Worldcrunch
Since Oct. 7, the Israel-Hamas conflict has continued to spread, deepening divisions within Israeli society and radicalizing a section of public opinion. Radicals both in Israel and Hamas are taking advantage of the chaos of war to prevent peace — just as they did in the 1990s. For how long will the world allow them to do so?
August 5 – August 11, 2024
The killing of Ismail Haniyeh was not merely the assassination of Hamas’ political leader; it ended the life of a figure who could bring consensus to the Palestinian cause.
Hamas reported that its leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Iran, most likely by Israel, drawing fears of wider escalation in this region already shaken by the war in Gaza and on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Questioning the choices that Hamas makes is a necessary step to bring forward the Palestinian cause.
An Israeli missile struck children playing soccer in a schoolyard a day after international outrage at Russia’s bombing of Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital. As the Israel-Hamas war drags on, ceasefire negotiations get harder as the rest of the world looks away.
Fearing Europe’s shift to the right and a second Trump term, Tehran has dusted off its reformist credentials — with president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian and veteran diplomat Mohammed Javad Zarif — to show the West it is willing to talk. But this ploy will not work again.
As the war in Gaza nears nine months, bombardments continue, even in the camps where displaced people live. Death and fear are everywhere, as is hunger. Palestinian human rights activist Moustafa Ibrahim is also displaced now. In this personal essay, he addresses the hopelessness that people in Gaza face as they see Israel committing genocide.
The Israeli army’s spokesman said that those talking about eradicating Hamas are “throwing sand in the eyes” of the Israeli public. It was a clear challenge to Benjamin Netanyahu, who counterattacked even as he remains under fire from all sides.
Comparisons between the wars in Europe and the Middle East tell us a lot about the standpoint of those who compare. They also signal to a new world order that has yet to be shaped.
The killing of an Egyptian soldier by Israeli fire on the border with Gaza, and Israel’s control of a buffer zone has increased tensions between Israel and Egypt, which finds itself in a difficult position.
Palestinian women are suffering disproportionately in the Gaza conflict, where they represent 70% of casualties and more than half of the displaced people.
The U.S. president’s plan has been approved in principle by Hamas and the Israeli prime minister, but significant contradictions remain. In Israel, opposition voices are increasing, and the survival of Netanyahu’s government is at stake.
The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash comes in an already tense context, five weeks after Iran’s confrontation with Israel. The consequences are heavy, both in terms of regional and domestic conflicts.
The higher cost of the war will not deter Hamas leaders from claiming victory once any truce is reached. It will only push the discussion of a real solution for the region farther away from all.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to task by hostage families during his Memorial Day speech on Monday — just the latest sign of the deep divisions in Israeli society as the war enters its eighth month, with no vision for the future.
While the Palestinian cause is important for Iran and the Arab militias it backs, the return of this issue to the forefront may not benefit the resistance camp. And its tactic of strategic patience may not produce the intended results.
Entire Palestinian families have been wiped out over the past seven months in Gaza in Israel’s bombing campaign. Many families resorted to dividing their family members to different places, so at least some of them survive if their houses are bombed.
The Middle East’s militant and terror gangs, often described as Iran’s proxy forces, may have more in common with the cartels of a globalized war than with the fighters with a cause, more typical in the 20th century.
May 6 – May 12, 2024
Iran has some influence over Hamas, but not like Hezbollah in Lebanon or other Iranian-backed groups in the region. Hamas, instead, has more links with Jordan, the birthplace of some of its top leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders both have deeply cynical reasons to prolong hostilities. Meanwhile, it’s in the self-interest of both the U.S. and Arab regimes to try all avenues to broker a ceasefire to ease the suffering of those caught in the crossfire.
By helping to intercept Iran’s counter attack against Israel, the U.S. and Western allies, along with Jordan, have deprived Benjamin Netanyahu of a pretext to expand the war and to divert attention from his actions in Gaza.
The Israeli blockade of food, water, fuel, and essential medicines and supplies is inflicting immense suffering on Palestinians. Women in the Gaza strip are forced to sell their jewelry to feed their children amid lack of humanitarian aid and soaring prices, reports independent Arab media Daraj.
The world watches as Netanyahu walks that fine line between deterrence and escalation.
The Israeli drone strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza has set off an international outcry. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reaction was a reminder that cutting off humanitarian aid has been part of the strategy from the start of the war in Gaza.
The military struggle of the Palestinians has become a holy matter that banned any discussion about it — including reviews, criticism and accountability. That has given the tyranny of militarism the upper hand at the expense of politics and popular movements.
As Western leaders criticize Netanyahu and his war in Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister apparently remains fully confident in forging ahead with a hardline that leaves a brutal human toll.
March 18 – March 24, 2024
Famine creeps into Gaza, one could expect a certain pragmatism would push influential countries in the region to intervene. Yet each of these countries has its own political agenda.
The Israeli prime minister appears dead set against a ceasefire, with the leak of a new 10-year plan for “occupation from afar” for Gaza. All of this to avoid the fate that awaits him if he leaves office.
U.S. President Joe Biden said this weekend that “Netanyahu is doing Israel more harm than good”: a phrase that speaks volumes about the lack of trust between the two men, especially still without a ceasefire, and humanitarian aid blocked from entering an increasingly desperate Gaza Strip.
Palestinian writer Sarah Abu Ghazal reflects on the recurring dreams and visions she has had since the Israel-Hamas war began, as well as on the past and present traumas experienced by her family and the people of Gaza.
Abductions are one of the main sources of income for terrorists in Africa. Recently a South African paramedic was freed in Mali after being held for more than six years. His release is down to one man who worked tirelessly to secure his freedom.
Tensions continue to rise between the UN and Israel, despite the publication of a UN report confirming Hamas’s accusations of sexual violence on October 7. It’s a long history of mistrust which has resurfaced in the current crisis.
What to make of the criticism of Hamas’ statements or slogans, which are similar to Fatah rhetoric in its early years? Does any debate of the merits of the two rival organizations matter in the face of Israel’s responsibility for the ongoing slaughter in Gaza?
As negotiations intensify for an eventual ceasefire in Gaza, sources say the release of high-profile Palestinian prisoners may be part of the deal. If that includes Marwan Barghouti, the “Palestinian Mandela,” it could be a watershed moment in the region.
Western diplomacy shows the West will tolerate the Iranian regime’s repression at home and violent intrigues in the Middle East and beyond, but it might clarify to the public why liberal democracies should want to keep the mullahs in power in Tehran.
Following the strike that hit Al Jazeera journalists Ismail Abu Omar and Ahmed Matar, posts spread on social media platforms calling Abu Omar a “terrorist” affiliated with Hamas. At the same time, a campaign by Israel’s Foreign Ministry and military promoted the same allegations.
When Arab countries started normalizing relations with Israel, they did so disregarding the fate of Palestinians. It was a terrible error of judgment, and worse. Yet while the Palestinian cause remains a cornerstone of political legitimacy in the Arab world, few reasonable solutions are being brought forward, and radicalization continues to gain ground among the masses.