Middle East Press on: Holocaust, Nazi, Gaza, Shia, Hamas, Colonial Kurds: New Age Islam's Selection, 28 January 2025
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
28 January 2025
Cheapening The Holocaust: Irish President’s Remarks Equate Nazi And Gaza Conflicts
Israel’s Unwavering Value Of Life: The Rescue Of Hostages And Fallen Soldiers
Iran’s Shia Crescent Falters: How Regional Power Shifts After October 7
Israeli Frustration Over Its Failure To Overthrow Hamas In Gaza After The War Stopped
Israel’s Use Of Domicide To Further Its Colonial Endeavours
Israel’s Men In Syria: Tel Aviv Is Exploiting The Kurds As Proxies For Its Occupation
Shame On World For Allowing Gaza Genocide
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Cheapening The Holocaust: Irish President’s Remarks Equate Nazi And Gaza Conflicts
By Jpost Editorial
January 28, 2025
If Sunday’s speech by Irish President Michael Higgins in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day is any indication, the world is still more comfortable honoring dead Jews than defending live ones.
In a grotesque distortion of the meaning of the day, which is meant to commemorate the six million Jews who were slaughtered at the hands of the Nazis, Higgins spewed disdain for Israel, the refuge and guardian of Jews and the insurance policy that the Holocaust will not repeat itself.
Higgins not only injected equivalency to Israel’s war in Gaza to free the hostages held by Hamas after it brutally attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, but focused on the humanitarian situation in Gaza instead of the more than 90 hostages still held captive by the brutal terrorist group.
“The grief caused to families by the horrific acts of October 7, and the response to them, is unimaginable. The loss of civilian lives, the displacement of people, the destruction of homes and institutions – all are beyond comprehension,” Higgins said. “The current agreement must end the killing and urgently provide a massive increase in humanitarian aid to save more lives.”
Transparently attempting to connect the Holocaust to Israel’s actions in Gaza over the last 16 months, Higgins said, “When wars and conflicts become accepted or presented as seemingly unending, humanity is a loser. War is not the natural condition of humanity: cooperation is.”
How does this correspond?
He addressed “the heavy price” paid during the conflict: “the loss of civilian life, the majority women and children, their displacement, loss of homes: the necessary institutions for life itself.”
Higgins has had no qualms about calling Israel’s war to remove Hamas from power in Gaza and free the hostages a “genocide,” but he could only muster calling the Nazi extermination attempt of the Jews “an attempted genocide.”
His statements spurred a protest by some members of the audience, with video footage showing at least one attendee being dragged away by security.
What does any of that have to do with International Holocaust Remembrance Day? There is a time and place to hurl criticism of Israel and its policies, but it’s not on a solemn day that honors those slaughtered by the Nazis and those who survived.
At Monday’s main ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, where roughly 1.1 million Jews were murdered, only 50 survivors were expected to be present – down from 300 a decade ago and 1,000 a decade before that.
The focus should be entirely on them – now more than ever.
Incidents of global antisemitism have spiked to unprecedented post-World War II levels, and public figures like Elon Musk are quoted telling supporters of the rising far-Right German political party Alternative for Germany that “there is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that.”
Clearly, the lessons the world needed to learn from the Holocaust are getting muddied and faded the further we move from the actual events that took place. As the survivors die, and along with them their first-hand accounts of the horrors perpetrated against the Jews, the easier it will be for people like Higgins to diminish their magnitude and use them for cheap political gain.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-839515
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Israel’s Unwavering Value Of Life: The Rescue Of Hostages And Fallen Soldiers
By Cookie Schweber-Issan
January 28, 2025
There couldn’t be a greater illustration of the stark differences between Israelis and the other side than what we’ve witnessed over the past two weekends. A euphoric atmosphere took hold of our country when first three and subsequently another four young women, who had been held in Gaza’s death tunnels for over 15 months, stepped out of that white Red Cross van and onto Israeli soil.
The reaction was astounding as joyful cries, shouts of jubilation, tears of gratitude, street dancing, and even audible prayers of thanksgiving could be heard everywhere. Undoubtedly, as the world looked on, many probably asked: Why would there be such a response over the freeing of just seven people?
Or, perhaps the better question is: Why would we agree to enter into a very flawed deal, knowing, in advance, the deadly risks it presents for all of us as we let terrorists with so much blood on their hands go free, endangering the general public?
For those who don’t understand, it is the very high esteem that is placed on the gift of life by the Jewish nation, a charge which is the very basis of the Torah ordinance “Choose life” (Deut. 30:19). It is due to this ethos that we are willing to allow 1,000 terrorists to leave their jail cells, knowing that their goal is to take part in yet another October 7 massacre.
Conversely, the willingness to risk so much is also a good sign. Despite over two years of bitter infighting among ourselves, we still embody the “House of Israel,” a biblical reference used to emphasize the collective over the individual. We live together, perish together, and take risks together, and that is what makes us unique from all other nations.
Sacred commitment to life
We have put aside major differences and political ideologies and revel in the lives of seven beautiful women, who are now able to feel the warmth of the sun on their faces and be enfolded in the love of their families and friends.
LIFE IS everything, and fulfilling our obligations to one another is a sacred vow that we do not take lightly. It is the reason that, just hours before the ceasefire, a well-coordinated effort was carried out between Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the Mossad, and Shayetet 13 (Israel’s equivalent of Navy Seals) to recover the remains of St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul.
Shaul was one of several soldiers who, in July 2014, entered the Shejaia neighborhood near Gaza City in an armored personnel carrier with six other soldiers. Everyone inside was killed when it was struck by a Kornet anti-missile. Likely, it was a captured Hamas operative who spilled the beans, giving us the exact location where Shaul’s body was being held. Wasting no time, the daring operation was executed, finally bringing him home after 10 years to have a proper burial.
This represents the abiding contract between the IDF and soldiers’ parents, who are promised that none of their sons or daughters will be left behind, just as the patriarch, Jacob, was carried off for burial in Canaan, rather than being left in Egypt, where he’d been living. We never abandon our own – whether alive or dead – because we live in accordance with a divine code, which we are commanded to follow.
It is as a result of those core beliefs that we have been able to survive, throughout millennia, as evil people sought to erase us from the face of the earth. It is our zest for life, through our Creator, who has preserved our comings and goings, causing us to overcome the prejudice, jealousy, and unbridled hatred that never seems to subside but, rather, resurfaces with each new generation.
That awareness is what fuels our desire and commitment to protect one another in the face of persecution and death because we do not aspire to meet our end, as do the blind followers of ideologies that praise destruction and the ending of one’s life.
These seven women, Romy, Doron, Emily, Liri, Karine, Naama, and Daniella, embody our saying, “Am Israel Chai” (the people of Israel live) along with the continued victory in that, no matter how hard they try to kill us, they will not win because we are a people set apart by the Almighty, who has promised to never abandon us as a nation before Him.
Consequently, we remain a clan whose hand of mercy extends to others during their own tragic events. We help those in need and rush to the afflicted because it’s our way of living – and tangible evidence of a people who love life, committing themselves to its preservation.
TO LOVE our neighbors as ourselves requires the willingness to jeopardize our own state to save others. In this case, we have literally made a bargain with the devil for the sake of 33 individuals, whose lives mean everything to us.
We do so, as the remnant of the six million, whose legacy we are and whose memory we honor, as we extract our precious ones from the pit of hell, whether alive or, as Staff Sgt. Oren Shaul, in a body bag.
So, while the world may scratch its head in wonder, trying to figure out who we are, let them not forget that we are the same people who built a thriving metropolis from the ashes of death. Gathering up the life that still remained, we have blessed nations, people, and civilization through the many gifts and talents that have been bestowed upon us – none of which would have existed had we chosen death.
It is only through the choice of life that we get to fulfill our destiny, both for ourselves and for everyone around us.
This is best exhibited when we remember who we are as opposed to warring with one another over meaningless nonsense, which only ends up dividing us into bickering factions that destroy the unity under which we were meant to live.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-839506
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Iran’s Shia Crescent Falters: How Regional Power Shifts After October 7
By Mordechai Kedar
January 28, 2025
Before October 7, it could be said that Iran was at the peak of its regional influence and power. The Shia crescent was stronger than ever, and Iran’s regional influence was growing steadily. Many Shi’ite, or Shia, forces moved from Iran to Iraq, then to Syria, and from there to Lebanon, frequently traveling back and forth, carrying weapons and money. Hezbollah, a Shi’ite terror organization formed after the Iranian Islamic Revolution, held firm control over Lebanon and was considered one of the most intimidating terrorist organizations for Israel.
Iraq, a large Arab country of many religions, sects, clans, and ethnicities, is mostly populated by Shia Arabs. After the fall of ISIS, many Shia militias sent by Iran operated in Iraq, and until the last elections, the Iraqi government was openly pro-Iranian. However, after the recent elections, the Iraqi government has become less pro-Iranian, in contrast with the previous regime of Nouri al-Maliki. While Shia militias still operate in the country and even attack US forces stationed in Iraq, sending missiles to Israel under Iran’s orders, Iran’s influence in Iraq has significantly weakened in recent years.
Syria was controlled by Bashar al-Assad and his Alawite family (an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam), and Assad’s rule was advantageous for Iran in Syria. Ethnically, the Alawites in Syria identify with Shia Muslims, both because of their own Shi’ite origins and because, like the Shia, they are a persecuted minority (at least in the past) in the Muslim world. Moreover, Assad owed his rule to Iran for if it hadn’t been for the Iranian Quds forces that helped his army in 2015, Syria would have fallen to the rebels a decade ago.
Beyond the Shia crescent, which extended territorially from Iran through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon, Iran also influenced other parts of the Middle East: The Houthis in Yemen, who began their terrorist activities with the outbreak, in 2014, of the current Yemeni civil war in the wake of the Arab Spring are Shia and loyal to the Islamic Republic and act according to Iran’s military and political requirements. The Houthis owe Iran much for its military and financial support.
The two Palestinian terror organizations in Gaza, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), are considered Iranian proxies, although one is ideologically closer to Iran than the other. Hamas, which originated from the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, was drawn to Iran due to their shared enemy: Israel. For many years, Iran has transferred financial assistance to Hamas, utilized to purchase weapons used against Israeli civilians. The other Gaza-based organization, the PIJ, was founded by Fathi Shiqaqi, who was inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran and established this terror group even before Hamas’s official formation.
Vulnerable Iran
YET, DESPITE all its proxies across the Middle East, Iran now finds itself in a weakened position. During the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hezbollah’s military capabilities were severely damaged by Israel. In addition to uncovering numerous weapons caches in southern Lebanon – as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars – Israel killed many Hezbollah operatives, both from the air and on the ground. Furthermore, Israel managed to eliminate much of Hezbollah’s senior leadership, creating a reality where high-ranking members of the organization were constantly replaced, as they did not survive. Israel even managed to eliminate Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, a key ideological and influential figure in Iran’s resistance axis in the region.
The severe blows Hezbollah has taken from Israel since they attacked it on October 8 have greatly weakened the group, altering the military balance of power and regional influence it once enjoyed.
Following the developments in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and the aggressive weakening of the group, the terror group was unable to send fighters to assist Assad’s regime against the Sunni rebels in Syria. Hezbollah had frequently collaborated with Assad’s regime, under Iran’s direction of course. Once Hezbollah forces could no longer aid Assad’s regime and exert military power against its enemies, the balance of power in the region was disrupted, putting Assad in a militarily disadvantaged position and causing him to lose control of Syria. After Assad’s regime collapsed, Sunni rebels, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, once considered an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria – took control.
The Sunni rebels view Iran as their enemy and, of course, will not cooperate with it. As a result, the Shia crescent has been severed. Iran no longer has territorial continuity to Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea. It cannot send convoys of weapons from its territory through Iraq to Syria and Hezbollah.
Along with Assad’s fall and the blows Hezbollah has taken, the Palestinian terror organizations in Gaza are also no longer what they were before October 7. Only a third of Hamas operatives from before the war are still active, the organization has lost a significant amount of weapons, money, and the trust of Gaza’s residents in its promises and in the righteousness of its cause. Hamas has not disappeared, but with the deaths of Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, and many others, the organization and its military influence are nowhere near what they were before the war.
IRAN HAS lost Syria, along with the Shia crescent that provided them with territorial continuity. The Palestinian terror organizations in Gaza, which Iran funds, are weak and submissive. If they initiate another war or violate their agreements with Israel, the Jewish state will have full legitimacy to act and to completely destroy them.
The Iraqi government no longer cooperates with Iran and is preventing it from looting the country’s treasury for its foreign currency reserves. Furthermore, based on Israel’s recent operation in Lebanon, it is clear that the Shi’ite militias in Iraq and Syria have not played a significant role in the fighting. In terms of airstrikes, although UAVs were launched through Iraq to Israel several times, they did not cause significant damage.
The Houthis are still acting on Iran’s behalf, but frankly, how much are they really contributing to Iran? Moreover, the Houthis have also taken heavy blows from the Israeli Air Force and other Western forces attacking them from the sky.
Does this mean that Iran has thrown in the towel? The answer to this is definitively no.
Iran is operating in another theater: the Caucasus. In the Armenia-Azerbaijan war, Iran invested in Armenia, assisting it along with Russia (as during the Syrian Civil War when those two countries had helped Assad). The reason is that Azerbaijan maintains a positive and friendly relationship with Israel, and Iran fears that Israel will attack Iran from bases in Azerbaijan. Armenia indicated a commitment to Iran at the beginning of their partnership, but gradually NATO began drawing Armenia toward the West on the geopolitical map.
NATO personnel are active in Armenia, conducting surveillance on IRGC forces and Putin’s operatives in the region. Additionally, the Armenian military conducts joint drills with United States forces, and the US military is already stationed along the Armenian border with Iran in the Zangezur region.
There, an American unit operates in Armenian military bases tasked with tracking missile and UAV launches from Iranian territory. In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sent Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, to Armenia to meet with its leadership.
According to diplomatic sources, during the conversation, Ahmadian explicitly stated that Iran was dissatisfied with what was happening in Armenia. Iran demands that Armenia abandon its aspirations for EU and NATO membership and furthermore, expel the Western forces spying on Iran from its territory. Ahmadian added that if Armenia agrees to Iran’s demands, the two countries will sign a defense agreement, meaning that Iran will expel Western forces from Armenia and send its own troops to operate freely in the country.
It is clear that Iran is backed into a corner and sees Armenia as its way out of its geopolitical problems. If Iran indeed signs a defense agreement with Armenia and sends its forces there, it will achieve several goals. Iran will gain more territory bordering Turkey, enabling it to apply military pressure on Ankara through Armenia and Iraq’s shared border with Turkey. Iran’s goal is, of course, to restore the Shia crescent and currently, Erdogan is the strong ally of the rebels who have taken control of Syria, therefore, Iran may attempt to undermine Turkey, through intimidation or attrition, to restore the Islamic Republic’s sphere of influence.
Additionally, via Armenia, Iran could manage smuggling operations with Russia. Armenia’s proximity to Europe is a strategic and geopolitical advantage. In addition, by establishing a military presence in Armenia, Iran would gain more leverage over Azerbaijan, with which it shares an unstable relationship that is not as warm as often portrayed by Tehran.
It is clear that the Islamic Republic is trying to restore its regional power through Armenia and the Southern Caucasus. The IRGC has worked for years, diligently and patiently, to achieve the level of regional influence it had before October 7. Iran’s goal is dominance over the Islamic world. Iranians have the patience of elephants, and they plan for decades.
Therefore, we must monitor every one of their activities closely to try to understand Iran’s next move. Even if it operates in less scrutinized and less Arab regions, Iranian influence is an anti-Western influence.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-839499
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Israeli Frustration Over Its Failure To Overthrow Hamas In Gaza After The War Stopped
By Aziz Mustafa
January 27, 2025
Now that the Israeli aggression on Gaza has ended, albeit temporarily, the Israelis, after nearly 500 days since the 7 October attack, are still searching for an answer to the historical question of why Hamas carried out this attack. Meanwhile, they are ignoring the fact that the Palestinians broke the barrier of fear a long time ago, and this major change and shift has passed under the Israeli radar. It is a dramatic change that does not bode well for the Occupation.
The Israeli reading of the reality of the relationship with Gaza, and Hamas at its heart, after signing the ceasefire agreement, carries dangerous implications, the most important of which is that nearly 90 captives remain a few hundred metres, a few kilometres at most, away from the Occupation army, which remains unable to rescue them.
More than 15 months after they occurred, the events of October prompted the Israelis to ask the question: How could it be that “little” Gaza started a comprehensive war against the “strongest” power in the Middle East, launched several thousand rockets at it, as it did in every round in recent years, and all the while, Hamas maintained its presence there, despite the severe wounds it sustained?
The answers to these legitimate questions have been presented in recent years with clarity and transparency, but the Israelis did not read them well. The result is that what happened in October 2023 is evidence that Hamas climbed the wall, or rather, broke it, blew it up and entered through it to carry out an attack that the Occupation did not imagine would occur in such a dangerous and violent manner.
Today, after the Palestinians began returning to their homes, and the fighters emerged from their tunnels and are conducting the handovers of Israeli captives in these unprecedented scenes, the Israelis have begun to show their need to simply listen to what is being said on the other side by the Palestinians in Gaza, without underestimating the value of their words, and without closing their ears. They would hear that willingness of the average Palestinian in Gaza to fight for their freedom has not changed.
After nearly 500 days of millions of shells and explosives being dropped on their heads, the Palestinians in Gaza who have a developed a heightened sense of smell, still do not smell the end of Hamas among them. Quite the opposite, they see that even after these long months of fighting, Hamas still controls everything, from the north to the south.
This damning fact requires directing harsh questions to the Occupation government, which has been driving the Israelis crazy with talk of “absolute victory, eliminating Hamas and the day after”. However, now, it must ask itself how it reached this point where it is no longer able to benefit from what it claims are “achievements” made by the army in the battle.
The scenes coming from Gaza in recent days, especially during the handing over of the Israeli captives, and the accompanying scenes of Hamas fighters, confirm the great doubts that have been raised since the beginning of the war about the Occupation’s ambitions to change the image in Gaza from beginning to end, especially since the Occupation government has not presented what can be described as “creative solutions, and has shown no out-of-the-box thinking”, except for the demagogic slogans it has put forward about radically changing the situation in Gaza.
These frustrating Israeli convictions confirm that the Occupation’s invasion of the entire Gaza Strip, and its claims about dismantling Hamas’s battalions and brigades, did not lead to the Occupation’s desired result because, according to the current Israeli assessment, after the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas will continue to rule in the absence of a ruling alternative, and although the Israeli war provided an opportunity to change the existing reality in Gaza, the change that the Occupation seeks to make more dramatic will bring it regret for years to come.
While it is true that the Israelis announced since the first day of the war that its main goal was to overthrow Hamas’s authority in Gaza, and to turn the page on its control over the Strip, these difficult days and months of brutal and violent aggression did not succeed in achieving this goal, through various means, military, political and economic, which raises questions about the reason behind Israel’s failure.
The Israeli aggression that caused enormous damage to the Gaza Strip, and in which the Occupation received immense and full support from the American administration and most Western governments, was not accompanied by a successful and complete overthrow of Hamas, thus raising more inquisitive questions to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is described as a lot of bad things, and is said to have a group of offensive personal traits.
The fact that the army ended the war on Gaza, even temporarily, is met with the fact that Hamas is still far from being eliminated. This is a dilemma that many Israelis are trying to explain and understand, as the Israeli failure to overthrow Hamas coincides with a failure to impose any local, regional or international options for a solution in Gaza, all of which have not succeeded, at least so far.
Such options contradict Netanyahu’s positions, who has worked hard throughout his years in power to hide the “Palestinian issue” from the international agenda, but today he believes that moving forward in the “post-Hamas world” will make it difficult for him to avoid the Palestinian issue and the demands of the US and the world in this regard. This will directly lead to the dissolution of his government that is required to answer questions about talking about any alternative to Hamas, and to hold a real discussion about the future of the Palestinian Territories.
The Israeli inability to eliminate Hamas reveals a conflict in Israeli goals on the one hand, between the political and military levels, and on the other hand, the movement’s ability to withstand the use of all this deadly military arsenal, which ultimately means that it will remain in Gaza, ruling and controlling, even from a distance, despite the severe damage it has suffered. However, Israel leaving Gaza after nearly 500 days there raises more Israeli questions and doubts about the failure of this aggressive war, unlike any war the Occupation has fought in its history.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250127-israeli-frustration-over-its-failure-to-overthrow-hamas-in-gaza-after-the-war-stopped/
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Israel’s Use Of Domicide To Further Its Colonial Endeavours
By Jibran Syed
January 27, 2025
As Palestinians continue to make their way back to the remnants of Gaza – a place that is now unrecognisable since Israel destroyed nearly 70% of all buildings in the small but densely populated area, it is deeply misleading to describe this situation as a return “home”. According to the UN, approximately 245,123 housing units were demolished in the region over the last 15 months, leaving over 1.8 million Palestinians in need of emergency shelter. This systematic destruction of residences, termed “domicide”, is a micro-reflection of the underlying policies used by modern-day authoritarian regimes and colonial powers, culminating in ethnic cleansing and geopolitical control.
US President Trump recently called on Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab nations to “clean out” the Gaza Strip by taking in up to 1.5 million displaced Palestinians either “temporarily or long term”. Aside from the intentionally ambiguous timeline, he calls the area “a real mess”, suggesting that there are no solutions for the reconstruction of Gaza and that mass displacement is the only available option left for the Palestinians of Gaza.
This seemingly casual remark is indicative of an intent to permanently alter the demographics of Gaza while absolving Israel of its responsibility as an occupying power under international law not to carry out ethnic cleansing. Furthermore, it exhibits a mindset completely uninterested in assisting with Gaza’s reconstruction, a process that would be costly and lengthy but certainly not impossible, evidenced by both Beirut’s partial reconstruction after their civil war in 1990 and Iraq’s start at rebuilding post-2003.
Two major trends have emerged in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict that can be demonstrated by taking a closer look at domicide. Each is rooted in settler-colonial ideologies that use logic to dehumanise the “other”, prioritising economic and geopolitical interests above humanity and life itself.
The first is Israel’s manipulation of the legal and moral frameworks of modern bureaucratic structures and policies to achieve its own goals of vilifying Palestinians. International humanitarian law states that civilian objects, including residences, are protected spaces in war, yet Israel has continuously rationalised and justified tactics such as domicide on the international stage as necessary to further its agenda in Gaza. Policies including unlawful property expropriation, land redistribution and unreasonable housing demolitions are all tools used historically by colonial powers to displace and disempower indigenous populations. Israel has utilised such policies to remove Palestinians from their homes and replace them with an ethnically homogenous Israeli society. Zoning and planning laws prevent Palestinians from building homes in East Jerusalem due to the denial of permits while Israelis can freely claim Palestinian residential properties under the Legal and Administrative Matters Law.
While displacement is one policy tactic of domicide employed by Israel, residential destruction is another. Israel frequently targets residential areas under the guise of attacking “Hamas infrastructure”, leading to the destruction of entire civilian communities. The occupying power frequently conducts punitive housing demolitions as a form of collective punishment and deterrent for those who have been suspected of attacking Israeli occupation forces, a policy which has no proof of efficacy. Pursuing policies without evidence-based support is both ethically questionable and strategically flawed, leading to an erosion of civil liberties and principles of accountability. Perhaps the most obvious subjugation of modern bureaucratic structures is Israel’s denial of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) authority and jurisdiction, reaching a pivotal moment when the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and then-defence minister for their war crimes in Gaza.
The second major trend is the rapid innovation in technology, which has shifted the nature of warfare to enable further levels of domicide. Advanced military capabilities such as precision-guided missiles, drone warfare and AI-driven targeting systems have increased the scale and efficiency of destruction in Palestine. Already, Israel has dropped over 85,000 tonnes of bombs on Gaza. The gamification of warfare through the use of remote-controlled drones to conduct air strikes on residential areas shows the extent of the dehumanisation of Palestinians as subjects that must be exterminated.
Social media has also acted as a double-edged sword in the war. While it has amplified the visibility of the conflict through Palestinian content creators’ livestreams of on-the-ground realities, its algorithms consistently skew information by censoring and suppressing Palestinian content. As Palestinians attempt to reassert their humanity by showcasing their daily lives and moments with families inside their homes, they are simultaneously diminished and reduced to data by the very technology they are utilising to share these experiences. The observers of the streamed violence are also stripped of their moral agency, as individuals who share such content on their social media are blocked or their posts removed without their consent. More accessible forms of AI, such as ChatGPT, have also been shown to give a biased view of the events happening in Gaza, displaying how the same innovations that foster global awareness are still rooted in dominant Western colonial frameworks.
While the Israel-Hamas ceasefire has allowed some Palestinians to return to Gaza, there is little that awaits them after their homes have been destroyed. Modern bureaucratic structures have failed the Palestinians in upholding the fundamental human rights of dignity and peace in their homes, while technology enables domicide to continue to be livestreamed not only in Gaza, but now in the occupied West Bank.
Gaza should serve as the beacon to challenge and rethink aspects of modern governance and technology, which on the one hand have created an ethical vacuum that rationalises destructive actions, and on the other, is unable to prevent such atrocities. If Gaza is to rebuild itself, it must be given the space to conceptualise a governance structure that is uniquely suited to its context – locally led, decentralised and rooted in the aspirations and morals of the Palestinians, without pressure to conform to unethical external frameworks that have failed them time and time again.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250127-israels-use-of-domicide-to-further-its-colonial-endeavours/
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Israel’s Men In Syria: Tel Aviv Is Exploiting The Kurds As Proxies For Its Occupation
By Muhammad Hussein
January 27, 2025
It has long been a classic hallmark of a colonial government or authority to groom a disadvantaged minority in a subjugated region to either foster long-term generational divisions or to counter a rival power – a strategy that does, tragically, exploit the real grievances of those groups.
A century after the French prepared the Alawites for power in Syria and the Maronite Christians in Lebanon, Western powers have steadily been growing their support for Syrian Kurds through the direct backing of their militias in Syria’s northeast over the years.
With both the US military assistance to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and various European states’ diplomatic coordination with those militias’ autonomous administration (AANES), there has been no shortage of Western support for and recognition for Kurdish separatist interests in Syria.
There now seems to be yet another prominent potential backer of those chess pieces in the form of Israel. Tel Aviv is far from new to the scene but has kept quiet about its public stance on the matter over the years, giving the impression that it viewed the Kurds more as a sideshow than as a regional player.
Nevertheless, the Kurds have long been on Israel’s radar, as has Israel on the Kurdish separatists’ radar, both viewing one another as a very real opportunity to mutually expand their regional goals and interests.
So when the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad collapsed, and his dynasty’s rule over the country finally ended after almost six decades, the regional chessboard was overturned and the status quo was left void. This provided Tel Aviv with an opportunity to not only militarily advance further into Syria to establish a “buffer zone’” for an existing buffer zone but also to territorially divide the country by exploiting ethnic minority tensions to recruit Israel’s men in Syria.
Israel and the Kurds: Love or convenience?
Back in November, prior to Al-Assad’s fall, Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar stated that the Israeli government should reach out to Syria’s Kurdish groups and other regional minorities as they are “natural” allies. Remarking that Kurds are “a victim of oppression and aggression from Iran and Turkiye”, he called for stronger Israeli ties with them and admitted that such a goal has both “political and security aspects”.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan, from the Democratic party, also stressed on X: “Israel must be concerned about one basic thing: a Turkish attack against the Kurds in Syria… Israel must take the initiative and take advantage of overt and covert channels to support the Kurds. A strong Kurdish territory is security for Israel.”
In turn, according to Israel’s state channel KAN, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia in Syria has even asked the Israeli government for assistance to keep their power base in the northeast of the country in the potential event of a US military withdrawal. Israeli and Kurdish militant officials reportedly established a “communication channel” in the weeks following the collapse of Assad.
Such communications have not gone unnoticed, of course, and have reportedly caused a senior official from Iraq’s Kurdistan region to warn Tel Aviv that its public support for the Syrian Kurds only harms their affairs and serves the interests of “extremist parties” and Iran. That official notably told the Israelis that the open support exposes the Kurds to the risk of losing their regional status and standing as it would portray them as collaborators with Israel and its occupation.
Israel’s colonial doctrine vs the Turks
The Israeli outreach to the Kurds is hardly anything novel but extends decades back to the 1950s, 60s and 70s as a key part of Tel Aviv’s “Peripheral Doctrine” – a foreign policy strategy which spearheaded greater bilateral ties with non-Arab communities and states throughout the Middle East and North Africa for the purpose of forming a counterweight to hostile Arab states and militaries.
Under this project, Israel’s intelligence services established contact with the Kurdish resistance movement in Iraq at the time, led by Mustafa Barzani, founder of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), who made multiple trips to Israel in support of those relations. However, that open cooperation was suspended in the mid-1970s
An article in Haaretz highlighted the historical reality: “Everyone who pretended to be their [Kurds] friend would betray them, including Israel, which in the ’70s cooperated with the Kurds against common enemies and then not only abandoned them but also provided drones to Turkey, which killed them and helped the Turks arrest Kurdish guerrilla commanders.”
Stating, “the Kurds’ hand is still extended,” it insisted that the Kurds in Syria and the region have “potential for a true alliance with Israel” as they are in “existential danger” from a potential Turkish offensive. “Israel should do more than just talk and make promises, it should help the Kurds,” the writer urged, claiming that the occupation will otherwise: “Lose allies in the most strategic region for Israel in favour of murderous jihadis in the service of Erdogan.”
This year and coming years will likely witness Israeli provision of military support for the Kurdish militants in Syria, either covertly or through the avenue of support from the US and other Western nations. Tel Aviv may deem it useful, for example, to provide intelligence, military training or even advanced technology to those Kurdish forces, which could include drones, surveillance systems or greater cyber capabilities.
As with much of the region, and indeed across many continents, Israel likely already possesses a network of intelligence operatives and assets throughout Syria, and there is a strong possibility that certain areas in the country are overrun by Israeli espionage.
Another way Israel could boost support for the Kurds would be through diplomatic backing in the international arena, particularly via monetary efforts to lobby groups or advocacy in the halls of power within Washington and other Western capitals.
As the Israeli author of the aforementioned article suggested, the Kurdish militias: “Can be provided with arms to battle the Turkish and jihadi drones. Israel’s friends in the US Congress can be persuaded to push for a cease-fire or convince the Americans to stay in northern Syria and not forsake the Kurds… And a lot more can be done in intelligence, cyberwar and arms.”
Just like Israel aimed to undermine the surrounding Arab states all those decades ago by fostering greater relations with “peripheral” groups and minorities such as the Kurds, it is apparently set on redrawing from that old colonial strategy by potentially backing the Kurdish militias in Syria—however, this time, primarily against Turkiye and its growing influence.
Additionally, it sees an opportunity to not only undermine Ankara itself but also the entire region, with the strategy serving as an ideal way to upend and work against other regional states that have a stake in combating Kurdish militancy and separatism.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250127-israels-men-in-syria-tel-aviv-is-exploiting-the-kurds-as-proxies-for-its-occupation/
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Shame On World For Allowing Gaza Genocide
Chris Doyle
January 27, 2025
It is hard to think of any moment when a major international institution has taken a decision of genuine import to challenge Israeli impunity. The UN Security Council has done so on occasions, but typically a US veto, or even just the threat of one, prevents this.
However, a year ago on Sunday, Jan. 26, the International Court of Justice decided to order legally binding provisional measures against Israel to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the possibility of genocide.
Such a grim anniversary merited great respect from those who cherish human rights. Yet no major leader commented. There were no laments about the failure to prevent genocide. The media generally ignored it, despite this being one of the most seminal judgments the court has ever made.
The case as presented by South Africa, involving just over six hours of forensic legal analysis and evidence, was powerful. It was still a jaw-dropping moment when the judges issued their historic verdict. Was Israel, for once, going to be held to account?
The decision of the 15 judges acknowledged there was a genuine risk that the rights of the Palestinian population in Gaza not to be exterminated could have been breached. For some, it was even controversial that the court determined that the Palestinians are a people with rights.
The South African submission demonstrated the intent of the Israeli leadership to destroy the Palestinian people “in whole or in part.” Intent is the key factor in determining genocide, not any success in destroying large numbers of a specific group.
That was a year ago and the Israeli actions since have not softened, but rather got harsher. If there were any doubts about it being genocide last January, they have long since dissipated for many. The three months in northern Gaza before the recent ceasefire deal were the worst period of the entire genocide. Can anyone deny that the Israeli leadership’s intent was not geared toward “causing serious mental and bodily harm” to the Palestinians there?
The International Court of Justice is the world’s highest judicial body. Provisional measures are its trigger warning to the world to act. Nobody has done so, even after the court added further provisional measures in March and May. Instead, the arms have kept flowing. The countries that are supplying Israel with weapons are complicit in what it is doing.
Yet other states have joined South Africa, including European countries such as Ireland and Spain. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, two of the world’s largest human rights groups, have determined Israel has committed genocide. Holocaust and genocide scholars have warned of this as well.
One provisional measure was that all parties should prevent and punish incitement to genocide. As yet, however, not one of the Israeli leaders, from the president downward, have been punished for their genocidal comments. Following warnings from their lawyers, some have calmed their language, if not their actions. But not all. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich last week said that Gaza is “an animalistic society that sanctifies death.” It is a rare thing to find a senior American or European politician who has demanded that the incitement stops and that those who have made such statements be punished.
A key charge against Israel was that it was using starvation as a weapon of war. The court ordered Israel to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” in Gaza. Israeli leaders and anti-Palestinian groups have spent months spreading the lie that it was the UN and Hamas that was holding up aid, despite the evidence to the contrary.
From October 2023, Israel deliberately restricted the entry of lifesaving aid into Gaza. This is not conjecture. It was stated policy. Compare the number of trucks getting into Gaza prior to the Jan. 15 deal with the days following. In the first six days after the deal, Israel allowed in 4,200 trucks, an average of 700 a day. In October last year, the average daily number was just 57. Israel turned off the tap and was able to turn it back on at will. The aid was waiting at the border.
In addition, Israel’s deliberate denial of power meant Gaza’s healthcare, water and sanitation systems could not function.
Some argue that the focus should now all be on implementing the Israel-Hamas deal. This is naive. Firstly, if Israel knew it had to take an International Court of Justice ruling seriously, then it would have changed its approach to Gaza a year ago. Secondly, this deal is, at best, a pause in the hostilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not committed to ending military activity in Gaza and, in the meantime, has mounted a further invasion of the West Bank.
This was a historic ruling. The failure of powerful actors to take it seriously should shame them all. Even if you do not believe that Israel’s actions do constitute genocide, it is impossible to deny that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed. By ignoring the International Court of Justice, these powers have not just facilitated this genocide but also other genocides to come.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2587977
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/middle-east-press/holocaust-nazi-gaza-shia-hamas-colonial-kurds/d/134449
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