Daily Archives: January 20, 2021

2021-01-20: News Headlines

South Front (2021-01-20). Video: Iran Expands Its Presence in Syria, Deploys Intel Signals System Near Border with Jordan and Israel. globalresearch.ca The situation in Syria's Idlib appears to be, once again, on the brink of escalation, with the US preoccupied with what's happening at home, and Turkey attempting to push towards Ain Issa, while being targeted by its own proxies. | The …

splcenter (2021-01-20). President Biden's day-one action a critical step for immigrant justice. splcenter.org &nbsp…

MEE staff (2021-01-20). Israel publishes tenders for hundreds of new illegal settler homes. middleeasteye.net Israel publishes tenders for hundreds of new illegal settler homes | Some of the tenders are for building 2,112 units in various illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, and 460 housing units in East Jerusalem | Wed, 01/20/2021 – 15: 41 | A bulldozer moving sand at a construction site in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish settlement in the mainly Palestinian eastern sector of Jerusalem (AFP) | Israel's Ministry of C…

Mustafa Abu Sneineh (2021-01-20). Filmmakers denounce Israel ban on Palestinian documentary 'Jenin, Jenin'. middleeasteye.net Filmmakers denounce Israel ban on Palestinian documentary 'Jenin, Jenin' | An Israeli court orders filmmaker Mohammad Bakri to pay $55,000 in damages to an Israeli officer in a defamation case, and seizes copies of 2002 film | Wed, 01/20/2021 – 13: 24 | Mohammad Bakri gestures during a talk at Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture in Bethlehem city, Palestine (Scree…

Nadda Osman (2021-01-20). Palestinian man who fed cats at al-Aqsa mosque dies from Covid-19. middleeasteye.net Palestinian man who fed cats at al-Aqsa mosque dies from Covid-19 | Hundreds of people mourn the death of Hajj Ghassan Younes, known for his generosity and his feeding of cats and birds in the area | Wed, 01/20/2021 – 15: 51 | Many have shared fond memories of Hajj Ghassan Younes online, remembering his generosity and kindness towards children and animals (Screengrab/Facebook) | An air of sadness was fel…

Qassam Muaddi (2021-01-20). 'Stripped to the bone': Israel advances plan to cut off Palestinian suburb from Jerusalem. middleeasteye.net 'Stripped to the bone': Israel advances plan to cut off Palestinian suburb from Jerusalem | For centuries, Aizarya has been a satellite of the holy city. Now Israel wants to close off its access with a wall in a scheme denounced as de facto annexation | Wed, 01/20/2021 – 13: 12 | Issam Faroun pointing a 1930s panoramic photo of Aizarya (MEE/Qassam Muaddi) | Vehicles move slowly a few metres down th…

Taylor Ikehara (2021-01-20). AFRICOM says they left Somalia, San Diego activists tell the truth. liberationnews.org On Jan. 16, ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation held a speak-out and banner drop at Teralta Park in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego to demand a withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Somalia and an end to AFRICOM. City Heights is …

IMEMC News (2021-01-20). Palestinian Family Survives What Would Have Been A Massacre By Israeli Shell. imemc.org The family of Taiseer Abdul-Jawad (Abu Mazen), living in their home in the eastern part of the al-Maghazi refugee camp, in central Gaza Strip, has survived what would have turned into a massacre when an Israeli shell struck their home as they slept. Abu Mazen said that he, his wife, and their children were sleeping …

Jackie Salo (2021-01-20). Israel's Fauci Says Pfizer Vaccine's First Dose Less Effective Than Drugmaker Indicated. anti-empire.com A single dose of Pfizer's vaccine may be less effective than the drugmaker had indicated, Israel's COVID-19 czar has warned. | Nachman Ash — Israel's equivalent of Dr. Anthony Fauci — said the protection offered by the first dose is "less effective than we had thought," "Many people have been infected between the first and second injections of the vaccine," Ash said, adding that the protective effect appears "lower than [the data] presen…

Loretta J. Ross (2021-01-20). The Nazification of the Republican Party. counterpunch.org After World War II, the Nazis who helped Hitler rise to power and murder millions of people, including at least 6 million Jews, were put on trial to send a warning to the world. Not all of them faced a judicial process, but enough were not protected by their high status, official offices, or claims of "innocence" and "patriotism." Power through violence was the only language they spoke—not justice, not freedom—and they were held accountable.

The Palestinian News & Info Agency (2021-01-20). WAFA: "Foreign Ministry pledges to legally pursue US ambassador to Israel for recognizing settlement project" imemc.org RAMALLAH, Tuesday, January 19, 2021 (WAFA) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates today pledged to legally pursue the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman after he recognized the settlement project called City of David in the occupied city of Jerusalem. The Ministry said in a statement that all of East Jerusalem is a …

Ali Salam (2021-01-20). Israeli Bulldozes Structures in Al-Arakib Village for the 182nd Time. imemc.org The Palestinian Bedouin village of al-Arakib, was demolished, for the 182nd time, on Wednesday, have once again been displaced by the Israeli authorities, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. Israeli officials forced their way into the rural community and bulldozed the tents that the community had re-constructed out of wood and nylon as use for shelter …

Al-Mezan Center For Human Rights (2021-01-20). Press Release: Al Mezan welcomes the Palestinian President's decree to hold parliamentary and presidential elections. imemc.org Al Mezan Center for Human Rights welcomes the decree, issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, that announces parliamentary and presidential elections for later this year. The first such elections in almost 16 years, this step is long overdue and holds weighty expectations for the renewal of legitimacy to state institutions and unification of the Palestinian …

John Catalinotto (2021-01-20). Trump OUT — Time for workers to defeat racism, fascism. workers.org An unprecedented 25,000 National Guard troops from 50 states plus thousands of local and Capitol police are expected to occupy the U.S. capital by Jan. 20. This armed force's announced goal: Prevent a violent attack on the inauguration of the 46th president and allow a transition to the Joe Biden/Kamala . . . |

IMEMC News (2021-01-20). Fifteen More Detainees Contract Coronavirus In Ramon Israeli Prison. imemc.org The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported, Wednesday, that fifteen more detainees have been officially diagnosed with the coronavirus in Ramon Israeli prison, bringing the number of infected detainees in the facility to fifty-three since January 11th, and increasing the total number of infected political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers to more than …

Paul Street (2021-01-20). On "True Democracy" counterpunch.org On January 5, 2021, one day before Trump sparked his fascist Attack on the Capitol, the liberal New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg called for Americans "to defend democracy" by "investigating" Trump and wrote these words: "True democracy in America is quite new; you can date it to the civil rights era. If Trump's Republican

IMEMC News (2021-01-20). Israeli Colonists Cut 100 Olive Saplings Near Hebron. imemc.org Many fanatic Israeli colonists, illegally squatting on Palestinian lands, invaded a Palestinian orchard east of Yatta town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and cut about 100 olive saplings. Rateb Jabour, the coordinator of the Popular Committee against the Annexation Wall and Colonies in Hebron, said the colonists invaded a privately-owned Palestinian …

IMEMC News (2021-01-20). Abu Rodeina Denounces Israel's Latest Colonialist Plans. imemc.org The Spokesperson of the Palestinian Presidency, Nabil Abu Rodeina, denounced the latest Israeli plan to build more than 2500 colonialist units in the occupied West Bank, and described them as another attempt to destroy any prospect of peace. Abu Rodeina said the Israeli decisions are direct violations of International Law, and various resolutions, including United …

IMEMC News (2021-01-20). Israeli Army Bombards Gaza, Causes Damage And Injures One Palestinian. imemc.org The Israeli army fired, late on Tuesday at night, many artillery and tanks shells targeting several areas in the besieged and impoverished Gaza Strip, causing damage, and wounding a young man. The soldiers fired a tank shell directly striking a home, owned by members of the Abdul-Jawad family in the al-Maghazi refugee camp, in central …

IMEMC News (2021-01-20). Israeli Soldiers Abduct Four Palestinians From Tulkarem And Nablus. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Wednesday at dawn, three Palestinians from Tulkarem and one from Nablus, in northern West Bank. The Tulkarem office of the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS), in northern West Bank, said several army jeeps invaded Tulkarem refugee camp, before the soldiers stormed and violently searched homes in Anabta town, east of the city, …

IMEMC News (2021-01-20). Soldiers Abduct Six Palestinians, Including Father And Son, One Woman, In Jerusalem. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Tuesday evening, five Palestinians, including a woman, a father, and his sons, in the al-'Isawiya town, in addition to one child in Hizma town, in the occupied Palestinian capital Jerusalem. Media sources said the soldiers, including undercover officers, invaded al-'Isawiya, before storming and ransacking shops and homes, and abducted five Palestinians. …

Jessica Buxbaum (2021-01-20). Revealed: Israeli Settler Groups With Ties To the US Are Evicting Palestinians in Mass. mintpressnews.com Jessica Buxbaum investigates the slew of Israeli settler groups working to evict Palestinian families from their East Jerusalem homes with the aid of millions of dollars from American donors.

IMEMC News (2021-01-20). Israeli Soldiers Abduct A Senior Palestinian Official And His Assistant Near Jerusalem. imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, Wednesday, a senior Palestinian official and his assistant while crossing Qalandia terminal north of the occupied Palestinian capital, Jerusalem. The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that the soldiers abducted Lieutenant Bilal Natsha, the secretary-general of the Popular National Conference for Jerusalem, and his assistant Moath al-Ashhab, while crossing the …

_____ (2021-01-20). Could Baltimore's Climate Change Suit Become A Supreme Court Test Case? popularresistance.org What began as a narrow jurisdictional question to be argued Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court in a climate change lawsuit filed by the city of Baltimore could take on far greater implications if the high court agrees with major oil companies to expand its purview and consider whether federal, rather than state courts, are the appropriate venue for the city's case and possibly a host of similar lawsuits. | The high court initially agreed to hear a request by the oil and gas industry to review a ruling by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in which the court affirmed a federal district judge's decision to…

anonymous (2021-01-20). San Francisco ICE office attacked. indybay.org On January 18, as strong winds raged, 30+ anti-racists attacked the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco.

Seyed Hossein Mousavian (2021-01-20). Nine Hurdles to Reviving the Iran Nuclear Deal. globalresearch.ca Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on January 8 that Tehran was in no rush for the United States to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but, he also said, …

Eleanor J. Bader (2021-01-20). Former White Supremacists Are Helping Others Disengage from Hate Groups. progressive.org Organizations are encouraging people to leave groups like The Proud Boys and hold themselves accountable for harm they've caused.

Timothy Alexander Guzman (2021-01-20). A Belligerent Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East: The Legacy of US President Donald J. Trump. globalresearch.ca As the Trump era is coming to an end, his legacy in the Middle East will be described by the Palestinians, Syrians, Iranians and the rest of the Arab world as aggressive, dangerous and extremely reckless. Israelis will say that …

Andrew Emett (2021-01-20). Racist County Commissioner arrested for breaching US Capitol. nationofchange.org "And I will embrace my Second Amendment, I will keep my right to bear arms, my vehicle is an extension of my home in regard to the constitution law, and I have a right to have those firearms in my car."

Philip Giraldi (2021-01-19). Goodbye Sheldon Adelson. thealtworld.com The malignant toad is dead | Casino magnate and Israeli patriot multi-billionaire Sheldon Adelson, one of the world's richest men, died in Las Vegas on January 11th at age 87. He had been suffering from cancer and has been buried at the

Staff (2021-01-19). U.S. Rep. Tlaib: "Israel Is a Racist State That Would Deny Palestinians Like My Grandmother a Vaccine" democracynow.org Israel has been hailed as having the world's most vaccinated population, but Palestinians are not included. Human Rights Watch and others have called on Israeli authorities to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the more than 4.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. "Israel is a racist state," responds Congressmember Rashida Talib of Michigan, who is Palestinian American and one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress and says her Palestinian grandmother was denied access to a vaccine. "I hope my colleagues, I hope our country, sees what the Palestinians have been trying to tell us for a…

MEE and agencies (2021-01-19). Covid-19: Palestinians to receive first batch of Russian vaccine by weekend. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Palestinians to receive first batch of Russian vaccine by weekend | The Palestinian health ministry has approved Sputnik V vaccine for domestic use, making it 'the first country in the Middle East' to do so | Tue, 01/19/2021 – 14: 15 | Palestinian health workers collect random swab samples from people to test for the Covid-19 coronavirus in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on 1…

Staff (2021-01-19). Headlines for January 19, 2021. democracynow.org WHO Warns of "Catastrophic Moral Failure" as Wealthy Nations Hoard Vaccines, U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 400,000, New York Seeks Vaccines Directly from Pfizer After HHS Fails on Promise to Distribute Doses, FBI to Vet 25,000 National Guard Troops Deploying to Washington, D.C., for Inauguration, FBI Arrests More Far-Right Militia Leaders, White Supremacists Over Capitol Attack, New Yorker Footage Shows How Insurrectionists Breached Senate Chamber on Jan. 6, Senate to Begin Confirmation Hearings for Joe Biden Cabinet Nominees, Biden Executive Orders on Day 1 to Reverse Many of Trump's Most Contentious Actions,…

Juan Cole (2021-01-19). Respected Israeli Rights Group B'Tselem declares Israel an Apartheid State. zcomm.org Apartheid is one of the listed "crimes against humanity" along with enslavement, torture, war rape, and forcible deportation. A crime against humanity is the systematic and continuous commission of war crimes…

Ramzy Baroud (2021-01-19). Fearing the Palestinian Narrative: Why Israel Banned Jenin Jenin. dissidentvoice.org On January 11, the Israeli Lod District Court ruled against a Palestinian film-maker, Mahmoud Bakri, ordering him to pay hefty compensation to an Israeli soldier who was accused, along with the Israeli military, of carrying out war crimes in April 2002, in the Palestinian Jenin refugee camp located in the northern occupied West Bank. The …

OCHA (2021-01-19). OCHA Report: Demolitions and Displacements | December 2020. imemc.org Demolitions and Displacements report from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Occupied Palestinian Territory (OCHA) In December, the Israeli authorities demolished, forced people to demolish, or seized 67 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the displacement of 50 people, including 30 children, and otherwise affecting the livelihoods or …

Fight Back (2021-01-19). Chicago MLK rally demands end to white supremacy. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – 500 people gathered in Federal Plaza today with a banner reading, "End the Trump era" and "End white supremacy!" Organizers including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, and Chicago Democratic Socialists of America. Also joining were SEIU Local 73 and other unions as well as Black, Latino and other organizations. | The protest was called in response to the white supremacist insurrection and attempted coup in DC on January 6. The aim of the racists was to invalidate the votes of hundreds of thousands of Black people in Atlanta…

Fight Back (2021-01-19). Chicago MLK rally demands end to white supremacy. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – 500 people gathered in Federal Plaza today with a banner reading, "End the Trump era" and "End white supremacy!" Organizers including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, and Chicago Democratic Socialists of America. Also joining were SEIU Local 73 and other unions as well as Black, Latino and other organizations. | The protest was called in response to the white supremacist insurrection and attempted coup in DC on January 6. The aim of the racists was to invalidate the votes of hundreds of thousands of Black people in Atlanta…

_____ (2021-01-19). Martin Luther King's Vision Of An Interconnected World. popularresistance.org We are facing converging global crises — a horrific pandemic, worsening economic inequality both in the United States and globally, climate change and the continuing scourge of systemic racism around the world. What would Martin Luther King Jr. think or advise if he were alive today? What might he say in these days after the Capitol Building was attacked by a primarily white mob that was seeking to usurp the results of a free and fair election and implement an America First agenda through violent force? | To get to these answers, we need to consider one of King's most important and overlooked pieces of writ…

Staff (2021-01-19). FBI Vetting Leads to Removal of 12 National Guard Members From Inauguration Duty. truthout.org Twelve members of the National Guard were removed from inaugural duty, AP Two National Guard members were recused from inauguration duty specifically for ties to far right militias. Because of information saf…

Ian Cobain (2021-01-19). UK Labour Party recruited ex-Israeli intelligence official for social media role: Report. middleeasteye.net UK Labour Party recruited ex-Israeli intelligence official for social media role: Report | Labour Party said it was aware of report but did not immediately respond to questions about matter | Tue, 01/19/2021 – 19: 15 | The former Israeli intelligence official was recruited last year to work in office of party leader Keir Starmer (AFP) | The UK's Labour Party is reported to have hired a former member of Isra…

Ragip Soylu (2021-01-19). Turkey hits Twitter and Pinterest with ad ban for resisting new social media law. middleeasteye.net Turkey hits Twitter and Pinterest with ad ban for resisting new social media law | Twitter and Pinterest have yet to assign a legal representative in Turkey, leading ministers to warn of 'digital fascism' | Tue, 01/19/2021 – 11: 29 | Twitter risks having its bandwidth reduced in Turkey, under regulations introduced last year (AFP) | Turkey has imposed an advertisement ban on social media giants Twitter a…

IMEMC News (2021-01-19). Israeli Navy Attacks Palestinian Fishermen In Gaza. imemc.org Israeli navy ships fired, on Tuesday morning, several live rounds at Palestinian fishing boats, in addition to attacking them with water cannons, near the shore of the Sudaniyya sea, northwest of Gaza city. Eyewitnesses said the navy attacked the Palestinian fishing boats less than three nautical miles from the Gaza shore. They added that the …

Prensa Latina (2021-01-19). Líder palestino advierte sobre política de expansionismo israelí. peoplesworld.org &nbsp…

Party for Socialism and Liberation (2021-01-19). PSL Statement — Assault on the Capitol: 24 Questions and Answers. liberationnews.org The Jan. 6 attack on Congress by a fascist-led mob will be remembered as a pivotal moment in U.S. politics…

IMEMC News (2021-01-19). Israeli Soldiers Shoot Two Palestinians Near Qalqilia. imemc.org Israeli soldiers shot, on Tuesday morning, two young Palestinian men near the illegal Annexation Wall, north of the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. Eyewitnesses said the two young men were among of several workers who were trying to cross through a hole in the annexation wall, seeking work. They added that the two were …

IMEMC News (2021-01-19). Army Abducts A Palestinian Child Near Hebron. imemc.org Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday at night, the al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and abducted a Palestinian child. Media sources said several army jeeps invaded the refugee camp before the soldiers stormed and searched homes. They added that the soldiers interrogated several Palestinians while inspecting their ID cards, …

IMEMC News (2021-01-19). Israeli Soldiers Abduct Two Siblings In Jenin, Two In Nablus. imemc.org Israeli soldiers invaded, on Tuesday at dawn, Kafr Ra'ey village, south of Jenin, and Salem village, east of Nablus, in the northern parts of the occupied West Bank, searched homes and abducted four siblings. Montaser Sammour, the head of the Jenin office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS), said the soldiers abducted Bilal Nabil Thiab, …

IMEMC News (2021-01-19). Army Issues Demolition Orders Targeting Eight Homes, And A Shed, Near Nablus. imemc.org Several Israeli army jeeps invaded, on Monday at dawn, Douma village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, before handing orders for the demolition of eight homes, and one shed. Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors Israel's illegal colonialist activities in northern West Bank, said the soldiers surrounded the village, before …

Ali Salam (2021-01-19). Israeli Settlement Expansion Condemned by PA, EU and Numerous Countries. imemc.org In response to Israel's announcement that they have approved an additional 780 colonial settlement units, a number of countries have issued statements condemning the move. They include the UK, Egypt, Ireland, Jordan, the European Union (EU) and the Palestinian Authority (PA). A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, stated that it is clear …