Worldcrunch
GAZA — A dramatic video has emerged that captures — in a very different way — the horror of Gaza parents facing the death of their children in the ongoing assault by the Israeli military. In this video, (SEE BELOW) posted late Wednesday by al-Quds news in Jerusalem, a Gazan mother finds her young son, […]
About two weeks before Israel started its Operation Protective Edge, the entire political leadership of Hamas in Gaza attended a funeral for five members of the movement’s military wing — among the attendees were former premier Ismail Haniyeh, Speaker of the Gaza parliament Ahmad Bahar and other senior figures from Hamas’ politburo. On its face, […]
Here is a sample of how Israel’s ground offensive into Gaza was playing out on Twitter in Arabic and Hebrew. Tweets in Arabic *A young Palestinian named Mustafa Abu Zir tweeted this morning from Gaza, “the electricity has been cut to our neighborhood for 18 hours.. my laptop and phone battery died and we have […]
JERUSALEM — Nobody wanted to believe it. Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet had of course called up reservists and warned the 100,000 inhabitants of Gaza who lived near the border not to stay long. But for most Israeli political analysts, this had appeared to be mainly an exercise in communications. And everything pointed to their being right […]
Relatives of Amer Abu Aisheh, accused of abducting three Israeli teens, don’t expect to see him again. His mother’s definition of a martyr: “one who chooses to give their life to kill the Jews.”
BETHLEHEM — Venetian larches, Turkish oaks, German lead, and 1,500-year-old nails: These are the base materials that a group of 30 Tuscan engineers, architects and archeologists are using to restore the Church of the Nativity for the first time in 600 years. Originally built in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the church is […]
It was about noon on a Friday last August, and Jawdat Ghorab was fishing some 100 meters away from the shore. “I was throwing out my net, and pulling it up slowly, just like I always do,” he said. All of a sudden, the net became very heavy, so heavy that he couldn’t pull it […]
TEL AVIV — Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah made an official visit to Indonesia last month. While a number of economic agreements were signed on the visit, one stood out for its huge tourism potential. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, has an increasing number of would-be pilgrims interested in traveling to Palestine’s religious sites. […]
TEL AVIV — Frida Issa knew from the age of 11 that she’d one day work in the world of computers. But it was with her first job at a Tel Aviv startup that she first nurtured ambitions to do something on her own — and something built for the future. “We’re not into building […]
Khaled’s family is one of the 190 from Syria that have recently moved to poor and isolated Gaza. Doors elsewhere for refugees are closing, especially to the Palestinian minority fleeing Syria.
Welcome to *Gazablanca…
Your weekly shot of what the Arab world is saying, hearing and sharing.
Friday, October 17, 2014 EBOLA: A CZAR, LOW DONATIONS, MORE TROOPSUnited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched an urgent donations appeal in the fight against the Ebola virus. This came after it emerged that despite receiving pledges of about $20 million from various governments, the UN Trust fund had received only $100,000 from Colombia, The […]
Taybeh was also the toast of a unique Oktoberfest celebration in Ramallah.
PARIS HOSTS IRAQ/ISIS CONFERENCEFrench President François Hollande opened an international conference in Paris this morning on the subject of battling Iraq’s ISIS terror organization, warning that “there is no time to lose” in fighting the jihadist group. At the same time, France announced it had joined Britain in carrying out reconnaissance flights over Iraq. NEW […]
Thursday, August 28, 2014 UKRAINE DENOUNCES “RUSSIAN TROOP DEPLOYMENT” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko cancelled a trip to Turkey over what he described as “Russian troop deployments” in eastern Ukraine. His decision comes amid reports of a Russian “invasion” and the gathering of special OSCE meeting in Vienna. Writing on Twitter, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey […]
Wednesday, August 27, 2014 UN DENOUNCES ISIS AND SYRIAN GOVERNMENT ACTIONS In a report following months of investigation in Syria, the United Nations said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Syrian government forces had used chlorine gas, a chemical agent, eight times on civilian areas in April. The UN also denounced crimes committed by […]
AFP, BBC Worldcrunch RAMALLAH – Three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces Monday after a raid in the Qalandiya West Bank refugee camp, which threatens to derail ongoing peace talks. Clashes erupted in the camp after Israeli forces attempted to arrest a suspect, the AFP reports. Medical sources said at least 19 other people […]
Thursday, August 21, 2014 WASHINGTON’S FAILED HOSTAGE RESCUE A secret operation involving “several dozen U.S. commandos” failed earlier this summer to rescue photojournalist James Foley and other American hostages held by Islamist terrorists in northern Syria, The Washington Post reports. An article in The New York Times, meanwhile, explains that the infamous ISIS jihadist group […]
Aug. 14, 2014 UN SIGNALS RED ALERT IN IRAQThe United Nations has declared the situation in Iraq a “Level 3 emergency,” its highest for a humanitarian crisis, as deadly fights between the army and ISIS terrorists killed at least four children west of Baghdad, AP reports. This came as U.S. troops and aid workers arrived […]
Friday, August 1, 2014 GAZA CEASEFIRE BROKEN, SOLDIER CAPTURED, VIOLENCE SPIRALS A planned 72-hour ceasefire lasted just two hours after taking effect Friday morning, as fighting broke out and casualties quickly began piling up again. The temporary truce had been announced late Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban […]
Wednesday, July 30, 2014 ANOTHER GAZA SCHOOL HIT, MORE CIVILIAN DEATHS A second Gaza school was hit by Israeli Defense Forces, killing at least 19 people. Today’s assault was on the United Nations-run Abu Hussein School in Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp where displaced Gazans have sought shelter, CNN reports (video included). In total, at least […]
Tuesday, July 29, 2014 U.S. SAYS RUSSIA VIOLATED NUCLEAR MISSILE TREATY The United States claims Russia has violated a landmark Cold War-era arms treaty by testing a prohibited cruise missile, an assertion that President Barack Obama has conveyed by letter to President Vladimir Putin, The New York Times reports. “It is the most serious allegation […]
Monday, July 28, 2014 UN’S MIDNIGHT CALL FOR CEASEFIRE GOES UNHEEDED The UN Security Council agreed on a statement during an emergency midnight meeting calling for “an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas that has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 40 Israeli soldiers […]
GAZA: NO TRUCE, BANNED BROADCAST, SEEN FROM SPACE 37 Palestinians were killed this morning in Gaza, taking the death toll after 17 days of the Israeli operation to 734, with more than 4,000 injured, Ma’an news agency reports. Hamas meanwhile claimed to have killed 8 Israeli soldiers early this morning, as Tel Aviv was targeted […]
Wednesday, July 23, 2014 GAZA: WAR CRIME ACCUSATIONS An emergency UN Human Rights Council is being held in Geneva as Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” enters its 16th day, with the death toll in Gaza now standing at least 647, after new attacks this morning. UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay opened the meeting saying that […]
Monday, July 21, 2014 GAZA DEATH TOLL TOPS 500 Israel pushed ahead with its military operation in Gaza, with Reuters reporting massive attacks, including one that killed 25 members of the same family, as the death toll reached 508 in 14 days of the operation “Protective Edge,” with at least 81,000 displaced. The Guardian also […]
Wednesday, July 9, 2014 AIR ATTACKS INTENSIFY BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMASIsrael carried out dozens of air strikes early Wednesday, with at least 28 people reported killed and more than 100 wounded in Gaza since Monday. Palestinian authorities said two women and five children were among the victims killed in what the Israeli military called “Operation […]
Monday, July 7, 2014 THREE SUSPECTS CONFESS MURDER OF PALESTINIAN TEEN Israeli news sources report that three of the six suspected Jewish extremists arrested by the Israeli police yesterday have since confessed to murdering Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the 16 year-old Palestinian abducted and believed to have been burned alive last week. Israel’s daily Haaretz also […]
How one of the world’s most isolated and ancient religious communities made mating exceptions to be sure it doesn’t disappear from the face of the earth.
HAARETZ (Israel), BBC NEWS (UK), REUTERS Worldcrunch GAZA – An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded two others on Tuesday, in the first targeted attack since last November’s ceasefire. The victim, identified by locals as 29-year-old Haitham Misshal, was hit while riding his motorbike in the north of the Gaza strip. He […]
GAZA – At first sight, it is just a wasteland. Sand – blown in from a nearby beach – covers the scattered bushes. Here and there, ruins, where sometimes children play, barefoot. Welcome to what used to be the spectacular Anthedon Harbor, one of the crossroads of antique civilizations, which for 2000 years was used […]
GAZA – They have almost all left: Bachar for Sweden, May for Spain, Imad for Tunisia, Mohamed for Qatar, Assad for Egypt, Adham for Belgium. Moustapha, Asmaa’s brother also left for Belgium, while Mohamed Matar, aka Abou Yazan, the leader of the short-lived March 15 Movement, that tried to bring the Arab Spring to Gaza, […]
SABAH (Turkey), THE GUARDIAN (UK), YNET (Israel) Worldcrunch Nine years after her husband’s death, Suha Arafat regrets her marriage to the former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. They married in a secret wedding in Tunisia in 1990 when Suha was 27. Arafat, then 61, was 34 years older. In an interview given last week to […]
PARIS – Everyone was expecting Mahmoud Abbas. Serious rumors claimed that, given his success at the UN, the president of the Palestinian Authority would head for Gaza, where he hasn’t set foot since 2007, when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup. In the end, the surprise came from Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’s exiled […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), BBC NEWS (UK), CNN (USA) Worldcrunch GAZA CITY – Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal set foot in Gaza on Friday, ending 45 years of exile from the Palestinian Territories, reports Al Jazeera. After passing across the Egyptian border at Rafah, Meshaal knelt on the ground to offer a prayer of thanks and was […]
AL QUDS (Palestine), AL SABAH (Palestine), MASRAWY (Egypt), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), HAARETZ (Israel) Worldcrunch NEW YORK – Newspaper headlines around the Arab world Friday hailed the results of a historic UN vote that grants Palestine entry to the international body as a non-member observer State. After a request submitted by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, […]
JERUSALEM POST, HAARETZ, IDF (Israel), AL-AYYAM (Palestinian Territory), CNN (USA) Worldcrunch Israeli politicians were divided on Monday over the possibility of military ground operations in the Gaza Strip, as rockets rained down on Israel for the third day in a row, reported the Jerusalem Post. Opposition leader Shelly Yacimovich told Army Radio she was against […]
JERUSALEM POST (Israel), NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR, AFP (France), REUTERS (U.S.), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), AHRAM ONLINE (Egypt), LIBERTÉ ALGÉRIE (Algeria) Worldcrunch JERUSALEM – An informal ceasefire brokered by new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was holding in most places Thursday between the Palestinian group Hamas and the Israeli army, the Jerusalem Post reported. The truce comes after three […]