Daily Sabah – December 20, 2023
Over 70% of Gazans face extreme hunger as Israel's war grinds on
Nearly 71% of Gazans are facing extreme hunger as they continue to suffer under relentless Israeli attacks, according to a study by the rights group Euro-Med Monitor.
Released Tuesday, the study’s findings included a sample of 1,200 people in Gaza where 98% of the respondents said they eat insufficient amounts of food.
Meanwhile, 64% admitted to eating grass, fruits, immature food and expired materials to satiate their hunger.
The study also found that the rate of access to water in Gaza, including drinking, bathing and cleaning water, is down to 1.5 liters per person per day.
"This is 15 liters less than the minimum amount of water required for survival at the level required by international standards," it stressed.
It added that 66% of the respondents reported having experienced diarrhea, skin rashes or intestinal diseases in the past month.
Earlier on Dec. 14, U.N. officials and aid workers had warned that the residents of Gaza were facing a "perfect storm' of deadly diseases.
From Nov. 29 to Dec. 10, the cases of diarrhea in children under 5 jumped 66% to 59,895 cases, and climbed 55% for the rest of the population in the same period, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Israel's air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 have killed at least 19,667 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 52,586, according to health authorities in the enclave.
The war has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced within the densely populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.
"The perfect storm for disease has begun. Now it's about, 'How bad will it get?'" James Elder, chief spokesperson for the U.N. children's fund (UNICEF), had said in an interview.
Daily Sabah – December 20, 2023
UNSC delays Gaza vote as members wrangle over resolution wording
With members wrangling over wording, a U.N. Security Council vote on a resolution calling for a pause to Israel's war on Gaza was postponed for a second time Tuesday.
Three diplomatic sources said the vote on the text, the latest version of which calls for the "suspension" of hostilities, had been pushed to Wednesday.
Members of the council are grappling to find common ground on the resolution, a vote on which was pushed back several times throughout the day, according to diplomatic sources, after being postponed Monday.
Israel, backed by its ally Washington, a veto-wielding permanent Security Council member, has opposed the use of the term "cease-fire."
That has proved to be one of the sticking points for the divided body as diplomats wrangle over whether to call for a "pause" or a "truce," or to qualify any cease-fire as "humanitarian."
The current struggle comes after an impasse earlier this month, when the United States, despite unprecedented pressure from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, blocked the adoption of a Security Council resolution on the war.
It had called for an "immediate humanitarian cease-fire" in the Gaza Strip, where Israel continues its deadly strikes in retaliation to the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.
Last week, the General Assembly adopted the same nonbinding resolution by 153 votes to 10, with 23 abstentions, out of 193 member states.
Bolstered by that overwhelming support, Arab countries announced the new attempt at the Security Council.
A draft text prepared by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), obtained by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) Sunday, called for "an urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities to allow unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip."
But according to diplomatic sources, a new, modified text is now on the table, in an attempt to salvage a compromise.
It is less direct, calling for "the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities."
Aid 'far short' of need
As in previous texts, Hamas is not named in the current draft resolution – a move that has in the past drawn ire from the United States.
Instead, it "firmly" condemns "all indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects ... and all acts of terrorism."
It also demands "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."
The new draft text also calls on all sides to allow aid to be distributed across Gaza, as well as for Guterres to put in place a monitoring system for the aid.
Senior United Nations official Tor Wennesland said Tuesday that Israel's steps to allow aid into Gaza until now have been insufficient.
"The delivery of humanitarian aid in the (Gaza) Strip continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges," said Wennesland, the organization's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.
"Limited (humanitarian) steps by Israel ... are positive, but fall far short of what is needed to address the human catastrophe on the ground."
Earlier in the day, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said his country was "ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages."
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington "would welcome a resolution that fully supports addressing the humanitarian needs of the people in Gaza."
"But ... the details of it very much do matter," he said.
Growing impatience
Since the start of Israel's war, the Security Council faced criticism for only adopting a single text, in mid-November, calling for dayslong humanitarian "pauses" to allow aid in.
Five other draft resolutions were rejected, two of them due to U.S. vetoes.
President Joe Biden meanwhile has exhibited growing impatience with Israel, warning it risks losing international support for its "indiscriminate" bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
After the attack on Oct. 7, Israel has since pounded the Palestinian territory, laying siege to it and conducting a vast ground operation.
The Gazan Health Ministry says Israel's military response has killed more than 19,667 people, mostly women and children.
Anadolu Agency – December 20, 2023
Some 'external forces' trying to use Gaza situation to fuel regional unrest in Mideast: Russia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that some "external forces" are attempting to fan a fire of regional discord between Middle Eastern states by exploiting the situation in Gaza.
The purpose of such actions is to "weaken countries that pursue an independent foreign policy course," Lavrov said at the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum in Morocco's capital, Marrakesh.
"Some external forces want to use the current escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to their advantage, to ignite a fire of regional discord," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, quoting the country's top diplomat.
Russia sees a cease-fire and increased humanitarian efforts in Gaza as top priorities as "violence has taken an unprecedented and truly catastrophic scale," he said.
"The number of dead and injured is in the tens of thousands, most of them civilians in the Gaza Strip, primarily children and women. The suffering of the enclave's population is compounded by the consequences of the Israeli blockade," he said.
According to the minister, Russia is continuing to make efforts to bring the Palestinian-Israeli conflict into a diplomatic channel in coordination with its Arab counterparts.
"Russia's principled position coincides with the line of the Arab countries, which reaffirmed their commitment to resolving the crisis based on a generally recognized international legal framework during the summit of the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Riyadh on November 11," he said.
Lavrov believed that violence in the region would continue until the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He asserted that creating a collective diplomatic mechanism to assist parties would help resolve key issues, including the restoration of Palestinian unity.
The Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum between Russia and the League of Arab States was founded in 2009 to enhance economic cooperation.
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/some-external-forces-trying-to-use-gaza-situation-to-fuel-regional-unrest-in-middle-east-russia-3675042
Daily Sabah – December 20, 2023
Israeli-flagged ships banned by Malaysia amid Gaza conflict
Israeli-flagged cargo ships have been banned from docking at Malaysian ports in response to Israel's actions in Gaza, which Kuala Lumpur says ignores "basic humanitarian principles."
Ships on their way to Israel will also be barred from loading cargo at any port in the largely Muslim Southeast Asian nation with immediate effect, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement.
Anwar singled out Israel's biggest shipping firm ZIM.
Malaysia's cabinet authorized ZIM to dock its vessels at Malaysian ports in 2002 but Wednesday's statement said that authorization had been rescinded.
"The Malaysian government decided to block and disallow the Israeli-based shipping company ZIM from docking at any Malaysian port," Anwar said.
"These sanctions are a response to Israel's actions that ignore basic humanitarian principles and violate international law through the ongoing massacre and brutality against Palestinians."
Malaysia "also decided to no longer accept ships using the Israeli flag to dock in the country" and ban "any ship on its way to Israel from loading cargo in Malaysian ports."
Anwar said Malaysia was confident its trade would not be affected by the decision.
Malaysia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege, and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.
More than 19,660 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed and over 52,580 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza's health authorities.
The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while over 130 hostages are still held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.
International pressure is mounting for a new truce that could ramp up aid to the enclave, with the United Nations due to vote Wednesday on calling for a cease-fire.
Countercurrent - December 20, 2023
The Balfour Declaration And Palestine
The Balfour Declaration which supposedly gave the Zionists the right to establish a NATIONAL HOME for Jewish people in Palestine is completely illegal. On November 2nd, 1917, when the Balfour declaration was issued, Palestine was still under the domain of the Ottoman Empire and the British had no legal rights to give away a land which was not under their dominion. Further, the declaration speaks only of establishing a “NATIONAL HOME for Jewish people in Palestine” and not a JEWISH STATE. The declaration clearly states that “IT BEING CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD THAT NOTHING SHALL BE DONE WHICH MAY PREJUDICE THE CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS OF EXISTING NON-JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN PALESTINE“. Whatever that the Zionists are doing now against Palestinians are against the Balfour declaration that the Zionists so dearly hold on to.
Below is the full text of the Balfour Declaration.
- Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917
- Dear Lord Rothschild,
- I have much pleasure in conveying to you. on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet
- His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a NATIONAL HOME for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, “IT BEING CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD THAT NOTHING SHALL BE DONE WHICH MAY PREJUDICE THE CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS OF EXISTING NON-JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN PALESTINE” or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
- I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
- Yours,
Arthur James Balfour
https://countercurrents.org/2023/12/the-balfour-declaration-and-palestine/
Countercurrent - December 20, 2023
Natural Gas Fuelling Conflict In Gaza
by Karyn Pomerantz
Introduction
Nearly 20,000 Gazans dead, including 10,000 children; 288 Palestinians killed in the West Bank; 1200 Israelis murdered, 150 held hostage by Hamas and 3 killed by IDF soldiers; ambulances blocked, hospitals destroyed, 90% going hungry in Gaza; and 1000 complaints of repression of pro-Palestinian speech in the US (Palestinelegal.org). Israel continues to blanket bomb Gaza as they try to wipe out the next generation of Palestinians. The powerless UN passes unenforceable resolutions for ceasefires as pundits babble about the rule of law governing warfare.
Hidden behind the justifications for the war on Gaza is the longstanding Zionist plan to ethnically cleanse all of Palestine and to gain control of natural gas and oil. Zionists justify the war as retribution for the October 7th killings of Israelis. Hamas portrays it as pay-back for decades of oppression. Neither side advocates unity of Palestinian and Israeli workers to establish a society that meets their mutual needs. Nothing short of an anti-racist, anti-capitalist global movement can end these conflicts.
Without United States aid, Israel cannot sustain its assaults on Palestinians. The United States, never a friend of Jewish Holocaust refugees, backs Israel with favored trade deals, military armaments, and $3.8 billion in annual aid including an additional $14 billion for this conflict. Biden and the Democratic Party even risk defeat in the 2024 elections as more young people reject US support of racist mass murder. The genocide broadcast around the world has raised interest in revolution and socialism as did the 1000s of police murders in the US in recent years.
This article presents data and analysis about rivalries over oil and gas and US imperialism that mainstream news hides securely behind the headlines.
The Back Story of 75 years of Conflict
After WWI, in 1917, Britain and France divided up the defeated Ottoman Empire into mandates with Britain taking control of Iraq, Transjordan, and Palestine, and France overseeing Syria and Lebanon. To secure the area of Palestine, the British encouraged immigration of Jewish Europeans to settle on Palestinian lands and escape the severe antisemitism they faced in Europe and Russia. The British needed a large population of immigrants to build toward creation of a Jewish state.
Competition over the production, distribution, marketing, and transport of oil, that was to dominate modern 20th and 21st Century history, soon took hold. An archeologist discovered oil in 1908 in what is now Iran . Britain created the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC), and the flow of oil began in 1913. Britain and Iran clashed over who would profit from its sale, and numerous coups left the US in control. In 1938, an American oil company that became Chevron discovered oil in Saudi Arabia, transforming Saudi rulers into a political and economic power. Chevron still owns and develops gas and oil reserves in the Middle East today. An Iraq-Haifa pipeline was opened in 1935, where Iraqi oil was refined and then shipped from Haifa to Europe. The Haifa refineries supplied much of the fuel needed by the British and the Americans during World War II.
Post-war, Britain abandoned its Palestinian mandate due to violent opposition from Arabs and Zionists, turning it over to the United Nations. The UN voted to partition the territory into Jewish and Palestinian regions and created the state of Israel in 1948. The US took over as the major imperialist power. It desired control of Middle East oil and needed a “friend,” more like a cop, to counter any interference from Arab countries and the Soviet Union.
The US maintains Israel as a major political and military bully to strengthen its geopolitical position in the region and also to profit from the large new oil and natural gas fields discovered in the Mediterranean.
“Protection of that investment (in oil) and the military and economic security that it represents, inevitably will become one of the prime objectives of American foreign policy in this area, which already has become a pivot of world politics and one of the main focal points of rivalry between East and West (https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/12/11/israel-gaza-and-the-struggle-for-oil/.”
Discoveries in the East Mediterranean Sea – What’s At Stake?
Explorers have identified new oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Israel beginning in 2010. They discovered over 31 billion cubic feet of gas in the Mediterranean in 2022. The Gaza Marine Gas Fields I and II under Palestinian sovereignty lie west of Haifa off the coast of Gaza, Israel and Lebanon in the eastern Mediterranean Sea known as the Levant Basin Province. They run for 83,000 square kilometers and contain 22 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas. It will cost between $20-$25 billion to develop and could attract $100 billion in investment.
The West Bank also sits on top of natural gas in the Rantis field, another site blocked by Israel for Palestinian development.
The Leviathan LNG fields lie 81 miles west of Haifa. They have 22 trillion cubic feet of usable gas and can power Israeli energy needs for 40 years.
These discoveries have transformed Israel from an oil importing country to an exporter that could sell fuel to countries that relied on Russian exports before the war in Ukraine.
And these discoveries have heightened the rivalries between Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine, and solidified alliances with Egypt, a major importer. Israel claims sole ownership of reserves that border Gaza or lie underneath Palestinian Occupied Territories. It has illegally blocked Gaza from contracts to develop its reserves that would be profitable enough to fund urgently needed social services and jobs in Gaza. Israel often promises Palestinians access to its reserves but never follows through.
Israel’s claim to ownership of Palestinian gas reserves is one factor that has led to major wars on Gaza. After Hamas won the election to rule Gaza in 2007, Israel implemented a blockade. In 2008, after a rocket attack on Siderot, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, that killed 1400 Gazans and gave Israel control over Palestinian natural gas fields. Israel invaded again in 2014, bombed Gaza’s power company and established sovereignty over Gaza’s energy resources.
Israel also disputed the placement of pipelines. It refused to allow Gaza to build a pipeline that would deliver fuel to a processing facility in Gaza. Instead, it demanded that Israel own and operate the pipeline.
Since the 1960s, there’s been talk about constructing the Ben Gurion Canal to transport fuel from northern Gaza south to the Gulf of Aqaba, a key port on the Red Sea that could replace the Suez Canal and earn Israel large fees. Its construction is either delayed, disputed, or canceled today.
In September 2022, Palestinians from Hamas and other organizations held a demonstration, Gas for Gazans, demanding access to its energy resources, (https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena-turkiye/240-rethinking-gas-diplomacy-eastern).
These are several examples of Israel’s attempts to control the extremely profitable gas fields. They also add one more motive for the US to arm the Israeli government and allow the absolute destruction of Gaza. As an imperialist power, the US enables Israel to seize resources belonging to Palestine. In return, Israel maintains a friendly force in the region that can counter Iran’s Hezbollah and compete economically with Russia and China.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported:
“Throughout history, colonization and military occupations have consistently had underlying economic consequences and motivations … have typically involved the exploitation and impoverishment of the occupied people. In its most severe form, the economic dimension of occupation entails the appropriation of the resources of the occupied people, leading to their displacement, replacement, impoverishment, and marginalization. …. “
Russia and China are the main competitors of US imperialism. Through its Belt and Road initiative, Chinese state companies have invested heavily in infrastructure projects in the Mediterranean region. Their projects include investments in port facilities and industrial sites throughout the Mediterranean. Shanghai International Port Group acquired a 25-year contract to manage the Port of Haifa, while China Harbor Engineering is building a new port terminal in Ashdod, Israel.
The struggle over energy resources, pipelines, trade, and labor has driven many countries to engage in war as we see in Ukraine, Iraq, and Yemen. It continues to dominate and destabilize global politics despite the enormous cost to human lives. While there are many reasons to destroy Palestinians and steal their property, the control of oil and gas is a significant aspect.
Conclusion
The recent discovery of fossil fuel resources in Israel’s purview now increases its importance from a protector of US interests in the region to an actual energy supplier. Now billions of dollars in real and potential wealth lie beneath the Mediterranean. The development of new pipelines to access gas fields can also increase access to markets, such as Europe. However, conflicts among the major players will determine if the US and its allies can reap these benefits as tensions grow between Israel and its neighbor in Lebanon and Iran, and the US faces growing military and economic competition from China.
Imperialism is capitalism on a global stage. Imperialists plunder resources, enslave workers, and dominate markets. Imperialism cannot be resolved with rules of law, negotiations, or any form of diplomacy; it inevitably dissolves into war. It can only be eliminated when working people throughout the world refuse to fight these wars and create a multiracial and multiethnic society that doesn’t use money, wages, or profit. We don’t need to fight over the ownership of property and resources; we need to own and run society collectively. This requires us to organize together in one party that recognizes an injury to one is an injury to all. We cannot let the capitalists tear us apart with racism and hatred.
https://countercurrents.org/2023/12/natural-gas-fuelling-conflict-in-gaza/
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The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
