[AFRICANEWS] Three months after the 26 July coup that toppled Niger's President Mohammed Bazoum, sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the suspension of international funding are clouding the economic prospects of one of the world's poorest countries.
- INTERNATIONAL FUNDING SUSPENDED -
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... (EU), a major partner of Niger, had allocated €503 million ($554 million) "to improve governance, education and sustainable growth in Niger for the period 2021-2024", according to its website.
But like other partners such as La Belle France, the EU announced that it was "immediately halting" its budget support in the wake of the coup.
Overall, the amount of budget support provided to Niger is now estimated at 254 million dollars to be disbursed, compared with the 1.166 billion dollars forecast before the coup, according to a study by the World Bank (WB) and the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... World Food Programme (WFP), consulted by AFP.
In terms of funding for development projects, "only 82 million dollars (0.55% of GDP) have been disbursed in 2023, compared with the significant flows expected of 625 million dollars (3.6% of GDP)", according to the study, which indicates that this suspension "will weigh heavily on the country's ability to implement projects and execute the budget".
These figures, drawn up at the beginning of October, do not take into account the suspension by Washington of the majority of its support programmes for the country, amounting to some 500 million dollars.
- A SLASHED BUDGET -
Only 62% of Niger's budget is financed by domestic revenue, according to the EU.
At the beginning of October, the military regime announced a 40% reduction in the national budget for 2023, due to the "heavy sanctions imposed by international and regional organizations", which "expose the country to a significant drop in both external and internal revenue".The ECOWAS sanctions prevent Niger from accessing the regional financial market of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) to finance its budget and carry out banking transactions.
In response, the Nigerien authorities have demanded that taxpayers pay taxes in cash, instead of depositing them in the Treasury account, which has been frozen by the sanctions.Faced with a drastic fall in revenue, the government is giving priority to paying civil servants' salaries, to the detriment of public investment, according to the WB.
It adds that "the new administration has missed several interest payments (on its debt, editor's note), a situation that has already led to arrears and could very probably lead to the suspension" of other international financial support.
- INFRASTRUCTURE UNDER THREAT -
Nigeria has announced the suspension of its electricity supply to Niger, which accounted for 71% of the country's consumption before the coup. The Niger electricity company (Nigelec) is only managing to meet between 25% and 50% of demand, depending on the region, and its financial situation is deteriorating, according to the WB. Several infrastructure projects are also threatened by the suspension of Western cooperation. The commissioning of the Gorou Banda solar power plant, financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), has been delayed.
Work on the Kandadji dam, financed by AFD, the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the Ecowas Investment Bank (EBID), has also come to a halt.
"Delays in electricity infrastructure projects will hamper increased access to affordable and reliable electricity for households and industry", says the WB, in a country where only 20% of the population has access to electricity.
- SLUGGISH ECONOMY -
While GDP growth was expected to reach 6% in 2023, boosted by oil exports, it could fall to 2.3% "if the sanctions continue until the end of the year", according to the WB.
Some 700,000 more people could fall into extreme poverty in 2023.
The risk of a cash shortage has diminished, however, as money transfer agencies continue to operate in Niger despite the sanctions.
Remittances to Niger are "limited (...) but generally benefit the poorest households", explains the WB.
- MALI'S EXAMPLE -
Like Niger, Mali was subjected to economic sanctions by Ecowas after a coup d'état.In Mali, "economic growth has proved resilient despite the ECOWAS sanctions", according to a WB note published in April 2023. The budget deficit has stabilised "at a high level of 5% of GDP" to the detriment of public investment, but poverty has increased.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The reaction of the residents of Dagestan to the latest escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is understandable, but there is no justification for violating the law, said the Permanent Representative of Palestine to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim Kraishi, commenting on the unrest at Makhachkala airport.
He would be representing the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, which explains it.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on October 29, mass riots occurred at the Makhachkala airport due to reports of the arrival of a plane with passengers from Israel. More than 20 people were injured in the riots, including nine police officers. Today, five victims remain in hospitals, two of them in serious condition, the Ministry of Health reported. The criminal case regarding the mass riots has been transferred to Moscow investigators, the investigation reported today. Security forces identified more than 150 riot participants, detained 83 of them and conducted 50 searches, the police reported.
From October 26 to 29, mass anti-Semitic actions took place in the cities of three republics of the North Caucasus Federal District. In Cherkessk, protesters demanded that visitors from Israel not be allowed in, and in Nalchik a cultural center was burned. In Khasavyurt, Dagestan, hundreds of people gathered at a hotel after messages on social networks that there were refugees from Israel in this hotel, according to the Caucasian Knot report “ Anti-Semitic actions in the North Caucasus: how it happened.”
The Permanent Representative of Palestine to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim Kraishi, commented on the unrest at the Makhachkala airport, RIA Novosti writes on October 30.
Kraishi said that he “humanly understands” the negative reaction of Dagestanis to the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but this cannot justify breaking the law. “We always ask our supporters to respect the law, even in these difficult times. But this support is truly appreciated, support is needed everywhere,” the publication quotes him as saying.
Muslims in the North Caucasus reacted sharply to the new escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In Chechnya, the clergy organizes daily mass prayers in support of Palestine; the Muftiate of Dagestan reported on October 28 that thousands of participants participated in prayers for the Palestinians. Information about who and how in the North Caucasus expressed support for Palestine is collected in the “Caucasian Knot” document “ Actions in support of Palestine in the North Caucasus .”
On October 28, the Coordination Center for Muslims of the North Caucasus called anti-Semitic actions unacceptable and called not to regard the opinion of their participants as the opinion of the people.
The events at the Makhachkala airport and anti-Semitic actions in Khasavyurt, Cherkessk, and Nalchik are atypical both for the North Caucasus and for Russia as a whole; they threaten interreligious and interethnic harmony in the country, the Russian Jewish Congress said on October 29.
The fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement began on October 7 with the firing of hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory, including civilian targets and civilians. The Israel Defense Forces responded by launching a military operation against Hamas, after which Israel announced a blockade of the Gaza Strip: supplies of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel were suspended. Thousands of people died on both sides.
The Islamic movement Hamas is recognized as terrorist in a number of countries: in particular, France and the European Union added it to the list of terrorist groups after the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In Russia, the movement has not been declared terrorist, since none of its representatives have been convicted in Russia, the Prosecutor General’s Office said in response to a request from a deputy from St. Petersburg.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] All participants in the protest against refugees from Israel detained in Cherkessk have been released, police said. The court fined the participants in the anti-Semitic action, and the police issued them warnings.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on October 28 in Cherkessk, an unauthorized rally was held in front of the government house of Karachay-Cherkessia , the participants of which called for not allowing refugees from Israel into the republic and organizing a collection of aid for Palestine. The rally participants stated that 500 people had gathered for the rally, and they planned to apply to hold a new rally. Police in Cherkessk drew up reports of administrative violations against 34 participants in the action against the arrival of refugees from Israel; according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Karachay-Cherkessia, a total of about 80 people took part in the action on the square.
All detained participants in the unauthorized action on October 28 were released, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told in the department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for Cherkessk. “They were released after drawing up protocols under Article 20.2 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (violation of the established procedure for organizing or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, procession or picketing). At the moment, there are no new detainees,” the police said.
Security forces warned the detainees about responsibility in case of repeated participation in the unauthorized rally, said the participants of the protest who were detained.
“My trial was today, I was fined 20 thousand rubles.
...about US $216...
As I heard, many are fined 15-20 thousand. But the most important thing is that we were warned about the danger of a repeat action. The warnings were even like threats. They said that they would open criminal cases.” , said one of the protesters on condition of anonymity.
Another participant said that today he was invited to the police station and had a conversation. “The conversation was short. They warned us that we would be imprisoned for repeated participation in an unauthorized rally. They said that we should not destabilize the situation in the republic. At the end, we urgently asked that we inform everyone we know about this who might potentially want to go to the rally,” another participant in the action told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent .
He noted that the security forces did not detain him. “Apparently, my number was found on one of the detainees or one of them told them that I also participated. I was not detained, at first I was surprised how they found me and my contacts. But then I guessed,” the man said.
The Cherkessk mayor's office did not receive an application to hold the action on October 31. “The mayor’s office has not received any applications regarding holding the action on October 31,” the city administration told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent .
Cherkessk resident Svetlana Kuznetsova said that she did not notice anti-Semitic sentiments in her environment until the latest escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “I can’t imagine how people can change their attitude towards ordinary people so quickly. It seems to me that they are not guilty of anything and should not be treated as enemies. Before these events, I did not notice any aggression towards Jews. On the contrary, everyone treated them well, responded well, were friends,” she told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
Muslims of the North Caucasus did not remain indifferent to the aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Thus, in Chechnya, the clergy organizes daily mass prayers in support of Palestine; on October 28, the Muftiate of Dagestan reported on thousands of participants in prayers for the Palestinians.
Thoughts and prayers do not do the same kind of direct harm as riots intending to become murder.
From October 26 to 29, mass anti-Semitic actions took place in the cities of three republics of the North Caucasus Federal District. In Cherkessk, protesters demanded that visitors from Israel not be allowed in, and in Nalchik a cultural center was burned. In Khasavyurt, Dagestan, hundreds of people gathered at a hotel after messages on social networks that there were refugees from Israel in this hotel, and mass unrest broke out at the Makhachkala airport, according to the Caucasian Knot report “Anti-Semitic actions in the North Caucasus: how it happened.”
On the evening of October 29, mass riots occurred at Makhachkala airport due to reports of the arrival of a plane with passengers from Israel. As a result of the unrest, more than 20 people were injured, including nine police officers. Today, five victims remain in hospitals, two of them in serious condition, the Ministry of Health reported. Security forces identified more than 150 riot participants and detained 60 people. The criminal case regarding the mass riots has been transferred to Moscow investigators, and searches are being carried out at the participants of the anti-Israel protest , the investigation reported today.
On October 28, the Coordination Center for Muslims of the North Caucasus called anti-Semitic actions unacceptable and called not to regard the opinion of their participants as the opinion of the people. Information about who and how in the North Caucasus expressed support for Palestine is collected in the “Caucasian Knot” document “ Actions in support of Palestine in the North Caucasus.”
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Mikhail Moshkin
[REGNUM] “Today we have received absolutely reliable and open information that the channel “Morning Dagestan” , which incited the residents of Makhachkala to riots at the republican airport, “ is administered and regulated from the territory of Ukraine by traitors, Banderaites,” said the head of Dagestan Sergei Melikov on October 30. The night before, October 29, several hundred people broke onto the runway of Uytash Airport after the arrival of a flight from Tel Aviv. It is believed that the rioters were looking for arriving Israeli citizens.
A large group of people came with anti-Israel signs and Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of Palestine. At one point, part of the crowd shouted “Allahu Akbar!” broke the entrance doors and broke into the airport terminal building.
The management and dispatch services of the Makhachkala airport responded - several aircraft were redirected to alternate airfields. But passengers of several landing airliners had to be delayed for several hours getting off the planes - the situation on the tarmac developed unpredictably.
When they broke through, the rioters got into a scuffle with the police. “Nine police officers were injured and received various injuries, two of them are in the hospital,” the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Dagestan clarified on October 30.
In total, at least a dozen people were reportedly taken to hospitals, two are in extremely serious condition, the republican Ministry of Health reported . Help for the wounded is personally supervised by the head of the department, Tatyana Belyaeva . The total number of victims by the morning of October 30 was estimated at 20 people.
Makhachkala airport is closed after the riots. Flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg to the Dagestan capital will land in Grozny.
What happened on October 29 in Makhachkala was clearly aimed at inciting ethnic hatred, said Federal Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova. She called on Dagestanis not to succumb to provocations and strictly follow the law and the calls of the authorities of the republic.
According to police, at least six dozen rioters were detained. In total, more than 150 active participants in the riots have been identified , the main department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the North Caucasus Federal District clarifies.
The head of the republic, Melikov, who called the incident a knife in the back of the soldiers in the Northern Military District zone, as well as cynicism and betrayal, advised those arrested to volunteer for the front.
An unexpected recommendation...
“We don’t yet have a situation where people are detained for an offense and sent to the SVO zone ,” TASS quotes the Dagestani leader. “ If any of the detained riot participants express a desire, as they say, to wash off their shame, take part either as part of volunteer units, or sign a contract with the armed forces, I will only welcome this.”
According to Melikov, the police and soldiers of the Russian Guard, for their part, did not use physical force until the very end, hoping to reason with the crowd.
The attackers were not controlled by anyone, “except for those operators who controlled remotely” using social networks, the head of Dagestan again emphasized.
The “Morning of Dagestan” channel he mentioned and a network of other Telegram resources that provoked unrest on ethnic and religious grounds were launched by fugitive ex-State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev , who received Ukrainian citizenship from Petro Poroshenko (recognized as a foreign agent, included in the list of terrorists and extremists).
Ponomarev, we recall, has already acted as a speaker for several projects (National Republican Army, allegedly responsible for the murder of journalist Daria Dugina , the Armed Forces of Ukraine legion “Freedom of Russia” banned in the Russian Federation, etc.) which are more like fake or virtual structures. A more reasonable opinion is that the same structure is behind the murder of Dugina, military commander Vladlen Tatarsky , as well as the sabotage raid of the so-called “Volunteer Corps” in the Bryansk region - the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Military correspondent Alexander Kots compared the actions of the “grid” with the work of the former Belarusian (now Polish) channel Nexta, which provoked and tried to coordinate the actions of Belarusian oppositionists during the unrest of 2020–2021. Nexta, we recall, sought to “direct the protest” in real time - informing about the places and times of gathering of activists, about the routes of movement of law enforcement officers and presenting messages about “harsh detentions” in the right way.
Channels that are trying to work with Dagestani public opinion are guided by the same scheme - and in this case, they speculate on pseudo-religious feelings and appeal to the Salafi (Wahhabi) subculture, Kots emphasizes. In his opinion, the action in Makhachkala, formally directed against Israel and in support of Palestine, was only a test run and a test to see whether it was possible to shake up the situation in the Islamic regions of Russia.
Now, according to the Dagestan leadership, the situation in the capital of the republic and in the region as a whole is under control. The government and the operational headquarters under the leadership of Melikov are working around the clock. “ We cannot spread panic. From time immemorial, Dagestanis are balanced and fair people. We will not allow the situation in the republic to destabilize,” said the head of the government of the republic, Abdulmuslim Abdulmuslimov.
[GEO.TV] A local court in Lahore on Monday approved a 14-day judicial remand of incarcerated Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) President Parvez Elahi in a case relating to illegal appointments in the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Assembly.
After completion of his two-day physical remand, Elahi, who remains imprisoned in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail, was produced before the court of Judicial Magistrate Aamir Raza by the officials of the Anti-Corruption Establishment. The ACE, however, pleaded with the court to extend his physical remand for 10 more days to complete the investigations.
Elahi was initially arrested on June 1 from outside his residence in a Rs70 million graft case related to the embezzlement of development funds allocated for the Gujrat district. Since then, the former Punjab chief minister has been released several times only to be arrested immediately in different cases.
At the outset of today’s proceedings, the ACE’s lawyer apprised the court that they had to recover the suspect’s mobile phone. The lawyer maintained that Rs4.1 million were recovered from Elahi’s house, adding that the ACE has to probe into the matter.
On the other hand, Elahi’s counsel argued that the interim government was lodging fake and baseless cases against his client. "The government is subjecting [Elahi] to political victimisation by arresting him [again and again] in fake and baseless cases," he said.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the magistrate rejected ACE’s request and sent him to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2023 00:00 ||
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#7
Nonsense like that with regard to "human rights" committees has been going on for decades at the UN. I've never fathomed why even during the Democratic presidencies of the 70s and 90s this type of crap was tolerated, let alone participated in.
[AFRICANEWS] South Africa on Monday called on the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... to send a rapid protection force to Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... to protect civilians from further Israeli bombardments.
"The numbers of non-combatants killed, especially the numbers of children killed, requires that the world to show that it is serious about global accountability," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
This as Israel continues to pound the Paleostinian enclave with fierce air and artillery strikes, as troops backed by tanks expand its ground incursion.
Israel declared war on the Paleostinian holy warrior group, Hamas ...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... , after its deadly 7 October cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip in which some 1,400 civilians and soldiers died.
But the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry says over eight thousand people, many of them women and kiddies, have been killed in Gaza since then.
The UN humanitarian office (OCHR) said rescuers were struggling to reach people.
There are increasing international calls for Paleostinian civilians, caught between the warring sides, to be protected.
South Africa has long been an advocate for peace in the region and has compared the plight of Paleostinians to its own under apartheid.
However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... in calling for a protection force, it has gone further in its support than most nations, some of which have called for a ceasefire or the opening of a humanitarian corridors.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
Human shields with funny blue helmets? Great idea!
Just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbour or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Artemy Sharapov
“Please don’t throw us into the briar patch, Brer Hamas!”
[REGNUM] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have begun to carry out tasks as part of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip - the beginning of which was announced as a necessary second stage of the war on October 28 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Marine special forces units are also involved in the fighting and land on the coast - they destroy boats and other watercraft used by Palestinian forces.
Judging by statements from Netanyahu’s office and the IDF leadership, so far operations in Gaza are local in nature. The main stage of the operation, which involves the introduction of large formations into the cities and towns of the sector, will begin unexpectedly and will continue for a long time, the Israeli Prime Minister said.
At the same time, not only Arab, but also European and American media report that the Israeli military has already deployed heavy armored vehicles, including tanks, “on the ground.”
In particular, The Wall Street Journal and France Presse write about the advance of tanks and infantry in the vicinity of Gaza City, and according to Le Figaro , IDF armored vehicles blocked the strategically important Salah al-Din highway connecting the northern and southern parts of Gaza. Syrian and Saudi media report: Hamas and Saraya al-Quds (Jerusalem Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad) have already engaged in several firefights with the Israeli military on the ground.
The IDF leadership confirms that after a massive attack from air and sea, “manpower and equipment” actually entered the sector. Over the past 24 hours, additional forces of infantry, armored vehicles, artillery, as well as engineering units have been introduced into the enclave, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari informed.
But at the same time, as presented by the Israeli side, we are talking only about a certain preliminary stage before the start of large-scale ground work by the IDF. “This war will take a long time, and it will be difficult,” Netanyahu urged his fellow citizens and called on them to prepare for difficult days.
CLEARING THE AREA
Judging by the footage that has appeared on the Internet, Israeli troops who have entered the territory of Gaza are creating a springboard for the entry of large formations of infantry and armored vehicles, military expert Maxim Tumbartsev explained to Regnum news agency.
“If the first three raids into Gaza were carried out in the dark using the “hit and retreat” tactics, then in the footage published on October 29 you can see special forces units, as well as the work of engineering units. The latter are working to clear passages for armored vehicles,” the expert noted.
Israeli sappers are clearing mines simultaneously in several areas: in the north near the city of Beit Hanoun and in the central region of the sector - near the Israeli checkpoint Kisufim. Thus, the IDF plans to cut the sector into several parts, thus complicating the movement of individual Hamas groups and cutting them off from the border with Egypt.
To cover special forces soldiers operating in the sector, the Israeli army is actively using M109 self-propelled artillery units operating in conjunction with drones.
“There are a lot of shots of drones that are constantly reconnaissance of Gaza. There is information about the use of Apache attack helicopters. However, their use is limited, most likely due to Hamas’ use of man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems,” notes Tumbartsev.
At the same time, military aircraft are actively used to cover ground forces, former deputy commander of the Gaza division of the Israeli army, Amir Avivi , told the Financial Times.
“We don't take risks. When we conduct maneuvers in Gaza, we do it with powerful artillery and fifty planes overhead that destroy everything that moves ,” Avivi said.
HALF A MILLION UNDER ARMS
Israeli troops deployed in the Gaza Strip are constantly maneuvering to avoid being exposed to missile or drone attacks. At the same time, the troops do not yet risk entering the ruins of urban buildings, experts note.
The destruction of residential buildings to the foundation does not in itself guarantee the “neutralization” of the area. Israeli media emphasize that in tunnels dug under the Gaza Strip, Hamas militants have created large reserves of fuel, water, medicine and ammunition.
Therefore, even a complete blockade of the region will not create significant problems for the militants. The Israeli army command is seeking to destroy most of the tunnels before the start of a full-scale ground operation, fearing large casualties.
Be that as it may, the start of a major operation (with a guaranteed large number of victims) should already be considered a fait accompli. By the end of October, the strength of the IDF reached half a million - 200 thousand regular military personnel and 300 thousand reservists called up for mobilization. A number of formations are located in the Golan Heights, in close proximity to the border with Lebanon and Syria. But most of the troops are concentrated in the Gaza Strip.
Presumably, we are talking about several hundred Merkava 4 and Merkava 3 tanks and 1 thousand light armored vehicles. Most of the troops are currently stationed at a considerable distance from the borders of Gaza to exclude the possibility of shelling.
According to some estimates, the IDF forces intended to attack Palestinian territories outnumber Palestinian groups by at least five times.
GAZA IS LIKE THE NEW RAQQA
After the hostages are released, the IDF will be able to use all its accumulated military power “on the ground.” But the offensive will develop slowly in any case, Bloomberg believes. The publication's sources predict that the offensive could take from six weeks to six months.
A longer period - from six months to a year - is called by a former member of the Israeli National Security Council, ex-head of the analytical department of military intelligence AMAN Yaakov Amidror in a commentary to the Financial Times .
It seems that these estimates are not far from the truth. For example, Kurdish militias, with the active support of the United States, fought continuous battles for four months (from June to October 2017) to capture the Syrian city of Raqqa, the “capital” of the Islamic State banned in Russia.
The assault on the city of Mosul in Iraq, in which the United States and NATO countries also actively took part, lasted even longer, seven months: from October 2016 to July 2017. Therefore, the battles for such a powerful defensive area as Gaza simply cannot last any less, experts believe.
Before the assault on urban areas, Israeli troops will try to encircle the Gaza agglomeration as tightly as possible, cutting it into several parts if possible.
At the next stage, it is planned to use armored vehicles to make holes in the buildings for the entry of infantry under the cover of armored vehicles, which will move from house to house, blowing up tunnels and Hamas fortified areas.
However, so far Israeli troops are not trying to force the offensive, fearing possible complications on the northern and southern borders of the country.
YEMENI “SURPRISES” AND AMERICAN COVER-UP
On October 27, Egyptian media reported the fall of two rockets in the resorts of Taba and Nuweiba on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. Presumably, the missiles were fired from Yemen into Israeli territory and were subsequently shot down by Israeli air defenses.
Earlier, the Yemeni group Ansarallah (better known as the Houthi movement) announced its readiness to strike Israel in the event of a military operation in Gaza. At the same time, fighting continues on the border between Lebanon and Syria.
Aware of the threat emanating simultaneously from the north and south, Israel is not seeking to launch a military operation until large formations of the US Navy arrive in the region.
Two strike groups led by the aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gerald D. Ford are being deployed to the eastern Mediterranean. In the area where the group is concentrated, activity from reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force was recorded. According to FlightRadar, on the night of October 29-30, a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft with the call sign HOMER42 and a Poseidon P-8A anti-submarine aircraft operated near the Israeli coast.
American aviation monitors the airspace, tracking the movement of drones, and covers transport aircraft flying from the United States and European countries to Israel.
“The planes are designed to track the movements of the same drones that can be launched into Israel from Syria or Iraq, as well as missile launches,” Tumbartsev explained.
But, most likely, they are intended to demonstrate the US’s readiness to strike at those forces that try to intervene in the conflict. Simply put, they give the Israeli army a free hand so that it can focus only on Gaza, the expert noted.
The Americans are also pulling in their allies. Germany has deployed special forces and naval paratroopers to Cyprus, Bild reports . It is assumed that NATO units will act together with the Israeli military in the matter of releasing hostages from the Gaza Strip.
[HotAir] Hamas is the elected government of the Gaza Strip.
Elected, of course, means something different in Gaza than in the West, but even given that there is no real dispute that it has asserted its role as the governing body of the region, and has been recognized as such by the international community de facto if not de jure. The US has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, as have many other countries, but also recognizes that Hamas controls the territory.
Most of us tend to think that the primary role of a government is to provide basic services, enforce the law, provide order, and protect citizens. Even tyrannical governments do most of these things, although they often pick and choose who gets the benefits of protection.
Hamas doesn’t serve this purpose in Gaza. It acts as a warlord gang, not as a government. It is essentially ISIS or al Qaeda with the trappings of a state wrapped around it.
Interviewer: Since you built 500km of tunnels, why haven’t you built bomb shelters where civilians can hide?
Hamas official: it is the responsibility of the United Nations to protect them.
They are partners: Hamas murders Jews. Gazans provide human shields. UN uses "civilian casualties" excuse to pressure USA into stopping Israeli response.
Posted by: Grom the Reflective ||
10/31/2023 00:00 ||
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The package would deliver the sum requested by President Joe Biden in his own security package. Unlike the White House plan, however, the House plan would provide aid solely to Israel and offer no support to Ukraine. Biden had requested $61 billion in support for Kyiv amid the ongoing war with Russia. …
Offsetting the cost, however, would be matching cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, according to Politico. Specifically, it would reclaim some of the funding assigned to the agency to hire 87,000 new agents from the Inflation Reduction Act.
#5
^ The people of Dresden would be impressed. Of course after Warsaw, Rotterdam, Coventry, and London, you get back with interest what you handed out before.
[An Nahar] Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Monday he was working to ensure his country does not enter the Hamas ...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... -Israel war, even as Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging cross-border fire.
Mikati said he feared an escalation, with the border skirmishes stoking concerns that Leb ...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... 's Iran-backed Hezbollah could launch its own war with Israel.
"I am doing my duty to prevent Lebanon from entering the war" raging further south, Mikati told AFP in an interview.
Cash-strapped Lebanon is facing the possibility of war essentially leaderless, as political divisions have left the country without a president for almost a year, while Mikati has headed a caretaker cabinet for about a year and a half.
"Lebanon is in the eye of the storm," Mikati said.
"I cannot rule out an escalation because there is a race to reach a ceasefire before escalation spreads in the entire region."
Hezbollah and allied Paleostinian factions in Lebanon have exchanged fire with Israel almost daily since Hamas's October 7 assault on Israel.
Iran-backed or affiliated groups have also launched attacks on Israel from Syria, and targeted U.S. forces stationed in Syria and Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2023 2023-10-31 00:02 ||
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Of course they don’t. But once you start a war, the response is up to the other side.
[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... chief Jebran Bassil has stressed that what matters today is to "neutralize Leb ...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... " in the war between Israel and Hamas ...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , noting that "Israel is besieged and the U.S., as well as Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and Hezbollah, do not want to expand the war."
"Resistance® can be not in conflict with the issue of neutrality but rather complementary to it. We want to be in a state of self defense, not attack," Bassil said in an interview on LBCI television.
"The Shebaa Farms is occupied Lebanese territory and through its operations in it Hezbollah has emphasized Lebanon’s right to regain its land," Bassil added, noting that Hezbollah is "abiding by the rules of engagement."
"It is the duty of the Lebanese to prevent Lebanon’s descent into war, but at the same time we do not want to drag it into defeat, and if war is imposed on us we will confront it," Bassil went on to say.
He also revealed that in his latest phone call with Hezbollah chief Sayyed His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... , he informed the Hezbollah leader of his concerns and at the same time sensed Nasrallah’s "keenness on Lebanon’s interest."
As for the issue of gas and oil, Bassil noted that Lebanon lies "in the same geological basin in which gas discoveries have been confirmed."
"But it is clear that it is forbidden to extract it, seeing as there is a timing for our gas and they are trying to delay us," Bassil added.
He also called for "benefiting from the war’s results and improving Lebanon’s position in the negotiations over the issue of gas."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2023 2023-10-31 00:01 ||
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#1
A predator is not looking for a fight, it's looking for a meal.
#2
Iran wants the bomb before their war with the West. They think the war with the west will start a chain of events that initiate the return of Mahdi.
#DeathCult
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
[GEO.TV] A local court in Lahore on Monday approved a 14-day judicial remand of incarcerated Pakistain 
[HotAir]
...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
