#the israeli army just attacked a palestinian refugee camp last week

[ispeaktheyburn]

Not to be all “why is no one talking about this” but there should be more outrage over the Israel/Palestine situation on here

[palestinegenocide]

Hamas won’t accept anything less than ‘complete’ cessation of hostilities

After three days of ceasefire negotiations, Hamas has announced that it will not accept anything less than a “complete” cessation of the aggression, the “withdrawal of the occupation army from Gaza, and the lifting of an unjust siege.” 

Senior Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said that Israel must also free any Palestinian prisoners serving long prison sentences, and blamed Israel for the lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile in Rafah, the 1.5 million Palestinians who are sheltering there are so desperate for food and humanitarian aid that they are stopping any truck that they see in hopes of being able to eat something.

“With the departure of police escorts it has been virtually impossible for the UN or anyone else – Jordan, the UAE, any other implementer – to safely move assistance to Gaza,” said David Satterfield, pointing out that, without police escorts, humanitarian aid trucks are also subject to criminal activity along with the already-difficult conditions of the siege. According to OCHA, less than 43 trucks entered Gaza on average between 9-15 February, a significant drop in the average.

While Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has claimed that Israel has “no intention” of evacuation Palestinian civilians into Egypt, the border wall being constructed between Egypt and Gaza suggests that Palestinian civilians might be forced to cross the border, and shelter in the Sinai Desert. However, Head of Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan has rejected reports that the country is creating a buffer zone. 

Without a plan in place, Palestinians who have been sheltering in Rafah are now evacuating to other parts of the Gaza Strip—many of which have been destroyed or are still under aerial bombardment. Just last night, Israeli war planes bombed multiple homes around Gaza City, killing at least ten people and injuring at least twenty others. Fighter jets attacked a refugee camp in Rafah, killing six others, and the Israeli military raided a home in Deir el-Balah, where many of those who are starting to leave Rafah are looking to seek shelter.

“Rafah is not safe,” Rida Sobh told Al Jazeera after her sister’s children, husband, aunt, and cousin were all killed in the attacks. “Everywhere in the Gaza Strip is a target. Don’t say that Rafah is safe. From Beit Hanoun to Rafah it is all dangerous.”

Over the past week, the Israeli army has arrested more than 100 people during its raid on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and the situation is dire as Israel continues its siege, claiming that Hamas militants are using it as an operations base and hiding Israeli hostages underground. While there is no proof of either of these claims, video evidence shows civilians who had been sheltering in the hospital leaving the premises holding white flags, amongst other terrifying scenes. 

Now, there are only five medical personnel left to care for the 120 patients still in the hospital, and both oxygen tanks and feeding tubes have stopped operating due to the ongoing power cuts.

[tvsandmovies]

In 2005, actor Daniel Day-Lewis visited Gaza and witnessed the arrogance and crimes of the occupation up close. He narrated his experience, feelings and position in an influential five-page article that sparked the anger of the entity and its gang. These are excerpts from it:

“This is an apartheid state. It took me less than a week to lose neutrality. And through this I might throw stones at the tanks.”

In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army responds to stone throwing with bullets. He responds to bombings and attacks launched by Palestinian militants by bulldozing homes and olive groves in search of the perpetrators, punishing their families, and establishing buffer zones to protect Israeli settlements. It blocks access to villages and multiplies checkpoints, cutting off Gazans from the outside world. MSF psychiatrists try to help Palestinian families cope with the pressures of living within these borders, by treating severe trauma and listening to their stories. These visits are sometimes the only sign that they have not been abandoned.

Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers can come without warning, often at night. The noise alone, for a people forced to suffer these violations year after year, is enough to freeze the soul. Israeli snipers are stationed on rooftops. They order homeowners to leave; They don't even have time to gather pots, pans, papers and clothes before bulldozers crush the unprotected buildings like dinosaurs trampling eggs. Those caught in the incursion area will be shot. Even those hiding inside their homes may be shot or bombed through walls, windows and roofs. The white flag carried by humanitarian workers offers little protection; We may be subjected to warning shots at least twice before the week is over.

Sometimes families do not leave the area being raided, because if they leave they will lose everything. Staying at home is a big risk. Sometimes the house is occupied by Israeli forces, and the family is forced to stay there as protection for the soldiers. Last year, an average of 120 homes were demolished per month. In the past four years, 28,483 Gazans have been forcibly evacuated; And the destruction of more than half of the usable land in #Gaza, which consists mainly of orchards. Last year, 658 Palestinians were killed in violence in Gaza, along with dozens of Israelis. This plowing, house after house, orchard after orchard, turns the community into a wasteland, scattered and combined with a stunted crop of broken glass, nails, books, and abandoned possessions. As we make our way toward the home of Abu Saghir and his family – one of many families we will visit today – we walk over broken histories and aspirations.

One day, Rafael Eitan, the former chief of staff, likened the Palestinian people to “drugged cockroaches moving and floundering inside a bottle.” In 1980 he told his officers: "We have to do everything to make them so miserable that they will leave." He opposed all attempts to grant them autonomy in the occupied territories. Twenty-five years later, it seems to me that his position and policy have been implemented with great enthusiasm.

Watchtowers are these evil structures with malicious shadows of power all over the land. On our third day, as we stood at the torn edge of the refugee camp in Rafah, the forbidden border area between Gaza and Egypt, bullets pierced the sand a yard and a half away from where we were standing. In this place was Iman Al-Hams, a helpless schoolgirl who had been shot just weeks before. She ran and tried to hide here from the cruel death that came to her. I felt her presence. The sky shakes with its shallow, fluttering breaths of its last terror.

[Killing the little girl Iman]

Soldier 1: “We recognized a person standing on his feet 100 meters away.

Soldier 2: “A girl about 10 years old.”

Soldier 2: “She is behind the trench, half a meter away, scared to death. The bullets were right next to her, one centimeter away.”

Signal soldier: “We shot her. Yes, it seems she was hit.”

Captain R: “Roger, yes. She just went down. Me and a few other soldiers are moving forward to confirm her death.”

Soldier 2: “Catch her, catch her. There's no need to kill her.”

Captain R: “...We fired and killed her...I confirmed the kill...Anyone who moves in the area, even if he is three years old - an old child, must be killed, finished.”

A military investigation determined that Captain R “did not act unethically.” He still faces criminal charges. Two soldiers swore they saw him intentionally shoot her in the head, emptying the entire magazine of his gun into her.

Source:

[good-old-gossip]

Israel continues its crime of ethnic cleansing by destroying last neighbourhoods, UN shelter centres in Jabalia camp

Palestinian Territory - Throughout its three-week military operation against the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has deliberately continued its crime of forcibly uprooting Palestinian civilians. Israeli forces have completely destroyed all of the camp’s remaining necessities oflife, housing, and survival—including entire residential blocks—as well as destroyed, either partially or fully,the United Nation shelter centres there.

Israel’s army has been conducting a large-scale military operation in the Jabalia camp since 11 May, which it began only a few hours after suddenly issuing forced displacement orders against thousands of local residents. The Israeli army has struck residential neighbourhoods and other civilian objects in the vicinity with fire belts, and has been continuously bombarding civilian targets with intensive and indiscriminate artillery attacks. This is in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law regulations pertaining to proportionality, military necessity, and taking all necessary precautions. 

In addition to the crimes of premeditated killings, arbitrary arrests, and targeting of civilians, the Israeli military operation in Jabalia has resulted in massive destruction. The attacks have destroyed entire residential blocks and impacted hundreds of homes and buildings in the camp, including shelter centres, UNRWA-affiliated medical and food centres, and UNRWA-funded water wells.

A field inspection of the conditions in the Jabalia camp after the Israeli withdrawal revealed that not a single residential building was spared from bombing, bulldozing, or burning operations. The complete destruction of the area’s infrastructure was evident, as was the burning of the main market and shops in the streets surrounding it, to the point where walking on the roads of most of the camp’s “blocks” has become impossible due to the rubble and massive destruction.

Simultaneously, the Euro-Med Monitor field team observed the Israeli army demolishing all UNRWA headquarters and facilities in the Jabalia camp, including six schools in Block 4 (Abu Zeitoun Schools). The attacks were carried out by intensive artillery shelling and partial or total burning of the schools.

The greatest destruction was observed in the UNRWA schools opposite the Birkat Abu Rashid area in the central area of the Jabalia camp, and on Al-Faluga road; these places were subjected to burning operations and complete destruction. The UNRWA headquarters in northern Gaza, which is adjacent to the Jabalia camp police station, was also burned, resulting in the total destruction of personnel files including documents pertaining to refugee aid. The UNRWA Jabalia Maintenance Office (Cleanliness and Maintenance Department) was not also spared from shells and destruction.

Next to UNRWA’s main headquarters, its aid distribution store was set on fire—at a time when it was packed with aid supplies that had entered the camp just two days before its residents were forciblyevacuated. Notably, the Israeli army blocked aid trucks’ access to the Gaza City and North Gaza governoratesin May.

The targeted schools and UNRWA headquarters served as shelter centres for thousands of Palestinian civilians who were previously expelled from their homes after Israeli attacks destroyed them, or who were trying to find safe havens.

In order to consolidate its various crimes of forced displacement of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, Israel has been systematically destroying all forms of life and housing in the Jabalia refugee camp. This destruction is part of a larger pattern of deliberate acts of genocide that Israel has been committing against the Palestinian people since 7 October 2023.

Israel’s army is deliberately and systematically militarising civilian objects in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces have turned buildings such as schools, educational facilities, and hospitals into military bases, in flagrant violation of international law and the rules of war, and have deliberately destroyed 80% of the Strip’s schools, either completely or partially—an action described by UN experts in a joint statement issued on 18 April as “scholasticide”, as it is deprivinganother generation of Palestinians of their future.

Even the UNRWA-run schools, which have been converted into shelter centres for hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians, have been and are still being subjected to intense Israeli attacks—some of them frequently and abruptly—including in areas that the Israeli army haddesignated as “safe zones”.

The international community must intervene swiftlyand decisively to stop all Israeli direct, systematical, and large-scale military attacks on civilians and civilian objects in the Gaza Strip, and activate real pressure tools to force Israel to halt its eight-month-long genocide. Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in the Strip has involved the forcible displacement and killing ofcivilians, obstruction of humanitarian aid access, targeting of medical and relief personnel, and the bombing and destruction of UN-run facilities. These acts constitute multiple forms of fully-fledged international crimes, and Israel has failed to abide by international law and the International Court of Justice rulings to prevent genocide and protect Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.

In accordance with international law, Israel must cease its crime of forcibly displacing Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, permit their immediate return to their homes and places of residence, and compensate them for all losses and damages they have endured.

[wordexpress]

"All Eyes On Rafah": Outrage After 45 Civilians Killed In Israeli Strike

At least 45 people, including children, were killed at a refugee camp in Gaza's Rafah after an Israeli air strike. The incident, coming just days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its operation in Rafah, triggered international outrage, deepening the global isolation facing Israel over the war in Gaza.

Israel launched the attack on Rafah late Sunday, hours after Hamas unleashed a barrage of rockets at the Tel Aviv area, most of which were intercepted.

Israeli forces pressed their assault on the border town - once seen as the territory's last refuge - despite an order last week from the top UN court to halt its operation there.

'All eyes on Rafah' is a phrase that refers to the ongoing genocide in this Gaza city. The phrase is trending on social media as global support poured in for the Palestinians affected by the Israeli strikes.

Several celebrities have shared support messages with the hashtag #AllEyesOnRafah. The phrase has picked up steam as a call for awareness of the ongoing war.

Rafah was a major entry point for humanitarian aid before Israel stepped up its military offensive on the Gaza side of the border earlier this month and seized control of the crossing.

Fighting in Rafah has caused more than 1 million Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Palestinians say they are vulnerable to Israeli attacks wherever they go and have been moving up and down the Gaza Strip in the past few months.

When Israeli forces told those in the north to evacuate, before conducting operations in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Yunis, hundreds of thousands had fled south to Rafah.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said in a statement that Israeli shelling in and around health facilities in Rafah has left just one still operational.

Humanitarian groups warn of a spiraling crisis in Gaza after the fighting in Rafah cut off the main aid routes into the territory.

Rafah offensive stirred renewed outrage and prompted an outcry from global leaders. Israel, however, vowed to press on with the Rafah strike despite the global condemnation and a US warning.

The United Nations has long warned of looming famine, especially in the north of besieged Gaza. And since the Rafah incursion, the UN Chief, said he was becoming increasingly worried about malnutrition in the south.

The Israeli army claimed that their aircraft had targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah, resulting in the deaths of two senior Hamas operatives, Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar. They acknowledged reports of civilian casualties due to the strike and the subsequent fire, stating that the incident was under investigation.

The US faces growing pressure to take a firmer stance after a deadly strike in the Gazan city. Questions are mounting over how long President Joe Biden can tolerate an Israeli assault on Rafah when the International Court of Justice -- the UN's top court, of which both the US and Israel are members -- ordered it to stop.

Gaza security officers said that Israeli tanks were now also "in central and southwest Rafah".

The war in Gaza began after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,096 people in Gaza.

[michaelcosio]

Israel is pulling thousands of troops from Gaza as combat focuses on enclave’s main southern city

AP

January 01, 2024 10:41

TEL AVIV: Thousands of Israeli soldiers are being shifted out of the Gaza Strip, the military said Monday, in the first significant drawdown of troops since the war began as forces continued to bear down on the main city in the southern half of the enclave.

The troop movement could signal that fighting is being scaled back in some areas of Gaza, particularly in the northern half where the military has said it is close to assuming operational control. Israel has been under pressure from its chief ally, the United States, to begin to switch to lower-intensity fighting.

Word of the drawdown came ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region and after the Biden administration bypassed Congress for the second time this month to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel.

But fierce fighting continued in other areas of Gaza, especially the southern city Khan Younis and central areas of the territory. Israel has pledged to charge ahead until its war aims have been achieved, including dismantling Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 16 years.

The military said in a statement Monday that five brigades, or several thousand troops, were being taken out of Gaza in the coming weeks for training and rest.

In a briefing Sunday that first announced the troop withdrawal without specifying how many forces were leaving, army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari did not say whether the decision meant Israel was launching a new phase of the war.

“The objectives of the war require prolonged fighting, and we are preparing accordingly,” he said.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas’ military and governing capabilities in its war, which was sparked by the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people. Roughly 240 people were taken hostage.

Israel responded with a blistering air, ground and sea offensive that has killed more than 21,800 people in Gaza, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Israel says more than 8,000 militants have been killed, without providing evidence. It blames Hamas for the high civilian death toll, saying the militants embed within residential areas, including schools and hospitals.

The war has displaced some 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, sending swells of people seeking shelter in Israeli-designated safe areas that the military has nevertheless bombed. Palestinians are left with a sense that nowhere is safe in the tiny enclave.

In Khan Younis, where Israel is believed to have thousands of troops, residents reported airstrikes and shelling in the west and center of the city. The military and the militant group Islamic Jihad reported clashes in the area.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on X, formerly Twitter, that it transported several dead and injured following a strike late Sunday in the Beach Street in Khan Younis. It posted nighttime footage showing medics carrying casualties to ambulances.

Combat was also reported in urban refugee camps in central Gaza, where Israel expanded its offensive last week.

“It’s our routine: bombings, massacres and martyrs,” said Saeed Moustafa, a Palestinian from the Nuseirat camp. He said he could hear sporadic explosions and gunfire in Nuseirat and in the nearby Bureij and Maghazi camps.

“Just as we speak, there is a big explosion not far from my home,” he said in a phone call Monday morning.

The military said an airstrike killed Adel Mismah, a regional commander of Hamas’ elite Nukhba forces, in the central city of Deir Al-Balah.

Hamas fired a large barrage of rockets toward Israel, including at its commercial hub Tel Aviv, as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Israel has said the war will last for months. It has argued that it needs time to clear Gaza of militants’ weapons and infrastructure and to prevent Hamas from being able to stage more attacks. Israel has resisted international calls for a long-term cease-fire, saying doing so would amount to a victory for Hamas.

Shlomo Brom, a retired brigadier general once in charge of strategic planning in the Israeli military, said the troop changes may be a result of the US pressure. He said it indicated a shift in how Israel was conducting the war in some areas.

“The war is not stopping,” said Brom. “It is the beginning of a different mode of operation.”

Israelis still largely support the wars aims, even as the cost in soldiers’ lives is mounting.

Over the weekend, the military said that of the soldiers killed since the ground operation began — as of Monday, 172 in total — 18 were killed by friendly fire while another 11 died by weapons or equipment malfunctions or accidents.

[halalchampagnesocialist]

After Israel’s Netta Barzilai won the competition last year, Israel is set to host Eurovision in Tel Aviv from May 14. The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has called for a boycott of Eurovision to protest Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian Territories.

Eurovision is known for having a strong LGBTIQ fanbase with several competitors identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. For its gay fans, Eurovision has always been a glitter-filled party and a symbol of diversity and tolerance.  Israel’s third and previous win was in 1998 when trans woman Dana International represented the country. Concerns have been raised, however, that the Israeli government will use Eurovision to pinkwash its human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza.

Pinkwashing involves the use of LGBTIQ rights to cover up human rights abuses by projecting a ‘progressive’ image. Through various PR campaigns – known collectively as the Brand Israel strategy – Israel markets itself as a ‘gay haven’ and promotes Pride events in Tel Aviv to boost tourism. Cultural events such as Eurovision are no exception. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has even called Netta Barzilai a ‘cultural ambassador’ following her win.

LGBTIQ communities around the world have also protested Israel using Eurovision as a pinkwashing opportunity to cover up its human rights abuses. More than 60 queer and trans groups across nearly 20 countries – including Palestinian groups al-Qaws, Aswat and Pinkwatching Israel – have called on global LGBTIQ communities to boycott Eurovision in Israel. As Haneen Maikey and Hilary Aked wrote in the The Independent, despite Israel’s efforts to use Eurovision as cultural propaganda to show the world its ‘prettier face’, many LGBTIQ people are now saying ‘There is No Pride in Apartheid’.

Whether Israel is actually a ‘gay haven’ for Palestinians is debatable. Israel routinely blackmails gay Palestinians into becoming informants, threatening to out them to their families and their communities if they don’t co-operate, thus endangering their lives. Queer acceptance in Israel is also wrapped up in nationalism – what Jasbir Puar terms ‘homonationalism’ – and queer Palestinians in Israel face discrimination from other queer Israelis. As Israel posits itself as ‘enlightened’ and ‘progressive’ compared to its ‘backwards’ Middle Eastern neighbours by holding Pride parades and allowing openly-gay soldiers to serve, it reinforces orientalist notions of the superiority of Israeli and Western cultures. Acceptance of queer Palestinians by Israel is conditional as long as – as Jason Ritchie puts it – they ‘mute or repudiate their Palestinianness’. It is an acceptance specifically constructed to be apolitical and avoid criticisms of the occupation. Despite Eurovision being beloved and attended by many gay fans, gay Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza would require permits in order to be able to attend.

Israel’s Eurovision date coincides with the anniversary of its founding and establishment, an event known to Palestinians as the Nakba or ‘catastrophe’ which saw over 750 000 Palestinians flee or be expelled from their homes in present-day Israel, which they are unable to return to. Since 2018, Palestinians in Gaza have been leading marches called by organisers the ‘Great March of Return’ to the Gaza-Israeli border to demand a right to return to their homes in Israel.  Israel has recently faced international condemnation, including by human rights NGOs, for responding to these marches by shooting unarmed protestors in Gaza, including journalists and medics. Since the protests began, over two hundreds Palestinians have been killed and over eighteen thousand injured.

In the West Bank, Israel continues its illegal settlement project, with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu saying he plans to annex West Bank settlements. This would involve huge land grabs and lessen the chances of the establishment of a Palestinian state. Palestinians in the West Bank face Apartheid-like conditions with Jewish-only roads, Jewish-only settlements, and rights and privileges enjoyed by Israeli citizens afforded to Jewish settlers while Palestinians remain without rights. Vulnerable Palestinian communities like the village of Khan Al Ahmar are at risk of demolition by Israel and its residents face forcible displacement. The Israeli army also continues to kill and injure unarmed Palestinians with impunity, as in the case of paramedic Sajed Muzhe, shot and killed after the Israeli army raided a refugee camp in Bethlehem.

Music has a history of being used as a form of protest. The cultural boycott of Israel takes after the South Africa Sun City boycott, led by Steven Van Zandt. Many artists such as Lorde, Pink Floyd, Brian Eno and Elvis Costello have refused to perform in Israel due to its appalling human rights record, while Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters has called onAustralia’s Kate Miller-Heidke to pull out of this year’s Eurovision.

Other celebrities, including Stephen Fry and Sharon Osbourne, signed a letter against the boycott this week, claiming that it is an attack on Eurovision’s ‘spirit of togetherness’ and an ‘affront to Palestinians and Israelis working to advance peace.’ The letter has been released by Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), a not-for-profit organisation which was exposed last year as a front to be for the right-wing pro-Israel advocacy organisation StandWithUs. It is evident that organisations like CCFP use the idea of ‘peace’ to block any criticisms or action against Israel, reinforcing the status quo of Israel’s domination over Palestinian lives and land.

BDS Australia have called on SBS and Kate Miller-Heidke to boycott Eurovision. Their petition has garnered over 2 500 signatures so far.

Eurovision should be about coming together to celebrate diversity and inclusion. Building solidarity between LGBTIQ people and Palestinians to achieve equality and justice for people everywhere must be a priority, and embracing this boycott is just the start.

Hello, I wrote a little something. Check it out.

[save-palestine]

Gaza children face death and disorientation

Ali Bannat, who was injured during the Great March of Return protests, drives a car he made from spare parts to provide transportation at Bureij refugee camp. In their homes, in the street, in UN-run schools, Palestinian youth are not safe from Israeli bullets Chris McGreal in Khan Yunis Guardian Weekly Raghda Alassar's classmates did not hear the Israeli bullet that tore into the nine-year-old's brain as she wrote an English test. But as a pool of blood spread across her desk and spilled on the floor, a wall of screams rose from the classroom of the UN elementary school for girls in Khan Yunis. At that point Raghda was still crying for help. By the time she was hauled into the trauma room of a neighbouring hospital she was silent. For five days the army blocked Raghda's transfer to an Israeli hospital, whose facilities might have offered a glimmer of hope. An infection set in. Last week doctors told her father, Adnad, that she was brain-dead. "The bullet entered under her eye and went out the back of her head," Mr Alassar said. "I find it so difficult to believe what happened to my daughter. She was at school, just carrying her notebook, not a gun. What is my daughter - nine years old - guilty of that she has to be shot? It's state terror against the whole population." In recent weeks the Israelis have again been preoccupied with terrorism, from the murder of 16 people in the Beersheba bus bombings to the slaughter of Russian schoolchildren in Beslan, which received blanket coverage. During the six months of relative peace for Israelis, until the Beersheba bombings, the army killed more than 400 Palestinians. Most were fighters, but they also included about 40 children under the age of 15. Palestinians say this also is a form of terror. "We're always listening for the helicopters, listening for the tanks, listening for the bombs," said Khitam abu Shawarib, the only social worker in Rafah refugee camp, on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip. "I am very sorry when I hear of a Jewish woman or children killed. I think it is wrong, and many people here think it is wrong. But what the Jews suffer is nothing to the terror we live with from them. It takes such a toll on our health, on society, most of all on the children." Israelis live in fear of random attacks, principally the suicide bombing of buses and cafes, and shootings in the occupied territories. But they are generally safe in their homes. In southern Gaza and parts of the West Bank there is often no sanctuary from the seemingly relentless, indiscriminate Israeli shooting. Israel classifies Gaza Strip towns such as Rafah and Khan Yunis, and Nablus and Jenin in the West Bank, as war zones. That, the army says, justifies the firing of weapons into residential areas or the bulldozing of scores of homes each month, ostensibly in search of rarely discovered tunnels for smuggling in weapons. Barely a night passes in Rafah or Khan Yunis without the machine-gun fire that has shredded hundreds of homes, forcing families to sleep in an inner room behind bricked up windows or a second wall. Others live in the rubble of their bulldozed houses, in the firing line from the rarely seen soldiers high in the gun towers. Earlier this month 15-year-old Mazen al-Ara was trying to lead his siblings away from tanks and heavy shooting around their house on the edge of the "Philadelphi Road", the highly militarised border at Rafah. Usually they sheltered in an inner room when the shooting began, but that night it was so intense that Mazen said they would all be killed if they stayed. As he led the terrified group into the street, Mazen was caught by a burst of fire. The boy died; doctors took 18 bullets from his body. A few days earlier, 10-year-old Munir al-Daqas left his home in Jabalya refugee camp to visit his grandparents' house five minutes' walk away. "It must have been a sniper," his mother, Kifah, said. "People told me as I was shopping in the market. I couldn't believe it. Munir was just there with me and now they were saying he was dead." In four years of intifada, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights says, the army has killed 136 children in Rafah and Khan Yunis, a quarter of all the Palestinian children who have died during the uprising, because of its "indiscriminate shooting, excessive force, a shoot-to-kill policy and the deliberate targeting of children". The dead in Khan Yunis and Rafah in recent weeks also include two 12-year-old boys, a 15-year-old girl and a 75-year-old man in a wheelchair, Ibrahim Halfalla, who was crushed under the rubble of his own home by an army bulldozer as his wife begged the soldiers not to advance. The army has not offered an explanation for the killing of Raghda Alassar, but it frequently says that child victims are caught in crossfire during Palestinian attacks on the army or Jewish settlers. There were no such battles when Raghda Alassar and Munir Daqas were hit. Or when a bullet pierced the blind of Sara Zorob's living room and struck the 10-year-old in the chest, killing her instantly. There are other young victims, as well. "The children who are physically injured are not the only ones harmed," said Usama Freona, a psychologist at the UN clinic in Rafah. "The levels of violence children are exposed to is horrific. We work in a lot of schools to treat the children. In the one next to Kfar Darom [a Jewish settlement in Gaza], all the children are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Most of them were crying and shaking when they were speaking about their experiences. There is a lot of bedwetting." Mohammed abu Yusuf is the counsellor at Raghda Alassar's school. "After Raghda was shot," he said, "the children were crying and screaming. Five girls in her class still won't come back to school." Raghda Alassar is not the first child shot at the cluster of UN schools in Khan Yunis. Last year an Israeli bullet blinded Huda Darwish, 12, as she sat at her desk. Mrs Daqas said her children could not comprehend Munir's death. "Munir's younger brother doesn't understand he is dead. He thought he would come back after the funeral and kept asking why Munir has come when we've had 'the party' for him. His four-year-old sister asks every day if we can search the market because Munir must be lost," she said. Mr Freona said the constant violence begets violence. "Look at the games children play. Most of the boys play Arabs and Jews. Many want to play the role of the Jews. They see that the Israeli soldiers are the ones with the guns and they are strong and they see that is the most important thing," he said. With that has come a collapse in respect for authority. The image of Mohammed al-Dura, the 12-year-old Gaza boy shot as his father vainly tried to protect him from Israeli gunfire in the first days of the latest intifada, is seared on the Palestinian consciousness. It has come to symbolise what they see as the callous indifference of Israeli forces to the lives of their children. But Mrs Abu Shawarib said it had a further impact on many children, who saw that a father was unable to protect his son. "The respect for authority is shattered because children see their fathers beaten in front of them," she said. "The father looks helpless to protect the child and the child thinks he is alone." Another result of the perpetual killing was that many children came to expect an early death and the prospect of becoming a "martyr". "The martyr is in paradise, he has glory here and in the afterlife where it is so much better than life in Rafah," she said. "The children see many people killed, so they come to expect to be killed. This is horrible, that children should accept the possibility of death." Plight of Palestinian women, page 20

[nataliesnews]

Violinist    1.5.2022

בוקר טוב,

לפני שלושה ימים עצרו בחורינו המצויינים את זוג העיתונאים מוחמד ומג'דולין חסונה. הם שוחררו לאחר שנחקרו במשך מספר שעות במתקן עטרות.

יום לאחר שיצאה מחדר החקירות סיפרה מג'דולין: "ראינו ילד מוצא מחדר חקירות אחר. הוא נראה חיוור ומותש. לבש בגדי עצורים בצבע חום שהיו גדולים ממידותיו. על ידיו היו אזיקים ממתכת... לא יכולנו לעשות דבר למענו. הבטתי במוחמד. הוא היה על סף דמעות. כמוני.

סימנתי לו באצבעותי את האות V

אות הניצחון. הוא חייך ו��ימן בחזרה, כשהאזיקים על ידיו. רציתי לשאול לשמו, אך לא יכולתי, משום שהחיילים אסרו עלינו לדבר.

 חששתי שאם יענה לי, יכו אותו... לאחר שיצאנו, התחלתי לחפש פרטים על הילד. התברר שזהו את'אל אל-אזה. בן 14. תושב בית לחם. מוזיקאי מוכשר. שוחחנו עם אביו. הוא סיפר שמאשימים אותו בהשלכת אבנים על החיילים, אך לצבא אין הוכחות . הם איימו עליו במהלך החקירה. גם אמו נחקרה. הופעלו עליו לחצים פיזיים ופסיכולוגיים, על מנת שיודה במעשה שלא ביצע. ראינו חבורות על פניו. היה ברור שנמנעה ממנו שינה. לעולם לא אשכח את מראה פניו. נעשה הכל על מנת לשחרר אותו."

את'אל לא זוכה לסיקור בתקשורת הפח הישראלית. את רוב היהודים הוא לא מעניין. זו שגרה של פלסטינים.

 Good Morning,

Three days ago, our excellent guys arrested the pair of journalists Muhammad and Majdolin Hasson. They were released after being interrogated for several hours at the Atarot facility.

 The day after she left the interrogation room, Majdulin said: "We saw a boy coming out of another interrogation room. He looked pale and exhausted. He was wearing brown clothes that were larger than his size. He had handcuffs made of metal ... we could not do anything for him. I looked at Muhammad. He He was on the verge of tears. Like me. I marked the letter V with the finger of victory.

 When we left, I started looking for details about the boy. It turned out to be Ethel al-'Aza. 14. A resident of Bethlehem. A talented musician. We talked to his father. He said he was accused of throwing stones at the soldiers, but the army has no evidence. They threatened him during the interrogation .

 Ethel does not receive coverage in the Israeli tin media. He is not interesting to   most Jews. This is a routine of Palestinians.

#Nakba

 Natalie: When you read this think of the settlers at   Yishar      who throw stones at soldiers, curse them, damage the jeeps and physically attack them and are not arrest. The soldiers had no evidence that the boy had thrown stones.

  Akram al-Waara

 in 

Bethlehem, occupied Palestine

Published date: 29 April 2022 09:56 UTC | Last update: 57 sec ago

When Athal al-Azzeh, a young Palestinian violin player and student council enthusiast, was arrested by Israeli soldiers two weeks ago, he feared that his life as he knew it was over.

"I was really scared, I didn't know what was going to happen to me," the 14-year-old told Middle East Eye. "All I could think about was my family and friends, and if they were sad and scared like I was," Azzeh said, recounting the moment Israeli soldiers ambushed him as he was walking near a military base in his hometown of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank. 

Azzeh was detained on 15 April while heading to his grandmother's house in the Beit Jibrin refugee camp on Bethlehem's main road. An Israeli military jeep pulled up beside him as he was walking, and four armed soldiers jumped out and grabbed him. 

The Palestinian teenage Ramadan drummer who was silenced by a lethal Israeli bullet

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"One of the soldiers grabbed me around my neck, and was choking me so hard I felt faint, and started to lose consciousness," Azzeh recounted. "Then they took me into the military base and threw me on the ground. Once they released my neck I could breathe again, and realised where I was."

"After I woke up, they started to punch me, in my back, my stomach, my face, everywhere. They were yelling at me. I was really scared," he said. "Then they handcuffed me and took me to prison." 

When Azzeh arrived at an interrogation and detention centre inside the Atarot settlement in northern Jerusalem, he said he saw many other Palestinian boys just like him, aged between 15 and 17. 

"When I saw the other boys, my mind started running in many different places," he told MEE.

"I was just thinking about all the things I was going to miss. I thought about my family, and how they don't know where I am. I thought about my school, my friends, and my music classes. I felt like my dreams were ending."

'Torture tactics'

Azzeh was released after 12 days of detention at 4am on Wednesday 27 April, on a 4,000 Israeli shekel bail ($1,200). During his imprisonment, which "felt like 12 years" to him, he was arraigned four times and interrogated by Israeli intelligence and military officials every day. 

Israeli authorities accused Azzeh of throwing stones at the military base and burning tires - accusations that Azzeh has adamantly denied. 

On the day the teenager was arrested, he was interrogated for hours while he was fasting. He said Israeli officers gave him food and water to break his fast more than two hours after sunset.

  The Palestinians also have a name.

The man in the picture is named Raja and he is 62. Raja arrived on his lands yesterday when 20 masked settlers attacked him with sticks and stones until bloodshed.

In the morning skulls are shattered, in the evening they stand in remembrance

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.11

9 – Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends, where the Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine being established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hundred years. 1185 – Isaac II Angelos kills Stephen Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronikos I Komnenos and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire. 1226 – The first recorded instance of the Catholic practice of perpetual Eucharistic adoration formally begins in Avignon, France. 1297 – Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English. 1390 – Lithuanian Civil War (1389–92): The Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius. 1541 – Santiago, Chile, is besieged by indigenous warriors, led by Michimalonco, to free eight indigenous chiefs held captive by the Spaniards. However, the Spaniards decapitated them and rolled their heads on the main square, horrifying the indigenous warriors, and subsequently ending the attack. 1565 – Ottoman forces retreat from Malta ending the Great Siege of Malta. 1609 – Henry Hudson arrives on Manhattan Island and meets the indigenous people living there. 1649 – Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison. 1683 – Battle of Vienna: Coalition forces, including the famous winged Hussars, led by Polish King John III Sobieski lift the siege laid by Ottoman forces. 1697 – Battle of Zenta: a major engagement in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) and one of the most decisive defeats in Ottoman history. 1708 – Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the Battle of Poltava, and the Swedish Empire ceases to be a major power. 1709 – Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands, and Austria fight against France. 1714 – Siege of Barcelona: Barcelona, capital city of Catalonia, surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Spanish Succession. 1758 – Battle of Saint Cast: France repels British invasion during the Seven Years' War. 1775 – Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec leaves Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1776 – British–American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolutionary War. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Brandywine: The British celebrate a major victory in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Sugarloaf Massacre: A small detachment of militia from Northampton County are attacked by Native Americans and Loyalists near Little Nescopeck Creek. 1786 – The beginning of the Annapolis Convention. 1789 – Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. 1792 – The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored. 1800 – The Maltese National Congress Battalions are disbanded by British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball. 1802 – France annexes the Kingdom of Piedmont. 1803 – Battle of Delhi, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, between British troops under General Lake, and Marathas of Scindia's army under General Louis Bourquin. 1813 – War of 1812: British troops arrive in Mount Vernon and prepare to march to and invade Washington, D.C. 1814 – War of 1812: The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the war. 1826 – Captain William Morgan, an ex-freemason is arrested in Batavia, New York for debt after declaring that he would publish The Mysteries of Free Masonry, a book against Freemasonry. This sets into motion the events that led to his mysterious disappearance. 1829 – An expedition led by Isidro Barradas at Tampico, sent by the Spanish crown to retake Mexico, surrenders at the Battle of Tampico, marking the effective end of Mexico's campaign for independence. 1830 – Anti-Masonic Party convention; one of the first American political party conventions. 1836 – The Riograndense Republic is proclaimed by rebels after defeating Empire of Brazil's troops in the Battle of Seival, during the Ragamuffin War. 1851 – Christiana Resistance: Escaped slaves led by William Parker fight off and kill a slave owner who, with a federal marshal and an armed party, sought to seize three of his former slaves in Christiana, Pennsylvania, thereby creating a cause célèbre between slavery proponents and abolitionists. 1852 – Outbreak of Revolution of September 11 resulting in the State of Buenos Aires declaring independence as a Republic. 1857 – The Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah. 1881 – In the Swiss state of Glarus, a rockslide buries parts of the village of Elm, destroying 83 buildings and killing 115 people. 1897 – After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of the Kaffa. 1903 – The first race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world. 1905 – The Ninth Avenue derailment occurs in New York City, killing 13. 1914 – World War I: Australia invades German New Guinea, defeating a German contingent at the Battle of Bita Paka. 1914 – The Second Period of Russification: The teaching of the Russian language and Russian history in Finnish schools was ordered to be considerably increased as part of the forced Russification program in Finland run by Tsar Nicholas II. 1916 – The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge previously collapsed completely on August 29, 1907. 1919 – United States Marine Corps invades Honduras. 1921 – Nahalal, the first moshav in Palestine, is settled as part of a Zionist plan of creating a Jewish state, later to be Israel. 1922 – The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia. 1941 – Construction begins on The Pentagon. 1941 – Charles Lindbergh's Des Moines Speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of pressing for war with Germany. 1943 – World War II: German troops occupy Corsica and Kosovo-Metohija ending the Italian occupation of Corsica. 1944 – World War II: The Western Allied invasion of Germany begins near the city of Aachen. 1944 – World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500. 1945 – World War II: Australian 9th Division forces liberate the Japanese-run Batu Lintang camp, a POW and civilian internment camp on the island of Borneo. 1954 – Hurricane Edna hits New England (United States) as a Category 2 hurricane, causing significant damage and 29 deaths. 1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state. 1965 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Army captures the town of Burki, just southeast of Lahore. 1967 – China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched an attack on Indian posts at Nathu La, Sikkim, India, which resulted in military clashes. 1968 – Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and six crew. 1970 – The Dawson's Field hijackers release 88 of their hostages. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews and Israeli citizens, are held until September 25. 1971 – The Egyptian Constitution becomes official. 1972 – The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system begins passenger service. 1973 – A coup in Chile, headed by General Augusto Pinochet, topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Pinochet exercises dictatorial power until ousted in a referendum in 1988, staying in power until 1990. 1973 – JAT Airways Flight 769 crashes into the Maganik mountain range while on approach to Titograd Airport, killing 35 passengers and six crew. 1974 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew. 1976 – A bomb planted by a Croatian terrorist, Zvonko Bušić, is found at New York's Grand Central Terminal; one NYPD officer is killed trying to defuse it. 1980 – A new constitution of Chile is established under the influence of then Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, which is subject to controversy in Chile today. 1982 – The international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Phalange forces. 1989 – Hungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany. 1991 – Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake, killing 11 passengers and three crew. 1992 – Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai and Oahu. 1997 – NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars. 1997 – After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament within the United Kingdom. 2001 – The September 11 attacks, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks killing 2,977 people using four aircraft hijacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda. Two aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, a third crashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 2007 – Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs. 2008 – A major Channel Tunnel fire breaks out on a freight train, resulting in the closure of part of the tunnel for six months. 2011 – The National September 11 Memorial & Museum opens on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. 2012 – A total of 315 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan. 2012 – The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths. 2015 – A crane collapses onto the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others.

[topfygad]

Is it safe to travel to Lebanon? Updated 2019

Update Lebanon September 2019: On August 25th, one Israeli drone exploded in the suburbs of Beirut, in a Hezbollah area. No people were injured and despite they were targeting Hezbollah areas, the real reason is unknown. However, this one-time incident doesn’t make Lebanon unsafe. Continue reading for a better understanding.

Today, many people are continuously asking me:

Is it safe to travel to Lebanon? Is Beirut safe? 

That’s because, unfortunately, many travelers believe that safety in both Beirut and Lebanon is an issue.

But guess what! Lebanon, including Beirut, is one of the safest countries in the Middle East. The only reasons why it’s not considered as such are the media and inaccurate Government travel advice and warnings.

With one of the lowest crime rates in the world today, Lebanon can brag about having the lowest number of Islamic extremists in the Middle East. This article aims to tell you the reasons why.

In 2019, I traveled from Beirut to Syria and spent 1 week around the country. I highly recommend you read: Tips + How to travel to Syria – Everything you need to know 

If you want to stay informed of all my current trips, remember to follow @againstthecompass on Instagram. 

    Here you will find (Jump to any content you want)

Is it safe to travel to Beirut? And how safe is Lebanon? Non-safe areas you should not travel in Lebanon Lebanon travel advice and tips on how to visit the sensitive areas of Hezbollah The isolated case of Tripoli Extra: Lebanon and Beirut safety tips

Do you know what a VPN is? A Virtual Private Network allows you to access blocked sites when you travel, as well as it lets you access content only available in your home country (like Netflix), plus it prevents hackers from stealing your personal data. Learn here why you should always use a VPN when you travel

  Are Beirut and Lebanon safe?

Contrary to what people say, there is no war in Lebanon and Beirut

For some reason, people in the West tend to associate Lebanon with war. And I wonder: ”Why?” Whereas it’s true that the country did suffer 25 years of Civil War, this ended in 1991. It was more than 25 years ago!

Hey, have you ever wondered how I make a full living from blogging? Learn here how I started monetizing my blog and get over 200,000 monthly page views in less than 3 years

Furthermore, the Lebanese-Israeli war took place in 2006, but it lasted for one month only. For the past 10 years, the country has been able to enjoy peace!

Read: A travel guide to Beirut

A church destroyed by the Civil War, 25 years ago – Lebanon travel warning

  In Lebanon, there’s no place for extremism. Did you know that more than 40% of the population are Christians?

Lebanon is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world and today, several different religious groups coexist peacefully.

Did you know that more than 40% of the population are Christians? No? Did you know that Sunni Muslims (the branch of Islam that ISIS draws its followers from) only make up 25% of the population?

In this country, there’s no place for extremism. Have you ever heard of any Lebanese who has radicalized and joined ISIS? Normally, they come from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or even Turkey. Lebanon is so culturally cluttered, that the chances of a person radicalizing are low.

Read: 50 Tips for traveling to Iraqi Kurdistan

A mosque and a church built side by side – Is Beirut safe?

  The most liberal country in the Middle East

On the other hand, although religion plays an important role in the life of most families, from a religious point of view, Lebanon is the most liberal country in the entire Middle East.

It has the largest number of atheists (especially among young people), beer is available everywhere and drinking alcohol in the street is allowed (and quite common). Surprised?

In December 2018, I went to Saudi Arabia because for the first time in history, they started issuing tourist visas. Read: Tips + How to travel to Saudi Arabia

  It shares a border with Syria. OK, so what?

Lebanon shares border with Syria. Yes, so what? They are two different countries. The border between them is highly guarded and controlled. The chances of the Syrian conflict moving into Lebanon are non-existent.

  The investment in military security is huge

We can’t forget that Lebanon is located in a highly turbulent region. The military presence aims to prevent any sort of potential conflict.

Soldiers and checkpoints are found in absolutely every corner of the country, especially in Beirut. The Lebanese people love the army. They are accepted in society because it makes them feel safer.

Read: The ultimate 10-day itinerary to Lebanon

Soldiers in Beirut – Is Beirut safe to visit?

  Crime rate and kidnappings are non-existent

As in most of the Arab countries, the crime rate is practically zero. No robberies, no violence. In Lebanon, you can walk around without a worry anywhere at any time, even women.

Read: A travel guide to Palestine

  NO-GO zones when traveling to Lebanon

I just told you the reasons why Lebanon and Beirut are safe places to travel to.

Does it mean that you could wander freely across the whole country? No, absolutely not.

Whereas it’s true that 95% of the country is safe, the remaining 5% might not be. Why?

Because the few radicals who live in the country are found in those areas. These areas are dangerous, not only for the simple fact that you may meet some extremists, but, since the area is so close to Syria, it also suffers from spillover from the Syrian conflict.

Where are these no-go zones? Basically, the north-eastern portion highlighted in red. Don’t even get close to this area. The rest of the country is safe. Please note that the below map is an approximation.

Update 2018: The army managed to kick out many of the ISIS troops. The security in this tiny part of Lebanon has also improved.

  Safety in Lebanon & Beirut: Visiting the sensitive areas of Hezbollah

There are a bunch of areas which, even though they are not classified as dangerous, are considered sensitive. Why? Because they are controlled by Hezbollah. What does ”sensitive area” mean? Hezbollah areas have always been the target of terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State.

In fact, the last suicide bombings that occurred in Lebanon (don’t worry, there is one attack per year) happened in Hezbollah areas. They are partially restricted and no journalism of any sort is allowed.

To understand it better I recommend you read: The day I was accused of being an Islamic State spy in Lebanon

Which Hezbollah areas are sensitive?

Shia Muslim neighborhoods of Beirut, for example, Bourj el-Barajneh

Some refugee camps, for example, Ain al-Hilweh in Saida

Hezbollah territories located in the south of Lebanon, close to the border with Israel

The Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila, Beirut – How safe is Beirut Lebanon?

  Things to keep in mind when visiting a Hezbollah area

Don’t even think of taking pictures or let anyone see you with a camera

Some locals may be hostile and you might be kicked out for no reason. If you have the chance to go with a Lebanese, then do it

Foreigners will always be treated as suspicious. You’ll pass through several checkpoints where you’ll be checked and interrogated over and over

In these areas, there are no tourists. Many of the residents can’t understand why someone would to come to their area for tourism purposes. Repeatedly, you’ll be asked by the locals: ”What are you doing here”? Simply, answer: ”Nothing, I am just a tourist and I am walking all around the city”.

Today, Hezbollah areas are relatively safe. I say relatively because there’s one suicide bombing per year, approximately. To be safer, stay away from crowds.

Before heading to any of those areas, check the current situation with a local Lebanese. The areas close to the Israeli border require a special permit. To get it, go to any police station in either Saida or Beirut. You will get it instantly. Keep in mind that this permit gives you access to the area, but it doesn’t allow you to take pictures or do anything silly.

Important to mention: These areas have no appeal for tourists. The only reason why you would want to go there is that you are tremendously curious and need to know what the hell is going on in there. I visited everything. In the border with Israel, I was detained by the authorities. In the Shia neighborhood of Bourj el-Barajneh, some locals kicked me out, pacifically, but for no reason. However, I didn’t experience any issues when I visited the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila. If you are as freaky and curious as I am, the experience is definitely worth it.

Read: Visiting Bourj el-Barajneh by Offbeat Travelling 

Bourj el-Barajneh (Hezbollah area) – Travel in Lebanon

  The isolated case of Tripoli

The UK travel advice to Lebanon says that Tripoli is not safe.

Tripoli is a city located in the north of Lebanon and the second most important one. Why do governments consider it dangerous? Since the Civil War, there have been one-off clashes between Sunni and Alawi Muslims who reside in the neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, respectively. Throughout the years, these clashes have killed several people.

This is a one-off conflict happening in a specific area, far away from the city center. It’s a fight between two small districts and doesn’t go beyond them. The rest of the city is totally cool and safe. I spent four days in Tripoli, and to be honest, it was one of the highlights of my trip.

I also have to admit that, since I’m an extremely curious human being, I also went to Jabal Mohsen. And what can I say? Life there was merely normal. Again, clashes and bombings happen once a year, not more.

Read: 80 Useful tips for traveling to Iran

Jebel Mohsen, a neighborhood in Tripoli which, according to FCO, is one of the most dangerous areas in Lebanon. However, I went there and it was just fine – Lebanon travel

  Extra: Beirut and Lebanon safety tips

Consider going on a tour

I always encourage people to travel independently but I can also understand why some travelers may prefer to travel on a tour, especially in a place like Lebanon.

I recommend you book them via GetYourGuide, as they always work with a wide range of local guides and tour operators, and you can book your tour with just one click. 

So far, these are the tours they offering for traveling in Lebanon:

Beirut city tour – Explore one of the most fascinating cities in the Middle East. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Jeita, Harissa and Byblos – Trip to one of the most stunning caves in the world and historical cities. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Wine tour – Lebanon is well-known for its wine and, in this tour, you will visit 3 different wineries from Beqaa Valley. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Baalbek – Some of the most outstanding Roman ruins outside of Rome. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Epic ruins of Baalbek

  Stay safe by planning your trip ahead – Best books for traveling to Lebanon

The best way to travel to Lebanon safely is to plan your trip properly. For this, I recommend the following books:

Lebanon Travel Guide by Bradt – This is the most updated book guide about Lebanon. Bradt is my favorite brand because they always provide with plenty of local insights and travel tips for independent travelers.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES ON AMAZON

  The Middle East Lonely Planet Guide – It has only one chapter about Lebanon but the information is updated, so it might prove useful.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES ON AMAZON

  English-Arabic phrasebook – Extremely useful when you are outside of Beirut.If you can communicate with the locals, you will, of course, be safer.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK THE LATEST PRICES

  Get proper travel insurance

Lebanon is safe but, truth to be said, it is not the easiest country to travel around because, like many Arab countries, things can become pretty wild.

I always recommend World Nomads. Why?

It is the only company that provides unlimited medical coverage

You can buy while you are already on the road

It covers the largest amount of adventure activities

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE QUOTE!

  Use Couchsurfing

In Beirut, Couchsurfing is a big deal and there are plenty of events every week. I suggest you look up for these weekly events and get to know some Lebanese people. Actually, there is a group of local attendants who are organizing trips for foreigners almost every week.

  A reminder

As I mentioned previously, don’t go to the northeast of the country and watch out when you are in Hezbollah areas.

And remember to check my other all my other guides about Lebanon:

Beirut travel guide A 10-day itinerary for visiting Lebanon Backpacking in Lebanon: How much does it cost in 2018?

For more content to the region, don’t forget to check all my travel guides to the Middle East

And don’t forget to check my Syria travel guide!

  Conclusion

Is Lebanon safe? The answer is yes, but you need to keep in mind that this country has gone through several conflicts and is located in the heart of the most turbulent region in the world.

Travel safe and cautious. If you have any question, leave a comment below. I’ll be happy to answer. Cheers.

I also recommend reading: Is it safe to travel to Iraq?

If you like my website and found this post useful, remember that, if you book any product or service through any of my links, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. These earnings help me maintain and keep Against the Compass going! Thanks

    from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/2l8vyIx via https://ift.tt/2NIqXKN

[alexsmitposts]

US Coalition Boot Remains on Syria’s Neck We all have heard enough Trump flip-flops on policy to not get too excited about anything reasonable that occasionally comes out of his mouth. Such things are usually an accident, and if not, his NeoCon handlers and Netanyahu will put him back onto the unipolar path to great wealth and power. High hopes were flying in 2018 when the Syrian coalition had finally defeated ISIS militants in the major areas they held while living off the captive populations, except for the Idlib jihadi dumping ground. Add to that the Syrian-Kurdish treachery of taking over traditional Arab lands at the behest of US support, which included grabbing the western oil region in Deir Ezzor. Veterans Today followed all of this daily, including our three trips to Syria, beginning with my first as an election monitor in 2014 where I filed my first on-the-scene warzone report for NEO. Five years later I can confess we are tired of the Syria story, not out of lack of caring, but via the grind of watching the suffering continue for so long without those responsible having to pay a suitable price. That will be my subject for today. Trump’s full Syrian withdrawal announcement was a cruel tease, as the Pentagon was not even included in the decision. It was Trump winging it. The inference was that the troops would be coming home as a reward for a job well done, but the news came quickly that they would really be reassigned “nearby” to Iraq. The US footprint was remaining, and with the boot on Syria’s neck. The NeoCon White House continues to disparage the Assad regime as cruel oppressors, despite Syrians overwhelmingly re-electing him in 2014, in a real election. I know because the international monitor team’s Arabic interpreter, a Canadian Palestinian, and I did the final translation of the election certification from Arabic. I was at the morning meeting with the Syrian election commission people on June 1, and then drove to the Parliament to meet with the Speaker. Both briefed us, and were open to questions for 90 minutes each. The Election commission was new, a response to Western attacks that Syrian elections were always rigged. The most notable thing I can share from that meeting was that to defend against US claims of ballot-box stuffing, arrangements with the opposition parties had been made to have their representatives in all 5000 polling stations with “eyes on” all the ballot boxes until the last one was counted. The election was a real deal. Assad won by a huge majority, similar to the way that Roosevelt was elected to a third term. The Syrian people were not about to change leadership from those who had saved the country from the ISIS/militant slaughtering that had been orchestrated by the US coalition, which would have been followed by the carving up of Syria into a Balkanized group of states with respective special interest puppets in charge. In my many street and polling station interviews that day, I learned that the Syrian people viewed Assad and the Army as one entity, where rejecting Assad would be like rejecting the Army which the Syria people were not about to do. Too much blood had been spilled. If you compare their KIAs to a corresponding percentage of the US population, the number would have been two million. I shocked a press conference one day pointing that out, and then asked the question, what would the US population scream for if we had two million killed in a struggle to Balkanize and take over the country? I answered that it would have nuked whoever the offender was. At the Parliament meeting, the Speaker told us that Syria viewed itself as being in a world war, as it was holding jihadi terrorist PoWs from 65 countries, which most of the world was not aware of at the time. We later learned at VT that a large network had been constructed by the US coalition logistics people to keep a steady stream of jihadis flowing into Syria as cannon fodder for the nasty work to be done there, most all of it fully at the level of “crimes against humanity”. It is still going on. After Trump’s spontaneous claim to pull the US troops out was reversed, we watched a new stain on America’s honor in the continued horrible treatment of the displaced internal Syrians in overcrowded refugee camps, where they were being held as virtual prisoners. When many Syrian refugees were beginning to make plans to return to their homes and help rebuild their country, we could see that the US coalition had decided to disrupt that process. Sure, some began to return, but we found the US wanted to try to make them unhappy with Assad by assuring the sanctions remained to block getting the country back on its feet by blocking the essentials needed to live, much less to rebuild. The US excuse was to claim that the “political process” had to be well on its way before sanctions would be removed, but of course Washington knew it was in a position to block that process via its control over some of the participants. And in one of the cruelest acts of all, the tens of thousands remaining in the huge al-Tanf US stronghold on the Jordan border were blocked from leaving the camp by US officials. There have been some busloads removed in the last two weeks, but people, including children continue to die there, due to the US virtually holding them prisoner. A worse situation exists in northeast Syrian in the Kurdish SDF territory, where a large refugee camp is located near the town of al-Hawl in the eastern al-Hasakah countryside. It was designed for 20,000, but now holds 74,000, including Iraqi refugees that fled fighting from Anbar province in Iraq last year. They are living under appalling conditions, exacerbated by the influx of ISIS family survivors of the ISIS jihadis that held out to the end in Deir Ezzor. Instead of arranging for the care of these families in Deir Ezzor with proper logistics, they have been trucked all the way to northeast Syria, with many dying along the way from wounds suffering from the final month of fighting. Maj. Gen. Kupchishin, Head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, said that Damascus is offering settlement schemes along with security guarantees to displaced Syrians. However, Kurdish forces and the US-led coalition are not cooperating. Imagine that. Why do so few in the West know about these refugee horrors? It is because the US Coalition has had a complete blackout on all independent reporting on its activities inside Syria. When is the last time any of us have seen a Western news crew interview the victims of this cruel treatment? All we generally see are short clips of people being loaded onto trucks, but no personal interviews on what they have been through and who do they blame for their suffering. The continued silence about these crimes only encourages their continuance. Even the new Democrats in Congress have remained quiet about it, as punishing Syrians is an important topic to the Israelis along with the US, who are hoping the Syrian people will eventually blame Assad for it all. But the Syrians are not that stupid. Can they form a Coalition in the Region? The only silver lining is that finally Syria, Iraq and Iran are openly talking about forming a coalition to oppose the divide-and-conquer machinations of the US coalition, which has continued the chaotic conditions of the region and blamed it on Iran, an assertion which no one with half a brain believes. Syria and Iraq have announced plans to open the Qa’im border crossing just south of al-Bakumal in Deir Ezzor province. The US wants to block that opening if possible, as commercial goods, including oil can be trucked into the eastern areas of Syria, while Damascus works on pushing the SDF Kurds out of Deir Ezzor. Assad needs the region’s oil production to help rebuild Syria. I have written NEO articles several times over the last few years about the necessity of Syria, Iraq and Iran forming their own mini-NATO, with a consolidated defense from foreign interference, and have been greatly disappointed to see no progress. Maybe 2019 could be the year to see full independence for Syria and Iraq from their long suffering at the hands of the international criminals that run some of the respective governments, who did their dirty work under cover of immunity from prosecution. If the UN statutes concerning crimes against humanity are not to become a big joke, then the perpetrators of such during the Iraq and Syrian wars will have to be charged in a court, and not just the cannon fodder jihadis, but all those that supported them logistically. There is enough evidence. VT alone has tons of it and is ready to testify, and the sooner the better.

[ladystylestores]

Israeli Soldier Is Killed in West Bank as Tensions Rise Over Annexation Push

JERUSALEM — A 21-year-old Israeli soldier was killed early Tuesday when he was struck in the head by a heavy rock as his unit was completing a nighttime arrest mission in a Palestinian village near Jenin, in the northern West Bank, the army said.

It was the first combat fatality for the Israeli military this year, and it came as the region was bracing for a possible uptick in violence in response to an Israeli push to annex land in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians have long counted on for a future state.

Later in the day, a Palestinian man who attempted a stabbing attack at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem was shot and wounded, the Israeli police said.

The overnight killing of the soldier, Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Ygal, of the city of Ramat Gan, occurred during what the army described as a routine operation that resulted in the arrest of four Palestinians in Yaabed, west of Jenin, including some suspected of throwing stones at passing Israeli motorists. The soldier was hit by a rock thrown from a house on the outskirts of the village, the army said.

He was wearing a helmet, but it did not save him.

A hunt was underway for his killer on Tuesday, and the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that Israeli forces were raiding homes in Yaabed and had arrested seven additional people by around noon.

An Israeli Army spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, said, “We have a good assessment of who it is, and it’s just a matter of time before they will be apprehended.”

The mayor of Yaabed, Saed Zaid Kilani, said later that Israeli forces had arrested an entire family living in the home from which it was believed the rock had been thrown at Sergeant Ben Ygal.

Colonel Conricus described Yaabed as “a known hot spot of terrorists and sympathizers and supporters of terrorist activity — and lots of stone throwing.” Palestinian officials said militants representing Fatah, which controls the West Bank, and rival factions claimed many supporters in the area.

On a Facebook Live video at midday, Israeli forces could be seen detaining a woman and firing a large round of tear gas toward residents and journalists.

Mr. Kilani said that several residents had been shot with rubber bullets by Israeli forces searching for the killer.

He added that Israeli troops had been in Yaabed, a town of about 20,000, repeatedly over the past week and had clashed with residents each time, firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

The Israeli military did not provide details about why the four Palestinians had been arrested but described the mission as the sort of operation that is conducted by security forces almost every night.

Kamel Abu Shamleh, a member of the municipal council, said that two of his sons had been taken away after his home was raided by about 10 soldiers at 4 a.m., as his family was eating its Ramadan predawn meal before fasting for the day. He said it was the first time that they had been arrested and that the soldiers had not given a reason.

Mr. Abu Shamleh said that he had called the Red Cross and another humanitarian group out of concern that his sons might be harmed while in Israeli custody in reprisal for Sergeant Ben Ygal’s killing.

The killing of Sergeant Ben Ygal appeared to stoke tensions, at a minimum. A grisly video showing a trail of blood leading from the spot where he was struck was shared thousands of times on Palestinian social media Tuesday morning.

In Gaza, Hamas praised the killing, and Ibrahim al-Madhoun, an analyst close to the militant group, wrote on Twitter and Telegram, “The annexation policy in the West Bank will be confronted by intense resistance — rock, knife, gun, explosion.”

In the early afternoon Tuesday, a Palestinian man was shot and wounded by Israeli security officers at the Qalandiya checkpoint, north of Jerusalem. The Israeli police said that he had run at one of the security officers wielding a screwdriver as a weapon but that he was shot before harming anyone.

Israel had not lost a soldier in the West Bank since August, when a 19-year-old student who had technically enlisted but was still studying in a yeshiva was stabbed to death near his school. The last combat soldier killed, in March 2019, was guarding a hitchhiking station near the settlement city of Ariel.

The killing on Tuesday was reminiscent of that of Ronen Lubarsky, a soldier in an elite combat unit who was struck in the head and fatally wounded by a heavy slab that broke his helmet in May 2018 in the Amari refugee camp near Ramallah.

In a wrenching radio interview Tuesday morning, Sergeant Ben Ygal’s father, Baruch, recalled how his son, phoning home from a high school trip to concentration camps in Poland that is a rite of passage for Israeli youngsters, had pleaded for permission to enlist as a combat soldier.

“I said to him, ‘Amit, my precious, you’re my only child, understand the significance.’ He said, ‘Dad, we have no other country. We have no other country.’”

Mr. Ben Ygal added: “I’m broken and shattered now.”

Mohammed Najib contributed reporting from Ramallah, West Bank; and Adam Rasgon from Tel Aviv.

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[gyrlversion]

Israeli probes into deaths of Palestinians often go nowhere

JALAZON REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Hamedo Fakhouri clearly remembers the moment when the young Palestinian who worked at his neighborhood coffee shop was shot dead.

Israeli troops were lingering after an overnight arrest raid in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem when he noticed the mentally disabled Mohammed Habali limp up the street with his wooden walking stick. Seconds later, he heard gunshots and spun around to see Habali collapse.

“I cannot forget and will not forget how this poor man was killed,” said Fakhouri.

Surveillance videos of the shooting drew outrage from Palestinians and human rights groups. Soon after, the Israeli military launched an investigation.

Witnesses say Habali was killed by Israeli troops. The military has acknowledged its forces opened fire and has not disputed the cause of his death. But seven months later, the investigation into whether soldiers were criminally at fault shows no signs of progress, illustrating what critics say is a disturbing pattern.

The Israeli military has opened investigations into 24 potentially criminal shootings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip over the past year, The Associated Press has found. Yet none of the cases have yielded convictions or even indictments. In most instances, the army hasn’t interviewed key witnesses or retrieved evidence from the field.

B’Tselem, Israel’s leading human rights group, grew so frustrated with the system that in 2016 it halted its decades-long practice of assisting military investigations.

“We came to the conclusion as a human rights organization, we’re actually creating more harm than good by cooperating with the system because it is in fact a whitewash mechanism,” said the group’s spokesman, Amit Galutz. The system’s success, he said, “is measured not by its ability to protect victims, but perpetrators.”

In the last eight years, nearly 200 criminal investigations into the shootings of Palestinians have secured just two convictions, according to B’Tselem. One of them, a high-profile case in which a soldier was caught on video fatally shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker who was lying on the ground, resulted in a reduced sentence of nine months.

Israel says it must regularly carry out military operations in the West Bank to prevent Palestinian attacks and protect Jewish settlements. While acknowledging investigations could be faster and better staffed, Israeli officials say the system is effective, especially in light of the challenging environment in which it operates.

“We didn’t build a robust legal system, one of the best in the world, just to help soldiers escape accountability,” said Maurice Hirsch, a former chief military prosecutor in the West Bank who is now director of legal strategies for Palestinian Media Watch, a group that monitors anti-Israel rhetoric by Palestinians.

The debate could have serious implications. The Palestinians have appealed to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to press war crimes charges against Israel. Although Israel does not recognize the court’s authority, the court can pursue cases if it finds Israel unwilling or unable to carry out justice.

A week after 22-year-old Habali was shot, Palestinian teenager Mahmoud Nakhleh sat chatting with friends outside the hardscrabble West Bank refugee camp of Jalazon. Suddenly, soldiers descended from a hilltop, provoked by a different group of youths slinging stones further down the highway.

Witnesses say Nakhleh and his friends panicked and bolted at the sight of advancing army jeeps. Troops chased them into the camp and opened fire, killing the 18-year-old Nakhleh.

Omar Hameedat, 21, watched the episode unfold from his balcony. “They started shooting spontaneously,” he said, pointing to video he captured on his cellphone. “No clashes, nothing.”

In the months since the killings of Habali and Nakhleh, Israeli authorities have neither interviewed witnesses nor requested footage from them. Various witnesses, including Hameedat, said they are prepared to cooperate.

In both cases, the army released similar statements, saying troops had responded to “disturbances” in which “dozens of Palestinians hurled stones”— a situation that automatically loosens the rules of engagement.

Deaths in such contexts are typically explained as regrettable accidents, and “usually not the consequence of any criminal decision,” said Eli Baron, Israel’s former deputy military advocate general.

Proving criminal intent is an especially high standard in Gaza, where some 200 Palestinians, most of them unarmed, have been killed in the past year during demonstrations along the border.

Israel, which withdrew its troops from the territory in 2005, says the ruling Hamas militant group uses the protests as a cover to stage attacks and notes that many protesters have tried to break through a separation fence to enter Israel. In response, the military applies the law of armed conflict, giving soldiers more leeway to open fire. This interpretation has been challenged by rights groups and the U.N.

In a dim living room in Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp, Ibrahim Ayyoub recalled the afternoon his 14-year-old son Mohammed was shot through the head by an Israeli sniper.

“Someone who executes a child will never confess to it,” Ayyoub said. “But we have to raise our voice.”

The family filed a complaint to the military through the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which said that in May, over a year after the event, two witnesses were asked to provide basic details to investigators over Skype. They have not heard back since.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights said the army has not asked for testimony or evidence in more than 50 cases it represents.

The government is obligated under international law to investigate reports of human rights abuses “promptly, thoroughly and in good faith,” said Annyssa Bellal, an expert in international humanitarian law at the Geneva Academy.

A failure to do so could give the International Criminal Court jurisdiction, she said. The court opened a “preliminary investigation” into Israeli practices in 2015, but has not said when it will complete the probe.

Responding to a request for updates on the ongoing investigations, the army said it has launched seven criminal probes in Gaza and 16 in the West Bank over the past year.

Three of the cases were closed following a military police investigation. Another two cases were treated as an internal disciplinary matter and closed at the outset, including the shooting of a 16-year-old who was wounded in the West Bank while handcuffed and blindfolded.

The military also launched an investigation — but not a criminal probe — into the shooting of an AP cameraman who was struck in the leg while wearing a vest marked “PRESS” several hundred meters (yards) from the Gaza fence.

In the case of the AP journalist, neither the cameraman, who spent weeks recovering in an Israeli hospital, nor his supervisors were asked to testify. The army also never asked to see video of the shooting.

In its conclusion, the army said “no fire was directed” at the cameraman. It encouraged journalists to “exercise caution” when covering protests.

All of the remaining Gaza investigations, and several in the West Bank, including the deaths of Habali and Nakhleh, remain in the initial stage of military police review. Just two West Bank cases, including a medic killed in clashes at a refugee camp, are in the final stage of review before a recommendation is made on whether to press charges.

In a statement, the army stressed that its investigations are conducted in an “independent and effective manner.” It also said it often faces access and security challenges on the ground, making investigations “complicated and often lengthy.”

“We debrief every bullet,” Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, the head of Israel’s southern command, which is responsible for the Gaza border, told a conference last spring. “But we don’t always have results because of the tough conditions we’re working in.”

Hamas-ruled Gaza is off limits to Israeli investigators. Collecting evidence in Palestinian-administered parts of the West Bank can involve risky late-night operations, or relying on intermediaries who sometimes refuse to cooperate. Investigators can also struggle to get autopsy results due to the Islamic custom of quick burials.

Critics, however, say these obstacles can be overcome with technology like video conferencing, better cooperation with Palestinian security forces and improved training for investigators based on past cases going back to Israel’s 1967 seizure of the West Bank and Gaza.

They say the army has instead created a system that relies almost entirely on one-sided testimony from soldiers in which insufficient evidence becomes a common justification for closed cases.

“The army tends to give the benefit of the doubt to its own soldiers,” said Yuval Shany, a Hebrew University expert on military law.

___

Associated Press writer Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.

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[dani-qrt]

Syrian army tightens noose around Palestinian camp

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian troops on Sunday tightened the noose around a major Palestinian refugee camp held by Islamic State militants in southern Damascus where hundreds of civilians face an uncertain future, state media, witnesses and residents said.

Soldiers loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad forces are deployed at al-Qadam area near Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus,Syria April 29,2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki

Nearly two weeks into a campaign to capture the last area near the capital outside government control that has left many parts of the once teeming Yarmouk camp in ruins, state media announced al Qadm neighborhood next to the camp was retaken.

Opposition sources said the army was now engaged in fierce fighting with militants on the outskirts of Yarmouk camp where an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 militants are now encircled.

The militants who are besieged in an ever shrinking area have repelled successive raids to enter their heavily defended stronghold.

The Yarmouk campaign is part of a wider-Russian backed offensive to regain the last pocket in opposition hands around the capital after retaking eastern Ghouta this month.

Soldiers loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad forces are deployed at al-Qadam area near Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus,Syria April 29,2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki

It has shown no sign of letting up since Western countries launched air strikes on April 14 to punish the government for a suspected poison gas attack.

The fate of hundreds of Palestinians, mostly sick and elderly women and children still in the camp that was once the largest in Syria is uncertain. UNRWA, the U.N body responsible for Palestinian refugees has called on warring parties to spare civilians.

“There are some families that have been buried under the rubble and no one is able to retrieve their bodies,” said Abu Osama, a resident who fled the camp two days ago to nearby Yalda, joining thousands of others seeking relative safety there since the start of the latest offensive.

Slideshow (10 Images)

“The regime is just burning and destroying … and then trying to advance on several fronts,” Rami al Sayed, a former resident of Yarmouk who is now on its outskirts, said.

The camp, which has been under siege by the army since rebels captured it in 2012, was home to some 160,000 Palestinians before the Syrian conflict began in 2011, refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and their descendents.

Amaq, a news agency affiliated to Islamic State, said its fighters had repelled the latest attacks on their positions in al Qadam and Hay al Tadamon, killing at least 17 army fighters killed in sniper attacks.

The ultra-hardline Sunni militants also pushed overnight into some positions in the southern Damascus pocket where mainly mainstream rebels operating under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are in control, opposition sources said.

A deal was reached overnight under Russian auspices to evacuate those FSA rebels who are based in the towns of Yalda, Babila and Beit Sahem that adjoin Islamic State-held areas to opposition held areas in northern Syria, a rebel source said confirming leaks in state media.

Those rebels who have in the past fought both the militants and the Syrian army have also been targeted by the army in an attempt to force them to capitulate.

Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi Additional reporting by Firas Makdsi in Damascus; Editing by Robin Pomeroy

The post Syrian army tightens noose around Palestinian camp appeared first on World The News.

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[party-hard-or-die]

Syrian army tightens noose around Palestinian camp

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian troops on Sunday tightened the noose around a major Palestinian refugee camp held by Islamic State militants in southern Damascus where hundreds of civilians face an uncertain future, state media, witnesses and residents said.

Soldiers loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad forces are deployed at al-Qadam area near Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus,Syria April 29,2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki

Nearly two weeks into a campaign to capture the last area near the capital outside government control that has left many parts of the once teeming Yarmouk camp in ruins, state media announced al Qadm neighborhood next to the camp was retaken.

Opposition sources said the army was now engaged in fierce fighting with militants on the outskirts of Yarmouk camp where an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 militants are now encircled.

The militants who are besieged in an ever shrinking area have repelled successive raids to enter their heavily defended stronghold.

The Yarmouk campaign is part of a wider-Russian backed offensive to regain the last pocket in opposition hands around the capital after retaking eastern Ghouta this month.

Soldiers loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad forces are deployed at al-Qadam area near Yarmouk Palestinian camp in Damascus,Syria April 29,2018.REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki

It has shown no sign of letting up since Western countries launched air strikes on April 14 to punish the government for a suspected poison gas attack.

The fate of hundreds of Palestinians, mostly sick and elderly women and children still in the camp that was once the largest in Syria is uncertain. UNRWA, the U.N body responsible for Palestinian refugees has called on warring parties to spare civilians.

“There are some families that have been buried under the rubble and no one is able to retrieve their bodies,” said Abu Osama, a resident who fled the camp two days ago to nearby Yalda, joining thousands of others seeking relative safety there since the start of the latest offensive.

Slideshow (10 Images)

“The regime is just burning and destroying … and then trying to advance on several fronts,” Rami al Sayed, a former resident of Yarmouk who is now on its outskirts, said.

The camp, which has been under siege by the army since rebels captured it in 2012, was home to some 160,000 Palestinians before the Syrian conflict began in 2011, refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and their descendents.

Amaq, a news agency affiliated to Islamic State, said its fighters had repelled the latest attacks on their positions in al Qadam and Hay al Tadamon, killing at least 17 army fighters killed in sniper attacks.

The ultra-hardline Sunni militants also pushed overnight into some positions in the southern Damascus pocket where mainly mainstream rebels operating under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are in control, opposition sources said.

A deal was reached overnight under Russian auspices to evacuate those FSA rebels who are based in the towns of Yalda, Babila and Beit Sahem that adjoin Islamic State-held areas to opposition held areas in northern Syria, a rebel source said confirming leaks in state media.

Those rebels who have in the past fought both the militants and the Syrian army have also been targeted by the army in an attempt to force them to capitulate.

Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi Additional reporting by Firas Makdsi in Damascus; Editing by Robin Pomeroy

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