved in that process has changed,” said a foreign U.N. official
Doctors and residents of Gaza say that the
who has worked closely with Gaza health
current Israeli bombing campaign, with as
authorities. “What changed now is access.”
many as 400 strikes a day, is by far more
“If
intense and indiscriminate than anything
undercounted,”
anything,
the the
dead official
are added.
the Palestinian enclave experienced in the
The senior Israeli official said the IDF, as in the past, warns
civilians
before
past—one explanation for the much higher
The toll of the Gaza war is currently being
proportion of women and children among
investigated by the U.N. Commission on Human
the casualties. The senior Israeli official said
Rights, which will make its findings public at a
that the IDF operates differently now because,
later stage, a spokesman for the commission said.
areas. “If we wanted to
is technically in a state of war. He said the
The history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
IDF continues to respect international law.
is rife with misinformation and deception by
target civilians, you would
unlike in previous conflicts in Gaza, the country
both sides. Last year, the Israeli military initially
a
see
strike
on
100,000
residential
dead,”
he
“During previous aggressions against the Gaza
accused Palestinian militants of killing Al Jazeera
Strip, when they had a specific target, they
journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-
bombed his home. It mostly targeted a specific
American, but months later admitted she
person, resulting in one or two casualties,” said
was most likely shot by an Israeli soldier. In
Raed al Nims of the Palestinian Red Crescent
2002, senior Palestinian leaders accused Israel
Society, an affiliate of the International Red
of killing as many as 1,000 Palestinians in a
Cross and Red Crescent movement and
“massacre” at a refugee camp in Jenin in the
the main provider of emergency services in
West Bank, but a subsequent U.N. investigation
Gaza. Now, he said, the Israeli military is often
said that the clash in the camp resulted in the
striking entire apartment blocks without a
death of 52 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers.
not to hurt people around
Before the current war in Gaza, the U.N. would
them.”
warning, which was common in the past. The senior Israeli official said the IDF, as in the
join with organizations such as Al Haq, a
past, warns civilians before a strike on residential
Palestinian human-rights organization based in
areas. “If we wanted to target civilians, you
the West Bank, to verify and document conflict-
would see 100,000 dead,” he said. “There are
related deaths. The group is considered a
said. “There are people, terrorists, who are alive today because we decided
By Yaroslav Trofimov, Margherita Stancati and Abu Bakr Bashir 28. October 2023
Israel Deepens a War With Hamas That Has No End in Sight Ground invasion of Gaza starts slowly, in day-by-day approach New war phase will pressure Hamas to free hostages: officials Israel has sent troops and tanks into the
dithering. Just prior to a press conference
recent years, had viewed Hamas, considered
northern Gaza Strip in what it calls the second
Saturday night, he visited families of those
a terrorist organization by the US and the
and longer phase of its war against Hamas, a
kidnapped.
European Union, as a relatively primitive
more cautious approach than what it vowed
Security services have set up a group whose
movement adjusting to its role as ruler of Gaza.
after the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack that
task will be to target every Hamas leader
Now it’s seen as a cunning and vicious militant
killed 1,400 people.
involved in the Oct. 7 attack, officials say.
group that will stop at nothing to kill Israelis
Some have already been killed, according to
and must not be allowed to exist.
Instead of a massive ground invasion, the
the military. This echoes what Israel did after
His failure to have grasped that earlier has
military has started slowly, taking a day-by-
the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics when
come under intense criticism.
day approach based on casualties, concerns
Palestinian
of the conflict spreading to Hezbollah in the
hostage, leading to a number of their deaths.
Intense Bombardment
north and internal political pressures on Prime
Israel sent assassins across the world to take
For the past two weeks, partly due to US and
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The expectation
out those who’d planned and carried out that
European pressure, Israel has limited itself to
is for the campaign to last anywhere from
attack.
intensive bombardment from the air, sea and
six weeks to six months, according to several
Another goal that is being widely discussed
artillery, leading to the deaths of thousands
officials.
is that Israel will not return the full Gaza Strip
of Palestinians, including some top Hamas
The goal, according to officials, is distinct from
to whoever ends up ruling in place of Hamas.
military leaders.
previous conflicts with Gaza, when the plan was
It plans to create a buffer zone to prevent any
Israel Has Vowed to Destroy Hamas
to leave Hamas damaged but still standing.
repeat attack, according to several officials.
Iran backs the militant group, which rules Gaza,
Now, the government wants to destroy it as an
“We don’t want to occupy and control two
and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
organization and ensure Gaza is no longer a
million Palestinians,” Yadlin said. “If we want
Israeli officials say in the coming week, they
source of anti-Israeli violence, said the officials,
kibbutzim and towns in the western Negev to
will “increase dramatically” the amount of aid
who asked not to be identified discussing
come back, we need a buffer zone.”
allowed into Gaza from Egypt, the army said
sensitive issues.
Netanyahu is coming under growing internal
on Sunday. “The amount will be much higher
How realistic that is remains unclear, and the
pressure to resign because of the security failure
in the next few days,” Colonel Elad Goren told
US and other allies are pressing Israel to be
ahead of Oct. 7 and his own unwillingness to
reporters on a conference call. He also said
more specific about its aims, as well as sketch
accept personal responsibility. But so far there’s
Israel has restored water supplies to southern
out a vision for what happens next.
little evidence he will.
Gaza, and the coastal strip has no shortage
More than a million Gazans are displaced in
Overnight, he deleted a controversial social
of food while hospitals have access to fuel to
what has been called a humanitarian disaster,
media post in which he said he hadn’t been
generate power.
while international aid is only trickling in.
warned by security chiefs about an impending
Yet many in Gaza, where power and internet
According to the United Nations refugee
Hamas attack and placed responsibility with
access are minimal, have given a very different
agency there, its warehouses and distribution
them. He later apologized for the post.
account, saying life has turned hellish.
centers are being ransacked as civil order
He, along with many other Israeli leaders in
begins to unravel. The decision to embark on a ground invasion does suggest a shift of focus away from negotiating over hostages, of which about 230 were taken by Hamas as part of the Oct. 7 incursion. It also indicates a belief that Iranian backed Hezbollah will content itself with brief exchanges rather than all-out combat, which would open up a battle on two fronts. The sense had been that Hamas was trying to buy time, officials say, aiming to release just a couple of hostages per week while demanding an extensive ceasefire and prisoner exchange. Among the hostages are small children and the elderly. Many Israelis say getting them all back should be the only priority. But Netanyahu says the ground operation will advance a hostage release by pressuring Hamas leaders to stop
6
gunmen
took
Israeli
athletes
By Ethan Bronner 29. October 2023
Netanyahu declares it is ‘time for war’ as Israel hails hostage release Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a ceasefire
government.”
Remus Aloni, said his heart “nearly stopped
in Gaza, declaring “this is a time for war”, as
It is thought likely that the three women would
beating” when he saw her on television. He
he hailed the rescue of a hostage as evidence
have appeared in the video under duress. The
appealed to the Red Cross to visit the hostages
that Israel’s military offensive can free Israeli
Geneva conventions prohibit the taking of
and asked Qatar, which has mediated with
captives while delivering crushing blows to
hostages.
Hamas, to help bring them home. “I’d like to say
Hamas.
The 76-second clip showed the women seated
to Danielle and Sharon – girls, we see you. We
congratulated
together in plastic chairs in front of a tiled wall,
love you. We hear you. We are thinking about
the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and security
facing the camera. They bore no visible signs of
you every minute, every second.”
agency Shin Bet for freeing Ori Megidish, an
injury.
army private, but Israeli joy was tempered by
Only Aloni, seated in the centre, spoke. Gazing
The mother of Kirsht said she worried that her
a Hamas video of three other captives that
directly at the camera, she said they had been
daughter appeared without her glasses. “She
remain in captivity.
in captivity for 23 days, suggesting the video
needs her glasses. She cannot see anything.”
Megidish was freed on Sunday night, three
was filmed on Sunday or Monday, as the death
She appealed to Netanyahu to do everything
weeks after she was abducted with more
toll in Gaza from Israel’s bombardment passed
possible to free the hostages.
than 220 other hostages, as Israel escalated
8,000, according to the Hamas-run health
its ground operation in Gaza. After a medical
ministry.
Earlier
check declared her healthy she was reunited
Addressing Netanyahu directly, Aloni accused
Jerusalem for an “empty beds” installation that
with her family, giving Israelis a rare image of
Netanyahu’s administration of leaving her
placed 239 beds and bassinets – representing
joy.
community defenceless during the Hamas
the estimated number of hostages – at Safra
Netanyahu said the army’s advance through
attack. “We are getting punished for your
Square.
Gaza opened opportunities to free hostages,
political, national neglect,” she said. “Nobody
which Hamas would do only under pressure, he
came. Nobody heard us.”
Yael Moshe, 48, held a placard of her mother,
told a news conference. “This creates pressure.
She said there was supposed to be a ceasefire.
Adina Moshe, 72, who was abducted from a
We’re committed to getting all the hostages
“We are innocent citizens. Citizens who pay
kibbutz. “She has a heart condition but a strong
back home. We think that this method stands
taxes to the state of Israel. You want to kill us all.
spirit,” said Moshe. She worried about the IDF
a chance.”
You want to kill us all using the IDF.”
offensive in Gaza. “My stomach hurts. I don’t
She pleaded for a prisoner exchange. “Let
want to think about it.”
Calls for a ceasefire meant asking Israel to
their citizens go, let their prisoners go. Free
Moshe favoured emptying Israel’s prisons
surrender to terrorism and barbarism, the
us. Free all of us. Let us return to our families
of Palestinians to get the hostages back.
prime minister said. “That will not happen. The
now!” At the end she screamed “now” several
“Whatever it takes, do it. After that the
Bible says that there is a time for peace and a
times. Trupanov and Kirsht remained silent and
government can do what it wants.”
time for war. This is a time for war.” He called
largely avoided looking at the camera.
Hamas militants “monsters” and said Israel
Netanyahu called the video “cruel psychological
Relatives of other hostages also endorsed a
would continue to pursue them.
propaganda” and sent a message to the
swap, saying once the hostages were freed
women: “Our hearts are with you and the other
Israel would have a free hand to strike Hamas.
captives.”
“Let’s get them out, then we can take revenge
government’s claim that it could simultaneously
Aloni was kidnapped from the Nir Oz kibbutz
for the massacre,” said Eyal Mor.
wage war and free hostages. However, many
with her six-year-old daughter, Emilia, and the
hostage relatives favour accepting a Hamas
family of her twin sister Sharon Aloni Konio.
The
The
Israeli
rescue
prime
of
minister
Megidish
bolstered
the
offer to swap them for about 5,000 Palestinians, including Islamist militants, in Israeli prisons. The Israeli government has rejected the offer. The strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, said if there was a proposal to release the hostages the government would consider a “temporary pause” in hostilities to extract them safely. Hamas’s
military
wing
ratcheted
up
the
pressure by releasing a video of three hostages – Danielle Aloni, Rimon Kirsht and Elena Trupanov – who were kidnapped on 7 October during a Hamas onslaught that killed more than 1,400 people in southern Israel. The accompanying video description said: “A number of Zionist prisoners held by al-Qassam send a message to Netanyahu and the Zionist
At a press conference in Tel Aviv her father,
on
Monday
relatives
gathered
in
Rory Carroll 30. October 2023
A vision for the Palestinians after the war
A
former chief in Gaza sets out his plan
reunify the Palestinian territories after more
Responding to rumours that he may be Israel’s
He is often mentioned as a possible
than a decade of infighting. After that he
choice to run Gaza after the war, he rejects the
future leader of the Palestinians. But in a
envisages parliamentary elections, based on a
suggestion that he would come in to clean up
lengthy discussion with The Economist from
Palestinian state with, at that point, undefined
the mess once the fighting ends.
his home in Abu Dhabi on October 27th
borders. And yet he firmly sets out his credentials for
Muhammad Dahlan, a former security chief for the Palestinian Authority (pa) from Gaza,
All Palestinian political factions should be
leadership; he knows Gaza well and has spent
denied he wanted the role. In the interview,
allowed to participate, including Hamas
40 years fighting for the Palestinian cause,
his first with the Western press since Hamas,
(fears of a Hamas victory have been one of
but he also claims to know the Israelis. He
the Islamist group that runs Gaza, attacked
Israel’s main reasons for blocking Palestinian
has become a close adviser to Muhammad
Israel on October 7th, Mr Dahlan did, however,
elections in recent years). Even after this
bin Zayed, the powerful ruler of Abu Dhabi,
lay out his vision for what should come after
war it would be impossible to govern Gaza
in recent years. He claims to have channelled
the war for Gaza. It was one of surprising hope,
without its consent, he argues: “Hamas will not
around $50m a year from the uae into Gaza.
amid the horrors of the fighting.
disappear.” He believes that Arab states such
He has also built a network of support in the
Born in an impoverished refugee camp in
as Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the
West Bank’s refugee camps.
the south of the Gaza Strip, Mr Dahlan rose
United Arab Emirates (uae) could support such
through the ranks of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah
a body. This Palestinian state should then be
To many, the Palestinian national movement
movement, and spent much of the 1980s
internationally recognised, including by Israel.
has never looked in worse shape than in the days since Hamas’s attack, and Israel’s
in Israeli prisons where he learned to speak fluent Hebrew. He was the Palestinian national
More immediately Mr Dahlan, who has
retaliation. The long-standing divisions
security adviser when the pa lost control of
recently returned from Egypt and has
between the leaderships in the West Bank and
Gaza to Hamas in 2007. He has connections
close ties with Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s
in Gaza have only worsened, and international
on all sides of the conflict. He has enemies
president, pours scorn on the idea of allowing
backers of the pa have announced reviews of
in Fatah—notably among the inner circle
refugees into the Sinai peninsula as a way to
its funding. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas
of Mahmoud Abbas, the pa’s embattled
relieve the crisis in Gaza. “Who is going to take
and the pa seems weaker than ever.
and ageing president. He was convicted of
this historical responsibility to be blamed by
corruption in absentia by a Palestinian court in
the Arab population for helping the Israelis to
It would be easy to argue that the Palestinians
2016. But he has plenty of friends too. And he
displace the Palestinians?” he says, noting that
are further away than ever from a state of their
grew up in the Khan Younis refugee camp in
the mass displacement of Palestinians into
own. Yet Mr Dahlan is surprisingly hopeful. He
southern Gaza alongside much of the current
Egypt would create serious national-security
sees an opportunity for the Palestinian cause
leadership of Hamas so can talk to the Islamist
issues for the government in Cairo.
even in the middle of war. The last month has changed things hugely for the Palestinians, he
group. He also speaks warmly of his relations A parliamentary system as envisaged by Mr
says. “Three months ago there was zero hope.
Dahlan would yield a prime minister to lead
Who was mentioning the Palestinian cause
Mr Dahlan rubbishes the suggestion that
the Palestinians. That would mean doing
three months ago? Nobody… Now everybody is
once the war ends any one individual
away with the presidency currently filled by
talking about our suffering.”
could be shipped in to run Gaza. Instead he
Mr Abbas. Mr Dahlan is in favour of such a
suggests a two-year transitional period with
shift. It is an “illusion” that any one man can
an administration run by technocrats in Gaza
solve the Palestinian issue, he insists: “The
and the West Bank. That could, he imagines,
time of the heroes passed away with Arafat.”
with some senior Israeli figures.
8
The Economist 30. October 2023
What Russia’s budget reveals about the war in Ukraine
O
n a typical day Tambov Bread Factory,
Spending on weapons, ammunition and other
squeezing government revenues. gdp growth
400km (250 miles) south of Moscow,
military kit has helped to prop up Russia’s
may also fall short of expectations. The finance
produces 30 tonnes of bread in 60 varieties.
economy in the face of sanctions by Western
ministry has pencilled in 2.3% for 2024, more
Lately, though, the plant has been churning
governments. Industrial production is on
than double the imf’s forecast.
out more than just baked goods. According
course to grow by 4% in 2023. Retail sales are
to Russia-1, a state-owned television channel,
up by double digits. Government finances
Even if the government can generate enough
Alexander Rudik, the firm’s boss, received a
are relatively healthy, too. After recording
revenue to finance its war machine, the long-
request from the Russian military to retool
a deficit of 1.8trn roubles in January, the
term economic outlook is bleak. A devalued
his assembly line last year. Today the bakery
government has kept its budget balanced
rouble makes imports more expensive, driving
assembles 250 military drones per month.
for the remainder of the year thanks to a 26%
up inflation and requiring the central bank to
Although Tambov’s “drone bakery” can be
jump in non-oil and gas revenues. “In the third
keep interest rates high, stifling investment.
dismissed as propaganda by Russia’s state-
quarter of this year we had a budget surplus
The Bank of Russia’s key interest rate is 15%.
controlled media, it nevertheless speaks to the
of over 660bn roubles,” Vladimir Putin boasted
Although higher defence spending will boost
militarisation of the Russian economy, which
this month.
growth in the short term, it will also divert resources from education, health care and
is gearing up for years of fighting in Ukraine. The country’s latest budget, passed by the
But the fiscal outlook rests on shaky
other public services while crowding out
State Duma, Russia’s parliament, on October
assumptions. The draft budget assumes that
private investment. Higher taxes will constrain
26th, will boost defence spending in 2024 by
oil and gas revenues will increase by more
growth further.
nearly 70% to 10.8trn roubles ($115bn)—nearly
than a quarter in 2024 to 11.5trn roubles, on
a third of total expenditure and almost three
the expectation that Brent crude will average
Russia is shifting to a long-term war economy.
times what had been forecast in 2021. Military
$85 per barrel and Urals crude $70. If oil prices
But, according to Mr Rudik, the “drone bakery”
outlays—on equipment, salaries and payments
drop, revenues will come in below target.
is also preparing for peacetime. Tambov’s
to the families of soldiers killed in battle—will
The budget also assumes that the rouble will
drones will keep flying, he told Russia-1, to
be three times higher than spending on
average roughly 90 to the dollar in 2024. If
deliver bread to customers.
education, health care and the environment
the currency appreciates, however, earnings
combined, and will account for 6% of gdp.
on oil and gas exports will fall in rouble terms,
The Economist 31. October 2023
Macho chaos revealed The Covid Inquiry is supposed to be
Lee Cain’s criticisms about a ‘lack of diversity’.
of power fall apart in the way it did in 2020 – or
uncovering the lessons that need to be
Her evidence suggests that ‘the lack of
more usefully, how could that be prevented
learned from Britain’s handling of the
women’s voices in decision-making’ meant
from happening in future? There will be a
pandemic. So far this week, it has uncovered
issues such as domestic abuse and abortion
different leader with a new set of flaws and
a lot of swearing and people who hate one
were given insufficient attention during the
different advisers with their own tendencies
another. Today, one of the subjects of the
pandemic.There was an overconfidence that
to overlook. How will the machine work better
angry swearing, Helen MacNamara, gave
produced a ‘superhero bunfight culture’ which
next time around?
quietly devastating evidence to the inquiry.
did not get the best out of staff. This included
Speaking of machines working better –
This is the former deputy cabinet secretary
Matt Hancock pretending to be a batsman
possibly too well – the AI summit is under
who Dominic Cummings said he wanted to
while reassuring her that he was ‘loving’ his
way, with Rishi Sunak announcing a ‘Bletchley
‘handcuff and escort’ from Downing Street. In
work.
declaration’ from 28 different countries
many ways, it wasn’t a surprise. It won’t have
None of this is a surprise. But it is still potent.
on the risks of AI. He presumably wants
changed anyone’s impression of the way the
The Covid Inquiry appears to be a bit of a soap
to add this declaration to his mantlepiece
government worked in 2020. The overriding
opera at the moment – one that could only
of achievements, including the Windsor
impression was one of dysfunction, lack of
be broadcast after the watershed. But when it
Framework. But the Covid Inquiry is
planning, and machismo in Downing Street.
comes to report on this module, it will surely
dominating the headlines and will do for
As James Heale observes, MacNamara and
have to consider how this atmosphere and
months. Every day that it leads the news
Cummings aren’t exactly pals, but they did
cognitive disconnect where even highly senior
is another day voters are reminded of the
end up corroborating much of one another’s
women were disregarded by men could be
incompetence of a recent iteration of the
accounts.
prevented in future. An obvious lesson might
Conservative government. Sunak has refused
She also suggested – as everyone who has
be that political parties shouldn’t elect as
to burn Johnson so far, recognising that
given evidence this week has – that Boris
their leaders people who were manifestly not
sections of his own party would not forgive
Johnson didn’t take Covid seriously enough,
suited to national crises like global pandemics
him for that. But will the electorate really
reporting a ‘jovial tone’ from the former
– though given Johnson won the 2019 general
be able to tell the difference, even with a
prime minister. Johnson, she says, was ‘very
election because he was up against an even
‘Bletchley Declaration’ to brandish?
confident that the UK would sail through’ and
more unsuitable would-be prime minister in
the atmosphere in meetings was ‘confident
the form of Jeremy Corbyn, that might be a
and macho’ – comments which chime with
difficult lesson to teach. How could the centre
The Spectator 01. November 2023
What happens to Gaza the day after the war ends? A reformed Palestinian Authority or a multinational force have been mooted as solutions for security in the territory, but both proposals have met resistance When Antony Blinken arrived in the Middle
2007 in a bloody battle after losing legislative
Abderahman Salaheldin for instance has
East on his most recent visit, one of the US
elections in 2006. Israel unilaterally left Gaza
proposed a multinational force could enter
secretary of state’s aims was to lift some of the
in 2005.
Gaza to collect all weapons held by all
fog over what happens to Gaza in the war’s
Blinken told a US Senate hearing last week
Palestinian factions there. “The mission of this
aftermath, but he is meeting resistance both
that it would “make the most sense” for an
force will be for a transitional period of two
from Israel and Arab states.
“effective and revitalised Palestinian Authority
years until a Palestinian police force from the
Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said
to have governance and ultimately security
Gaza Strip is formed, trained and equipped
on Saturday at a press conference alongside
responsibility for Gaza”. But he added: “If we
to assume the tasks of maintaining security,”
Blinken: “What happens next? How can we
cannot do that, there are other temporary
he said. That mission may try to have the
even entertain what will happen in Gaza when
arrangements that may include a number of
authority of a UN security council resolution,
we do not know what kind of Gaza will be
other countries in the region. It may include
but that would require UN unanimity.
left after this war is done? Are we going to be
international agencies that help provide
But Israel, with its hostility to the United
talking about a wasteland? Are we going to
security and governance.”
Nations, would oppose any UN-led
be talking about a whole population reduced
At a briefing on Saturday a senior White
peacekeeping force, leaving a more realistic
to refugees? Simply, we do not know – we do
House official showed the US determination
option of an ad hoc multinational force. This
not have all the variables to even start thinking
to make the Palestinian Authority its partner
could either have an Arab component or
about that.”
for peace, saying that steps must be taken to
something similar to the Multinational Force
The tentative US proposal is for a reformed
increase its authority, including ending Israel’s
and Observers peacekeeping body that
Palestinian Authority, dominated by the
withholding of funding for it. “Hamas is the
supervises the implementation of the security
secularist Fatah, which administers the
enemy of the Palestinian Authority – that is our
provisions of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace
West Bank, to come back to Gaza. But this is
opinion,” the official said.
treaty. None of the 13 participating nations in
rejected by Israel’s right.
In a recent interview with the Guardian,
MFO are from the region.
For instance, the Israeli finance minister,
the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister,
Arab states may be willing again to pay for
Bezalel Smotrich, in a weekend interview
Mohammad Shtayyeh, ruled out going
the cost of Gaza’s reconstruction, but not go
on Israel’s Channel 12, rejected US advice to
into Gaza to replace Hamas without a
as far as to put troops on the ground to police
leave Gaza once the war ends. He said: “The
comprehensive agreement that includes the
radicalised and shattered Palestinians.
day after, the most important thing is that
West Bank and the birth of a Palestinian state.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has
there will be no Hamas in Gaza, and there will
Fatah fears that if it took over Gaza without
suggested expanding the role of the existing
be operational control by the Israel Defence
a clear political horizon it would be seen as
anti-Islamic State coalition, but that has so far
Forces for years.” He added: “It’s not like we’re
complicit in Israeli and US violence, once again
found few takers.
going to destroy Hamas and another body will
being seen as Israel’s security sub-contractor.
In parallel with setting up an interim
come along.”
Brian Katulis, from the Middle East Institute,
administration in Gaza, the US is once again
Equally, Prof Jacob Nagel, a former national
has suggested that some of the exercises for
cranking up talk of a long-term solution based
security adviser to the Israeli prime minister,
constructing a “day after” regional security
around two states living side by side.
Benjamin Netanyahu, has insisted Israel
partnership to go into Gaza “sound like
Spain has offered to hold a successor to the
cannot risk relinquishing security control
fantasy land because currently Arab states
Madrid conference of 1991 that led to the Oslo
of Gaza. “No matter which entity will take
simply do not see eye to eye with America
accords. The Arab League wants a decisive
responsibility for Gaza’s civil affairs, Israel will
due to its support for the way the war is being
role. The UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will not
be the full security authority. The entirety of
conducted”.
raise the billions required to rebuild Gaza yet
the Gaza Strip, especially Gaza City, will be
The eventual realistic options available to
again unless there is serious commitment to a
demilitarised and will not contain tunnels,
the international community for the future
political settlement.
weapons or the ability to produce weapons.
governance of Gaza will depend in part on
All this assumes that the US can meet its
“All goods that enter Gaza will be completely
how Israeli politics responds to its trauma.
objective of Israel destroying Hamas at a
monitored by Israel, and Israeli security forces
Polls have shown personal support for
morally and diplomatically acceptable price.
will be able to enter Gaza anytime, anywhere,
Netanyahu draining away, with the main split
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, a former US
to ensure the removal of any potential threat
over whether he should resign immediately
state department official with long Middle
to Israel.”
or later. A poll by the Lazar Institute for the
East experience, told a Middle East Institute
Even though Hamas and Fatah have
Israeli daily Maariv this week found support for
seminar last week that Israel may yet find this
different stances on Israel’s future – Hamas
Benny Gantz, the former army chief co-opted
military solution elusive. “The tough questions
advocates Israel’s destruction – Israel sees little
into an emergency war cabinet, on 49%, and
are getting louder now. What does success
distinction between the two groups, pointing
Netanyahu on 27%. If Israeli politics did go
look like? Although we have the phrase
to statements made by Fatah political bureau
through a step-change, some of the options
eradicating Hamas, most of us do not believe
members welcoming the 7 October attacks by
for an interim multinational force in Gaza
that is possible.”
Hamas that has left 1,400 Israelis dead.
become more feasible.
Fatah was pushed out of Gaza by Hamas in
The respected former Egyptian ambassador
10
By Patrick Wintour 5. November 2023
Arab leaders must walk the talk on Palestine Meek words of condemnation will not stop the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The response of Arab governments to Israel’s
Israel believes that the Arab states are
But that has proven shortsighted as neither
war on Gaza, like their response to its previous
too divided, impotent and indifferent to
Israel nor the United States can or is willing to
four wars on the besieged Palestinian
Palestinian suffering to respond adequately.
guarantee their security.
enclave, has been feeble and flimsy, to say
It is not wrong, alas.
the least. But unlike Israel’s past assaults, this
Official Arab support for the Palestinian
Today, these regimes tacitly blame Iran and
unravelling genocide – if not stopped – will
cause has persistently waned over the years.
Hamas for the ongoing escalation in Gaza that
have dangerous repercussions for the entire
It started with Egyptian President Anwar
is meant to undermine their new partnerships
Arab world.
Sadat’s decision to sign a peace treaty with
with Israel and drag them into a regional war.
Israel in 1979. Three years later, no one tried
Indeed, government-associated preachers,
Caught by surprise, Arab leaders sprung into
to stop the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which
journalists and pundits in countries like Egypt,
action only after the Arab public made it clear
expelled the Palestine Liberation Organization
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
it would not tolerate Israeli atrocities against
(PLO) from the country and paved the way for
have condemned what they consider to be
Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians. Although
the emergence of Hezbollah in Lebanon and
Hamas’s attempts inspired by Iran to push the
Palestine has been and remains the foremost
Hamas in Palestine.
region into war, inflicting unbearable suffering on the Palestinian people.
Arab issue, speaking up is all they have done, mostly in babble and cliches.
In the following four decades, Arab regimes continued to show less and less interest in
But such positions have not swayed Arab
In their Arab League meeting in Cairo on
rallying behind the Palestinian cause, as the
public opinion. Wherever they have been
October 11, Arab foreign ministers condemned
Arab world was ravaged by multiple wars,
allowed to, Arabs have taken to the streets
the killing and targeting of civilians “on
including the Iraq-Iran conflict and the Iraq
en masse to protest against Israel’s atrocities
both sides”, equating the occupied and the
invasion of Kuwait, two US-led Gulf wars, as
and to call for an international intervention to
occupiers, a Palestinian resistance group
well as multiple civil wars following the 2011
stop the mass killing of Palestinian civilians.
and the Israeli occupation army. They spoke
Arab Spring revolutions.
Protest may turn into mass upheaval that can threaten regional stability if no action is taken
vaguely about the need for peace, as Israel set off to re-enact the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe)
Today, Arab leaders may be willing to speak
As Israel continues to decimate Gaza and
with another round of violent ethnic cleansing.
out for Palestine, but few are ready or capable
commit massacres of Palestinian children,
The bombing of al-Ahli hospital on
of walking their talk. Those with the means to
women and men, its Arab partners
October 17, in which some 470 Palestinians
influence events do not mean what they say,
must reconsider their normalisation and
were massacred, enraged the Arab and
and the few who mean what they say lack the
cooperation agreements before they are
international public, forcing the Arab regimes
means to follow through.
forced to do so under heavy public pressure.
to react with a bit more resolve. Truth be told, Arab leaders have generally
This de-normalisation process must start
A few days later, Arab foreign ministers
been at odds with Israel as a divisive colonial
with the Palestinian Authority itself, whose
succeeded in lobbying UN member states
enterprise in their midst, but they have
insistence on maintaining relations with
to pass a United Nations Generally Assembly
also been indifferent to the plight of the
Israel has allowed it to deepen its military
resolution condemning both the October
Palestinians, just as they have been towards
occupation and accelerate the theft of
7 attacks and Israel’s atrocities and calling
the suffering of their citizens.
Palestinian land.
humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of
In fact, some regimes have treated their
It is high time for the regime of President
hostilities”.
people almost as badly as Israel has treated
Mahmoud Abbas to sever relations with the
the Palestinians. Many have spoken for
Israeli government and start protecting its
The overwhelming support for the resolution,
Palestinian rights only because that has given
civilians from the Israeli army and settlers
albeit watered-down and non-binding, has
them a semblance of legitimacy in the eyes of
wreaking havoc in the West Bank.
demonstrated Israeli isolation within the
their people.
for an “immediate, durable and sustained
Arab leaders must come together to end the
international community. But the Israeli authorities ignored it altogether, clearly moved
Arab impotence has opened the way for other
genocide in Gaza, come what may. Because
by the principle of “the world says what it
regional players, Iran and Turkey, to flex their
only by uniting and speaking in one voice in
wants, Israel does what it must”.
muscles and expand their influence at Arab
favour of Arab and Palestinian rights would
expense, creating another layer of regional
they be able to deter Israeli aggression and
They nonchalantly proceeded to launch a
complexity and division. Iran’s deepening
foreign interference in Arab affairs.
devastating land invasion of the Gaza Strip,
influence and reckless policies in a number
cutting off telecommunications in the territory
of Arab countries have pushed some frantic
for 36 hours and sowing even more death and
regimes to openly ally themselves with Israel
destruction.
in return for greater American support.
By Marwan Bishara 30.October 2023
How the tiny Arab state of Qatar became indispensable in talks with Hamas
T
he small Persian Gulf state of Qatar is
poly over that relationship, has a monopoly
In the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings,
once again front and center in global
over that conflict because it can speak to both
Qatar fell out with some of its Arab neighbors
diplomacy, this time for its efforts to mediate
sides in a way that no other player in the world
after it supported the protesters that sought to
deals to free hostages taken by Hamas during
can.”
overthrow the regimes in several Arab nations. Ties further deteriorated when Saudi Arabia,
its October 7 attacks in Israel, as well as The gas-rich monarchy has maintained a
Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt
relationship with Hamas while being one of
severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in mid-2017,
On Wednesday, Qatar brokered a deal
the US’ closest allies in the region. Meanwhile,
accusing the country of supporting terrorism,
between Israel, Hamas and Egypt, in
it has also kept back-channel contacts with
which Qatar repeatedly denied. It took years
coordination with the United States, to
Israel. David Barnea, head of Israel’s intelli-
for the countries to patch up relations.
release foreign nationals and critically injured
gence agency Mossad, was in Qatar over the
In 2012, it allowed Iran-backed Hamas to esta-
Palestinian civilians from Gaza to Egypt,
weekend to discuss efforts to get hostages
blish a political office in Doha, which remains
according to sources familiar with the talks.
released, three sources familiar with the talks
operative.
The agreement was separate from any
told CNN.
evacuate foreign nationals from Gaza.
That relationship has made Qatar an impor-
hostage negotiations, the source added. At least 110 foreign passport holders left Gaza,
For now, the Hamas-Qatar relationship
tant mediator with Hamas during its conflicts
according to officials on the Palestinian side of
appears to be paying off. In addition to the
with Israel.
the Rafah border crossing. Al-Arish Hospital in
Palestinian civilians and foreign nationals
Qatar also pays public sector salaries in Gaza,
Egypt also began receiving injured Palesti-
allowed to leave Gaza on Wednesday, four
part of a $30 million per month stipend for
nians who crossed from Gaza, according to
hostages held by Hamas – two Israelis and
families and fuel for electricity, according to
Al-Qahera news.
two American-Israelis – have also been freed
Reuters.
through Qatari and Egyptian mediation. Qatar finds itself in a delicate diplomatic
Israel has acknowledged Qatar’s efforts, with
It has maintained close relations with Western
position, one that experts say has so far acted
National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi
nations, becoming an increasingly important
in its benefit, making it an indispensable
saying the Gulf state has become “an essential
energy supplier as one of the world’s biggest
ally to Washington. But some have said that
party and stakeholder in the facilitation of
gas producers and is a major arms buyer from
Qatar’s relationship with Hamas may become
humanitarian solutions.”
the US. It has for decades been home to a giant US air base and was declared a Major
a liability. “(Qatar’s) relationship with Hamas has been
“Qatar’s diplomatic efforts are crucial at this
Non-NATO Ally by the Biden administration
a key component of the mediation strategy,”
time,” Hanegbi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
last year.
said Andreas Krieg, an associate professor at
What is the nature of Qatar’s relationship with
But Doha was also one of the first Gulf Arab
King’s College London who focuses on Gulf
Hamas?
nations to establish diplomatic relations with
states. “It’s a place where Qatar has a mono-
12
Israel, in 1996, breaking a long-held taboo in
the region (it severed ties after Israel invaded
Iranian funds.
bit of a reality check.”
Gaza in 2009). Its Al Jazeera network was the
Qatar also played mediating roles on Iran’s
The Washington Post reported on Thursday
first pan-Arab news network to label Israel
nuclear file, facilitating indirect talks between
that the US and Qatar have “agreed to revisit”
on a map and invite its officials for on-air
Tehran and Washington in late 2022.
Doha’s association with Hamas after the
interviews.
In one of its most notable mediation efforts,
hostage crisis is resolved, citing four diplomats
What is Qatar’s strategy in playing a mediator
Qatar in 2021 proved crucial to Washington’s
familiar with the discussions.
role?
eleventh-hour evacuation from Afghanistan,
The agreement was forged during a recent
Qatar is trying to “carve out a place for diplo-
when the Gulf state not only facilitated the
meeting in Doha between US Secretary of
macy,” Krieg said, adding that one goal was
safe travel of Americans in the country, but
State Antony Blinken and the emir of Qatar,
to delay an Israeli offensive inside Gaza. Israel
also acted as a protecting power for them in
the Washington Post said, adding it is still un-
however launched the start of its full ground
the new Taliban-ruled state, with which Qatar
decided whether that reevaluation “will entail
operation on Friday, which US officials told
maintains diplomatic ties.
an exodus of Hamas leaders from Qatar.”
CNN has complicated efforts to free the more
Has Hamas become a liability for Qatar after
Krieg said it is unlikely that Qatar will kick
than 200 hostages believed to be held by
October 7?
Hamas out, but is likely to dissociate from the group, as it did with the Taliban, which also an
Hamas. Doha has come under criticism from Israel
office in the Qatari capital Doha.
On Saturday, Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesper-
and Western politicians for its ties with Hamas.
son for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told
Despite its mediation efforts, Israeli Foreign
“Qatar is playing an exemplary role” in its me-
CNN that hostage negotiations are becoming
Minister Eli Cohen last week accused Qatar of
diation efforts, Hiltermann said. “But there is
more difficult but are ongoing despite the
financing Hamas and harboring its leaders.
a political bloc in the US that is unhappy with
escalation on the ground.
“Qatar, which finance and harbor of Hamas’
Qatar’s coziness with Hamas.”
Mediating to release the hostages kidnapped
leaders, could influence and enable the im-
Two Republican members of Congress have
by Hamas is a useful avenue for Qatari diplo-
mediate and unconditional release of all, of all
called on Qatar to “extradite Hamas’s leaders-
macy, Krieg added, as some of the hostages
hostages held by the terrorists. You, mem-
hip from Doha.”
have European and American nationalities,
bers of the international community should
giving several countries a vested interest in
demand Qatar to do just that,” Cohen said at a
Hiltermann said that despite the pressure on
backing Doha’s efforts.
high-level UN meeting.
Qatar to push out Hamas, letting go of the
Mediation has long been one of Qatar’s most
In response, Qatar said it was “surprised and
Qatar and might push Hamas further into
“marketable skills,” said Joost R. Hiltermann,
dismayed” by the Israeli minister’s comments,
Iran’s arms.
director of the Middle East North Africa pro-
especially “at a time when Qatar is seeking to
“You’ll lose that contact,” he said. “And these
gram at the International Crisis Group think
ensure the release of captives and de-escala-
contacts can be useful in the future.”
tank in Brussels, referring to the Gulf state’s
tion.”
Israel has however said that it seeks to destroy
group would be “a self-defeating move” for
Hamas once and for all so that it doesn’t
long history of negotiating between international players at odds with one another.
Qatar warned that “these provocative state-
threaten it again, which could diminish Qatar’s
Doha mediated a landmark deal between Iran
ments” could undermine mediation efforts
utility as a mediator.
and the US in September, which saw the re-
and even “endanger lives.”
lease of five Americans from Iranian detention.
Krieg said that a lot of Qataris privately have
The prisoner release was part of a wider deal
their own reservations about Hamas, and that
that included the US unfreezing $6 billion in
Qatar’s relationship with Hamas likely “needs a
By Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN 2. November 2023
More than 10,000 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza The latest Health Ministry figures come as Israeli bombardment of the besieged territory intensifies. More than 10,000 people have been killed
to rubble, we are crying out for a shred of
in 31 days of relentless Israeli attacks on the
humanity from world leaders.”
Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health
While Israel has promised to destroy the
As Israel steps up ground operations inside
officials, with no signs of a ceasefire in the
Palestinian armed group Hamas, which carried
Gaza and continues its campaign of air strikes,
besieged enclave.
out attacks on southern Israel on October 7 that
Palestinians fear there is no end in sight.
has shown little enthusiasm for this idea.
Israeli authorities said killed more than 1,400
In a statement on Monday, Gaza’s Ministry of
people, most of them civilians, humanitarian
“Are you enjoying this … horror movie?” Zak
Health said the death toll has risen to at least
conditions in Gaza have reached a critical point
Hania, a resident of the al-Shati refugee camp,
10,022 Palestinians, including 4,104 children,
under constant Israeli bombardment.
asked world leaders in an interview with Al
with many victims still trapped beneath the
Jazeera.
rubble and an Israeli siege drying up access
Running low on fuel supplies, 16 of Gaza’s
to vital goods like fuel, food and electricity.
35 hospitals have been forced to suspend
“How many people need to die, [need] to be
operations as the number of people wounded
killed, for the people, for the world, for the world
“The number [death toll] is expected to go
increases and the United Nations said that
leaders to move to do something? We asked for
up as at least 2,000 people remain under
more than 1.5 million people, which is more
a ceasefire. We are all civilians.”
the rubble. The problem is, with lack of
than half of Gaza’s population, have been
heavy
displaced.
equipment
and
machinery,
the
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA 06. November 2023,
rescue teams on the ground are unable to remove and pull out these bodies from
As
under the rubble,” Al Jazeera correspondent
deteriorated and the death toll continues to
Hani Mahmoud reported from Khan Younis
rise, calls have grown for an end to the fighting.
in southern Gaza.
In late October, the UN General Assembly voted
The number of those wounded since
overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution calling
the October 7 start of the bombardment
for an immediate humanitarian truce.
conditions
in
Gaza
have
increasingly
has risen to 25,408, a Health Ministry spokesperson said, adding that Israel had
Both Israel and its most powerful ally, the
conducted 18 attacks in the past hours,
United States, have rejected calls for a ceasefire,
killing 252 people.
saying that an end to the fighting would allow Hamas time to regroup. The US has said it
The “shocking milestone” was a result of
would support a brief pause in the fighting to
Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of
allow more assistance to enter Gaza, but Israel
civilian
homes,
hospitals,
refugee
camps, and schools, said Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a United Kingdombased organisation, “How many more deaths will it take for this assault to be brought to an end – 50,000, 100,000?,” said Fikr Shalltoot, the
group’s
director.
Gaza
“As
we
witness our homes, hospitals schools
and turned
14
One child killed in every 10 minutes.
US nuclear sub offers show of force in the Middle East The sub’s deployment is the latest major US military build-up amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The US Navy has dispatched a guided-missile
including two aircraft carriers and extensive
been crystal clear that we do not want to see
submarine to the Middle East.
fighter aircraft.
the situation in Israel widen into a broader regional conflict,” said Ryder in an October 24
The posting was revealed by the military in an announcement late on Sunday. The unusual
It has also announced the deployment of
press briefing. “And as you’ve heard President
revelation regarding the location of the ship,
around 1,000 American soldiers, and the
Biden, Secretary Austin and other senior US
which can launch nuclear missiles, suggests
engagement of an unspecified number of
leaders say, our message to any country or
a show of force intended to try to contain
special operations commandos, who are
group thinking about trying to take advantage
regional tensions amid the Israel-Hamas war.
“advising” the Israeli military in their Gaza
of this situation to widen the conflict is don’t.”
operations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled
“On November 5, 2023, an Ohio-class submarine arrived in the US Central Command
In addition, Washington has taken steps
on Sunday for talks with regional leaders,
area of responsibility”, US Central Command
to beef up the defences of its Gulf allies,
including Palestinian President Mahmoud
(CENTCOM) said on the social media platform
with a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
Abbas in the occupied West Bank and Iraqi
X, formerly Twitter. The Central Command area
(THAAD) missile defence system destined
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in
includes the Middle East.
for Saudi Arabia and Patriot surface-to-air
Baghdad.
missile systems to be sent to Kuwait, Jordan, The post by the Department of Defence unit
Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab
US military assets have come under heavy
appeared to show an image of the submarine
Emirates, The Wall Street Journal reported.
fire from Iran-allied militias in Syria and Iraq,
moving through the Suez Canal.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General
since October 7. During this time, such groups
Pat Ryder said the build-up was aimed at
have waged dozens of attacks at US bases,
Since the war broke out on October 7
deterring regional escalation and protecting
with the most severe wounding 21 US military
between Hamas and Israel, the United States’
the US and its partners.
personnel in al-Tanf garrison in Syria and Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on October 17 and 18.
closest regional ally, Washington has moved significant military assets to the region,
“Since that Hamas terrorist attack we’ve also SOURCE: AL JAZEERA 06. November 2023,
Donald Trump clashes repeatedly with judge in heated New York testimony Donald Trump clashed repeatedly with a judge and defended his family's business as he testified in a civil fraud trial in New York. During almost four hours on the witness stand,
were reached and the financial statements at
the outcome of the trial and, as well as a multi-
the former president disputed claims that he
the centre of the trial.
million dollar fine, could strip the defendants of the ability to do business in New York.
deceived banks and aired grievances with the case.
"I'm worth billions of dollars more than the
The judge has already ruled the Trump
financial statements," Mr Trump said, before
"I'm sure the judge will rule against me because
Organization committed fraud and this trial
describing the property valuations as "very
he always rules against me," Mr Trump said at
will determine the penalties.
conservative."
one point in court. Judge Engoron fired back: "You can attack me
Prosecutors are seeking a $250m (£202m) fine He said the valuations were bolstered by his
in whichever way you want, but please answer
personal brand, something he said carried
the questions." He later referred to Mr Trump
During his highly anticipated appearance at a
him to the White House and was never
as a "broken record". Like his two sons in their
Manhattan federal courthouse on Monday, Mr
factored into financial statements. "I can look
testimony last week, the former president said
Trump, 77, was asked about the value of various
at buildings and tell you what they're worth,"
it was the Trump Organization accountants
properties including his Florida estate Mar-
he said in another testy exchange. The lawsuit
who bore responsibility for the financial reports.
a-Lago, Trump Tower in New York and a golf
was brought by New York Attorney General
"All I did was authorise and give people
course in Scotland.
Letitia James, who accuses Mr Trump, along
whatever was necessary for the accountants to
with his sons Eric and Donald Jr and other
do the statement," Mr Trump said.
These properties are among several that
Trump Organization executives, of deliberately
As he left court, he again referred to the case
prosecutors say were intentionally overvalued
inflating company assets for years. All deny
as a "fraud" and said he believed his testimony
in company statements in order to secure
wrongdoing.
"went very well".
and severe business restrictions.
Some
better loans and insurance policies.
legal
and
political
analysts
have
Ms James, who was in the courtroom and stared
suggested Mr Trump's combative approach
In his testimony, Mr Trump, who is the
directly at Mr Trump during his testimony, later
on the stand was a considered strategy, while
current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican
told reporters: "He rambled. He hurled insults.
others have said he used the much anticipated
presidential
But we expected that."
moment as an opportunity to campaign.
him on how
"The numbers don't lie," she said. "Justice will
Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor,
t h e y
prevail." The former president's time on the
told the BBC that Mr Trump's responses
stand was marked by heated exchanges and
indicate his legal team believes "they've already
lengthy, sometimes meandering, responses.
lost".
These prompted several rebukes from Judge
"They're trying to spin or add some colour to a
Arthur Engoron who appeared exasperated at
very bad result," Mr Mariotti said.
times.
"I think he is trying to goad the judge into doing
nomination,
valuations as prosecutors
stood
by
the
quizzed
something [Trump] can argue on appeal that "Please
just
answer
the
questions,
no
shows prejudice on his part," Kevin McMunigal, another former federal prosecutor, said. "Maybe
speeches," the judge said.
he makes a comment they can use to support a After another lengthy answer, Judge Engoron
bias case later."
said to one of Mr Trump's lawyers: "Can you
The judge has already fined Mr Trump $15,000
control your client? This is not a political
for comments made outside of court last month.
rally, this is a courtroom."
Mr Trump's daughter, Ivanka, is expected to "I beseech you to
give evidence on Wednesday.
control
him,"
he
added. "If
The civil case in New York is one of several legal battles in which Mr Trump is embroiled.
you
can't,
I
He also faces four criminal indictments - two relating to his alleged efforts to overturn the
will."
results of the 2020 election, one on his handling J u d g e
of classified documents and another alleging
Engoron
false accounting involving hush money.
w
i
l
l
ultimately decide
16
By Madeline Halpert & Chloe Kim & Bernd Debusmann 07. November 2023
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 612 As the war enters its 612th day, these are the main developments.
Fighting
Politics and diplomacy
E
ight people were injured and at least 15 buildings were damaged or destroyed after Russia shelled the centre of Ukraine’s southern
M
ike Johnson, the newly-elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, said US funding to support Ukraine
city of Kherson. “In the evening, the entire city trembled,” Ukraine’s
and Israel should be handled separately, suggesting he will not back
Emergency Services said on Telegram. “The enemy targeted the very
President Joe Biden’s $106bn aid package for both countries.
centre of Kherson.” Ukraine’s Suspilne public broadcaster said one person was also injured after Russian forces shelled Beryslav further north.
Most of the European Union’s 27 leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels backed additional financial support to Ukraine as it fights
President
Russia’s invasion, but Hungary and Slovakia voiced reservations. The EU
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian casualties had risen sharply across
Speaking
in
his
nightly
video
address,
Ukrainian
is seeking approval for a spending plan that includes 50 billion euros
the 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) front lines over the past week. He earlier
($52.8bn) for Kyiv and must be agreed unanimously.
told United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that Russia had lost at least a brigade’s worth of troops in its assault on Avdiivka.”The invaders
Zelenskyy’s top diplomatic adviser said senior national security and
made several attempts to surround Avdiivka, but each time, our soldiers
foreign ministry officials from as many as 70 nations will meet in Malta
stopped them and threw them back, causing painful losses. In these
on Saturday and Sunday to discuss the Ukrainian president’s 10-point
cases, the enemy lost at least a brigade,” Zelenskyy told Sunak in a phone
blueprint for a peace settlement. Russia will not participate.
call. Brigades vary in size and can number between 1,500 and 8,000 troops. Battlefield losses are a state secret in Russia and Ukraine.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said it was the “steadfast will” of Pyongyang to expand ties with Moscow arguing that a
Russian diplomats dismissed a White House claim that Moscow’s
closer bilateral relationship would act as a “powerful strategic” element
military was executing its own soldiers if they refused orders in Ukraine.
if security in the region was endangered. Japan, South Korea and the
“Whoever came up with these other-worldly lies could only have been a
United States recently condemned alleged arms deliveries by Pyongyang
person with an imagination far into overdrive,” the Russian embassy in
to Russia.
Washington said in comments carried by the RIA Novosti news agency. Russian prosecutors have lodged an appeal against a court decision Former Ukrainian pro-Moscow lawmaker Oleg Tsaryov was shot
to fine veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov after he was found
and wounded in a late-night attack in Yalta in Russian-annexed Crimea.
guilty of “discrediting” the country’s armed forces. Orlov, the 70-year-
Russia’s top investigative body said it had opened a criminal inquiry, while
old co-chair of Russia’s Nobel Prize-winning Memorial human rights
an unnamed source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the
organisation, was fined 150,000 roubles ($1,600) earlier this month.
Reuters news agency the shooting was a special operation conducted by
Prosecutors have filed an appeal calling for a three-year prison term.
the intelligence agency, describing Tsaryov as an “absolutely legal target”. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack near a nuclear plant in Kurchatov in the country’s southern Kursk region. A separate statement from the Kursk nuclear power station said three
Weapons
G
ermany’s Defence Ministry said it delivered a third IRIS-T SLM air defence system to Ukraine. The country is stepping up efforts
drones had been involved in the attack, there were no casualties or
to get air defence systems to Ukraine before the winter sets in to help
damage and the plant was operating as normal.
protect critical infrastructure from Russian attacks.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed the appointment of 55-year-old Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov as commander of the country’s aerospace forces, replacing General Sergei Surovikin who was fired in August. Afzalov has been acting head since Surovikin’s dismissal. Ukraine said it had so far exported 1.3 million tonnes of grain and other cargo through a new Black Sea corridor it set up in August after Moscow withdrew from a United Nations-brokered deal that allowed Kyiv to safely export grain to world markets.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA 28. October 2023.
of inflating were actually undervalued, based on the premium his “brand” adds. He also said that banks did not rely on his statements of financial condition when weighing loans. “They just weren’t a very important element in banks’ decision-making process,” Trump told the court. “And we’ll explain that as this trial goes along.” Here’s a look at New York state’s valuation of four high-profile Trump properties where the prosecution alleges fraud occurred, along with Bloomberg’s own approach to assessing the assets.
Mar-a-Lago Trump’s valuation (2021): US$612.1 million Bloomberg valuation (2023): US$240 million New York’s valuation (2021): US$27.6 million It’s fair to say that Trump’s most famous property these days is no longer New York’s Trump Tower but his Mar-a-Lago Club, the historic Palm Beach estate built by Marjorie Merriweather Post in the 1920s that he now calls home.
Trump’s wealth has jumped
The sprawling resort has been at the centre
US$500 million since he left the White House The higher net worth comes as Donald Trump’s businesses are proving resilient in the face of a gloomy real estate market.
D
onald Trump is getting richer.
hotel and paying down loans, Trump is sitting
With the former president on trial in New
on more cash and less leverage than at any
York, accused of inflating his wealth by billions
point in the past decade.
of US dollars for more than a decade, the
“The
question of how much he’s worth is as relevant
and never been better,” his son, Eric Trump,
as ever.
executive
The answer may surprise: Trump’s fortune is
Organization, said. “We have the most cash and
valued at US$3.1 billion, up from US$2.6 billion
the lowest debt. We are in a fantastic spot.”
in 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires
Bloomberg’s wealth index has been calculating
Index.
Trump’s net worth since 2015, based on
He spent a combative day in court on Monday
ethics disclosures required for presidential
(Nov 6) arguing about how he valued his assets.
candidates, public filings tied to key real estate
The civil fraud lawsuit, brought by New York
holdings and staff reporting. Thousands of
attorney general Letitia James, could result in
pages of exhibits detailing the performance of
hundreds of millions in penalties and the loss
his assets made available during the trial have
of some of his most iconic properties.
provided a deeper look into his fortune.
The higher net worth comes as Trump’s
The former president’s 2021 statement of
businesses are proving resilient in the face of a
financial condition, filed as part of the lawsuit,
gloomy real estate market. His move to Florida
pegged his net worth at US$4.5 billion.
after leaving the White House coincided with a
Bloomberg’s
boom in the state that’s bolstered the finances
been below Trump’s figures. At the same
of two of his best-known properties – Mar-a-
time, Bloomberg measured the value of some
Lago in Palm Beach and the Doral resort in
Trump properties higher than what New York
Miami – while revenues at the rest of his golf
state claims.
courses have surged more than 50 per cent
Trump took the stand on Monday and testified
since 2019. And after selling his Washington
that the properties whose values he’s accused
18
company
has
never
vice-president
calculation
been of
has
stronger
the
Trump
consistently
of some publicised post-presidency scandals,
that seems to be changing. It took in about
It’s possible Trump would get a higher price
from classified documents being kept in one of
US$41 million in revenue last year, according
because of his name. “There would be a Trump
its bathrooms to the location where Trump is
to Trump’s most recent ethics disclosure,
premium because the person that would want
said to have shared nuclear submarine secrets
compared with US$21 million in 2019.
that property is likely to be a Trump supporter,”
with an Australian businessman – something
Bloomberg values Mar-a-Lago at US$240
Beracha said. But it’s also likely that the
that Trump denies.
million, based on a combination of comparable
association with Trump would turn off some
It’s also a major focus in Trump’s fraud lawsuit.
residential property sales in the area as well
buyers.
Trump made a series of agreements with
as its value as a business, reflecting some
Palm Beach County and the National Trust
uncertainty around its future status.
Trump Park Avenue
for Historic Preservation for Mar-a-Lago to be
That uncertainty is not shared by everyone.
Trump’s valuation (2021): US$90.9 million
used only as a club, giving up any development
If the city and county allowed it, “there is
Bloomberg valuation (2023): US$86.4 million
rights. Consequently, Palm Beach values the
no reason why it would not be able to be
New York’s valuation (2021): US$80 million
property as a business on its tax rolls. In 2021,
converted to a full-time private residence”, said
The residential condo tower on Manhattan’s
the county assessed it at US$27.6 million, lower
Eli Beracha, director of the Hollo School of Real
Upper East Side, formerly the Hotel Delmoni-
than comparable residential properties. New
Estate at Florida International University.
co, is not one of Trump’s best-known buildings,
York State argues that this appraisal is the one Trump should have been using.
but it’s been the source of some significant
Trump’s Fifth Avenue penthouse
asset inflations, according to the prosecution.
Trump’s valuation (2021): US$131.3 million
Its value to Trump mostly stems from unsold
New York’s estimated value “was a shock to the
Bloomberg valuation (2023): US$40 million
condo units that are owned by the Trump Or-
real estate community and anybody with any
New York valuation: No current estimate
ganization and rented out. A varying number
understanding of the island and its values”, said
available
have been rent-stabilised, meaning tenants
Liza Pulitzer, a real estate agent at Brown Harris
Trump’s penthouse apartment at Trump Tower
pay below market rates. Typically, these
Stevens and a Palm Beach native. “It could
has been an integral part of his image for 40
apartments are valued at a discount because
easily fetch US$500 million or more.”
years, so it’s not surprising that one of the
tenants can stay indefinitely, sometimes even
That assumes a buyer views it as a single-family
world’s masters of hyperbole exaggerated its
passing them on to children.
residence. It’s currently not zoned for such
size for most of that time.
In 2010, 12 rent-stabilised apartments owned
use, though Trump is able to reside there to a
Between 2011 and 2016, Trump valued his
by Trump were valued at an average of
loophole designating himself an employee.
apartment based on it being 30,000 square feet
US$62,500 each in an appraisal provided by
Trump’s legal team engaged an expert witness
in size – almost triple its actual measurement
a real estate company. The following year,
who argued that a future buyer could do the
of 10,996 square feet. Because of this, New York
Trump valued them at US$4.1 million each
same thing. And if they did not like the idea of
State arrived at a valuation that was about a
– more than 65 times greater. Trump has con-
sharing their property with others, they could
third of Trump’s in those years. They have not
tinued to value stabilised apartments in the
reduce the club to a membership of one. Still,
provided a more recent estimate.
building at market rates, including in his 2021
it’s unclear if Palm Beach would allow that
Space inflation was not the only issue. Between
statement of financial condition.
without a change to its zoning status.
2014 and 2015, Trump increased the value of
Rent-stabilised units “with a positive cash flow
Historically, Mar-a-Lago never made much
the apartment to US$327 million from US$200
are often valued at 15-25 cents a dollar of the
money
million. The prosecution argues that was to
open market value, versus single digits for
mask a drop in the value of one of his other
negative cash flow”, said Jonathan Miller, presi-
properties.
dent of appraiser Miller Samuel.
for
the
Trump
organisation,
but
Still, Trump’s optimism was shown to be at “A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by
least partially justified. By 2021, only five of the
a real estate developer sizing up his own living
12 apartments remained rent stabilised.
space of decades, can only be considered fraud,” judge Arthur Engoron wrote in a
The prosecution also claims two additional
September ruling.
non-stabilised apartments in the building
Bloomberg
values
the
property
using
were overvalued because Trump ignored an
recent Trump Tower sales, as well as those of
option his daughter, Ivanka Trump, had to buy
comparable Manhattan penthouses. While
them at a price lower than the market value
some splashy residences in much newer
he used.
buildings on so-called Billionaires Row have
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index valued
listed for well in excess of US$100 million, they
Trump’s assets using his 2021 statement of
typically boast higher ceilings, more up-to-date
financial condition, August 2023 Office of
finishes, contemporary layouts, outdoor space
Government Ethics and mortgage filings and
and better views.
market data. Properties were valued “as is”,
A better comparison would be a 9,450-square-
meaning the value of potential development,
foot penthouse in Olympic Tower, five blocks
including at the Doral and Aberdeen proper-
south on Fifth Avenue, which has been on and
ties, was not considered. Trump Media & Tech-
off the market for US$35 million since 2016.
nology is valued using the range indicated by
Then there’s Carl Icahn’s 14,000-square-foot
Trump on his ethics disclosure. Its merger with
penthouse at Museum Tower on West 53rd
blank-check company Digital World Acqui-
Street. It was listed for US$35 million in 2019
sition – which values it higher – has yet to be
before he attempted to split the space and
completed.
sell it as two separate apartments. Both were eventually delisted.
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG 08. November 2023
Civilians Trapped in Gaza Are Running Out of Food, Fuel and Hope The Gaza strip is effectively cut in half, with the Israeli military encircling Gaza City to root out Hamas In the days after Oct. 7, bombs started falling
people died in the north, but the rest in places
all the more risky since last week, when its
from the sky. Leaflets fell too, urging the 1.1
that were supposed to be safe.
military advanced west under a hail of tank
million residents of northern Gaza to head
The Gazans who spoke to Bloomberg said
shelling and airstrikes, effectively dividing the
south for their safety. So Reda Sahoiun left her
they were having to make calculations about
Gaza Strip in two. And with missiles targeting
home.
their safety in a place where supplies of food
residential areas along its entire length, people
and water are rapidly dwindling. While on
say they have nowhere to go, and no means of
The 40-year-old charity worker packed into
Nov. 6 the United Nations said that 451 aid
getting there.
a taxi with her elderly mother, taking a ring,
trucks have been allowed to enter in the
two necklaces, bracelets, blankets and some
weeks since hostilities began, in the besieged
In a rare instance of diplomatic progress since
painkillers. But when they reached her friends’
enclave that relies on such donations to
the Israel-Hamas war began last month, a deal
house in the southern city of Khan Younis,
survive, that compares to the 500 that were
brokered by Qatar and the US had allowed
Sahouin found it was no refuge from the
making deliveries daily before the war — and
foreign passport holders to start leaving
explosions. “It was not safe at all there,” she
not a single one has brought in fuel. Israel says
through the otherwise closed Rafah border
recalled. “They bombed the house next to ours
Hamas hoards fuel from the civilian population.
crossing last week, though in recent days this has stalled. In any case some, like Mai, who is a
without warning.” In the wake of US Secretary of State Antony
Palestinian with German citizenship who didn’t
Sahouin and her mother stayed only four days
Blinken’s four-day trip to the Middle East,
want to give her last name, are trapped in the
before finding a lift back home again. On Oct.
US officials told the Washington Post that
north. She said she didn’t know how she would
24, just before Israeli ground troops began a
Israel’s counterattack against Hamas has been
get to the southern border, after learning roads
ground assault of the north Gaza strip, she
excessively severe, costing too many civilian
were cut off.
realized again she may have made the wrong
casualties and lacking a coherent endgame —
A few days after Mai spoke to Bloomberg, Israel
choice.
but that they had been unable to exert enough
said it was allowing people to leave by foot,
influence on Israel to change its course.
but some are scared to make the journey after
By then, escaping south had gotten much
Worsens
the Israeli navy gunned down vehicles on the
harder. With the Israeli military now wholly
For so many ordinary citizens of the Hamas-
coastal road last week. Photos from the Hamas-
encircling the northern town of Gaza City,
run territory, this is not their fight. But they
controlled seaside strip on Sunday showed
many are finding the journey has gotten harder
have been caught up in it nonetheless. They
some people walking south, their belongings
still. Israel’s government has vowed to destroy
described a place that, at 25 miles-long, is small
piled high on donkey-pulled carts. Israel says it
Hamas, which the US and European Union
enough to entrap them yet large enough that
is targeting Hamas with such strikes.
designate a terrorist organization and which
traversing its length without transport is very
For Gazans, the situation Israeli Defense
a month ago killed more than 1,400 Israelis
difficult, even for the rare person trying to
minister Yoav Gallant called a “total siege”
while taking around 240 people hostage. Their
move without family and belongings in tow.
has stopped time. It stopped schools, stopped
strategy has involved a bombing campaign
According to the UN, almost half of Gaza’s
businesses, stopped entrances and exits. Most
that the Hamas-run health ministry says has
population are children.
cars, in the four weeks since Oct. 7, are relying
killed over 10,000 Palestinians and made Gaza
Finding a way to escape Israel’s bombs became
on the gas they had in their tanks at that
intolerable for the living. That
is
a
organizations
number consider
relief broadly
accurate. At least 4,000 of the dead are children. Many are still buried under the rubble created by collapsed buildings. Children arrive at hospitals with their names scrawled on their arms to facilitate identification in case their parents don't survive. Some of the dead are buried in mass graves. The Gaza death toll figures cannot be independently verified, and do
not
distinguish
between
civilians and active members of Hamas. Israeli officials have said Hamas inflates them. In response, authorities in Gaza have published the names of the dead alongside their ID numbers. Two-thirds of
20
moment. “We are fighting human animals and
use without electricity to run it.
the war. “There is no humanitarian crisis,” and
we are acting accordingly,” Gallant said on Oct.
Al-Mabhouh said that on two occasions she’s
therefore no need for a humanitarian pause to
9.
been able to walk two kilometers with her
the conflict with Hamas, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s
The war also stopped the accurate flow of
son to get drinking water from the house of a
ambassador to the United Nations, said two
information, in so far as it ever existed in a place
friend who had both filtration equipment and
days later.
where the truth has long been contested, in
solar panels to operate it with. They carried
The offensive has now entered its second
very different ways, by two adversarial powers:
back 12 liters.
month and questions abound about what will
the militant group Hamas, which has been
come when the fighting stops.
in charge since 2006, and neighboring Israel
Before the war, residents of the southern Gaza
which, with Egypt’s assistance — controls
Strip got just over 80 liters of water per person
A new report by the International Labour
Gaza’s borders.
per day, compared to advised minimum of 100.
Organization said 61% of jobs in Gaza had
Israel remains in shock over the deaths of Oct.
Now, the World Health Organization puts the
been lost as a result of the bombardment —
7, unable to understand how the the rest of
average daily allocation in Gaza at just three
and unemployment had already been high
the world has moved on with apparent ease
liters.
before the war. In an interview with ABC
to focus on the suffering in Gaza. US envoy
Monzer Shublaq, director of the water utility for
News, Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge
Blinken alluded to Israel’s ongoing trauma
Gaza’s coastal municipalities, said there is not
that Israel would keep a military presence on
here at the start of his comments to reporters
enough power to pump water to households,
the ground: “Israel for an indefinite period will
in Tel Aviv Friday, saying Israel must be able
even after Israel restored some water supplies
have the overall security responsibility because
to defend itself and could not “tolerate the
to the south Gaza Strip.
we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have
slaughter of innocents” — a reference to those
“The power plant went off after the reserve fuel
it.”
who had been killed on Oct. 7.
ran out,” Shublaq said. He added that in the
Amid the confusion about evacuation warnings,
the
north, where there is still no municipal water,
Shuaib Yousef, a resident of east Gaza City,
UN agency overseeing Palestinian refugees,
some contaminated wells that were closed in
decided not to heed them, heading west with
have been killed. When that figure was at 72
the past are being reused.
his wife and two children and sheltering at al-
Seventy-nine
employees
of
UNRWA,
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency, said
Shifa hospital. Israeli military said Monday they
it was the highest number of aid workers killed
Shortly before the fuel at the station ran out,
had reopened an evacuation route for civilians.
in a conflict in such a short time in the history
water from a desalination plant that was still
Hospitals in Gaza house not only the sick and
of the UN. He said some UNRWA shelters had
functioning was being pumped to the southern
wounded but, as sites that are presumed
been directly hit.
city of Khan Younis, according to Shublaq, but
relatively safe, have become home to many
nothing came out of residents’ taps. It was days
of the internally displaced. Israel’s army says
Despite the violence, some things can’t help
before they learned that the pipes had been
Hamas uses hospitals in a “systematic” way to
but continue. The United Nations Population
bombed, and rather than reaching homes it
hide its military activities, and on Oct. 27 said
Fund, which describes Gaza’s health system
had been spilling out into the ground.
Hamas has its military headquarters under the
as on the brink of collapse, estimates 50,000
Shifa hospital, Gaza’s biggest medical complex.
pregnant women are caught in the current
Almaza Odeh fled Gaza City with her family and
conflict, with over a tenth of those due to give
is now sheltering at a UN-run school in Khan
“I thought Shifa was safe, and I think I was
birth in the next 30 days.
Younis with her siblings, parents, nephews and
right,” Yousef said when reached by phone,
nieces. “Can you imagine waiting for up to an
days before a bomb hit its environs. “But life is
“I was so happy because it took me three years
hour to use the toilet? And when you get in,
difficult here; the hospital is full and I sleep in
to get pregnant and now all I want is for my
can you imagine how filthy it is?” She said there
the yard with my family inside.”
child to survive this war,” said Anwaar Munya.
was not enough water to clean them with.
“Things are getting worse everyday,” he said.
She decided to shelter at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa
Blinken had said Friday that more must be
“And we are running out of nothing.”
Hospital, hoping to escape the airstrikes near
done to protect Palestinian civilians, a shift
her home in the city’s east, and went into labor
in focus that highlighted growing American
in a tent in the hospital courtyard.
concerns about the humanitarian fallout from
Bissan al-Mabhouh, who lives in the southern town of Rafah, by the Egyptian border, said her tiny house is crammed with people, including her parents, siblings and extended family, who sought refuge there soon after the conflict began. “We ran out of cash, including all our savings,” said the 30-year old, who had recently gone back to university after starting a family. “My husband has not worked or been paid since the war began.” Tap
water
in
Gaza
has
always
been
undrinkable, owing to high levels of salinity and contamination. Because of her husband’s job as a salesperson for water filtration systems, alMabhouh’s family used to be among the lucky ones: they own equipment for purifying water at home. Yet Gaza has had no power outside of hospitals for 21 days, and their machine is no
By Fares Akram 07. November 2023.
Biden briefed on Chinese effort to put military base in Oman President Joe Biden has been briefed on what
facilities in the region including the United
naval drills with Iran and Russia in the Gulf of
his advisers see as a Chinese plan to build a
Arab Emirates (UAE) and other nations in Asia,
Oman around the same time. China has also
military facility in Oman, people familiar with
including Thailand, Indonesia and Pakistan. The
pushed for a ceasefire in the days since the
the matter said, amid a broader effort by
precise location of the possible base or what it
attack by Hamas.
Beijing to deepen defense and diplomatic ties
would house wasn’t immediately known. Concern over China’s rising influence in the
with the Middle East. A base in Oman would amount to a challenge
Middle East has helped spur US efforts to
Biden was told that Chinese military officials
to the US, whose Central Command oversees
keep its historic allies on its side. Plans for a
discussed the matter last month with Omani
troops stationed around the region, including
trade corridor between India and Europe via
counterparts, who were said to be amenable to
in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE.
the Middle East, unveiled at the Group of 20
such a deal, said the people, who asked not to
According to the American Security Project,
summit, are part of that broader effort to create
be identified discussing private deliberations.
Oman was the first Persian Gulf country to
alternatives to China.
They said the two sides agreed to more talks in
partner militarily with the US, signing an access
the coming weeks.
agreement in 1980. Oman also sits near the
By News Desk 08. November 2023,
Strait of Hormuz, one of the most vital shipping China’s Foreign Ministry didn’t immediately
lanes for oil and liquefied natural gas. The strait
respond to a request for comment and the
becomes a focal point whenever tensions flare
White House didn’t respond to multiple
with Iran.
requests for comment. Oman’s embassy in the US also didn’t respond to a request for
China has also stepped up its diplomatic
comment. Opening a base in Oman would
involvement in the region, including well
complement Beijing’s other overseas military
before the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel that
facility, which it refers to as a “logistics centre”
killed some 1,400 people. In March, it helped
in the East African nation of Djibouti. But the
broker a tentative detente between Iran and
Pentagon has been saying for years that China
Saudi Arabia, after years of diplomatic deadlock
wants to build more overseas military logistics
between the historic rivals. China also held joint
North Korea threatens ‘shower of shells’ in response to anti-Pyongyang leaflets North Korea is extremely sensitive about outside attempts to undermine leadership of Kim Jong Un. North Korea criticised rival South Korea on
North Korea is extremely sensitive about any
leafletting
Wednesday for removing a law that banned
outside attempt to undermine leadership
warfare” and even a “pre-emptive attack
as
a
“high-level
psychological
private activists from sending anti-Pyongyang
of authoritarian ruler Kim Jong Un as he
conducted before a start of war”.
propaganda leaflets to the North.
maintains tight control over the country’s 26
“Under the present situation where a spark
North Korea insisted that such activities amount
million people while severely restricting their
may lead to explosion, there is no guarantee
to psychological warfare and threatened to
access to foreign news.
that such military conflicts as in Europe and the Middle East would not break out on the Korean
respond with a “shower of shells”. The law, crafted by the previous liberal
Peninsula,” the KCNA said, apparently referring
The statement published by North Korea’s
government in Seoul that pursued inter-Korean
to Russia’s war on Ukraine and the violence in
official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
engagement, was passed six months after the
Israel and Gaza.
was the first time state media commented on
North expressed its frustration over the leaflets
The agency claimed that future leafletting
the decision by South Korea’s constitutional
by blowing up an inter-Korean liaison office in
campaigns could trigger an unprecedented
court in September to invalidate a 2020 law
the North Korean border town of Kaesong in
response from North Korea’s military, which
that criminalised leafletting.
June 2020.
stands ready to “pour a shower of shells” toward
The decision was based on concerns that it
Tensions between the nations are at their
the sites where the leaflets are launched as well
excessively restricted free speech.
highest point in years as the pace of both
as the “bulwark of the region of (south) Korean
The ruling came in response to a complaint
Mr Kim’s weapons tests and South Korea’s
puppets”.
filed by North Korean defector-activists in the
combined military exercises with the United
While North Korea often makes bizarre threats
South.
States have intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle.
that are not carried out, the comments reflected the animosity between the rival countries amid
They included Park Sang-hak, who has been a frequent target of North Korean government
In
anger for his years-long campaign of flying
commentator, the KCNA warned that the North
leaflets across the border with giant balloons.
in the current state of tensions would consider
22
comments
attributed
to
a
political
a prolonged freeze in diplomacy. By Press Association 08. November 2023,
Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Mohammadi goes on hunger strike Concerned over her physical and mental health, Mohammadi’s family say they hold the gov’t responsible for her condition.
N
obel Peace Prize winner Narges
it added. “It’s been a week now that they
transfer her to a hospital to receive medical
Mohammadi has begun a hunger strike
are refusing to give her the medical aid she
treatment”.
in her Iranian prison in protest at limits on
needs.” ‘Means of repression’
medical care for her and other inmates, as well as the obligation for women to wear the hijab
‘Morally unacceptable’
First arrested 22 years ago, Mohammadi has
in Iran, according to her family.
In a strong statement of support for
spent much of the past two decades in and
Mohammadi, the Chair of the Norwegian
out of jail over her campaigning for human
Veteran rights activist Mohammadi, 51,
Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, said
rights in Iran.
currently held in Evin Prison in the Iranian
the body was “deeply concerned” about the
She has most recently been incarcerated since
capital Tehran, was awarded the Nobel Prize in
2023 laureate’s health.
November 2021 and has not seen her children, now based in France, for eight years.
October “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran”.
“The requirement that female inmates must wear a hijab in order to be hospitalised is
Mohammadi’s Nobel Prize came in the wake
“Narges Mohammadi, today, through a
inhumane and morally unacceptable,” she
of months-long protests across Iran triggered
message from Evin Prison, has informed her
said. “Narges Mohammadi’s initiation of a
by the September 2022 death in custody of
family that she started a hunger strike several
hunger strike demonstrates the seriousness
Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested for
hours ago. We are concerned about Narges
of the situation. The Norwegian Nobel
allegedly flouting Iran’s strict dress rules for
Mohammadi’s physical condition and health,”
Committee urges the Iranian authorities to
women.
her family said in a statement on Monday.
provide Narges Mohammadi, and other female
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, her
inmates, with whatever medical assistance
From prison, Mohammadi also expressed
family said she was only consuming water,
they may need,” she added.
outrage over what she described as the
sugar, and salt, and had stopped taking her
PEN International, a group promoting
“murder” of teenager Armita Geravand, who
medications.
freedom of expression, meanwhile said it was
suffered a head injury while in the Tehran
“gravely concerned” about Mohammadi and
Metro without a hijab.
Mohammadi is refusing under any
“holds Iranian authorities fully responsible for
circumstances to wear a hijab, the head
putting her life at critical risk”.
While Geravand’s parents appeared in state media footage saying a blood pressure issue,
covering that has been obligatory for women in public spaces since shortly after Iran’s 1979
“Narges Mohammadi should not be in jail in
a fall or perhaps both contributed to their
Islamic revolution.
the first place,” it added, saying Iran should
daughter’s injury, activists alleged she may
“immediately” release her and “urgently
have been pushed or attacked by the morality
Prison authorities, in response, have refused
police for not wearing a headscarf, which has
to transfer Mohammadi, who
been vehemently denied by the
suffers from heart and lung
authorities.
conditions, to a hospital outside Evin for treatment. Her family
She died in October after a
said she was in “urgent” need
month in a coma.
of medical treatment outside prison.
Mohammadi, in a message expressing gratitude for the
“Narges went on a hunger strike
prize, which was read by her
today in protesting two things:
daughter and posted on the
The Islamic republic’s policy of
Nobel website, described the
delaying and neglecting medical
mandatory hijab as a “means of
care for sick inmates… [and] the
control and repression imposed
policy of ‘mandatory hijab’ for
on society and on which the
Iranian women,” the statement
continuation and survival of this
said.
authoritarian religious regime depends”.
“The Islamic republic is responsible for anything that happens to our beloved Narges,”
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES 06. November 2023,
‘LIKE A PRISON’: THE PALESTINIANS IN HEBRON LIVING UNDER ISRAELI LOCKDOWN
In Hebron’s H2, 700 Israeli settlers get military protection while 35,000 Palestinians can be shot if they step outside. Hebron, occupied West Bank – Across the
Palestinians found outside their homes would
“During the day they are soldiers, and at
neighbourhoods of the H2 area of Hebron –
be shot.
night they are settlers,” said Emad Hamdan,
the 20 percent of the Palestinian city where
Palestinians in H2 were completely unable
executive director of Hebron Rehabilitation
some 700 Israelis live in illegal settlements
to leave their homes for the first four days,
Committee (HRC), a Palestinian NGO based in
and the Israeli military has full control
living off whatever supplies they already had.
the Old City of Hebron. “So they have the same
– the streets are mostly empty of H2’s
Now, they can only leave their homes and
attitude.”
approximately 35,000 Palestinian residents.
cross checkpoints at a designated hour in
Palestinian residents say soldiers aim guns at
the morning and an hour in the evening on
anyone who goes up to their roof or even peers
Patrolling the streets and manning the
Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
through their window, shouting at them to stay
rooftops, instead, are Israeli soldiers and
Residents also describe a flurry of attacks and
inside.
armed settlers in military uniform on the
threats that began immediately after October
When they do go outside during the allotted
lookout for any movement from Palestinian
7. Local activist Issa Amro, 43, was apprehended
time, residents still risk attacks and threats
homes.
by soldiers and settlers dressed in military
from settlers, who now wear military uniforms.
describe conditions in which they are
uniform, telling him he was under arrest.
“The settlers try to touch our women and
attacked, deprived of vital supplies and
Amro explained over the phone that he was
daughters,” said Abu Aisha. “They hit us; they
services, and have had their livelihoods cut
taken to the military base in Tel Rumeida.
say all kinds of horrible words in order to
off.
Cuffed and tightly blindfolded, Amro said he
provoke a reaction so they have an excuse to
“This has never happened before where a full
was beaten and spat at for hours, with settlers
murder us.”
lockdown is implemented, even during the
shouting slurs at him. After 10 hours, they let
In one confrontation on the street, a reserve
second Intifada,” said Bassam Abu Aisha, 61,
him go.
soldier – a local settler and paramedic who Abu
vice president of a local drivers’ union and
Over the next few days, Amro said settlers in
Aisha has encountered before – was cocking his
former president of the popular committee
military uniform attacked his home, stealing
gun as if to shoot Abu Aisha. A video recorded
for Tel Rumeida, a hill and neighbourhood in
his house keys at one point. On October 20,
by a neighbour shows the man fumbling to
the H2 area. “[Back then] we would have the
soldiers forced Amro from his home, declaring
put a bullet into the gun before it drops to the
liberty to go buy things and be in the street.
it a “closed military zone”, insisting it was for
ground.
But now no one can do that.”
his “protection”. Amro, who is now staying with
‘The children are constantly afraid’
Several residents who spoke to Al Jazeera said
friends in the H1 area, has not been able to
While the military recently began allowing
the same thing: “It’s like we are in a prison.”
return to his home and is still recovering from
students to walk outside and cross checkpoints
Soldiers by day, settlers by night
injuries to his back, legs and hands.
for an hour in the morning and another hour in
Following the shocking October 7 attack
“This is my first live experience to be tortured,”
the afternoon during the school week, parents
on southern Israel by Hamas, Israeli soldiers
said a shaken Amro.
are not allowed to accompany their children.
came without warning to Palestinian shops in
With regular military forces moved to Gaza and
As a result, children have largely been unable
Hebron and ordered their owners and workers
the Lebanese border, the city’s reserve battalion
to go to school, due to both the movement
at gunpoint to close shop and stay home.
has taken on primary security responsibility in
restrictions and because their parents fear
In online community chat groups, word
H2 as well as much of Area C, the 60 percent of
attacks from armed settlers.
trickled across the neighbourhoods of H2: Any
the West Bank under full Israeli military control.
A woman from the Jabari family, who resides
Besieged,
24
Palestinian
families
in Wadi Hussein, a stretch of Palestinian land
the baby had died. In another case, a woman
food and supplies.
in H2 that lies between the Israeli settlements
required an injection at a clinic only 20 metres
But with little to no income, neighbours can
of Givat Haavot and Kiryat Arba – where Israel’s
away from her home. Despite prior attempts
help each other for only so long.
far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-
at coordination, guns were pointed at her
“We are [financially] better off than some of our
Gvir lives – said the 11 children in the family
when she tried to leave her home. Despite the
neighbours,” said Abu Aisha in Tel Rumeida.
compound are growing restless. They wish
insistence of medical professionals, a soldier at
“But we don’t know how even we can sustain
they could go to school or at least to a shop to
the scene decided the injection could wait until
ourselves for more than a few weeks.”
buy sweets, she said.
the next day.
Already, NGOs are privately discussing possible
While some families have tried online learning,
According to the Jabari family member,
aid measures if the severe restrictions continue.
the internet connection has been too poor for
another member of the family who had been
‘They are depriving us of life’
lessons, she added.
injured while working waited for an ambulance
Monitoring of the situation has been spotty,
The Jabari family say they have been targeted
for three and a half hours. It was held up
with
by settlers for years. Among other violent
because of the restrictions. In the end, relatives
Ecumenical
incidents, a family member had been attacked
had to carry him all the way to the nearest
in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) leaving when
with an iron pole, leaving him with severe
checkpoint, worsening his leg injury.
war broke out and remaining civil society
head injuries, a female family member told Al
In the Jaber neighbourhood, a pregnant
organisations finding it difficult to reach
Jazeera.
Palestinian woman woke up at 5am one
families under the movement restrictions.
The community believes that settlers see the
morning in pain. According to the woman’s
Residents
Jabari home as key to ultimately dismantling
mother and a family friend, soldiers stationed
confiscated, and photos and videos of incidents
the Palestinian neighbourhood and connecting
outside their home refused to allow her to
are routinely deleted from them by soldiers
the two settlements. The Jabaris say that other
leave for several hours. At around 11am, they
and settlers. One neighbour was detained for
than to get food, they have been unable to
managed to leave in a private car. Doctors at
several days for recording soldier activities,
go out since settlers recently placed couches
the hospital discovered internal bleeding – the
according to Abu Aisha.
across from their home, where they sit in wait.
baby had died.
Residents say some families who had elsewhere
The woman from the family, who did not
In another case, a woman required an injection
to live have left, though no one knows how
wish to be identified, said that while they try
at a clinic only 20 metres away from her home.
many have gone.
to tell the children not to worry, they “know
Despite prior attempts at coordination, guns
In the meantime, residents and humanitarian
something dangerous is happening here”.
were pointed at her when she tried to leave
organisations report that settlers are taking
In one instance, a child in the family was
her home. Despite the insistence of medical
advantage of the situation to occupy vacated
chased down the street by a settler, she said.
professionals, a soldier at the scene decided
properties in the Tel Rumeida area. Abu Aisha
Another time, a five-year-old girl in the family
the injection could wait until the next day.
shared a video of Israeli settlers harvesting
saw a settler on the street and immediately ran
According to the Jabari family member,
olives from trees owned by Palestinian families
in fear, falling and injuring herself.
another member of the family who had been
in the area.
“The children are constantly afraid,” the family
injured while working waited for an ambulance
Families have been unable to pick olives during
member said. “They live in fear.” For weeks,
for three and a half hours. It was held up
the all-important harvest season, which runs
soldiers have prevented families from bringing
because of the restrictions. In the end, relatives
until mid-November. No harvest this year
in gas tanks for cooking and heating from
had to carry him all the way to the nearest
would be economically catastrophic for some
H1 (the area of Hebron under the Palestinian
checkpoint, worsening his leg injury.
families.
Authority) into H2. Following lobbying from
“Decisions are being made over what is
Unable to go to school, work or play, the Jabaris
local
the
medically urgent or not by poorly trained
try to keep their spirits up by reading religious
military recently agreed to allow gas tanks in
military reservists,” said a humanitarian worker
scripture or telling the children stories at night.
under supervised distribution.
in the area. “It is absolutely surreal.”
“Like all Palestinians, we hope for a better
‘Absolutely surreal’ – soldiers deny access to
No income, savings running out
reality than what we really live,” said the female
medical care
But what might be most pressing for these
Jabari family member.
The onerous movement restrictions mean
families is their dwindling cash reserves. Even in
But what’s going on at home and on their
residents cannot access basic services or
the other areas of Hebron, which are suffering
televisions keeps them up at night.
medical treatment, even when they desperately
because of a movement bottleneck into and
“We’re not able to really live life,” said Abu
need it.
out of the city, as well as because of business
Aisha, who has nine people and three children
With both the Doctors Without Borders
closures, Palestinians report dramatic income
staying in his home. “Eating, drinking, going
(Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) mobile
losses that have pushed families to the brink.
about our daily lives is difficult because all we
health clinic and the local clinic in Tel Rumeida
In H2, the economic situation is particularly
can do is just sit in front of the television and
shuttered – and residents unable to reach
dire.
take in these horrific images from Gaza.”
them even if they were still open – Palestinians
“Most of the families in these areas, they are
Family members sleep in shifts, terrified of
with medical emergencies are encountering a
regular labourers, they are blue-collar people,”
what might come next. “Settlers could come
security apparatus entirely unmoved by their
said Hamdan of HRC. “If they don’t work,
into our house and kill everyone, and no one
needs.
they have no income. So how can they cover
would be able to do anything about it,” said
In the Jaber neighbourhood, a pregnant
expenses if they cannot go to work?”
Abu Aisha.“It’s a reflection of what’s happening
Palestinian woman woke up at 5am one
Families in H2 describe having to dip into
in Gaza,” said the Jabari family member, who
morning in pain. According to the woman’s
whatever savings they have to buy food and
also shared videos of nighttime raids around
mother and a family friend, soldiers stationed
supplies.
the family home this week.
outside their home refused to allow her to
“The families help each other in this time,” said
“We are being deprived of basic freedoms. They
leave for several hours. At around 11am, they
the Jabari family member, explaining how
are depriving us of life.”
managed to leave in a private car. Doctors at
neighbours sneak between their houses in her
the hospital discovered internal bleeding –
area, comprised of about 100 families, to share
and
international
organisations,
international
monitoring
Accompaniment
report
having
group
the
Programme
their
phones
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA 05. November 2023,
‘Armistice Day means ceasefire’: voices of those heading to London’s proPalestine march People express trepidation, defiance and a feeling they cannot stand by and do nothing about the ‘horrific destruction’
cipation was motivated in no small part by the government’s attempts to ban it. “Our home secretary’s attempt to characterise [these demonstrations] as ‘hate marches’, and to associate a clear call for peace and an end to indiscriminate bloodshed with sympathy for terrorism … is despicable, and it is what will get this 64-year-old out on the street for the first time in decades,” Rawlinson said. He said he was “troubled by the extent to
Rishi Sunak has said a major pro-Palestine
I feel it is imperative to add my voice to the
which [Israel’s response] is being defended
march will go ahead on Armistice Day and
millions of British people who are against this
by pundits and politicians across the political
that people have the “right to peacefully
war,” she said.
spectrum.”
protest”, after an emergency meeting with the
Lydia Samuels, 36, will be attending her fourth
But some are attending Saturday’s demons-
Metropolitan police commissioner, though he
Palestine march in recent weeks this weekend,
tration with a feeling of trepidation. “I am
described the plans as “disrespectful”.
holding homemade placards reading “Jewish
worried about attending the march because I
and for a free Palestine” and “Jews say cea-
am aware that in the complex and fragmen-
After the row over holding the protest on
sefire now”. She characterised her personal
ted political environment around this conflict
Armistice Day, in which the government piled
experiences at the demonstrations calling for
there is a real danger of my statement of
pressure on the police to stop Saturday’s
a ceasefire as positive. “People have embraced
protest calling for a ceasefire being unwittin-
march in London, Marija Carter, 26, viewed the
me enthusiastically and been moved by my
gly aligned to, or co-opted by, groups whose
calls for a ban as somewhat ironic but deeply
presence, often telling me so,” the musician
objectives I in no way support or endorse,”
concerning.
from London said. “Over the last few weeks I
said Fred Merttens, 46, adding that it would
“I am amused and appalled by the insistence
see more and more Jews present.”
be the first march he has attended since the
that Armistice Day is the wrong time to call
After Rishi Sunak vowed to hold the Metro-
outbreak of the recent conflict.
for an armistice,” the lawyer in London said.
politan police commissioner, Mark Rowley,
“It would not be the people who died in war
accountable for refusing to ban the march,
Merttens, a policy researcher from Oxford, said
who would suffer any offence that hundreds of
Samuels was clear: “It’s Armistice Day, which
he felt wary of bringing his children because
thousands of free Londoners call for less war.”
means ceasefire. It feels perverse to cancel a
he felt there was a “potential risk” of violence
peace march on a day about peace.”
on the day, “which is being actively stoked by some of our own politicians and newspapers
Amid a growing schism within Labour over the party’s position on the Israel-Hamas conflict
Samuels was among 200 British Jews who
making inflammatory and divisive remarks”.
that has seen its shadow levelling up minister
attended a vigil organised by Na’amod UK, a
But he said this would not stop him from mar-
resign and 15 other frontbenchers call for a
leftwing Jewish organisation that campaigns
ching. “I simply cannot stand by while my own
ceasefire or share demands for one, Carter
against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian te-
government does not do everything it can to
sees a “turning point”.
rritory, on Monday. “We observed shloshim, the
stop the horrific destruction of Gaza and the
“It may become the defining moment of our
traditional ceremony of 30 days of mourning.
lives of the 2.2 million people who live there,
generation. I’m a member of the Labour party
We said prayers and read testimonies and
half of whom are children,” he said, acknowle-
because my local branch is wonderful, yet I do
sang songs,” she said of the vigil to remember
dging the complexity of a conflict with “no
not even know if I can make myself vote for
the 1,400 Israelis killed by Hamas’s attack and
simple solutions”.
Starmer any more, and many of my friends will
the more than 10,000 Palestinians killed by
He said: “Such peaceful protest is a hard-won
not. I will probably still do because I’m petri-
Israel’s response.
democratic right that our current government
fied of another Tory term, but I am completely
While others have been a constant presence
is doing everything they can to roll back.”
disillusioned.”
at marches, for some, this Saturday will be the first time they have taken part. Jack Rawlin-
Many will travel to the capital to make their voices heard on Saturday as demands for a ceasefire intensify. Sidra Butt-Mughal, 38, will be making the trip from Oxfordshire with her husband and their two-year-old and five-yearold children to take part. Butt-Mughal, whose brother-in-law is Palestinian American, was one of scores who told the Guardian why they planned to take to the streets on Saturday, saying she felt devastated by the images coming out of Gaza. “We are a proud British-Muslim family … we feel obligated to voice our concerns about this unjust war,” the research consultant said, adding that it would be the third protest she had attended, including a smaller one in Reading. “As a mother with very young children, I’m very affected – I imagine all those children, Israeli or Palestinian, to be like my children.
26
son, 64, a train driver in London, said his parti-
By Clea Skopeliti 09. November 2023
Brexit has hit UK’s economic openness, says Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey says free trade demands greater international cooperation on financial rule-making
optimistic. I think it will happen but I’m afraid we’ve got to continue doing the work to make it happen.” On Monday, the Bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, said the central bank might wait until the
The governor of the Bank of England has
financial markets after Brexit.
middle of next year before cutting interest rates from their current 15-year high, adding
called for greater cooperation on financial rulemaking, warning that Brexit has affected the
The governor is known to be concerned that a
that he was concerned about high borrowing
“openness of the UK economy”.
series of panics in financial markets since the
costs plunging the economy into a recession.
Covid-19 pandemic was declared in early 2020 In an apparent swipe at those calling for the
have required strong central bank intervention.
Pill said pricing in financial markets – which now points to a first rate cut to the bank
UK to develop a separate rulebook for banking and insurance activities, Andrew Bailey said
He said financial investments known as money
rate in August 2024 – “doesn’t seem totally
free trade needed strong regulation based on
market funds, which lubricate buying and
unreasonable, at least to me”.
agreements with foreign watchdogs.
selling in short-term securities, were especially vulnerable and needed to be overseen by more
“It is at that point you might consider or
Speaking in Dublin at a financial services
robust international agreements.
reassess, if nothing new has happened, where
conference organised by the Irish central bank,
In answer to questions about the health of the
we are going to have to be,” Pill said during an
he argued against trade protectionism and
UK economy, Bailey said he was “optimistic”
online presentation organised by the Bank.
regulatory fragmentation.
that inflation would fall back to the Bank’s 2%
“But, of course, it is very unlikely that nothing
target within two years, but that interest rates,
will change over that nine-month period.”
“As a public official, I take no position on Brexit
now at a 15-year high of 5.25%, would most
per se,” Bailey said. “That was a decision for the
likely need to stay elevated for longer to make
At a meeting last week, Bank policymakers
people of the UK.”
that happen.
held interest rates at 5.25% and stated that it was not thinking about cutting the cost of
However, he added: “It has led to a reduction in the openness of the UK economy, though
“Policy is going to have to be restrictive for an
borrowing anytime soon as it continued to
over time new trading relationships around the
extended period to see the second half out,
bear down on rising prices. Inflation stood at
world should, and I expect will, be established.
which is where policy is going to have to do
6.7% in September, lower than a peak of 11.1%
Of course, that requires a commitment to
the work to bring inflation back to target, and I
in October 2022 but still more than three times
openness and free trade.”
believe it’s going to happen,” he told the Dublin
its 2% target.
conference. Bailey said he hoped to see further close regulatory
Irish
“Our forecast suggests we will be back at the
counterparts to minimise fragmentation of
cooperation
with
his
target in around the two-year horizon. I’m
By Phillip Inman 08. November 2023
TENSIONS HIGH AS GERMANY MARKS 85TH ANNIVERSARY OF NAZI POGROM
Neighbourhoods washed away in port city of Derna, where two dams burst, with many bodies swept out to sea
The ninth of November has long been the most
been reconstructed in recent years, politicians,
the ensuing retaliatory attacks by Israel on
delicate day in the German calendar. It brings
mayors and other Germans gathered with
the Gaza Strip, which have killed thousands of
a balancing act of remembrance for the state-
Jewish
Palestinian civilians.
sanctioned murderous devastation of the Nazi
speeches, concerts, candle-lit processions and
pogroms across the country in 1938 and, 51
readings.
leaders
for
memorial
ceremonies,
“Since the events of 7 October, [the date of] 9 November can no longer remain how it has
years later, the overnight collapse of the most The chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said in a speech in a
been,” wrote Bahr.
central Berlin synagogue that he was “ashamed
The war has prompted some to call into
Both had international repercussions that
and outraged” at a recent wave of antisemitic
question Germany’s stance towards Israel. Its
are still felt today. The former dominates the
incidents in Germany, warning that Berlin
postwar foreign policy following the murderous
nation’s collective memory.
would not tolerate such hatred. “Essentially this
era of the Nazi regime has widely been focused
Marking the date has never been easy. For
is about keeping the promise given again and
on regaining the respect of the international
good reason, 9 November was not chosen in
again in the decades since 1945 … the promise
community.
1990 as unified Germany’s national holiday.
‘never again’,” he said.
famous barrier in the world, the Berlin Wall.
Ceremonies throughout the day were due to
That has included forging close ties with Israel,
long
recall how Kristallnacht marked the start of
and declaring it part of Germany’s Staatsraison
referred to it as Schicksalstag (day of fate),
state-sanctioned race hate, paving the way
– the state’s raison d’être – to protect the
though that, say critics, suggests something
for the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were
country.
done to the German nation, rather than
murdered. For many thousands of German
something in which the people played a role
Jews it was the catalyst that forced them to
Across the political spectrum, criticising Israel
and had a say.
flee.
has been considered highly contentious and
The day is commonly referred to as Kristallnacht,
Organised gangs of thugs destroyed about
or the Night of Broken Glass, an allusion to
7,500 Jewish businesses and more than 1,200
While civil rights groups have condemned the
the shattered windows of Jewish shops and
synagogues. Between 1,000 and 2,000 German
police and government for what they see as
synagogues. In Germany, the term is seen by
Jews were murdered, some killed themselves,
heavy-handedness and censorship in banning
some as cynical and morally problematic for
and a further 30,000 were abducted.
a spate of pro-Palestinian protests, others have
Historians
and
commentators
have
socially unacceptable.
insisted there has not been a strong-enough
downplaying the extent of the violence and suggesting it was restricted to Jewish property.
George Shefi, 92, one of the few remaining
clampdown.
witnesses, travelled from Israel for this year’s or
commemoration, returning to his childhood
Amid a flurry of antisemitic attacks over the
Reichspogromnacht are the favoured terms for
home, which he was forced to flee after the
past month, the federal interior minister, Nancy
the violence, which was initiated by the Nazi
pogrom.
Faeser, warned of a possible escalation around
leadership but carried out locally and regionally
He shared with the BBC his memory of when,
the anniversary. She said assurances needed to
by members of the party’s paramilitary wings,
as a six-year-old, he watched a group of people
be given to Jews living in Germany “that 2023
the SA and SS, and other Germans.
jeer as a Jewish shopkeeper tried to scrub
is not 1938”.
“November 9 marks not only the brutal prelude
antisemitic graffiti off the pavement in front
to National Socialist crimes but reminds us that
of a destroyed Jewish-owned hat shop near
On Thursday, politicians, including Scholz, who
the persecution and attempted annihilation
his home. “I see still the picture in my mind, all
was the first foreign leader to go to Israel after
of European Jews began in full view, in town
the hats and the glass, as if it was yesterday,”
the attacks last month, met in central Berlin’s
and city centres, under the gaze of neighbours,
he said.
Beth Zion synagogue for a ceremony broadcast
Instead,
November
Pogrom
live on television.
colleagues, friends, fellow players, whether from the orchestra or the sport club,” Petra
This week, visiting his Berlin school, which
Bahr, the Protestant bishop of Hanover and a
was burned down in the pogrom, Shefi, who
The synagogue, completed in 2014 on the
member of the German Ethics Council, wrote
escaped via the Kindertransport to the UK, was
site of the 19th synagogue of the same name
in a commentary for Die Zeit.
presented by pupils with a small box containing
destroyed by the Nazis, was attacked with
a fragment of tile salvaged from the ruins.
molotov cocktails last month by two masked
On
Thursday,
the
85th
anniversary
men, and reported on in the Jewish Press
of
Kristallnacht, the emphasis, especially in light
The Holocaust education charity that organised
under the headline: “Firebombed just in time
of the outbreak of war in the Middle East, was
his trip, March of the Living UK, hoped it
for Kristallnacht’s anniversary.”
not so much on remembering a historical
showed the importance of taking responsibility
event as on reflecting on its enduring influence
and “standing up to all forms of hatred”.
on the present day.
Just how Germans should take responsibility has been the focus of heated debate ever since destroyed
the 7 October attacks on Israelis, in which 1,400
synagogues as well as inside those that have
people were killed and 240 taken hostage, and
Across
Germany,
28
on
sites
of
By Kate Connolly 09. November, 2023.
MACRON URGES ISRAEL TO STOP KILLING WOMEN AND BABIES IN GAZA: ‘THERE IS NO REASON FOR THAT’ Emmanuel Macron has urged Israel to stop
“De facto – today, civilians are bombed – de
bombing Gaza and killing women and babies,
facto. These babies, these ladies, these old
as he called for a ceasefire.
people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do
The French president said there was “no
urge Israel to stop,” Mr Macron told the BBC.
justification” for the continued bombing of the enclave, which Palestinian health officials claim has killed more than 11,000 people.
By Oliver Browning 12. November, 2023.
HH THE AMIR, DUTCH PRIME MINISTER HOLD TALKS SESSION
HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani
the developments in the occupied Palestinian
and HE Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the
territories, and joint efforts to reach a ceasefire
Netherlands Mark Rutte held on Wednesday
and bring in humanitarian aid.
session. On the Dutch side, HE Secretary of National Security Council of the Netherlands Geoffrey
morning an official talks session at the Amiri HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
van Leeuwen, HE Director of the Government
Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman
Information Service Sierk Nawijn, HE Director
At the outset of the session, HH the Amir
bin Jassim Al-Thani, HE Chief of Amiri Diwan
of Middle East and North Africa Department
welcomed HE the Dutch Prime Minister and
Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, HE
Marc
the accompanying delegation in Doha, wishing
Advisor to HH the Amir for National Security
Excellencies members of the official delegation
the relations between the two countries further
Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Misnad and several
accompanying HE the Dutch Prime Minister
development and growth.
Their Excellencies senior officials attended the
attended the session.
Diwan.
For his part, HE the Dutch Prime Minister expressed his thanks for the warm reception, and his appreciation to HH the Amir for the diplomatic efforts of the State of Qatar regionally and internationally, especially with regard to the situation in Gaza. During the session, they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways
to
strengthen
them
and
several
developments of mutual concern, particularly
Gerritsen
and
a
number
of
Their
‘The good guys don’t always win’: Salman Rushdie on peace, Barbie and what freedom cost him What can the great myths tell us about peace? The writer, who has turned to fables all his life, weighs their wisdom – and considers the price he himself has paid for liberty
Matter of Rome, regarding that empire; and the Matter of Britain, the legends surrounding King Arthur. In Germany, you have the folktales collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. However,
in
India,
I
grew
up
with
the
Panchatantra, and when I find myself, as I do at this moment, in between writing projects, it is to these crafty, devious jackals and crows and their like that I return, to ask them what story I should tell next. So far, they have never let me down. Everything I need to know about goodness and its opposite, about liberty and captivity, and about conflict, can be found in these stories. For love, I have to say, it is necessary to look elsewhere. And what does the world of fable have to tell us about peace? The news is not very good. Homer tells us peace comes after a decade of war when everyone we care about is dead and Troy has been destroyed. The Norse myths tell us peace comes after Ragnarök, the Twilight
"Everything I know about good, evil and conflict comes from these stories. For love, look elsewhere."
of the Gods, when the gods destroy their traditional foes but are also destroyed by them. The Mahābhārata and Ramayana tell us peace comes at a bloody price. And the Panchatantra
T
o begin with, let me tell you a story. There
known as the Panchatantra. What I have always
tells us that peace is only achieved through
were once two jackals: Karataka, whose
found attractive about the Panchatantra stories
treachery.
name meant Cautious, and Damanaka,
is that many of them do not moralise. They do
But let’s abandon the legends of the past
whose name meant Daring. They were in
not preach goodness or virtue or modesty or
for a moment to look at this summer’s twin
the second rank of the retinue of the lion
honesty or restraint. Cunning and strategy
legends: I’m referring of course to the movie
king Pingalaka, but they were ambitious
and amorality often overcome all opposition.
double-header known as Barbenheimer. The
and cunning. One day, the lion king was
The good guys don’t always win. (It’s not even
film Oppenheimer reminds us that peace only
frightened by a roaring noise in the forest,
always clear who the good guys are.) For this
came after two atom bombs, Little Boy and Fat
which the jackals knew was the voice of a
reason they seem, to the modern reader,
Man, were dropped on the people of Hiroshima
runaway bull, nothing for a lion to be scared
uncannily contemporary – because we, the
and Nagasaki; while the box-office monster
of. They visited the bull and persuaded him
modern readers, live in a world of amorality and
called Barbie makes clear that unbroken peace
to come before the lion and declare his
shamelessness and treachery and cunning, in
and undiluted happiness, in a world where
friendship. The bull was scared of the lion,
which bad guys everywhere have often won.
every day is perfect and every night is girls’
but he agreed, and so the lion king and the
I have always been inspired by mythologies,
night, only exist in pink plastic.
bull became friends, and the jackals were
folktales and fairytales, not because they
promoted to the first rank by the grateful
contain miracles – talking animals or magic
And we speak of peace now, when war is
monarch.
fishes – but because they encapsulate truth.
raging, a war born of one man’s tyranny and
For example, the story of Orpheus and
greed for power and conquest; and another
Unfortunately, the lion and the bull began
Eurydice, which was an important inspiration
bitter conflict has exploded in Israel and the
to spend so much time lost in conversation
for my novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet, can
Gaza Strip. Peace, right now, feels like a fantasy
that the lion stopped hunting and so the
be told in fewer than 100 words, yet it contains,
born of a narcotic smoked in a pipe. Peace is a
animals in the retinue were starving. So the
in compressed form, mighty questions about
hard thing to make, and a hard thing to find.
jackals persuaded the king that the bull was
the relationship between art, love and death. It
And yet we yearn for it, not only the great peace
plotting against him, and they persuaded
asks: can love, with the help of art, overcome
that comes at the end of war, but also the little
the bull that the lion was planning to kill
death? But perhaps it answers: doesn’t death,
peace of our private lives, to feel ourselves
him. So the lion and the bull fought, and
in spite of art, overcome love? Or else it tells
at peace with ourselves, and the little world
the bull was killed, and there was plenty of
us that art takes on the subjects of love and
around us. It is one of our great values, a thing
meat, and the jackals rose even higher in
death and transcends both by turning them
ardently to pursue. There is also something
the king’s regard because they had warned
into immortal stories. Those 100 words contain
decidedly fabulist about the notion of peace
him of the plot. They rose in the regard of
enough profundity to inspire 1,000 novels.
prizes. But I like the idea that peace itself
everyone else in the forest as well, except,
might be the prize, a whole year’s supply of it,
of course, for the poor bull, but that didn’t
The storehouse of myth is rich indeed. There are
delivered to your door, elegantly bottled. That’s
matter, because he was dead, and providing
the Greeks, of course, but also The Norse Prose
an award I’d be very happy to receive. I am even
everyone with an excellent lunch.
and Poetic Edda. Aesop, Homer, the Ring of
thinking of writing a story about it, The Man
This, approximately, is the frame-story of On
the Nibelung, the Celtic legends, and the three
Who Received Peace as a Prize.
Causing Dissension Among Friends, the first
great Matters of Europe: the Matter of France,
of the five parts of the book of animal fables
the body of stories around Charlemagne; the
30
I imagine it taking place in a small country
town, at the village fair, maybe. There are the
I may or may not write that story. At the very
and when extremist religion and bigoted
usual competitions, for the best pies and cakes,
least, it may serve lightheartedly to illustrate a
ideologies have begun to intrude in areas of
the best watermelons, the best vegetables;
serious point, which is that concepts we think
life in which they do not belong. And there are
for guessing the weight of the farmer’s pig;
we can all agree to be virtues can come across
also progressive voices being raised in favour
for beauty, for song, and for dancing. A pedlar
as vices, depending on your point of view, and
of a new kind of bien-pensant censorship, one
in a threadbare frock-coat arrives in a gaily
on their effects in the real world.
that appears virtuous, and which many people,
painted horse-drawn wagon, looking a little
My fate, over the past many years, has been to
especially young people, have begun to see as
like the itinerant confidence trickster Professor
drink from the bottle marked Freedom, and
a virtue.
Marvel in The Wizard of Oz, and says that if he is
therefore to write, without any restraint, those
allowed to judge the contests he will hand out
books that came to my mind to write. And now,
So freedom is under pressure from the left as
the best rewards anyone has ever seen. “Best
as I am on the verge of publishing my 22nd, I
well as the right, the young as well as the old.
prizes!” he cries. “Roll up! Roll up!”
have to say that on 21 of those 22 occasions, the
This is something new, made more complicated
elixir has been well worth drinking, and it has
by our new tools of communication, the
And so they do roll up, the simple country
given me a good life doing the only work I ever
internet, on which well-designed pages of
folk, and the pedlar hands out small bottles
wanted to do.
malevolent lies sit side by side with the truth, and it is difficult for many people to tell which
to the various prizewinners, bottles labelled Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Goodness, and Peace.
On
the
is which; and our social media, where the idea
The villagers are disappointed. They would
publication of my fourth novel, I learned –
of freedom is every day abused to permit, very
have preferred cash. And in the year following
many of us learned – that freedom can create
often, a kind of online mob rule, which the
the fair, there are strange occurrences. After
an equal and opposite reaction from the forces
billionaire owners of these platforms seem
drinking the liquid in his bottle, the winner of
of unfreedom. I learned, too, how to face the
increasingly willing to encourage, and to profit
the Truth prize begins to annoy and alienate his
consequences of that reaction, and to continue,
by.
fellow villagers by telling them exactly what he
as best I could, to be as unfettered an artist as
really thinks of them.
I had always wished to be. I learned, too, that
What do we do about free speech when it is
many other writers and artists, exercising their
so widely abused? We should still do, with
The Beauty, after drinking her award, becomes
freedom, also faced the forces of unfreedom,
renewed vigour, what we have always needed
more beautiful, at least in her own eyes, but
and that, in short, freedom can be a dangerous
to do: to answer bad speech with better
also insufferably vain. Freedom’s licentious
wine to drink.
speech, to counter false narratives with better
behaviour shocks many of her fellow villagers,
But that made it more necessary, more
narratives, to answer hate with love, and to
who conclude that her bottle must have
essential, more important to defend, and I have
believe that the truth can still succeed even in
contained some powerful intoxicant. Goodness
done my best, along with a host of others, to
an age of lies. We must defend it fiercely and
declares himself to be a saint and of course
defend it. I confess there have been times when
define it broadly. We should of course defend
after that everyone finds him unbearable.
I’d rather have drunk the Peace elixir and spent
speech that offends us, otherwise we are not
And Peace just sits under a tree and smiles.
my life sitting under a tree wearing a blissful,
defending free expression at all.
As the village is so full of troubles, this smile is
beatific smile, but that was not the bottle the
To quote Cavafy, “the barbarians are coming
extremely irritating, too.
pedlar handed me.
today”, and what I do know is that the answer to
We live in a time I did not think I would see,
philistinism is art, the answer to barbarianism is
A year later when the fair is held again, the
a time when freedom – and in particular,
civilisation, and in a culture war it may be that
pedlar returns, but is driven out of town. “Go
freedom of expression, without which the world
artists of all sorts – film-makers, actors, singers,
away,” the villagers cry. “We don’t want those
of books could not exist – is everywhere under
writers – can still, together, turn the barbarians
sorts of prizes. A rosette, a cheese, a piece
attack from reactionary, authoritarian, populist,
away from the gates.
of ham, or a red ribbon with a shiny medal
demagogic,
hanging from it. Those are normal prizes. We
careless voices; when places of education and
On the subject of freedom, I thank all those who
want those instead.”
libraries are subject to hostility and censorship;
raised their voices in solidarity and friendship
the
remaining
occasion,
half-educated,
namely
narcissistic,
after the attack on me some 15 months ago. That support meant a great deal to me personally, and to my family, and it showed us how passionate and how widespread the belief in free speech still is, all over the world. The outrage that was expressed after the attack was in sympathy with me, but it was also, more importantly, born of people’s horror – your horror – that the core value of a free society had been so viciously and ignorantly assaulted. I am most grateful for the flood of friendship that came my way, and will do my best to continue to fight for what you all rose up to defend.
By Salman Rushdie 08. November, 2023.
Israel-Palestine war: The world cannot stand by and watch this slaughter Two million helpless people in Gaza have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and no way to save their children As these lines are being written, Israel has
power.
The international community will not let
informed the UN that more than one million
Half of the Israeli army is currently guarding
Israel run amok in Gaza at the expense of two
people in the northern Gaza Strip, including
settlers in the occupied West Bank and all
million helpless people who have nowhere to
residents of Gaza City, must evacuate their
their capricious carryings-on.
run, nowhere to hide, and no way to save their children.
homes. There is nowhere to go in Gaza - not for 10,000 people, not for 100,000 and certainly
For the Sukkot holiday, several battalions were
They have no hospitals to tend to their sick;
not for a million.
moved from the Gaza border to Huwwara,
nowhere to tend to their shattered souls. The
near Nablus, to protect a festival of revenge
fact that Hamas did not attend to all of that
To evacuate one million human beings within
initiated by an extremist member of Israel's
does not absolve Israel of its responsibility.
24 hours is impossible, illegal, inhuman and
parliament.
impractical.
Media images of Jewish worshippers sitting
Much of the responsibility now rests with
In other words, Israel is threatening to commit
on a road in the middle of a Palestinian town,
the international community. Visits by top
a war crime the likes of which we have not
swaying from side to side like so many ritual
American and European officials, and the
seen since the Nakba of 1948.
palm fronds, were among the most grotesque
resoundingly sympathetic speech by US
of recent times.
President Joe Biden, should not mislead us.
Very possibly, this is all talk and threats;
The grotesquery soon made way for
Israel may not ultimately invade Gaza, and
catastrophe: because of this defiantly criminal
It must be clear that, notwithstanding the
a million people may not be evicted. In any
provocation by the settlers, the residents of
understandable, friendly human sympathy
case, nearly half-a-million are newly homeless
southern Israel had no one to protect them
that has been expressed, Israel's response
following unprecedented bombings of Gaza
when Hamas forces invaded.
cannot be unrestrained.
neighbourhoods by the Israeli Air Force. Last Saturday, Israel woke up to a different
As I was writing these lines, a resident of Rafah
These are dark days. Dark days for Israelis, who
reality - one that should finally extinguish the
in the southern Gaza Strip called me, asking
woke up last Saturday to a reality that turned
country's arrogance and complacency. This
to send an article to Haaretz, the newspaper
upside-down their conception of their world
ought to demonstrate, once and for all, the
for which I write. "I don't know if I'll still be alive
that they had embraced for years.
impossibility of evading any consequences
in a few hours," he said. "Right now, no one
Israelis believed that their army was
for continuing to indefinitely imprison more
in Gaza knows if they will be alive in another
omnipotent, the strongest in the world;
than two million people in a giant cage, with
hour - but please publish the article even if I
that sinking 3.5 billion shekels ($1bn) into
another three million people living indefinitely
am killed."
the barrier around Gaza would be sufficient
under military tyranny. At some stage, these atrocities will have to be
to ensure the security of the residents of southern Israel.
There was a price to be paid, after all. Last
They believed that they had the most
Saturday, Israel woke up to horror upon horror.
stopped - and that stage is very close.
sophisticated intelligence system in the world - one that knows, hears and sees everything.
Israel was shocked and sought revenge. That
Israel is equipped with miraculous technology
wish is now fulfilled. As I write this, all residents
that it sells to half the world, and boasts
of Gaza have become potential victims of a
elite human resources, such as the army's
violence that even they, however much they
celebrated Unit 8200, born geniuses who
already know of horror and suffering, have not
clearly could not be surprised by anyone.
previously known.
Different reality
Trauma of the Nakba
Then, the fence around Gaza was breached
Thousands and perhaps tens of thousands of
by an obsolete tractor, and the entire concept
Palestinians in Gaza will not live for many more
collapsed. It turns out, Israeli intelligence knew
days. Their homes, their lives and their world
nothing about a huge operation that had
will be completely destroyed.
been planned for more than a year; the army showed up very late to the sites of the Hamas
Those who are forced to evacuate will
incursions.
certainly remember how their parents and grandparents were forced to evacuate
Israel is not so powerful or omnipotent after
hundreds of villages in their homeland in
all. Its military strength is not enough to
1948, unable ever to return. The trauma of the
guarantee the security of its residents. What
Nakba will reawaken now in all its intensity, in
remains highly doubtful is whether Israel will
Gaza.
learn the most essential lesson from this: that
Israel must not misinterpret the sympathy and
the country cannot continue forever to live
solidarity that much of the outside world is
only by the sword, relying solely on its military
currently showing it.
32
By Gideon Levy 14. October, 2023.
MSF rejects EU funding in protest at refugee deal Aid group could lose €60m but says it cannot take money from countries that are ‘pushing away’ people and their suffering
maximising the number of people they can push back, they must maximise the number they welcome and protect.”
The aid group Médecins Sans Frontières will
“For months MSF has spoken out about a
MSF operates worldwide, but in the past
no longer take money from any member of
shameful European response focused on
12 months has stepped up humanitarian
the EU, including Britain, in protest at the way
deterrence rather than providing people with
operations in Europe due to the fallout from
Europe has responded to the refugee crisis.
the assistance and protection they need,”
the refugee crisis. Its rescue missions in the
The decision could see the organisation miss
Jérôme Oberreit, MSF’s international secretary
southern Mediterranean have saved more
out on €60m (£47m), the amount MSF was
general, said. “The EU-Turkey deal goes one
than 24,000 people in the past two years.
given by EU members, EU institutions and
step further and has placed the very concept
MSF’s decision is not expected to jeopardise
Norway in 2015.
of ‘refugee’ and the protection it offers in
its operations as 90% of its funds come from
MSF says it can no longer take money
danger.”
private sources.
from countries and institutions that are
He added: “Deterrence policies sold to the
“intensifying attempts to push people and
public as humanitarian solutions have only
The move follows MSF’s recent decision
their suffering away from European shores.
exacerbated the suffering of people in need.
to withdraw from the UN-run world
This decision will take effect immediately and
There is nothing remotely humanitarian about
humanitarian summit, which it said was a “fig
will apply to MSF’s projects worldwide.”
these policies. It cannot become the norm and
leaf of good intentions” and would achieve
must be challenged.
little.
In particular, MSF has criticised the EU-Turkey deportation deal, the agreement created in
“MSF will
March that is meant to ensure the deportation
not receive
of almost all asylum seekers arriving by boat
funding from
to Greece, and which has seen thousands
institutions
of people stranded in legal limbo in squalid
and
conditions on the Greek islands.
governments
By Patrick Kingsley 17. June, 2016.
whose policies MSF has also condemned Europe’s ongoing
do so much
attempts to pay dictatorships in Africa to stem
harm. We
migration flows before they reach Europe.
are calling
MSF says these moves risk stranding refugees
on European
in precarious conditions – just as the EU-
governments
Turkey deal has contributed to the trapping of
to shift
thousands inside war-torn Syria.
priorities: rather than
Passion for volunteering earns PHC doctor Humanity Award When Dr.
could not otherwise afford medical care.
a passion to serve others who do not have
Nizar Kibar,
“Dr. Kibar is a fantastic physician and steadfast
money. He was born in Lebanon and grew
MD, was
patient advocate,” Sarah Teaff, CEO of
up in a poor family. His parents were very
asked to
Patterson Health Center, said. “He understands
education oriented, and they gave Dr. Kibar
volunteer a
the importance of human connection when
the motivation to get his medical degree. His
portion of his
caring for his patients. It comes as no surprise
father was a teacher who worked as much as
weekends
that he volunteers in his spare time to care
he could to support his family.
to helping
for uninsured patients, or that he has been
His mother was a housewife and dedicated
bring
recognized for a Humanity Award.”
her life to the family.
medical care
The Mayflower Clinic is a non-profit
Dr. Kibar has served thousands of patients
to the uninsured in downtown Wichita, he
organization that offers free and low-cost
at the Mayflower Clinic and he continues to
didn’t hesitate to say yes.
medical care in Wichita. It was founded in
volunteer as the medical director. The clinic
2010 as a way to give back to the community.
offers free labs, x-rays and medications. The
He knows what it’s like to lack financial
Dr. Kibar joined the volunteer medical team
clinic recently added psychiatric care and well-
resources, and it gave him a deeper passion to
at Mayflower Clinic in 2016, volunteering a
woman exams.
give back.
half day every other Saturday. In 2017, he was
During the week, Dr. Kibar can be seen as a
“I understand that we are not all offered the
awarded Volunteer of the Year. Later that year,
physician at Patterson Health Center.
same opportunities,” Dr. Kibar said.
he became the medical director.
His efforts at Mayflower Clinic earned him
His volunteer efforts also earned him the Civic
“We are incredibly fortunate and proud to
a Humanity Award in September. It’s an
Health Heroes award from the Kansas Health
have him as part of Patterson Health Center,”
award given to someone who has dedicated
Foundation in 2018.
Teaff said.
countless hours to give back to patients who
Dr. Kibar’s background gave him more of
Philosopher Susan Neiman: ‘I hate the words pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian. I’m pro-peace’ American commentator criticises tribalist politics and pushes for Jewish universalism.
O
ut of centuries of Jewish suffering
differently in so many places across the world,
antisemitic mob stormed an airport].” The
have come two contrasting
become so tribalist. I hate the words pro-
“carpet bombing . . . of Gaza is not in Israeli
philosophical impulses. One focuses on
Israel and pro-Palestinian: they make it look
interests, even if you just care about Jewish
the need for the Jewish people to protect
as if we’re talking about a football match. I’m
lives.”
themselves against inevitable attacks. It is
pro-peace.” She strives to see the mistreatment of Jews
supported by the biblical verses that urge Jews to remember the Amalekites, the
She has the advantage of being able to
and non-Jews through the same eyes.
tribe who once killed their ancestors. It is
invoke Albert Einstein. For 23 years, she
“Discrimination and oppression of any
epitomised by the nationalism of Benjamin
has led the Einstein Forum in Potsdam,
group of people on the basis of their ethnic
Netanyahu.
Germany, a research institute based at his
heritage is racism.” She condemns Hamas’s
one-time summer home. “Einstein was a
“pogrom” against Israeli Jews and the
The second emphasises Jews’ responsibility
total universalist Jew . . . We do care about
ensuing “pogroms” against Palestinians in
to other oppressed peoples. This was the
his politics and his biography because that’s
the occupied West Bank.
tradition Susan Neiman imbibed as a child
why he became a cultural icon. The second
in 1960s Georgia. She attended an Atlanta
half of his life, he spent more time as a public
Yet a strong universalist commitment faces
synagogue whose rabbi supported Martin
intellectual than he did working on physics.”
a difficult context. In 1948, Einstein, Hannah Arendt and other leading Jewish figures
Luther King. When she was three, it was bombed, most likely by white supremacists.
Einstein became convinced of the need for
wrote to the New York Times, criticising
She recited Passover verses with her mother,
a Jewish national home, but he feared the
a future Israeli prime minister’s party as
remembering those that urged Jews not to
cost if it came without peace. “Should we be
“fascist”. By contrast, “calling the Israeli
oppress strangers because they were once
unable to find a way to honest co-operation
far right fascist today would not just bring
“strangers in the land of Egypt”. “That was the
and honest pacts with the Arabs, then we
accusations of antisemitism, it would carry a
central experience of growing up — if you’re a
have learned absolutely nothing from our
professional death sentence,” says Neiman.
Jew, you care about social justice and the civil
2,000 years of suffering and will deserve our
rights movement.”
fate,” he warned in 1929.
Now an outspoken philosopher, Neiman
Today Neiman echoes Einstein’s concerns.
remembering the Holocaust. To many Jews
wants to reclaim Jewish universalism as
“[Netanyahu’s] policies are creating anger
today, universalism itself feels hollow, when
a radical act. Israel’s war with Hamas has
and frustration all over the world, they will
parts of the left have shown little compassion
pushed the world to pick sides. “People have,
rebound on Jews, see Dagestan [where an
for Jews’ own suffering.
To many Germans, criticism of Israel clashes with the paramount importance given to
34
place where one could raise a normal Jewish
shows 80 per cent of antisemitic incidents in
child, and I left, mostly for that reason.”
Germany are committed by rightwingers.
the problem is to become more anti-Muslim.
She spent the 1990s in the US and Israel.
Neiman’s struggle is not just with the right.
That is one direction that people are going in,
In Tel Aviv, she hoped to contribute to the
In her book Left Is Not Woke, published this
particularly in Germany.”
peace process, but even in the period’s
year, she chastises the left for abandoning
relative optimism, she felt “a nationalist
Enlightenment ideals.
“I’m scared about rising antisemitism,” says Neiman. “But I don’t think the way to solve
Neiman is best known for her work on
undercurrent. I realised that there’s no form of
historical memory. In 2019 she wrote
nationalism that really grabs me. I feel much
Wokeness, she argues, runs counter to
Learning from the Germans, which praised
closer to people from completely different
the Enlightenment’s commitment to
the country’s coming to terms with its Nazi
backgrounds who share my values than I do
universalism and justice and its belief in
history. It documented how, after the second
to a whole bunch of Israelis.” She returned to
progress. It is defined by reducing people to
world war, (West) Germans saw themselves as
Berlin in 2000.
the most marginalised parts of their identity, whereas, for Neiman, “it’s way less important
victims, rather than accepting responsibility. Neiman notes that figures on the far right
to me that I’m a Jew than I’m a universalist.”
From the 1980s, a new mindset took hold.
— the Alternative for Germany party (AfD),
Germany became “the first nation ever that
Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and Steve Bannon
Black Lives Matter “started as a very
put its crimes in the centre of its national
in the US — often strongly embrace Israel.
universalist movement”, but ended up “a
narrative”. Neiman contrasted its state-
She argues it works as a cover: “as long as
tribalist movement about ‘more power for our
backed self-criticism with the US and UK’s
we support the state of Israel, we can’t be
people’”.
reluctance to confront their respective racist
Nazis, but we can be as racist as we want to
and colonial pasts. Some critics said she
anybody else.”
Neiman doesn’t shy from arguments. Sucking on a cigarette, she attacks her academic
overestimated the sincerity of Germans’ In the current war, European Commission
opponents including Steven Pinker, the
president Ursula von der Leyen has supported
evolutionary psychologist, and Ibram X.
Just as Learning from the Germans was
Israel’s government more strongly than
Kendi, the author whose Centre for Antiracist
sparking debate, Neiman started to doubt
member states agreed. For Neiman, Von der
Research raised $55mn but has now been
its thesis. Germany’s historical memory
Leyen represents “a very mainstream German
criticised for low academic output and
came with a caveat. “The Germans have
approach: the way not to be a Nazi, and not to
management issues. “I’ve got to confess,
decided ‘we are the perpetrator nation’, and
have inherited your parents’ or grandparents’
sometimes schadenfreude is pleasant,” she
the Jews are the victim nation. That leads
guilt, is to say ‘Israel, right or wrong’.”
laughs about the latter.
on every occasion, right or wrong, and any
Other voices are muffled. After the Hamas
She returns to what she sees as urgent: proto-
criticism of Israeli politics quickly will veer
attacks on October 7, the Frankfurt Book Fair
fascism in India, Russia, Israel and the US.
into antisemitism, therefore we will only say
postponed a ceremony for the novelist Adania
“While liberals and leftists are arguing about
the mildest things’ . . . The United States is the
Shibli, seemingly because she is Palestinian
pronouns and cultural appropriation, the
most powerful ally of the state of Israel, but
and her award-winning novel includes abuse
right share strategies . . . As in 1932, liberals and
Germany is the second.”
by Israeli soldiers in 1949.
leftists need to join together.”
For Neiman, this crushed free speech. After
Many pro-Palestinian demonstrations have
Even so, the promise of universalism can
the German parliament declared in 2019 that
been banned in Germany, as in France, partly
feel naive at a time of war. “You say it’s naive.
the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
because of the risk of antisemitic incidents
Every other alternative is disastrous. The
campaign against Israel was antisemitic, she
and public disorder.
security concept of the state of Israel for most
contrition.
to this statement that ‘we stand for Israel
of its 75 years, and particularly of Benjamin
and the heads of other cultural organisations wrote a letter of objection.
Neiman is not impervious to that. She gave
Netanyahu, just fell apart . . . All kinds of things
one of her twin daughters a Hebrew name;
have been seen as naive in the past.”
“I don’t support BDS, but I ask myself: BDS
the other an Arabic name. Today, in their early
was formed as an alternative to terrorism, if
thirties, both twins are being confronted
Her style of philosophy is engaged with the
peaceful means are so vilified and have no
about the war — by opposing sides. “This
world. Einstein, she notes, was an intellectual
impact, what do you expect young people
sense of hope that one could still have in the
“who walked the walk”: supporting the civil
who have grown up in the occupation their
early nineties is now so much in doubt.”
rights movement and refugees, and standing up to McCarthyism.
entire lives to do?” She herself lives in Berlin near a It turned into her “first real shitstorm”. The
neighbourhood with a large Muslim
How would Einstein deal with events today?
organisations were accused of antisemitism.
population. Friends have warned her not to
“Sometimes you’re glad for certain people
A large project that she had been working on
go out at night, or even at all. “I don’t know
that they died before they could see certain
for two years “was suddenly cancelled”.
whether to be afraid or not. But I’m also
developments. He would see this as a disaster
worried about my Muslim neighbours and
for everyone, and the result of a tribalism that
colleagues.”
he just didn’t share.”
The experience continued Neiman’s ambivalent relationship with Germany. She first lived in Berlin for six years in the 1980s,
Moreover, she worries that the German right
experiencing a place where being Jewish was
“is using what’s going on in the Middle East
so rare and where the Holocaust was “just in
to raise new demands that we shouldn’t
your face all the time . . . I didn’t think it was a
allow immigration,” even though official data
By Henry Mance 06. November, 2023.
Don’t offend monarchs, UAE tells reporters ahead of climate talks The Middle Eastern nation backtracked after being asked about the restrictions — but inadvertently exposed its treatment of the news media. The United Arab Emirates quietly established
“The document in question is an old guide. Its
discuss private conservations between E.U. and
sweeping restrictions on the hundreds of
content is out of date and not relevant for media
UAE officials.
journalists expected to visit the country for
attending COP28,” a UAE spokesperson for the
international climate talks later this month.
talks responded in an email Wednesday. “It has
The U.S. State Department didn’t respond to
been removed from the [U.N. climate agency]
a request for comment on the UAE’s media
website where it was posted erroneously.”
standards.
Now, the UAE says it was a mistake.
But in a 2022 review of the country’s human
The strict rules against publishing news that could antagonize the rulers of the seven
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention,”
rights practices, the department found that
monarchies that make up the country were
said the spokesperson, who declined to be
the Emirates had imposed “serious restrictions
removed from the United Nations’ website for
named in the story. “We are looking forward to
on free expression and media, including
the climate talks after POLITICO’s E&E News
hosting the most inclusive COP ever.”
censorship and enforcement of or threat to enforce criminal libel laws.”
asked the UAE for comment this week. Sultan al-Jaber, the oil executive chosen by the UAE to lead COP 28, served from 2016 to 2020
“Government
But the incident has inadvertently highlighted
as chair of the UAE National Media Council,
warnings to journalists who published or
officials
the sharp divisions between how the UAE and
which predated the Media Regulatory Office.
broadcast
material
allegedly
deemed
issued
politically
or
culturally sensitive,” the State Department said.
its Western allies treat journalists and protesters. It comes as E&E News and other outlets have
While the document has been removed from
“Editors and journalists commonly practiced
published stories about the conflicts between
the U.N. site, it’s unclear if the restrictions apply
self-censorship due to fear of government
the Emiratis’ climate commitments and oil
to other journalists who work in the Emirates.
retribution, particularly since most journalists
ambitions that could have run afoul of the UAE
The UAE embassy in the United States didn’t
were foreign nationals and risked deportation.”
rules.
respond to questions. The report also noted that nongovernmental
The constraints on news reporters were spelled out in a “Media Content Standards” issued by
The prospect of unfair treatment for the press
organizations and “media outlets reported that
the UAE Media Regulatory Office and posted
and visitors during the climate conference was
the government targeted activists, journalists,
to the website of the U.N. climate agency Oct.
a point of concern among some democratic
politicians,
23. The UAE is leading this year’s climate talks,
nations even before the media standards were
hacking campaigns.”
which begin in Dubai on Nov. 30.
posted.
The document called for journalists and media
“The EU has repeatedly raised the issue of
country, according to the watchdog group
outlets to “refrain from publishing anything
safeguarding media freedom and the freedom
Reporters Without Borders. In recent years,
that could offend directly or indirectly the ruling
to protest among Heads of Delegation, and we
social media users have also been jailed for
regime of the State” or that “could be offensive
were provided with reassurances that these
criticizing the UAE government or satirizing
to the national unity and social cohesion.”
freedoms would be respected,” a European
Emirati culture.
and
dissidents
in
systematic
Two journalists are currently detained in the
Commission spokesperson said in an email They should also avoid running stories that
Tuesday, before the standards were withdrawn.
are “considered as an offense with or without
The spokesperson was granted anonymity to
intention to other countries,” that “could include the disclosure of any secret that might damage the reputation” or wealth of any person and “that is officially requested to be kept confidential,” the standards document said. On Monday, the U.N. climate agency included a link to the standards on an information page it created for journalists who are preparing to cover the climate talks, known as COP 28, an annual conference where geopolitical tensions run high and most reporting is focused on backroom dealmaking. When E&E News asked the UAE organizers of COP 28 how journalists could accurately cover the event without fear of reprisals, the link and document were removed from the U.N. site.
36
By CORBIN HIAR 11. October, 2023.
Inside Giorgia Meloni’s Hobbit fantasy world The Ministry of Culture is funding a major exhibition in Rome on Tolkien, the literary hero of Italy’s far right.
I
Gennaro
Sangiuliano
appealed
to
the
Woodstock
Culture
Giorgia Meloni at her final election
announced the show to the youth wing of
generation in the 1960s, but a preface to
Meloni’s party in July as “a gift.”
the first Italian edition, published in 1970,
campaign rally last year, the compère lifted
Minister
Tolkien
ntroducing soon-to-be Prime Minister
interpreted him as a voice for tradition
a line from a battle speech in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings: “The day of defeat will
On Wednesday, presenting the exhibition,
come, but not today.”
Sangiuliano said the show was “not by
against progress.
accident but deliberate and desired.” In
For far-right activists who grew up with
Meloni has made it no secret that the fantasy
response to a question by POLITICO, he
Meloni, Tolkien is an intellectual pillar who
epic is her favorite literary work. As a young
insisted that Meloni had not requested the
represents the struggle to defend the
activist she dressed up as a hobbit; after
show but “only found out later.”
Christian
statue of Gandalf for a magazine photoshoot.
and
Western
identity
against
modernization, globalization and invasion by
she became a minister, she posed next to a In the 1970s the far right would organize
foreign peoples.
“Hobbit camp” festivals; Meloni has recalled Tolkien’s story was, somewhat bizarrely,
that her friends were nicknamed Frodo,
On Wednesday, Sangiuliano said Tolkien
appropriated by the Italian right in the
Gandalf and Hobbit, after central characters
had been a Catholic and “an authentic
1970s and has remained a sacred text for
from the books.
and sincere Conservative” who stood for traditional values “forgotten” in the West:
the Brothers of Italy party Meloni led to Tolkien
“The sense of community, nature tradition,
signals a shift in direction at Italy’s cultural
throughout her career, from one of her
opposition to the most dehumanising and
institutions, one of their more unusual moves
first political speeches as a youth leader
controversial aspects of modernity … self-
is a major exhibition celebrating Tolkien.
in 2002, to her autobiography in 2022. In
sacrifice, friendship, courage, honor.” He
2015 she called on followers to combat that
claimed Tolkien was “against fascism but
The Ministry of Culture is funding an
“sly enemy that Tolkien called the rings of
against communism too.”
exhibition in Rome marking 50 years since
power,” referring to the global financial elite.
government.
Now,
as
her
government
She
has
quoted
liberally
from
the author’s death at a cost of €250,000, according to an official, who said the ministry hopes to recoup the funds from
After her election, Meloni’s sister Arianna
ticket sales. Meloni herself will open the
vowed on Facebook to emulate the hobbit
show on November 15 at the National Gallery
Samwise Gamgee in accompanying Meloni
of Modern and Contemporary Art before it
(representing Frodo) to Mount Doom.
moves to other Italian cities.
By HANNAH ROBERTS 10. October, 2023.
Rishi Sunak's reshuffle: David Cameron makes surprise return as foreign secretary - here's who is in and out of cabinet We take a look at who is being hired - including the former prime minister - and fired, as the big names start dropping in Westminster.
Lord David Cameron has been appointed as
him the opportunity to serve as a minister once
foreign secretary in a cabinet reshuffle.
more.
long term. "Professionalism, integrity and experience - this
The former prime minister said he "gladly
Downing Street said his salary would be that
is a team that will be bold in making the right
accepted" the offer from Rishi Sunak, despite
of a secretary of state in the Lords - £104,360
decisions for our great country, not the easy
having
per year - and added Mr Cameron would no
ones."
"disagreed
with
some
individual
decisions" by his successor.
longer take his prime ministerial allowance,
Speaking to broadcasters, the peer said he accepted
bringing
back
a
former
and would not take the daily allowance given
But Labour's Pat McFadden took aim at the
to other peers.
shake-up, saying: "A few weeks ago, Rishi Sunak said David Cameron was part of a failed status
prime
quo, now he's bringing him back as his life raft.
minister was "not usual", but he "believes in
The shock announcement came after the
public service" and has "useful experience" to
sacking of Suella Braverman as home secretary,
bring to the table.
who provoked widespread condemnation for
"This
an article she wrote in The Times, accusing
laughable claim to offer change from 13 years
He also called his new boss a "strong and
the police of "playing favourites" with left-wing
of Tory failure."
capable
groups over right-wing and national activists
prime
minister
who
is
showing
exemplary leadership at a difficult time".
during protests.
Lord Cameron added: "I want to help him to
It was the latest in a string of
deliver the security and prosperity our country
controversial remarks by the
needs and be part of the strongest possible
Tory MP, who is a popular
team that serves the United Kingdom and
member on the right of
that can be presented to the country when the
the
general election is held."
claiming being homeless
party,
including
puts
to
bed
the
prime
minister's
By Dion Nissenbaum and Dov Lieber 21. September 2023
her
was a "lifestyle choice". The ex-party leader is no longer an elected politician as he stood down as an MP in 2016,
Posting on social media
having called the Brexit referendum and his
after the announcements,
campaign to remain in the EU losing the vote.
Mr Sunak said: "Today we have built a united team
But the government confirmed he will now
ready to deliver the changes
enter the House of Lords as a life peer, giving
this country needs for the
The horrific decline of the era of the United States in the world and the reduction of its intervention. This is the climax. The one who brought about the era of America in the world is Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who obtained superpower, and returned it like a dry leaf by using a fearful and isolationist policy. After they withdrew from every site, including sites from Syria, and left control in the Middle East to the criminal regime in Russia and Iran. It is not surprising that dictatorships mock them. The fate of this world is controlled by the powerful and evil.
By Rudwan Musa 20. November, 2023.
38
Police brace for largest pro-Palestinian protest and impose Cenotaph exclusion zone The Metropolitan Police says it is facing a challenging situation in London, as a large pro-Palestinian demonstration coincides with Armistice Day.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters are
police "without fear or favour", balancing the
dominated the week. She claimed aggressive
expected to take part in the march, to call for a
rights of all.
right-wing protesters were "rightly met with a
ceasefire in Gaza.
He added it would be a "very difficult
stern response", while "pro-Palestinian mobs"
Police say there is a risk of clashes with far-
weekend" but the focus of officers was "to
were "largely ignored" - accusing the force of
right groups, and have set up an exclusion
ensure that people are kept safe".
applying "double standards".
zone around the Cenotaph. The PM has called
Other security measures announced by the
It later emerged she had defied a Downing
the timing of the pro-Palestinian march
Met include an exclusion zone using metal
Street request to tone the article down,
disrespectful. Rishi Sunak also urged those
barriers around Whitehall and Parliament, and
including - according to the Times - a
taking part to do so calmly and with regard for
the US and Israeli embassies, as well as a 24-
comparison between pro-Palestinian
those attending services to commemorate the
hour police guard at the Cenotaph.
demonstrations and marches in Northern
end of World War One.
A dispersal zone covers Trafalgar Square, and
Ireland.
"It is because of those who fought for this
much of Soho and north Westminster to
Critics of Mrs Braverman say she has
country and for the freedom we cherish that
prevent impromptu gatherings. Police have
undermined the police and potentially broken
those who wish to protest can do so, but they
also banned demonstrations at Waterloo,
the ministerial code by not agreeing her
must do so respectfully and peacefully," Mr
Charing Cross and Victoria train stations.
remarks with No 10.
Sunak said.
And there are plans to prevent a "convoy
A source close to the home secretary said she
"Remembrance weekend is sacred for us
of cars" carrying pro-Palestinian protesters,
had met with the Met commissioner on Friday,
all and should be a moment of unity, of our
which is expected to arrive from elsewhere in
where she "emphasised her full backing
shared British values and of solemn reflection."
the UK, reaching Jewish communities.
for the police in what will be a complex
The Met said officers faced some "aggression
No major protest is scheduled to take place
and challenging situation and expressed
from counter-protesters who are in the area in
on Remembrance Sunday, although the
confidence that any criminality will be dealt
significant numbers", ahead of a service at the
policing operation will continue with some
with robustly".
Cenotaph war memorial where a two-minute
1,375 officers deployed amid commemoration
Steve Hartson, national chair of the Police
silence was held.
events in the capital.
Federation which represents rank and file
The force said the two minutes' silence there
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said
officers, said it was "unacceptable" for a home
was observed "respectfully". Officers are now
earlier this week the legal threshold which
secretary to "publicly attempt to tamper with
tracking "different groups" moving away
would allow him to ask the Home Office for
the operational independence of policing".
from Whitehall towards other parts of central
permission to ban the march had not been
Downing Street said the PM continued to have
London, the Met said.
met. He also stressed there are no powers in
confidence in the home secretary, and was
Later, the King and Queen along with
UK law to ban a static demonstration.
"still looking in to what happened with [Mrs
members of the Royal Family will attend
The Met said it had made 188 hate crime
Braverman's] op-ed".
the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal
arrests since the conflict between Hamas and
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Armistice
Albert Hall - ahead of the main service on
Israel erupted on 7 October.
Day should serve as a reminder "that peace
Remembrance Sunday. The Met expects
A majority of the arrests were for suspected
is possible", even against a backdrop of
Saturday's pro-Palestinian demonstration to
antisemitic offences. A political row over Home
bloodshed in Israel and Gaza.
be the largest since weekly marches began in
Secretary Suella Braverman's comments
early October, and it is deploying nearly 2,000
about the Met in the Times newspaper has
officers across central London. Police have warned the use of force is "likely", amid concerns around counter-marches by far-right groups. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which has organised the march, has repeatedly stressed their route does not go past the Cenotaph, and has rejected appeals by the Met and politicians to postpone. Demonstrators gathered at Hyde Park around noon, with the protest due to move from there to the US embassy in Vauxhall, and ending at 16:00 GMT. The officer in charge of policing Saturday's protest, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said the Met's job was to
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