Israelhatare från höger och vänster

 Tucker Carlson’s anti-Zionism shows horseshoe theory nearing a circle (TOI)

Conservative US commentator borrows talking points from the left, highlighting how anti-Zionist discourse is finding a home on both sides of the spectrum

In December, the right-wing US media personality Tucker Carlson hosted the far-left UN special rapporteur for the Palestinians, Francesca Albanese, on his show.

The two outspoken personalities, from opposite corners of the political spectrum, found themselves in agreement, with Carlson deferring to Albanese’s explanations of the conflict.

“A lot of us have spent a lot of time doing our best to ignore what’s happening in Gaza,” Carlson said during a preamble to the interview. “The idea that they’ve killed tens of thousands of women and children, non-combatants, accidentally, is a lie. No, they murdered them.”...

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Värt att läsa är också: Facing Trump, Hamas bet on survival and is being vindicated; Iran’s regime has the same game plan

In his State of the Union, Trump had good reason to claim success against both Gaza’s terror rulers and the Islamic Republic. But neither is finished. In fact, both intend to long outlast his presidency

…In Gaza, as my colleague Lazar Berman detailed in a deeply troubling report earlier this week, Hamas retains control of the half of the enclave where most of the population lives. And it is furtively ensuring that it will continue to hold sway even if and when the Palestinian Authority-affiliated National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, ultimately overseen by Trump, begins ostensibly taking administrative control of parts of the Strip...

Finland fördömer Israels agerande utan att bry sig om vad som är rätt

 YLE och andra rapporterar att Finland tillsammans med 18 andra stater i ett gemensamt uttalande  fördömer Israels agerande på västbanken. Finland gör här gemensam sak med arab- och muslimstaterna och den palestinska myndigheten. Är det verkligen där Finland hör hemma?

Suomi ja joukko muita maita tuomitsevat Israelin pyrkimykset Länsirannalla

Parikymmentä maata tuomitsee Israelin pyrkimykset alueliitoksiin Länsirannalla – Suomi mukana yhteislausunnossa

Det som är intressant med uttalandet är att Finland hör till de stater som vill hålla fast vid det gamla regelbaserade världsordningen. Man vill att internationella avtal och överenskommelser skall hållas och styra staters agerande. Men det gäller som känt inte när man behandlar Israel.

Enligt internationella avtal tillhör västbanken  det område som gavs till judarna för att de där skulle återupprätta sin nationalstat. (San Remo deklarationen och stadgarna för Palestinamandatet)

Om Israel förändrar lagar som berör området borde det inte vara något att  bråka om.

Det kan vara intressant att i sammanhanget läsa vad Alan Baker skriver om saken i Jerusalem Post:

These government measures are not de facto annexation 

(Alan Baker heads the International Law Program at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. He is an expert in international law and former ambassador of the state of Israel to Canada.)

Israel’s security cabinet has approved a set of administrative changes affecting day-to-day governance and law enforcement in the territories. Predictably, the response has been split between celebration and outrage. Supporters have hailed the measures as “de facto annexation.” Critics have denounced them as exactly the same. Both camps are wrong.

...In the territory under its administration, Israel is duty-bound to ensure public order and to prevent arbitrary obstructions – whether by Israeli or Palestinian residents, or by local municipal and other authorities – that disrupt day-to-day life.

Streamlining legal and administrative procedures, improving planning and oversight, ensuring transparent property purchase and registration, and protecting archaeological sites are all part of Israel’s responsibilities under the existing framework. Respect for private property in the territories, including in the context of Israel’s settlement policies, was affirmed in 2012 by an expert, government-established legal commission headed by Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, which sought to protect private ownership and regulate settlement activity.

At the same time, nothing prevents private, legitimate, and transparent property transactions conducted lawfully by willing parties. In that context, the decision to enable lawful land transactions and not to apply in the territories a distinctly discriminatory and antisemitic Jordanian-era law that barred the sale of land to Jews cannot reasonably be described as “de facto annexation.”

...Exaggerated condemnations by international leaders have relied on selective and misleading framing. They accuse Israel of annexation without engaging seriously with the nature of the measures themselves.

Förslag till konstitution för Palestina ger inget hopp om en bättre framtid

 Den palestinska myndigheten har kommit med ett utkast till konstitution för självständighet.

Jag har inte läst utkastet men det verkar inte ge hopp om en bättre framtid för palestinierna eller för relationerna till Israel.

So much for the two-state solution: PA proves to be its own worst enemy TOI

The Palestinian Authority’s new draft constitution for statehood ignores reconciliation – in fact, the document erases Israel and Jewish history

The draft should be a must-read for the 157 countries that recognize a Palestinian state. They’ll find that their perception of a future Palestinian democracy ready to accept the state of Israel next door is a fiction. There is no talk of living alongside Israel. Instead, the draft asserts that Jerusalem will be the capital of Palestine and that Islamic and Christian holy sites will be maintained and protected. No mention is made of the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the land since the days of the Bible; no recognition that Judaism is rooted in the Holy Land and that for thousands of years Jewish prayer has been deeply and inextricably linked to it.

In effect, the 53-page document erases Israel and Jewish history. It proposes a state that rejects “colonial settlement occupation… ethnic cleansing … and continued genocide,” to be governed not by democracy but Islamic Shariah law. It legalizes terror by promising to continue the PA’s “pay-for-slay” policy, calling for providing “protection and care for the families of martyrs, wounded and prisoners, and those released from the occupation prisons and the victims of genocide.” So much for a spirit of compromise or confidence-building required to prepare both Arabs and Jews to live as neighbors.

Reading the draft, with its emphasis on victimhood, I was reminded of Abba Eban’s most oft-quoted comment. Two months after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Eban, as Israel’s UN Ambassador and golden-toned orator, noted that Arab leaders “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” He was referring to frustratingly stalled peace efforts...

YLE förvånar med artikel om Gaza

En ganska ovanlig artikel från YLE . I artikeln finns också en video från Gaza som japanska radiobolaget NHK spelat in. I videon ser man inga svältande människor, tvärtom ser de välmående ut. Bra med lite omväxling.

Mitä ihmettä tapahtuu Gazassa? Hamas piti riisua aseista, nyt se vain näyttää vahvistuvan

Äärijärjestö Hamas ja Israel sopivat sotatoimet lopettavasta tulitauosta Gazassa viime lokakuussa.

Yhtenä sen ehdoista oli, että Hamas luovuttaa aseensa eikä Hamasilla ole enää roolia Gazan kaistaleen hallinnossa.

Kumpikaan näistä ei ole toteutunut.

Kun Israel veti joukkonsa pois, on Hamas näyttänyt tiukentavan otettaan.

Utrikesminister Valtonen i Israel och Ramallah

 Här kan man läsa  vad utrikesminister Valtonen skrev på Facebook efter sitt besök till Israel och Ramallah på västbanken. (https://www.facebook.com/elinamariavaltonen)

Kort kan man säga att hon inte skriver ett ont ord, ingen kritik av den palestinska myndigheten. Israel får däremot kritik på flera områden. Palestinierna är som vanligt offer och Israel angripare. Sorgligt men  inte oväntat. 

"Det får inte finnas någon plats för terrorism", skriver hon. Varför kritiserar hon inte då palestinska myndigheten som betalar lön till  terrorister som angriper judar, som prisar och förhärligar terrordåd mot judar (t.ex Fatah glorifies Munich Olympics massacre ahead of 2026 Winter Olympics) och som i skolorna lär barnen att hata judar?

Vierailin maanantaina Ramallahissa, Länsirannalla.

Israelin siirtokuntalaajentuminen ja siirtokuntalaisten väkivalta tuntuvat palestiinalaisten arjessa päivittäin eri puolilla Länsirantaa, myös Itä-Jerusalemissa. Monen palestiinalaisen elämä on täynnä rajoituksia maan, toimeentulon ja peruspalvelujen saatavuudessa – ja samanaikaisesti turvattomuus ja väkivalta ovat lisääntyneet. 

Eräs nuori nainen kertoi, että hän on pahimmillaan joutunut odottamaan neljä tuntia Israelin asettamalla tarkistuspaikalla - siis palestiinalaisalueiden välillä - ainoastaan päästäkseen ajamaan työpaikaltaan kotiin. Arjen pyörittäminen vaikeutuu kaiken aikaa.

Tapasin Ramallahissa pääministeri Mohammad Mustafan. Keskustelimme Länsirannan heikentyneestä tilanteesta, Gazan humanitaarisista olosuhteista sekä siitä, miten kansainvälinen yhteisö voi parhaiten tukea Palestiinalaishallintoa ja sen paluuta Gazaan. Hamas on riisuttava aseista ja sen on väistyttävä vallasta. Terrorismille ei pidä olla minkäänlaista tilaa.

Vierailin matkan yhteydessä Punaisen Puolikuun avustuskeskuksessa ja tapasin palestiinalaisia kansalaisyhteiskunnan toimijoita. Varastossa odotti rekkalavoittain avustuspaketteja Gazaan, joita ei vielä oltu saatu toimittaa.

Suomi on Palestiinalaishallinnon kumppani. Jatkamme kehitysyhteistyötä ja tuemme poliittista näköalaa, joka vie kohti kahden valtion ratkaisua.

Vierailin sunnuntaina Israelissa. Kenttämatka alkoi vierailulla Kibbutz Nir Oziin sekä Nova Music festivaalialueelle, jotka olivat Hamasin 7. lokakuuta tekemien iskujen surullisia kohteita. Yhteensä satoja ihmisiä sai surmansa tai heidät kaapattiin panttivangeiksi.

Vierailin myös Holokaustin muistokeskus Yad Vashemissa kunnioittamassa kuuden miljoonan holokaustissa murhatun juutalaisen muistoa. Menneisyyden muistaminen on yhteinen velvollisuutemme. Meidän on puolustettava ihmisarvoa, torjuttava antisemitismiä ja suojeltava siviilejä kaikkialla.

Tapasin Jerusalemissa Israelin ulkoministerin Gideon Sa’arin ja presidentin Isaac Herzogin. Keskustelimme maidemme välisistä suhteista sekä Lähi-idän tilanteesta: Israelin ja Palestiinan välisestä konfliktista, rauhansuunnitelmasta ja Iranista.

Nostin esille Gazan siviiliväestön jatkuvan humanitaarisen hädän ja näköalattomuuden. Tuemme rauhansuunnitelman toimeenpanoa. Suomen tuki alueelliselle vakaudelle ja kahden valtion ratkaisulle on horjumaton. Emme hyväksy Israelin toimia Länsirannalla, jotka pyrkivät siirtokunta-alueiden annektointiin osaksi Israelia. Israel on viime kuukausina tehostanut siirtokuntien rakentamista.

Israel har inte annekterat Judéen och Samarien

 These government measures are not de facto annexation  (Alan Baker TOI)

Israel’s security cabinet has approved a set of administrative changes affecting day-to-day governance and law enforcement in the territories. Predictably, the response has been split between celebration and outrage. Supporters have hailed the measures as “de facto annexation.” Critics have denounced them as exactly the same. Both camps are wrong...

…Exaggerated condemnations by international leaders have relied on selective and misleading framing. They accuse Israel of annexation without engaging seriously with the nature of the measures themselves.

...In this context, the condemnation by UN Secretary-General António Guterres calling for the reversal of these measures reflects extreme bias and a superficial reading of the facts and legal framework underlying them...

…As an international official, the Secretary-General should be reminded that the “UN Charter and Staff Rules” require senior officials to act with impartiality. His consistently slanted statements, which single out and condemn Israel while disregarding Palestinian violations and incitement, undermine the integrity of his office – and any last shreds of credibility that the United Nations may still have.

Låt inte lögnen vinna: Fördöm påståendet om folkmord i Israel, oavsett vem som framför det (Jerusalem Post)

 Att stämpla Israels krig i Gaza som folkmord är inte kritik utan ett modernt blodsförtal, ett påstående som förvränger det som hände den 7 oktober, som underblåser antisemitism världen över och måste konfronteras direkt.

Don't let the lie stand: Denounce the Israeli genocide claim, no matter who raises it - editorial

Labeling Israel’s war in Gaza as genocide is not criticism but a modern blood libel, one that distorts October 7, fuels antisemitism worldwide, and must be confronted head-on.

...Thankfully, the issue is coming to the forefront, thanks to an online campaign initiated by a group of respected Jewish thinkers, teachers, and writers not generally associated with the Right’s allegiance to the notion that Israel can do no wrong. Among the Israeli signatories are Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg, journalist and teacher Yossi Klein Halevi, and Rabbi Micha Odenheimer of Tevel b’Tzedek, an Israeli nonprofit.

They plainly but eloquently stated the obvious, which has been either ignored or disputed.

They wrote: “The unprecedented combat conditions of the war – hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, thousands of booby-trapped homes – the conflating of combatants with ‘journalists’ and ‘human rights workers,’ the ratio of civilian-to-terrorist casualties, considered low for asymmetrical urban warfare, the absence of mass starvation despite repeated claims of imminent catastrophe, the warnings given to civilians before attack: All these factors were erased in the eagerness to indict Israel for genocide.

“A crucial difference between war as tragedy and war as genocide is intent. In this war, only one side intended to commit genocide, and that is Hamas.

“To accuse Israel of genocide, the massacre of October 7 has been systematically downplayed, while Israeli actions have been distorted and amplified. Israel went to war on October 8, not out of vengeance, as its detractors claim, but to break the Iranian-led siege of terror enclaves on its borders, and to restore its deterrence, without which it cannot survive in the long term in the Middle East. Thousands of rockets and missiles were fired at Israel in the weeks following the massacre, while Hamas starved and tortured 250 Israelis, some of whom were murdered in captivity.”...