ASA WINSTANLEY, asa@electronicintifada.net, @AsaWinstanley
The assasination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran comes just after Israel said it assassinated Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says three people, including two children, were killed and 74 wounded in the Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Qatar’s prime minister wrote: “How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?”
Winstanley is author of Weaponising Anti-Semitism and works with the Electronic Intifada. He recalls being in Gaza when Hanieyh was voted prime minister and how U.S.-backed elements of the PLO undermined that unity government. Haniyeh’s assassination comes just after China brought together 14 Palestinian political parties, including Hamas, in the “Beijing Declaration.”
The Electronic Intifada’s weekly livestream at noon ET on Wednesday features Israeli historian Ilan Pappe on what he regards as the inevitable collapse of Israel. See “From Paris to Beirut: Israel’s long record of assassinating Palestinians.”
Sharon Zhang reported on Monday at Truthout: “Israel Bombs Girls’ School in Gaza, Killing 30 and Wounding Over 100.” And on Tuesday: “Israeli Militants Riot Over Investigation Into Torture of Palestinian Prisoner.” “The detained soldiers have reportedly been charged with the sexual abuse of a Palestinian man who suffered injuries to his anus so severe that he was unable to walk. … In the Israeli Knesset on Monday, meanwhile, lawmakers debated whether or not sexual abuse was a legitimate tactic for Israeli soldiers. … At least 35 Palestinians have died in Sde Teiman as a result of abuses that appear to be the official policy of those running the camp.”
When questioned about charges of rape by Israeli soldiers, the U.S. State Department would not call rape a war crime.
ISSA AMRO, [in Hebron] Issaamro@gmail.com, @issaamro
Amro is based in Hebron on the West Bank and is founder of Youth Against Settlements. See report on him from The Real News: “Tortured Palestinian activist describes military and settler carnage in the West Bank.”
ZAREFAH BAROUD, zarefahbaroud@gmail.com, @zarefahbaroud
Baroud is featured in a recent Palestine Deep Dive video on torture, noting: “Since 1967 Israel has arrested and detained over 800,000 Palestinians, about 20 percent of the total Palestinian population in the occupied territories and 40 percent of all Palestinian men.” She is a PhD Candidate at the University of Exeter.
Mohammed El-Kurd posted videos of survivors talking about Israeli sexual abuse going back decades.
Ramy Abdu of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor summarized a new UN report: “Since 7 October, 53 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli facilities. UN Human Rights Chief expressed concern over arbitrary detentions, torture, and violations of due process, highlighting acts like waterboarding and using dogs on detainees, violating international laws.”