3 dec 2017
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed its concerns over the US tendency to endorse Jerusalem as capital of Israel and moving the US Embassy to the holy city.
In a press statement published by Kuwait news agency (KUNA) on Sunday, the OIC affirmed its refusal of any attempts or measures that would change the status quo in Occupied Jerusalem and warned of the sequences of such a serious move.
The OIC stated that the US intention, which has been recently dominant in the media, runs contrary to the international law principles and the resolutions of the UN Security Council, especially Resolution 478 which calls on the states that established diplomatic missions in Occupied Jerusalem to withdraw those missions from the sacred city.
In a press statement published by Kuwait news agency (KUNA) on Sunday, the OIC affirmed its refusal of any attempts or measures that would change the status quo in Occupied Jerusalem and warned of the sequences of such a serious move.
The OIC stated that the US intention, which has been recently dominant in the media, runs contrary to the international law principles and the resolutions of the UN Security Council, especially Resolution 478 which calls on the states that established diplomatic missions in Occupied Jerusalem to withdraw those missions from the sacred city.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary General Saeb Erekat warned on Sunday that the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as a capital of Israel will promote international anarchy.
He said in a statement on news reports regarding possible US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel that "if the US Administration decides to contradict its international commitments and historic foreign policy by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it is not only going to promote international anarchy and disrespect for global institutions and law, but it will also be disqualifying itself to play any role in any initiative towards achieving a just and lasting peace."
He stressed that such a decision will contribute to the further destabilization of the region and will discourage many of those who still believe that a peaceful solution is achievable to end many years of Israeli occupation and decades of systematic violations of Palestinian national and human rights.
"Jerusalem is the social, political, cultural, religious and economic heart of Palestine. It is also the heart of billions of believers from the three monotheistic religions, including hundreds of millions of Arab Christians and Muslims. It is, therefore, the heart of the Arab World. It is a significant symbol of our region and its fate is key to any efforts leading to a peaceful and stable region," he said.
Erekat urged the United Nations, the European Union, Russia, and China, along with the world’s states to express their standpoint vis-à-vis the U.S. decision, urging the latter to backtrack on the move and abide by international law and wise politics.
He added that the Palestinian Authority has been in contact with several world leaders to assess the situation and encourage them to take action in order not to allow for those initiatives to materialize into a new political reality. The Palestinian leadership is also going to meet soon in order to approve necessary steps in case such an announcement is made.
Palestinian-US relations were recently shaken when the US State Department decided last month not to renew the permit that would allow the PLO delegation office in Washington to remain open.
Defying longstanding American policy, U.S. President Donald Trump will give a speech on Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, according to an Associated Press report on Friday.
Multiple reports surfaced this week that the president would for the second time waive a congressional mandate requiring the U.S. embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem. Trump would also take the dramatic step of formally recognizing the holy city—home to Muslims’ third holiest site—as Israel’s capital.
He said in a statement on news reports regarding possible US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel that "if the US Administration decides to contradict its international commitments and historic foreign policy by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it is not only going to promote international anarchy and disrespect for global institutions and law, but it will also be disqualifying itself to play any role in any initiative towards achieving a just and lasting peace."
He stressed that such a decision will contribute to the further destabilization of the region and will discourage many of those who still believe that a peaceful solution is achievable to end many years of Israeli occupation and decades of systematic violations of Palestinian national and human rights.
"Jerusalem is the social, political, cultural, religious and economic heart of Palestine. It is also the heart of billions of believers from the three monotheistic religions, including hundreds of millions of Arab Christians and Muslims. It is, therefore, the heart of the Arab World. It is a significant symbol of our region and its fate is key to any efforts leading to a peaceful and stable region," he said.
Erekat urged the United Nations, the European Union, Russia, and China, along with the world’s states to express their standpoint vis-à-vis the U.S. decision, urging the latter to backtrack on the move and abide by international law and wise politics.
He added that the Palestinian Authority has been in contact with several world leaders to assess the situation and encourage them to take action in order not to allow for those initiatives to materialize into a new political reality. The Palestinian leadership is also going to meet soon in order to approve necessary steps in case such an announcement is made.
Palestinian-US relations were recently shaken when the US State Department decided last month not to renew the permit that would allow the PLO delegation office in Washington to remain open.
Defying longstanding American policy, U.S. President Donald Trump will give a speech on Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, according to an Associated Press report on Friday.
Multiple reports surfaced this week that the president would for the second time waive a congressional mandate requiring the U.S. embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem. Trump would also take the dramatic step of formally recognizing the holy city—home to Muslims’ third holiest site—as Israel’s capital.
Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, has warned against the intended US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying it will lead to more instability in the region.
In press remarks on Sunday, Sheikh Hussein said that the US administration’s intents to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Jerusalem as a capital of the Israeli occupation state would be a serious assault on the Arabs and Muslims around the world and not only on the Palestinians.
He affirmed that such steps would violate the international law and aggravate the unstable situation in the region and lead to more chaos.
The Mufti expressed his confidence that the Palestinians along with the Arabs and Muslims would never remain silent on these US moves and would sacrifice everything to confront them.
In press remarks on Sunday, Sheikh Hussein said that the US administration’s intents to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Jerusalem as a capital of the Israeli occupation state would be a serious assault on the Arabs and Muslims around the world and not only on the Palestinians.
He affirmed that such steps would violate the international law and aggravate the unstable situation in the region and lead to more chaos.
The Mufti expressed his confidence that the Palestinians along with the Arabs and Muslims would never remain silent on these US moves and would sacrifice everything to confront them.
Hamas chief Ismail Haneyya called on the League of Arab States to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the U.S. intent to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
Reaching out to Arab leaders, Haneyya warned of the upshots of the U.S. decision to relocate its embassy to Occupied Jerusalem.
Haneyya also spoke to the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Haneyya sounded the alarm over the U.S. intent to relocate its embassy to Occupied Jerusalem and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Haneyya pushed for an emergency meeting to discuss the fallouts of the move and the latest developments in Occupied Jerusalem.
Haneyya vowed that the Palestinians will do whatever it takes to defend their holy sites and land.
For his part, Aboul Gheit expressed concern over the U.S. recent decisions, saying a round of meetings will be held by the Arab League’s permanent delegates and foreign ministers to discuss possible ways to handle the situation.
Reaching out to Arab leaders, Haneyya warned of the upshots of the U.S. decision to relocate its embassy to Occupied Jerusalem.
Haneyya also spoke to the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Haneyya sounded the alarm over the U.S. intent to relocate its embassy to Occupied Jerusalem and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Haneyya pushed for an emergency meeting to discuss the fallouts of the move and the latest developments in Occupied Jerusalem.
Haneyya vowed that the Palestinians will do whatever it takes to defend their holy sites and land.
For his part, Aboul Gheit expressed concern over the U.S. recent decisions, saying a round of meetings will be held by the Arab League’s permanent delegates and foreign ministers to discuss possible ways to handle the situation.
Pentagon and state department officials have warned US president Donald Trump of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying such step would have serious dimensions, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper claimed.
According to the newspaper, those officials expressed their belief that such step would provoke great anger among the Palestinians and lead to security instability in Israel.
The step would also make US embassies under constant security threat and would lead to legal implications, the officials added.
Trump is likely to announce during the coming day that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a senior administration official said last Friday, a move that could inflame further tension in the Middle East.
Senior Palestinian officials also warned that such US move would have serious ramifications for the Palestinian question and the region.
Secretary-General of the PLO executive committee and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said, "Any American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will bring about the end of the Jerusalem cause. This cause is weighty and dealing with it is playing with fire."
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, said US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would "torpedo the peace process" and "destabilize the region."
Trump could make such incendiary declaration in a speech on Wednesday, though he is expected to again delay his campaign pledge to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
According to the newspaper, those officials expressed their belief that such step would provoke great anger among the Palestinians and lead to security instability in Israel.
The step would also make US embassies under constant security threat and would lead to legal implications, the officials added.
Trump is likely to announce during the coming day that the US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a senior administration official said last Friday, a move that could inflame further tension in the Middle East.
Senior Palestinian officials also warned that such US move would have serious ramifications for the Palestinian question and the region.
Secretary-General of the PLO executive committee and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said, "Any American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will bring about the end of the Jerusalem cause. This cause is weighty and dealing with it is playing with fire."
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, said US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would "torpedo the peace process" and "destabilize the region."
Trump could make such incendiary declaration in a speech on Wednesday, though he is expected to again delay his campaign pledge to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
Hamas leader Ezzet Resheq has warned of the repercussions of the U.S. attempt to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
Resheq said on Twitter that any steps forward in such a direction amount to a barefaced provocation of Muslims’ sensitivity and a spark of anger that will explode in Israel’s face.
“The expected recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of an Israeli state is a slap on the face of all those who have laid a bet on peace talks stage-managed by the U.S. administration,” said Resheq. “The latter has never been fair toward the Palestinians and its biased agenda has always been in favor of the Israelis.”
According to Resheq, Trump’s projected move will never give the Israelis sovereignty over the occupied territories; nor will it alter the status quo in Occupied Jerusalem.
Defying longstanding American policy, U.S. President Donald Trump will give a speech on Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, according to an Associated Press report on Friday.
Multiple reports surfaced this week that the president would for the second time waive a congressional mandate requiring the U.S. embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem. Trump would also take the dramatic step of formally recognizing the holy city—home to Muslims’ third holiest site—as Israel’s capital.
Resheq said on Twitter that any steps forward in such a direction amount to a barefaced provocation of Muslims’ sensitivity and a spark of anger that will explode in Israel’s face.
“The expected recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of an Israeli state is a slap on the face of all those who have laid a bet on peace talks stage-managed by the U.S. administration,” said Resheq. “The latter has never been fair toward the Palestinians and its biased agenda has always been in favor of the Israelis.”
According to Resheq, Trump’s projected move will never give the Israelis sovereignty over the occupied territories; nor will it alter the status quo in Occupied Jerusalem.
Defying longstanding American policy, U.S. President Donald Trump will give a speech on Wednesday recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, according to an Associated Press report on Friday.
Multiple reports surfaced this week that the president would for the second time waive a congressional mandate requiring the U.S. embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem. Trump would also take the dramatic step of formally recognizing the holy city—home to Muslims’ third holiest site—as Israel’s capital.
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas spoke over the phone Saturday to discuss the status of Occupied Jerusalem, according to state-run Turkish sources.
Erdoğan emphasized that an independent and sovereign Palestinian state should be established with Jerusalem as its capital.
The president reiterated Turkey's ongoing support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, adding that lifting restrictions on Gaza would significantly contribute to peace.
The Turkish president also highlighted the sanctity of Occupied Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Abbas, for his part, thanked Erdoğan for his position and support for the Palestinian cause and al-Aqsa Mosque.
The phone call comes amid media reports about purported plans by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday.
Erdoğan emphasized that an independent and sovereign Palestinian state should be established with Jerusalem as its capital.
The president reiterated Turkey's ongoing support for the just cause of the Palestinian people, adding that lifting restrictions on Gaza would significantly contribute to peace.
The Turkish president also highlighted the sanctity of Occupied Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Abbas, for his part, thanked Erdoğan for his position and support for the Palestinian cause and al-Aqsa Mosque.
The phone call comes amid media reports about purported plans by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday.
2 dec 2017
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Michael Flynn’s guilty plea to lying to the FBI falls short on Russia “collusion” but points to the Trump administration acting on Israel’s behalf, says author and journalist Max Blumenthal.
Max Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author whose articles and video documentaries have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, The Nation, The Guardian, The Independent Film Channel, The Huffington Post, Salon.com, Al Jazeera English and many other publications. His most recent book is Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel. His other book, Republican Gomorrah: Inside The Movement That Shattered The Party, is a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller. Max is co-host of the podcast Modern Rebel. |
Aaron Mate: It’s the Real News. I’m Aaron Mate. Michael Flynn, the National Security Advisor to Donald Trump until his ouster just a few months into his administration, has pleaded guilty to lying to investigators looking into alleged Trump Russia ties. Flynn is the most high level member of the White House inner circle to be indicted and he is said to be cooperating with investigators. And the news has been greeted across liberal media much like it was today on the TV program The View.
Speaker 2: Breaking news.
Joy Behar: Oh my God. Oh, breaking news. ABC news Brian Ross is reporting. Michael Flynn promised full cooperation to the Mueller team and is prepared to testify that, as a candidate, Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians. Yes.
Aaron Mate: But for opponents of Donald Trump, is Flynn’s indictment really something to celebrate? Well, joining me to discuss is Max Blumenthal, Senior Editor of Alternet’s Grayzone Project. Max, your reaction to Flynn’s indictment today.
Max Blumenthal: You know, my reaction is slightly different than The View panelists, who are really expressing the sensibility, or the mentality, of the id lib, or the idiot liberal, who has been kind of indoctrinated over the past 11 months to believe that Trump had colluded with Russia and that this will lead to his impeachment. We actually saw outside the courthouse where Flynn appeared, the people not only chanting “lock him up”, which is hilarious considering that Flynn, at the Republican National Convention led the “lock her up” chants about Hillary Clinton, but there was also a sign being held by one protestor or heckler, reading “People Power versus Putin Power”, as if Putin kind of controlled Michael Flynn.
I mean let’s first acknowledge that this is a confirmation, this indictment of Michael Flynn’s dishonesty, his hypocrisy and his sheer idiocy. I mean, he lied to the FBI and ordinary people who lie to the FBI go to jail. He not only did that, but he did not register as a foreign agent when he took something like half a million dollars from Erdoğan’s government, the government of Turkey, in order to stage some kind of operation to possibly kidnap the person that, the exiled cleric that Erdoğan considers to be his arch nemeses. Fethullah Gülen in Pennsylvania so you can imagine like Flynn and his buddies driving around Pennsylvania trying to kidnap some cleric. It’s like the guy who couldn’t shoot straight.
It’s like something out of a Woody Allen movie.Just the level of absurdity of Flynn’s activities has reached a sublime level then you have Flynn testifying before Congress that the U.S. needed to be in the driver’s seat back in 2015 to prevent Russia from setting up nuclear facilities in Egypt and elsewhere and then two weeks later he goes to Egypt and Israel on a trip paid for by a company, one of the companies that had been possibly working with the Russian government to set up, you know, nuclear plants, Flynn did not disclose that at the time when he had a security clearance.So there’s this pattern of failing to disclose activities that he’s been involved in and, you know, he has been pretty much lying ever since 2015. So that’s real, that’s corruption. There’s no way to defend Flynn on that level.
The question is, is there any evidence here of collusion with Russia? Trump’s collusion with Russia. And when you actually look at the indictment, you’ve got another dud, it’s just another dud, and these duds arrive every two to three weeks and they send the id libs into a frenzy of ecstasy about having their shambolic narrative of Russia controlling the United States and colluding with Trump to subvert our otherwise shining democracy confirmed.And this confirms nothing. What it does show is that the Israeli government, through Jared Kushner, pressured Michael Flynn to approach the Russian government through Sergey Kislyak, who was the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. at the time, to use it’s position on the U.N. Security Council to stop a resolution condemning Israeli Settlement activity, which the Obama administration was going to abstain on.
Something the U.S. government hasn’t done before.Jared Kushner and his family through the Kushner Family Foundation have an extensive relationship not only with the Israeli government, but with Benjamin Netanyahu himself. Netanyahu when he’s in New York would stay with the Kushner family. He would sleep in a bedroom at their house and was almost literally in bed with Jared Kushner. Kushner Family Foundation has donated extensively to the Israeli Settlement Enterprise, to very pro-Israel groups.
And so you’re looking actually at Israeli collusion. The real center of influence in Washington emanates from Israel and Kushner has basically been an agent of Israeli influence. An unregistered agent of pro-Israel influence in Washington. This element of the story, which is central, has been completely ignored. And there is another point.Flynn is accused of approaching Sergey Kislyak to discuss how the U.S. and Russia, which was one of the main parties engaged in Syria, would bring the Syrian conflict to an end and take on al Qaeda and ISIS. So that U.S. and Russia are discussing deescalating a conflict that has killed somewhere around 250,000 people.
At least around 100,000 on the Syrian government side, by the way. And they have successfully done so, it’s been Russian intervention in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government that has led to the destruction of ISIS, the defeat of al Qaeda, and the end of this conflict. And refugees are now coming back, so once, just to restate that, Flynn approached Kislyak, not the other way around, to discuss deescalating a conflict. And that’s considered a major transgression now in Washington and then there’s the third point in the indictment.Flynn approached Kislyak, not the other way around, to beg Russia not to retaliate against sanctions that the Obama administration had imposed on Russia for unproven allegations that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee’s email servers and released it to WikiLeaks. Unproven.
Totally unproven, even the intelligence agencies that everyone, every Democrat worships as if they’re some kind of oracle, have just stated with high confidence that these servers were hacked by Russian intelligence agencies and none of them, not the FBI, not the NSA, none of them have examined the DNC’s email servers, none of them have demanded them. So these sanctions were imposed based on an allegation and then you have Michael Flynn, while a member of the Trump campaign, approaching the Russian Ambassador to beseech him not to retaliate.And Putin himself was actually put under pressure by the Russian Foreign Ministry at the same time to retaliate because the U.S. had kicked Russian Diplomatic personnel out of Washington, and imposed them unprecedented sanctions, Putin did not retaliate.
I would say it was a fairly elegant, diplomatic move. He was gonna give a new administration a chance.In any case, Flynn lied about these communications he had with Sergey Kislyak, the communications were picked up by the NSA because Michael Flynn was in the Cayman Islands at the time and so he was abroad where the NSA has surveillance latitude and Flynn, you know, he may have been sitting on a beach after having one too many, you know, pina coladas and he engaged in really stupid activity to make this kind of call. But the nature of the call, and the content of the indictment, does not prove that there was collusion with the Russian government. It certainly doesn’t demonstrate that Russia was attempting to subvert American democracy. It does demonstrate that the Israeli government through it’s point man, Jared Kushner, was engaged in collusion, was engaged in foreign meddling, and subversion. And this, for some reason, is not the story and we know why.
Aaron Mate: Right. In terms of what it says about the actual election, which is purportedly the reason why we’re supposed to be caring about Russia and Trump. The first conversation between Flynn and Kislyak happens in December, so well after the election has happened. Let me ask you Max, it’s interesting to see that the outrage today has been over, as you mentioned, Flynn trying to negotiate or make overtures to Russia over matters that could actually deescalate tensions, which, when not viewed through a partisan lens, could be seen as positive because it’s deescalating tensions with a nuclear power, and as you said, trying to find an end to the horrific Syrian War. But, in effect, both those things were known about before. What was not known, at least to my knowledge, was the extent to which Flynn was working to subvert the U.N. Security Council vote about Israel. And it’s surprising, as you alluded to, that that’s the issue that is both new but yet has not elicited very much outrage or attention.
Max Blumenthal: Yeah, I mean, that’s just absolutely shocking that, I mean, and this has also come out through Mueller’s investigation is that Jared Kushner may have violated the Logan Act by conducting freelance diplomacy to work with the Israeli government to attempt to convince other governments to vote against the U.N. Resolution. Other governments on the Security Council. That’s how we know that Kushner was the one who was encouraging Flynn to make this call. And it’s just completely overlooked in Washington, it’s overlooked by mainstream media, not only because of the fear of that very government and it’s cut outs in Washington attacking figures in the media and attacking public figures for daring to point to Israeli influence as a nefarious and nefarious force that contravenes American interests, but because it’s a matter of American policy to allow Israel to dictate our policy with respect to the Middle East.Including in Syria and so you have elements that are deeply embedded in the national security state that have been hostile to deescalating the Syrian Civil War. These elements, you know, you could point to John Brennan from the CIA, one of his babies was the arm and equip operation to train and arm Syrian rebels who were substantially operating under the umbrella of al Qaeda, referred to as the Free Syrian Army, something that we now know was basically a mythical conglomeration of Salafi and Salafi jihadi rebels.
And in 2015, when al Qaeda Syrian affiliate, Jabhat Al Nusra, took the city and the province of Idlib, in northeastern Syria, which was just a few hundred kilometers … actually I would just say, you know, a few scores of kilometers away from the Alawite Heartland. An area which al Qaeda and it’s affiliates have pledged to cleanse of non-sitting Muslims. To kill or convert the minority population of Syria.Where Christians were forced to convert or die in Idlib. Where the Jewish population in Idlib was forced to dig up their own shrines. Christians were slaughtered across Idlib. And the Syrian government panicked. You know, what Obama should have done at that point is gone to the city allies, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and said, “Stop arming these jihadist rebels who have taken Idlib, let’s put a stop to this, this is crazy, they wanna march on Lattakia, they wanna move to Damascus and this would destroy a core country in the Middle East.
It’s gone too far.” He didn’t do that. The arms continued to flow.This should have been a signal moment and that is when, in fact the arms continued to flow in the form of something like 20,000 Tow Missiles produced by Raytheon which allowed al Qaeda and it’s allies to destroy entire Syrian Army Tank Divisions. This is when the Syrian government called on Russia to intervene. And it was that Russian intervention that prevented Syria from becoming what we see today in Libya, where there are open air slave markets, where there have been the slaughter of the black population of Libya and now we see sub-Saharan African migrants being sold in open air slave markets. Refugee crisis like you’ve never seen before. This is what Russia prevented in Syria. And the U.S. by 2016, after the fall of Aleppo, or the liberation of Aleppo with Russian help, the liberation from al Qaeda and it’s allies, kind of started to get wise and decided it’s time to deescalate.John Brennan was very unhappy with this scenario, his operation was being discredited. His legacy was on the line. A lot of other figures coming out of the state department were upset at this scenario but the Trump administration was determined to do this and that’s what Flynn’s phone call with Kislyak partially dealt with and it has happened. We’ve seen deescalation zones set up around the Golan Heights, all across the [crosstalk 00:15:26]
Aaron Mate: I think we gotta, Max-
Max Blumenthal: These are coming [crosstalk 00:15:29]
Aaron Mate: Max, let me cut in there because we have to wrap, but I wanna say actually, that it’s quite possible that what Trump and Flynn are being faulted for now, in terms of Syria, is exactly what the Obama administration, despite people like John Brennan, would have done anyway. Because, as you say, the war was going so bad for them that it was obvious that they were not gonna win the outcome that they pursued. But let me ask you, Max, because we only have one minute, so getting back to Flynn and this indictment, people are saying, “Well look, why would Mueller make a plea deal with Flynn unless Flynn had something to offer him that was gonna flip and point to someone higher above him like Kushner, or even Trump, that’s possible. It’s also possible that maybe this is all Flynn has and so now they’re gonna get him on lying to the FBI so I’m wondering, where you think this is gonna go and what kind of punishment you think someone like Flynn will face? I mean lying to the FBI is a serious offense but it’s nowhere near the kind of offense of treason that many people have floated throughout this whole Russia-gate “scandal”.
Max Blumenthal: Yeah. Even though the indictment contradicts the narrative of collusion in Russian subversion of our shining democracy, the narrative will continue and this gives more fumes to the narrative in the way the mainstream media, corporate media’s gonna report this will be slightly distorted. It will obfuscate the details of the indictment. I can only go based on what’s in the indictment and it seems to show that Flynn lied to the FBI, he probably pled out on part to protect his son Michael Flynn Jr. from being, you know, indicted, or called in. And to the extent that he is going to say that Trump ordered him to make this phone call, well, the question is how does that demonstrate any illicit behavior by Trump if Trump himself was urging Flynn, who was his future National Security Council Advisor, to conduct diplomacy with Russia?I mean Flynn’s mistake was to make the phone call in the Cayman Islands where the NSA could pick up the cables and listen to the phone call and his other mistake was to lie to the FBI time and time again. Just being a serial liar. So that’s it from what I can see and from the standpoint of someone trying to prove Trump Russia collusion, or the overall narrative of Russia-gate, this one is another dud.
Aaron Mate: Leave it there. Max Blumenthal is Senior Editor of Alternet’s Grayzone Project, also the current host of the podcast, Moderate Rebels. Max, thank you.
Max Blumenthal: Thanks for having me.
Aaron Mate: And thank you for joining us on the Real News.
Speaker 2: Breaking news.
Joy Behar: Oh my God. Oh, breaking news. ABC news Brian Ross is reporting. Michael Flynn promised full cooperation to the Mueller team and is prepared to testify that, as a candidate, Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians. Yes.
Aaron Mate: But for opponents of Donald Trump, is Flynn’s indictment really something to celebrate? Well, joining me to discuss is Max Blumenthal, Senior Editor of Alternet’s Grayzone Project. Max, your reaction to Flynn’s indictment today.
Max Blumenthal: You know, my reaction is slightly different than The View panelists, who are really expressing the sensibility, or the mentality, of the id lib, or the idiot liberal, who has been kind of indoctrinated over the past 11 months to believe that Trump had colluded with Russia and that this will lead to his impeachment. We actually saw outside the courthouse where Flynn appeared, the people not only chanting “lock him up”, which is hilarious considering that Flynn, at the Republican National Convention led the “lock her up” chants about Hillary Clinton, but there was also a sign being held by one protestor or heckler, reading “People Power versus Putin Power”, as if Putin kind of controlled Michael Flynn.
I mean let’s first acknowledge that this is a confirmation, this indictment of Michael Flynn’s dishonesty, his hypocrisy and his sheer idiocy. I mean, he lied to the FBI and ordinary people who lie to the FBI go to jail. He not only did that, but he did not register as a foreign agent when he took something like half a million dollars from Erdoğan’s government, the government of Turkey, in order to stage some kind of operation to possibly kidnap the person that, the exiled cleric that Erdoğan considers to be his arch nemeses. Fethullah Gülen in Pennsylvania so you can imagine like Flynn and his buddies driving around Pennsylvania trying to kidnap some cleric. It’s like the guy who couldn’t shoot straight.
It’s like something out of a Woody Allen movie.Just the level of absurdity of Flynn’s activities has reached a sublime level then you have Flynn testifying before Congress that the U.S. needed to be in the driver’s seat back in 2015 to prevent Russia from setting up nuclear facilities in Egypt and elsewhere and then two weeks later he goes to Egypt and Israel on a trip paid for by a company, one of the companies that had been possibly working with the Russian government to set up, you know, nuclear plants, Flynn did not disclose that at the time when he had a security clearance.So there’s this pattern of failing to disclose activities that he’s been involved in and, you know, he has been pretty much lying ever since 2015. So that’s real, that’s corruption. There’s no way to defend Flynn on that level.
The question is, is there any evidence here of collusion with Russia? Trump’s collusion with Russia. And when you actually look at the indictment, you’ve got another dud, it’s just another dud, and these duds arrive every two to three weeks and they send the id libs into a frenzy of ecstasy about having their shambolic narrative of Russia controlling the United States and colluding with Trump to subvert our otherwise shining democracy confirmed.And this confirms nothing. What it does show is that the Israeli government, through Jared Kushner, pressured Michael Flynn to approach the Russian government through Sergey Kislyak, who was the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. at the time, to use it’s position on the U.N. Security Council to stop a resolution condemning Israeli Settlement activity, which the Obama administration was going to abstain on.
Something the U.S. government hasn’t done before.Jared Kushner and his family through the Kushner Family Foundation have an extensive relationship not only with the Israeli government, but with Benjamin Netanyahu himself. Netanyahu when he’s in New York would stay with the Kushner family. He would sleep in a bedroom at their house and was almost literally in bed with Jared Kushner. Kushner Family Foundation has donated extensively to the Israeli Settlement Enterprise, to very pro-Israel groups.
And so you’re looking actually at Israeli collusion. The real center of influence in Washington emanates from Israel and Kushner has basically been an agent of Israeli influence. An unregistered agent of pro-Israel influence in Washington. This element of the story, which is central, has been completely ignored. And there is another point.Flynn is accused of approaching Sergey Kislyak to discuss how the U.S. and Russia, which was one of the main parties engaged in Syria, would bring the Syrian conflict to an end and take on al Qaeda and ISIS. So that U.S. and Russia are discussing deescalating a conflict that has killed somewhere around 250,000 people.
At least around 100,000 on the Syrian government side, by the way. And they have successfully done so, it’s been Russian intervention in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government that has led to the destruction of ISIS, the defeat of al Qaeda, and the end of this conflict. And refugees are now coming back, so once, just to restate that, Flynn approached Kislyak, not the other way around, to discuss deescalating a conflict. And that’s considered a major transgression now in Washington and then there’s the third point in the indictment.Flynn approached Kislyak, not the other way around, to beg Russia not to retaliate against sanctions that the Obama administration had imposed on Russia for unproven allegations that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee’s email servers and released it to WikiLeaks. Unproven.
Totally unproven, even the intelligence agencies that everyone, every Democrat worships as if they’re some kind of oracle, have just stated with high confidence that these servers were hacked by Russian intelligence agencies and none of them, not the FBI, not the NSA, none of them have examined the DNC’s email servers, none of them have demanded them. So these sanctions were imposed based on an allegation and then you have Michael Flynn, while a member of the Trump campaign, approaching the Russian Ambassador to beseech him not to retaliate.And Putin himself was actually put under pressure by the Russian Foreign Ministry at the same time to retaliate because the U.S. had kicked Russian Diplomatic personnel out of Washington, and imposed them unprecedented sanctions, Putin did not retaliate.
I would say it was a fairly elegant, diplomatic move. He was gonna give a new administration a chance.In any case, Flynn lied about these communications he had with Sergey Kislyak, the communications were picked up by the NSA because Michael Flynn was in the Cayman Islands at the time and so he was abroad where the NSA has surveillance latitude and Flynn, you know, he may have been sitting on a beach after having one too many, you know, pina coladas and he engaged in really stupid activity to make this kind of call. But the nature of the call, and the content of the indictment, does not prove that there was collusion with the Russian government. It certainly doesn’t demonstrate that Russia was attempting to subvert American democracy. It does demonstrate that the Israeli government through it’s point man, Jared Kushner, was engaged in collusion, was engaged in foreign meddling, and subversion. And this, for some reason, is not the story and we know why.
Aaron Mate: Right. In terms of what it says about the actual election, which is purportedly the reason why we’re supposed to be caring about Russia and Trump. The first conversation between Flynn and Kislyak happens in December, so well after the election has happened. Let me ask you Max, it’s interesting to see that the outrage today has been over, as you mentioned, Flynn trying to negotiate or make overtures to Russia over matters that could actually deescalate tensions, which, when not viewed through a partisan lens, could be seen as positive because it’s deescalating tensions with a nuclear power, and as you said, trying to find an end to the horrific Syrian War. But, in effect, both those things were known about before. What was not known, at least to my knowledge, was the extent to which Flynn was working to subvert the U.N. Security Council vote about Israel. And it’s surprising, as you alluded to, that that’s the issue that is both new but yet has not elicited very much outrage or attention.
Max Blumenthal: Yeah, I mean, that’s just absolutely shocking that, I mean, and this has also come out through Mueller’s investigation is that Jared Kushner may have violated the Logan Act by conducting freelance diplomacy to work with the Israeli government to attempt to convince other governments to vote against the U.N. Resolution. Other governments on the Security Council. That’s how we know that Kushner was the one who was encouraging Flynn to make this call. And it’s just completely overlooked in Washington, it’s overlooked by mainstream media, not only because of the fear of that very government and it’s cut outs in Washington attacking figures in the media and attacking public figures for daring to point to Israeli influence as a nefarious and nefarious force that contravenes American interests, but because it’s a matter of American policy to allow Israel to dictate our policy with respect to the Middle East.Including in Syria and so you have elements that are deeply embedded in the national security state that have been hostile to deescalating the Syrian Civil War. These elements, you know, you could point to John Brennan from the CIA, one of his babies was the arm and equip operation to train and arm Syrian rebels who were substantially operating under the umbrella of al Qaeda, referred to as the Free Syrian Army, something that we now know was basically a mythical conglomeration of Salafi and Salafi jihadi rebels.
And in 2015, when al Qaeda Syrian affiliate, Jabhat Al Nusra, took the city and the province of Idlib, in northeastern Syria, which was just a few hundred kilometers … actually I would just say, you know, a few scores of kilometers away from the Alawite Heartland. An area which al Qaeda and it’s affiliates have pledged to cleanse of non-sitting Muslims. To kill or convert the minority population of Syria.Where Christians were forced to convert or die in Idlib. Where the Jewish population in Idlib was forced to dig up their own shrines. Christians were slaughtered across Idlib. And the Syrian government panicked. You know, what Obama should have done at that point is gone to the city allies, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and said, “Stop arming these jihadist rebels who have taken Idlib, let’s put a stop to this, this is crazy, they wanna march on Lattakia, they wanna move to Damascus and this would destroy a core country in the Middle East.
It’s gone too far.” He didn’t do that. The arms continued to flow.This should have been a signal moment and that is when, in fact the arms continued to flow in the form of something like 20,000 Tow Missiles produced by Raytheon which allowed al Qaeda and it’s allies to destroy entire Syrian Army Tank Divisions. This is when the Syrian government called on Russia to intervene. And it was that Russian intervention that prevented Syria from becoming what we see today in Libya, where there are open air slave markets, where there have been the slaughter of the black population of Libya and now we see sub-Saharan African migrants being sold in open air slave markets. Refugee crisis like you’ve never seen before. This is what Russia prevented in Syria. And the U.S. by 2016, after the fall of Aleppo, or the liberation of Aleppo with Russian help, the liberation from al Qaeda and it’s allies, kind of started to get wise and decided it’s time to deescalate.John Brennan was very unhappy with this scenario, his operation was being discredited. His legacy was on the line. A lot of other figures coming out of the state department were upset at this scenario but the Trump administration was determined to do this and that’s what Flynn’s phone call with Kislyak partially dealt with and it has happened. We’ve seen deescalation zones set up around the Golan Heights, all across the [crosstalk 00:15:26]
Aaron Mate: I think we gotta, Max-
Max Blumenthal: These are coming [crosstalk 00:15:29]
Aaron Mate: Max, let me cut in there because we have to wrap, but I wanna say actually, that it’s quite possible that what Trump and Flynn are being faulted for now, in terms of Syria, is exactly what the Obama administration, despite people like John Brennan, would have done anyway. Because, as you say, the war was going so bad for them that it was obvious that they were not gonna win the outcome that they pursued. But let me ask you, Max, because we only have one minute, so getting back to Flynn and this indictment, people are saying, “Well look, why would Mueller make a plea deal with Flynn unless Flynn had something to offer him that was gonna flip and point to someone higher above him like Kushner, or even Trump, that’s possible. It’s also possible that maybe this is all Flynn has and so now they’re gonna get him on lying to the FBI so I’m wondering, where you think this is gonna go and what kind of punishment you think someone like Flynn will face? I mean lying to the FBI is a serious offense but it’s nowhere near the kind of offense of treason that many people have floated throughout this whole Russia-gate “scandal”.
Max Blumenthal: Yeah. Even though the indictment contradicts the narrative of collusion in Russian subversion of our shining democracy, the narrative will continue and this gives more fumes to the narrative in the way the mainstream media, corporate media’s gonna report this will be slightly distorted. It will obfuscate the details of the indictment. I can only go based on what’s in the indictment and it seems to show that Flynn lied to the FBI, he probably pled out on part to protect his son Michael Flynn Jr. from being, you know, indicted, or called in. And to the extent that he is going to say that Trump ordered him to make this phone call, well, the question is how does that demonstrate any illicit behavior by Trump if Trump himself was urging Flynn, who was his future National Security Council Advisor, to conduct diplomacy with Russia?I mean Flynn’s mistake was to make the phone call in the Cayman Islands where the NSA could pick up the cables and listen to the phone call and his other mistake was to lie to the FBI time and time again. Just being a serial liar. So that’s it from what I can see and from the standpoint of someone trying to prove Trump Russia collusion, or the overall narrative of Russia-gate, this one is another dud.
Aaron Mate: Leave it there. Max Blumenthal is Senior Editor of Alternet’s Grayzone Project, also the current host of the podcast, Moderate Rebels. Max, thank you.
Max Blumenthal: Thanks for having me.
Aaron Mate: And thank you for joining us on the Real News.
On November 18, just days before the 50th anniversary of United Nations Resolution 242, the US State Department took its first step towards severing its ties with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
The timing of this decision could not be any more profound.
The first formal contact between the US and the PLO occurred in mid-December, 1988, when US Ambassador to Tunisia, Robert H. Pelletreau Jr., picked up the phone to call the PLO headquarters in Tunis to schedule formal talks.
Palestinian PLO officials were ‘elated’ by the fact that the US made the first move, as reported by the New York Times.
This assertion, however, is quite misleading. For over a decade prior to that ‘first move’, PLO’s chairman, Yasser Arafat, had to satisfy many US demands in exchange for this low-level political engagement.
The ‘talks’ in Tunisia were prolonged, before the PLO was ready to make its final concession in secret meetings in Oslo, Norway in 1993.
Eventually, a PLO office was opened in Washington DC. It served little purpose, aside from being an intermittent platform to arrange Washington-sponsored talks between Israeli and PLO officials. For Palestinians living in the US, it was almost invisible until the US announced its decision to possibly shut it down.
The American threat followed a United Nations speech last September by Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Chairman of the PLO. From an Israeli-US perspective, Abbas committed a mortal sin for seeking the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take Israel to task regarding its human rights violations in Occupied Palestine.
By doing so, Abbas, not only violated a peculiar US law that forbids the PLO from seeking ICC help, but also an unspoken rule that allowed the US to engage the PLO in 1988, where the US served the rule of the political and legal frame of reference for the so-called ‘peace process.’ The UN took a backseat.
But even that unequal relationship proved too much for the US government, which is moving fully and unconditionally into the Israeli camp. The Trump Administration is now working to rewrite the nature of US involvement in the Middle East, and, especially, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Unfortunately, Trump’s team has no concrete strategy and no frame of reference, aiming to change 50-years of US foreign policy – unfair to Palestinians and Arabs – but has no alternative plan of its own.
Almost a year ago, Trump made a promise to Israel to be a more trustworthy ally than President Barack Obama, who gave Israel more money than any other US president in history. Obama, however, had violated a golden rule in the US-Israeli relationship: he did not veto a UN resolution that condemned the illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel panicked at that unprecedented event, not because it feared that the UN Security Council would enforce its purportedly binding resolution, but because the US had, for once, refused to shield Israel from international censure.
Even before officially taking over the White House, the Trump team attempted to prevent UNSC Resolution 2334 from passing. It failed but, come January, it took over the Israeli-Palestinian file with a vengeance, threatening to cut off funds to Palestinians, blocking their efforts from expanding their international reach, and declaring its full and unconditional support for the rightwing government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
But there was more to Israeli alarm at Resolution 2334 than mere US betrayal. This Resolution – which asserted that Israeli settlements have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of human rights – was partly predicated on, and clarified and added to, previous UNSC Resolution 242.
This means that 50 years of incessant Israeli attempts to absolve itself from any commitment to international law have failed miserably.
For Palestinians, and the larger Arab context, Resolution 242 marked their defeat in the war of 1967. Unsurprisingly, this Resolution has been cited in various agreements between Israel and the PLO, but only to give these agreements a veneer of international legitimacy.
However, the Oslo Accords of 1993 gave Israel the opportunity to use its leverage to bypass international law altogether: signing a peace agreement without ending its military occupation became the goal.
Against this backdrop, it is no wonder that Netanyahu was quite shocked to witness that a recommitment to Resolution 242 last year at the UNSC did not garner US opposition. Actually, the longstanding Resolution gained more substance and vigor.
The June 1967 war was Israel’s greatest military victory, and Resolution 242 enshrined a whole new world order in the Middle East, in which the US and Israel reigned supreme. Although it called for withdrawal of Israeli military from Occupied Palestinian and Arab lands, it also paved the way for normalization between Israel and the Arabs. The Camp David Agreement between Egypt and Israel was a direct outcome of that Resolution.
This is why Resolution 2334 has alarmed Israel, for it invalidated all the physical changes that Israel has made in 50 years of illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.
The Resolution called for “two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, liv(ing) side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders”.
Unlike Resolution 242, Resolution 2334 has left no room for clever misinterpretation: it references the pre-June 1967 lines in its annulment of the Israeli occupation and all the illegal settlements Israel has constructed since then.
The Resolution even cites the Fourth Geneva Convention, the UN Charter and the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of July 2004, which stated that Israel’s barrier in the West Bank was illegal and should be dismantled.
With international law, once more, taking center stage in a conflict which the US has long designated as if its personal business, Abbas was empowered enough to reach out to the ICC, thus raising the ire of Israel and its allies in the White House.
Even if the PLO’s office is permanently shut down, the decision should not just be seen as punishing Palestinians for seeking ICC support but, ultimately, as the culmination of disastrous US diplomacy, for which the Trump Administration has no clear alternative.
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle.
The timing of this decision could not be any more profound.
The first formal contact between the US and the PLO occurred in mid-December, 1988, when US Ambassador to Tunisia, Robert H. Pelletreau Jr., picked up the phone to call the PLO headquarters in Tunis to schedule formal talks.
Palestinian PLO officials were ‘elated’ by the fact that the US made the first move, as reported by the New York Times.
This assertion, however, is quite misleading. For over a decade prior to that ‘first move’, PLO’s chairman, Yasser Arafat, had to satisfy many US demands in exchange for this low-level political engagement.
The ‘talks’ in Tunisia were prolonged, before the PLO was ready to make its final concession in secret meetings in Oslo, Norway in 1993.
Eventually, a PLO office was opened in Washington DC. It served little purpose, aside from being an intermittent platform to arrange Washington-sponsored talks between Israeli and PLO officials. For Palestinians living in the US, it was almost invisible until the US announced its decision to possibly shut it down.
The American threat followed a United Nations speech last September by Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Chairman of the PLO. From an Israeli-US perspective, Abbas committed a mortal sin for seeking the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to take Israel to task regarding its human rights violations in Occupied Palestine.
By doing so, Abbas, not only violated a peculiar US law that forbids the PLO from seeking ICC help, but also an unspoken rule that allowed the US to engage the PLO in 1988, where the US served the rule of the political and legal frame of reference for the so-called ‘peace process.’ The UN took a backseat.
But even that unequal relationship proved too much for the US government, which is moving fully and unconditionally into the Israeli camp. The Trump Administration is now working to rewrite the nature of US involvement in the Middle East, and, especially, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Unfortunately, Trump’s team has no concrete strategy and no frame of reference, aiming to change 50-years of US foreign policy – unfair to Palestinians and Arabs – but has no alternative plan of its own.
Almost a year ago, Trump made a promise to Israel to be a more trustworthy ally than President Barack Obama, who gave Israel more money than any other US president in history. Obama, however, had violated a golden rule in the US-Israeli relationship: he did not veto a UN resolution that condemned the illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel panicked at that unprecedented event, not because it feared that the UN Security Council would enforce its purportedly binding resolution, but because the US had, for once, refused to shield Israel from international censure.
Even before officially taking over the White House, the Trump team attempted to prevent UNSC Resolution 2334 from passing. It failed but, come January, it took over the Israeli-Palestinian file with a vengeance, threatening to cut off funds to Palestinians, blocking their efforts from expanding their international reach, and declaring its full and unconditional support for the rightwing government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
But there was more to Israeli alarm at Resolution 2334 than mere US betrayal. This Resolution – which asserted that Israeli settlements have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of human rights – was partly predicated on, and clarified and added to, previous UNSC Resolution 242.
This means that 50 years of incessant Israeli attempts to absolve itself from any commitment to international law have failed miserably.
For Palestinians, and the larger Arab context, Resolution 242 marked their defeat in the war of 1967. Unsurprisingly, this Resolution has been cited in various agreements between Israel and the PLO, but only to give these agreements a veneer of international legitimacy.
However, the Oslo Accords of 1993 gave Israel the opportunity to use its leverage to bypass international law altogether: signing a peace agreement without ending its military occupation became the goal.
Against this backdrop, it is no wonder that Netanyahu was quite shocked to witness that a recommitment to Resolution 242 last year at the UNSC did not garner US opposition. Actually, the longstanding Resolution gained more substance and vigor.
The June 1967 war was Israel’s greatest military victory, and Resolution 242 enshrined a whole new world order in the Middle East, in which the US and Israel reigned supreme. Although it called for withdrawal of Israeli military from Occupied Palestinian and Arab lands, it also paved the way for normalization between Israel and the Arabs. The Camp David Agreement between Egypt and Israel was a direct outcome of that Resolution.
This is why Resolution 2334 has alarmed Israel, for it invalidated all the physical changes that Israel has made in 50 years of illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.
The Resolution called for “two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, liv(ing) side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders”.
Unlike Resolution 242, Resolution 2334 has left no room for clever misinterpretation: it references the pre-June 1967 lines in its annulment of the Israeli occupation and all the illegal settlements Israel has constructed since then.
The Resolution even cites the Fourth Geneva Convention, the UN Charter and the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of July 2004, which stated that Israel’s barrier in the West Bank was illegal and should be dismantled.
With international law, once more, taking center stage in a conflict which the US has long designated as if its personal business, Abbas was empowered enough to reach out to the ICC, thus raising the ire of Israel and its allies in the White House.
Even if the PLO’s office is permanently shut down, the decision should not just be seen as punishing Palestinians for seeking ICC support but, ultimately, as the culmination of disastrous US diplomacy, for which the Trump Administration has no clear alternative.
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle.
Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, warned of the consequences of the US President Donald Trump’s decision to endorse Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
In a press statement on Saturday, Hamas said “That would constitute a blatant violation of the international law since Jerusalem is an occupied territory".
Hamas added that Trump's expected resolution provides a kind of cover up for Israeli crimes of Judaization and expelling Palestinians out of the city.
Hamas called on the Palestinian poeple to confront the US decision and urged the youth to escalate al-Quds Intifada (uprising) so that this conspiracy would not pass.
The Movement asked Muslims, Arabs, and the free people of the world to shoulder their responsibilities and to work on halting and criminalizing this unfair resolution.
In a press statement on Saturday, Hamas said “That would constitute a blatant violation of the international law since Jerusalem is an occupied territory".
Hamas added that Trump's expected resolution provides a kind of cover up for Israeli crimes of Judaization and expelling Palestinians out of the city.
Hamas called on the Palestinian poeple to confront the US decision and urged the youth to escalate al-Quds Intifada (uprising) so that this conspiracy would not pass.
The Movement asked Muslims, Arabs, and the free people of the world to shoulder their responsibilities and to work on halting and criminalizing this unfair resolution.
29 nov 2017
His other book, Republican Gomorrah: Inside The Movement That Shattered The Party, is a New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller. Max is co-host of the podcast Modern Rebel.
28 nov 2017
US Administration has recently refused to renew the licence of PLO’s office in Washington unless it stops prosecuting Israel before international courts and starts unconditional peace talks.
According to Days of Palestine, Palestinian newspaper Al-Resalah described this as a form of extortion of the Palestinian Authority in order for them to accept Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” through which the US is seeking to end the longest conflict in the Middle East.
A report in the Times in London said that the US is currently laying out a final plan to impose permanent “peace” on the Palestinians and Israel in the wake of the Saudi-led change in Arab-Israel relations.
The PLO office in the US capital was opened in 1994 to represent the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority does not have an embassy or consulate in the US because America does not recognise the state of Palestine.
Palestinian political analyst Talal Okal said that this “extortion” comes in the light of the US preparation for the “deal of the century” and it aims to pressure the Palestinians to accept the deal “without political or diplomatic conditions.”
According to Palestinian writer Akram Atallah, the US measure regarding the PLO office is a “crazy idea,” as the facility was only a “tiny bribe” offered by the US to the Palestinian political regime to persuade it that it “remains a neutral mediator” in the reconciliation with Israel.
“Like the American measure itself,” he added, “the PA response was naïve because it considered the US administration a neutral peace mediator.”
According to Days of Palestine, Palestinian newspaper Al-Resalah described this as a form of extortion of the Palestinian Authority in order for them to accept Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” through which the US is seeking to end the longest conflict in the Middle East.
A report in the Times in London said that the US is currently laying out a final plan to impose permanent “peace” on the Palestinians and Israel in the wake of the Saudi-led change in Arab-Israel relations.
The PLO office in the US capital was opened in 1994 to represent the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority does not have an embassy or consulate in the US because America does not recognise the state of Palestine.
Palestinian political analyst Talal Okal said that this “extortion” comes in the light of the US preparation for the “deal of the century” and it aims to pressure the Palestinians to accept the deal “without political or diplomatic conditions.”
According to Palestinian writer Akram Atallah, the US measure regarding the PLO office is a “crazy idea,” as the facility was only a “tiny bribe” offered by the US to the Palestinian political regime to persuade it that it “remains a neutral mediator” in the reconciliation with Israel.
“Like the American measure itself,” he added, “the PA response was naïve because it considered the US administration a neutral peace mediator.”
27 nov 2017
One of the issues which had been taken widely with discussions, since the start of Trump’s term, is the “deal of the century.” It might and might not deserve this discussion. Let’s see!
The “deal of the century” is the mystery phrase used amid the ongoing tension in the Middle East. It seems that this “deal” is so secretive that there are those who believe it is a delusion that will never get off the ground. Meanwhile, others confirm that arrangements have already been made and that the deal will surface in a matter of time, which will impose widespread Arab subjugation to the Israeli concept of a political agreement to end the Palestinian cause.
Any concern regarding such vague projects is justified. How else should we feel when the person who is supposedly the sponsor of the alleged new project, US President Donald Trump, boasts that he is the only person who can resolve the chronic crises in the region? He does so in his own way, using big sticks to force US allies and partners, before the fearful followers, to surrender to the plan.
The White House is well aware that the leaders of the Arab world are currently panicking over their fate and the future of their regimes. They are possessed by fear of their own people and rivals. Some of those who live in fancy palaces are throwing a reckless party full of surprises before the eyes of the world, and do not hesitate to sacrifice the rights of the Palestinians in order to guarantee US support for themselves. This wild state has pushed many of them towards actions that lack any rational, strategic logic.
They do not care about the extortionate price to be paid for external political cover from the West for their authoritarian rule based not on the will of the people, but on security domination and empty promises. They compete to gain the pleasure of Washington and European capitals.
If it ever does get off the ground, the “deal of the century” between the Israelis and Arabs will establish a state subjugating the people to the power of tyrannical regimes. Rulers isolated in their palaces are counting on pleasing Western capitals by means of cooperating blindly with the Israelis and promises of “bold religious reforms”. They will also continue to talk a lot about “combatting terrorism and extremism” in order to receive Western praise.
Hence, it is no surprise for the Arab tyrants to get closer to Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist government in Israel, with complete disregard for their own people, who have not been consulted about such “normalisation” of relations or possible agreements and effects. The people will have a fait accompli imposed on them by their rulers. Meanwhile, the Palestinian people, their inalienable rights and central cause in the region will be neglected with the launch of negotiations; these will be a formality, with optimistic smiles flashed at a new handshaking ceremony.
Concern is also justified because previous deals between Arabs and successive Israeli governments over the past four decades have not achieved justice. Instead, they have helped sustain and prolong the occupation, and strengthen its presence, while continuing to deprive the Palestinian people of their basic rights and ensuring Israeli military, political and economic domination.
In order to pass such a “deal” the will of the Arab people whose governments decide to go along with this new charade must be repressed. The people must be prohibited from expressing any doubts regarding the adopted approaches. What we are witnessing on the ground reinforces this; the Arab world is passing through a phase of tyranny and oppression. This is accompanied by a widespread retreat of the gains made in terms of media freedoms.
The authorities dreaming of the “deal of the century” are currently dominating private media outlets and imposing specific content on social networks by means of strict laws to deter anyone from going against the official narrative, or even hinting thereat. These authorities have also recruited “electronic armies” to flood networks with propaganda around the clock in favour of the ruler and government, seemingly as if the people are with them and all that they do.
Indicators suggest that the “deal of the century”, whether real or not, is a game of manipulation in this volatile region. It does not involve openness, transparency and respect for international law or basic rights. The result, in the best case scenario, will not be peace, but rather the exacerbation of existing crises and the explosion of issues that are bubbling under the surface.
Such a deal will only take place by pressuring the weak Palestinian leadership and forcing it to hide its pain in the face of what is being imposed on it and the region as a whole. It is clear that the pressure has already started, as evidenced by the American measure to close the PLO office in the US.
Ultimately, it would be delusional to assume that such a project, agreed upon between arrogant and reckless leaders like Trump, Netanyahu and some Arabs, would actually succeed in achieving what a century of projects and deals in the region has failed to do. Simply calling it the “deal of the century” does not make it so.
Such projects and deals overlook fundamental facts in the region, the first of which is that there is a living nation promoting their cause and they have not decided to comply with tyrannical demands; the Palestinian nation will not surrender.
The “deal of the century” is the mystery phrase used amid the ongoing tension in the Middle East. It seems that this “deal” is so secretive that there are those who believe it is a delusion that will never get off the ground. Meanwhile, others confirm that arrangements have already been made and that the deal will surface in a matter of time, which will impose widespread Arab subjugation to the Israeli concept of a political agreement to end the Palestinian cause.
Any concern regarding such vague projects is justified. How else should we feel when the person who is supposedly the sponsor of the alleged new project, US President Donald Trump, boasts that he is the only person who can resolve the chronic crises in the region? He does so in his own way, using big sticks to force US allies and partners, before the fearful followers, to surrender to the plan.
The White House is well aware that the leaders of the Arab world are currently panicking over their fate and the future of their regimes. They are possessed by fear of their own people and rivals. Some of those who live in fancy palaces are throwing a reckless party full of surprises before the eyes of the world, and do not hesitate to sacrifice the rights of the Palestinians in order to guarantee US support for themselves. This wild state has pushed many of them towards actions that lack any rational, strategic logic.
They do not care about the extortionate price to be paid for external political cover from the West for their authoritarian rule based not on the will of the people, but on security domination and empty promises. They compete to gain the pleasure of Washington and European capitals.
If it ever does get off the ground, the “deal of the century” between the Israelis and Arabs will establish a state subjugating the people to the power of tyrannical regimes. Rulers isolated in their palaces are counting on pleasing Western capitals by means of cooperating blindly with the Israelis and promises of “bold religious reforms”. They will also continue to talk a lot about “combatting terrorism and extremism” in order to receive Western praise.
Hence, it is no surprise for the Arab tyrants to get closer to Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist government in Israel, with complete disregard for their own people, who have not been consulted about such “normalisation” of relations or possible agreements and effects. The people will have a fait accompli imposed on them by their rulers. Meanwhile, the Palestinian people, their inalienable rights and central cause in the region will be neglected with the launch of negotiations; these will be a formality, with optimistic smiles flashed at a new handshaking ceremony.
Concern is also justified because previous deals between Arabs and successive Israeli governments over the past four decades have not achieved justice. Instead, they have helped sustain and prolong the occupation, and strengthen its presence, while continuing to deprive the Palestinian people of their basic rights and ensuring Israeli military, political and economic domination.
In order to pass such a “deal” the will of the Arab people whose governments decide to go along with this new charade must be repressed. The people must be prohibited from expressing any doubts regarding the adopted approaches. What we are witnessing on the ground reinforces this; the Arab world is passing through a phase of tyranny and oppression. This is accompanied by a widespread retreat of the gains made in terms of media freedoms.
The authorities dreaming of the “deal of the century” are currently dominating private media outlets and imposing specific content on social networks by means of strict laws to deter anyone from going against the official narrative, or even hinting thereat. These authorities have also recruited “electronic armies” to flood networks with propaganda around the clock in favour of the ruler and government, seemingly as if the people are with them and all that they do.
Indicators suggest that the “deal of the century”, whether real or not, is a game of manipulation in this volatile region. It does not involve openness, transparency and respect for international law or basic rights. The result, in the best case scenario, will not be peace, but rather the exacerbation of existing crises and the explosion of issues that are bubbling under the surface.
Such a deal will only take place by pressuring the weak Palestinian leadership and forcing it to hide its pain in the face of what is being imposed on it and the region as a whole. It is clear that the pressure has already started, as evidenced by the American measure to close the PLO office in the US.
Ultimately, it would be delusional to assume that such a project, agreed upon between arrogant and reckless leaders like Trump, Netanyahu and some Arabs, would actually succeed in achieving what a century of projects and deals in the region has failed to do. Simply calling it the “deal of the century” does not make it so.
Such projects and deals overlook fundamental facts in the region, the first of which is that there is a living nation promoting their cause and they have not decided to comply with tyrannical demands; the Palestinian nation will not surrender.
A top Israeli diplomat was rebuked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday, for suggesting that American Jews have a poor commitment to service in the US military.
Asked in an English-language television interview about criticism of Israeli policies by some US Jews, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely questioned whether “people that never send their children to fight for their country” could understand the “complexity” of the Middle East.
“Most of the Jews don’t have children serving as soldiers, going to the Marines, going to Afghanistan or to Iraq,” she said on i24 TV news, on Wednesday.
“They don’t feel how it feels to be attacked by rockets, and I think part of it is to actually experience what Israel is dealing with on a daily basis,” said Hotovely, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party.
While Israel has often quarrelled with American Jews over their right to advise it from afar, Hotovely’s remarks went further by appearing to insinuate they are not fully committed to their native country, a notion US Jewish organisations have long fought against in their battle against anti-Semitism.
In a statement, Netanyahu, who also serves as Israel’s foreign minister, denounced Hotovely’s comments as “hurtful”, Days of Palestine further reports.
“There is no place for such a harangue and her remarks do not reflect the State of Israel’s position,” the statement said.
According to a 2009 survey published by the congressionally-mandated Military Leadership Diversity Commission, an estimated 1.09 percent of the members of the US armed forces are Jewish. The Pew Research Centre estimated in 2013 that Jews make up about 2 percent of the US adult population.
The website of the National Museum of American Jewish Military History in Washington lists more than 50 Jewish service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.
Archive IMEMC post — 05/24/15 Hotovely: ‘The whole land of Israel belongs to the Jews”
Asked in an English-language television interview about criticism of Israeli policies by some US Jews, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely questioned whether “people that never send their children to fight for their country” could understand the “complexity” of the Middle East.
“Most of the Jews don’t have children serving as soldiers, going to the Marines, going to Afghanistan or to Iraq,” she said on i24 TV news, on Wednesday.
“They don’t feel how it feels to be attacked by rockets, and I think part of it is to actually experience what Israel is dealing with on a daily basis,” said Hotovely, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party.
While Israel has often quarrelled with American Jews over their right to advise it from afar, Hotovely’s remarks went further by appearing to insinuate they are not fully committed to their native country, a notion US Jewish organisations have long fought against in their battle against anti-Semitism.
In a statement, Netanyahu, who also serves as Israel’s foreign minister, denounced Hotovely’s comments as “hurtful”, Days of Palestine further reports.
“There is no place for such a harangue and her remarks do not reflect the State of Israel’s position,” the statement said.
According to a 2009 survey published by the congressionally-mandated Military Leadership Diversity Commission, an estimated 1.09 percent of the members of the US armed forces are Jewish. The Pew Research Centre estimated in 2013 that Jews make up about 2 percent of the US adult population.
The website of the National Museum of American Jewish Military History in Washington lists more than 50 Jewish service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001.
Archive IMEMC post — 05/24/15 Hotovely: ‘The whole land of Israel belongs to the Jews”
26 nov 2017
Assuring what the Palestine News Network (PNN) published last night, the Trump administration has backtracked on its decision to order the Palestinian office in Washington to close, instead saying it would merely impose limitations on the office that it expected would be lifted after 90 days.
Last week, U.S. officials said the Palestine Liberation Organization mission couldn’t stay open because the Palestinians had violated a provision in U.S. law requiring the office to close, if the Palestinians should try to coax the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Israelis.
The move triggered a major rift in U.S.-Palestinian relations that threatened to scuttle President Donald Trump’s effort to broker Mideast peace before it ever got off the ground.
State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said that the U.S. had “advised the PLO Office to limit its activities to those related to achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
Vasquez said even those restrictions will be lifted after 90 days if the U.S. determines the Israelis and Palestinians are engaged in serious peace talks. The White House, in an effort led by Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, has allegedly been preparing a comprehensive peace plan to present to both sides, in the coming months.
“We therefore are optimistic that at the end of this 90-day period, the political process may be sufficiently advanced that the president will be in a position to allow the PLO office to resume full operations,” Vasquez said.
The reversal marked a serious departure from the administration’s interpretation of the law, only a week earlier.
Officials had said that, one way or another, the office had to close because Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a U.N. speech in September, had called on the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israelis.
The same law, hoever, says that the president can let the office re-open after 90 days despite an ICC push, if serious Israeli-Palestinian talks are underway.
There were no indications that the Trump administration had initially moved to close the office as part of a premeditated strategy to strengthen its hand in eventual peace talks. Instead, officials explained the move by saying Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a strict interpretation of the law, determined that Abbas’ speech had crossed the legal line.
Still, the move led the Palestinians to issue an angry response, last weekend, threatening to suspend all communication with the U.S.
Additionally, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused the U.S. of bowing to pressure from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “at a time when we are trying to cooperate to achieve the ultimate deal.”
Last week, U.S. officials said the Palestine Liberation Organization mission couldn’t stay open because the Palestinians had violated a provision in U.S. law requiring the office to close, if the Palestinians should try to coax the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Israelis.
The move triggered a major rift in U.S.-Palestinian relations that threatened to scuttle President Donald Trump’s effort to broker Mideast peace before it ever got off the ground.
State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said that the U.S. had “advised the PLO Office to limit its activities to those related to achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
Vasquez said even those restrictions will be lifted after 90 days if the U.S. determines the Israelis and Palestinians are engaged in serious peace talks. The White House, in an effort led by Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, has allegedly been preparing a comprehensive peace plan to present to both sides, in the coming months.
“We therefore are optimistic that at the end of this 90-day period, the political process may be sufficiently advanced that the president will be in a position to allow the PLO office to resume full operations,” Vasquez said.
The reversal marked a serious departure from the administration’s interpretation of the law, only a week earlier.
Officials had said that, one way or another, the office had to close because Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a U.N. speech in September, had called on the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israelis.
The same law, hoever, says that the president can let the office re-open after 90 days despite an ICC push, if serious Israeli-Palestinian talks are underway.
There were no indications that the Trump administration had initially moved to close the office as part of a premeditated strategy to strengthen its hand in eventual peace talks. Instead, officials explained the move by saying Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a strict interpretation of the law, determined that Abbas’ speech had crossed the legal line.
Still, the move led the Palestinians to issue an angry response, last weekend, threatening to suspend all communication with the U.S.
Additionally, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused the U.S. of bowing to pressure from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “at a time when we are trying to cooperate to achieve the ultimate deal.”