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Rockets are launched by Palestinian militants into Israel from Gaza, May 12, 2021.
‘Israel has a right to defend itself,’ Biden tells Netanyahu, as Blinken calls Palestinian leader Abbas to condemn rocket attacks
May 13 - US President Joe Biden voiced staunch support for Tel Aviv in a call with the Israeli PM, while Secretary of State Tony Blinken scolded a Palestinian leader for Hamas rocket fire as IDF warplanes hammer Gaza.
Biden reiterated Washington’s “unwavering” commitment to Israel’s security and its “legitimate right to defend itself” during a Wednesday phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid a new bout of fighting in the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
The president “condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including against Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,” also briefly mentioning the importance of “protecting civilians,” according to a White House readout of the call.
[Biden] shared his conviction that Jerusalem, a city of such importance to people of faith from around the world, must be a place of peace.
Netanyahu also acknowledged the conversation in a tweet, cheering Biden’s “backing of Israel’s right to self-defense.”
The call came after three consecutive days of violence in Gaza, which have seen a barrage of Hamas rocket fire into Israeli cities and hundreds of IDF strikes on Palestinian territory. Though at least 67 Palestinians have perished in bombing raids on crowded residential areas, including 16 children, Biden made little effort to urge restraint by Israeli forces during the call.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, say seven citizens have died in rocket blasts, among them one child.
Later on Wednesday, Secretary of State Blinken held a call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose administration oversees the occupied West Bank. During the sit-down, the American diplomat condemned the rocket attacks and “emphasized the need to de-escalate tensions,” also expressing condolences for those killed in the violence.
Like Biden, Blinken declined to make any mention of deadly Israeli airstrikes – which have targeted several high-rise structures across Gaza, including apartment blocs and offices housing media organizations – instead placing all focus on Palestinian rockets.
I spoke with President Abbas about the ongoing situation in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. I expressed condolences for the loss of life. I emphasized the need to end rocket attacks and deescalate tensions.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 13, 2021
The renewed violence erupted after days of heated protests over the planned eviction of Palestinian residents in occupied East Jerusalem. The demonstrations were met with harsh police crackdowns – including near Al-Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam – with hundreds injured in the resulting clashes. Anger over the evictions, as well as the police response to the protests, prompted rocket fire from Gaza on Monday night, kicking off a deadly cycle of escalation between the two sides.
Democrats in the US Congress have called on the Biden administration to address the looming evictions, with 25 lawmakers signing a letter this week expressing “deep concern about Israel's imminent plan to forcibly displace nearly 2,000 Palestinians” in two Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Israel’s plans to demolish Palestinian homes in Al-Bustan and to evict Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah are in clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The forced displacement of Palestinian families in #SheikhJarrah is a blatant human rights violation. I was proud to lead an effort with @repmarkpocan to call on @SecBlinken to exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to halt these evictions.We must defend human rights everywhere. pic.twitter.com/ZIHtv5Sto6
— Congresswoman Marie Newman (@RepMarieNewman) May 12, 2021
Addressed to Blinken, the letter goes on to note that some 5,000 homes in East Jerusalem were demolished by Israeli authorities between 1967 and 2017 – citing a report by the Land Research Center – while also calling attention to Tel Aviv’s ongoing military occupation of the greater West Bank, of which East Jerusalem is a part.
Biden himself has also come under pressure from House Democrats over his pronouncements on the fighting in Gaza, with New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasting an earlier statement backing Israel’s right to self-defense.
“Blanket statements like these w/ little context or acknowledgement of what precipitated this cycle of violence – namely, the expulsions of Palestinians and attacks on Al-Aqsa – dehumanize Palestinians & imply the US will look the other way at human rights violations. It’s wrong,” she said.
By only stepping in to name Hamas’ actions - which are condemnable - & refusing to acknowledge the rights of Palestinians, Biden reinforces the false idea that Palestinians instigated this cycle of violence.This is not neutral language. It takes a side - the side of occupation.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 12, 2021
Related Articles:
IDF will fight until there’s ‘complete silence’ before any truce is possible, says Israeli defense minister
Rockets are launched by Palestinian militants into Israel from Gaza, May 12, 2021.
‘Israel has a right to defend itself,’ Biden tells Netanyahu, as Blinken calls Palestinian leader Abbas to condemn rocket attacks
May 13 - US President Joe Biden voiced staunch support for Tel Aviv in a call with the Israeli PM, while Secretary of State Tony Blinken scolded a Palestinian leader for Hamas rocket fire as IDF warplanes hammer Gaza.
Biden reiterated Washington’s “unwavering” commitment to Israel’s security and its “legitimate right to defend itself” during a Wednesday phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid a new bout of fighting in the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
The president “condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including against Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,” also briefly mentioning the importance of “protecting civilians,” according to a White House readout of the call.
[Biden] shared his conviction that Jerusalem, a city of such importance to people of faith from around the world, must be a place of peace.
Netanyahu also acknowledged the conversation in a tweet, cheering Biden’s “backing of Israel’s right to self-defense.”
The call came after three consecutive days of violence in Gaza, which have seen a barrage of Hamas rocket fire into Israeli cities and hundreds of IDF strikes on Palestinian territory. Though at least 67 Palestinians have perished in bombing raids on crowded residential areas, including 16 children, Biden made little effort to urge restraint by Israeli forces during the call.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, say seven citizens have died in rocket blasts, among them one child.
Later on Wednesday, Secretary of State Blinken held a call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose administration oversees the occupied West Bank. During the sit-down, the American diplomat condemned the rocket attacks and “emphasized the need to de-escalate tensions,” also expressing condolences for those killed in the violence.
Like Biden, Blinken declined to make any mention of deadly Israeli airstrikes – which have targeted several high-rise structures across Gaza, including apartment blocs and offices housing media organizations – instead placing all focus on Palestinian rockets.
I spoke with President Abbas about the ongoing situation in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. I expressed condolences for the loss of life. I emphasized the need to end rocket attacks and deescalate tensions.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 13, 2021
The renewed violence erupted after days of heated protests over the planned eviction of Palestinian residents in occupied East Jerusalem. The demonstrations were met with harsh police crackdowns – including near Al-Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam – with hundreds injured in the resulting clashes. Anger over the evictions, as well as the police response to the protests, prompted rocket fire from Gaza on Monday night, kicking off a deadly cycle of escalation between the two sides.
Democrats in the US Congress have called on the Biden administration to address the looming evictions, with 25 lawmakers signing a letter this week expressing “deep concern about Israel's imminent plan to forcibly displace nearly 2,000 Palestinians” in two Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Israel’s plans to demolish Palestinian homes in Al-Bustan and to evict Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah are in clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The forced displacement of Palestinian families in #SheikhJarrah is a blatant human rights violation. I was proud to lead an effort with @repmarkpocan to call on @SecBlinken to exert diplomatic pressure on Israel to halt these evictions.We must defend human rights everywhere. pic.twitter.com/ZIHtv5Sto6
— Congresswoman Marie Newman (@RepMarieNewman) May 12, 2021
Addressed to Blinken, the letter goes on to note that some 5,000 homes in East Jerusalem were demolished by Israeli authorities between 1967 and 2017 – citing a report by the Land Research Center – while also calling attention to Tel Aviv’s ongoing military occupation of the greater West Bank, of which East Jerusalem is a part.
Biden himself has also come under pressure from House Democrats over his pronouncements on the fighting in Gaza, with New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasting an earlier statement backing Israel’s right to self-defense.
“Blanket statements like these w/ little context or acknowledgement of what precipitated this cycle of violence – namely, the expulsions of Palestinians and attacks on Al-Aqsa – dehumanize Palestinians & imply the US will look the other way at human rights violations. It’s wrong,” she said.
By only stepping in to name Hamas’ actions - which are condemnable - & refusing to acknowledge the rights of Palestinians, Biden reinforces the false idea that Palestinians instigated this cycle of violence.This is not neutral language. It takes a side - the side of occupation.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 12, 2021
Related Articles:
IDF will fight until there’s ‘complete silence’ before any truce is possible, says Israeli defense minister
Hamas (Arabic: حماس Ḥamās, an acronym of حركة المقاومة الاسلامية Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah [Islamic Resistance Movement]) is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist[c] but pragmatic,[d] militant,[16] and nationalist organization.[e] It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.[f][g] It won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election[20] and became the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip following the 2007 Battle of Gaza.[21][22] Israel and Hamas have since engaged in several wars of varying intensity.[23] Canada, the European Union, Israel, Japan and the United States classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. Australia, New Zealand, Paraguay and the United Kingdom classify only its military wing as a terrorist organization. It is not considered a terrorist organization by Brazil, China, Egypt, Iran, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Syria and Turkey. In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly rejected a U.S. resolution condemning Hamas as a terrorist organization.[h]
Hamas was founded in 1987,[i] soon after the First Intifada broke out, as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood[26] which in its Gaza branch had previously been nonconfrontational toward Israel and hostile to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).[27] Co-founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin said in 1987, and the Hamas Charter affirmed in 1988, that Hamas was founded to liberate Palestine, including modern-day Israel, from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[28] Since 1994,[29] the group has frequently stated that it would accept a truce[j] if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders paid reparations, allowed free elections in the territories,[31] and the right of return of Palestinian refugees.[k]
Hamas's military wing has launched attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, often describing them as retaliatory, in particular for assassinations of the upper echelon of their leadership.[33] Tactics have included suicide bombings and, since 2001, rocket attacks[34] [35] Hamas's rocket arsenal, though mainly consisting of short-range homemade Qassam rockets with a range of 16 km,[36][l] also includes Grad-type rockets (21 km by 2009) and longer-range (40 km) if unreliably aimed rockets that have reached major Israeli towns such as Beer Sheva and Ashdod,[36] and some that have struck cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa.[38] Human Rights Watch has condemned as war crimes and crimes against humanity both Hamas and Israel for attacks on civilians during the conflict, stating that the rationale of reprisals is never valid when civilians are targeted.[m]
In the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian Parliament,[39] defeating the PLO-affiliated Fatah party. After the elections, the Quartet (the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States) made future foreign assistance to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) conditional upon the PNA's commitment to nonviolence, recognition of the state of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements. Hamas rejected those conditions, which led the Quartet to suspend its foreign assistance program and Israel to impose economic sanctions on the Hamas-led administration.[40][41] In March 2007, a national unity government headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas was briefly formed, but this failed to restart international financial assistance.[42] Tensions over control of Palestinian security forces soon erupted in the 2007 Battle of Gaza,[42] after which Hamas took control of Gaza, while its officials were ousted from government positions in the West Bank.[42] Israel and Egypt then imposed an economic blockade of the Gaza Strip on the grounds that Fatah forces were no longer providing security there. from Wikipedia
Hamas was founded in 1987,[i] soon after the First Intifada broke out, as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood[26] which in its Gaza branch had previously been nonconfrontational toward Israel and hostile to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).[27] Co-founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin said in 1987, and the Hamas Charter affirmed in 1988, that Hamas was founded to liberate Palestine, including modern-day Israel, from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[28] Since 1994,[29] the group has frequently stated that it would accept a truce[j] if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders paid reparations, allowed free elections in the territories,[31] and the right of return of Palestinian refugees.[k]
Hamas's military wing has launched attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, often describing them as retaliatory, in particular for assassinations of the upper echelon of their leadership.[33] Tactics have included suicide bombings and, since 2001, rocket attacks[34] [35] Hamas's rocket arsenal, though mainly consisting of short-range homemade Qassam rockets with a range of 16 km,[36][l] also includes Grad-type rockets (21 km by 2009) and longer-range (40 km) if unreliably aimed rockets that have reached major Israeli towns such as Beer Sheva and Ashdod,[36] and some that have struck cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa.[38] Human Rights Watch has condemned as war crimes and crimes against humanity both Hamas and Israel for attacks on civilians during the conflict, stating that the rationale of reprisals is never valid when civilians are targeted.[m]
In the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian Parliament,[39] defeating the PLO-affiliated Fatah party. After the elections, the Quartet (the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States) made future foreign assistance to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) conditional upon the PNA's commitment to nonviolence, recognition of the state of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements. Hamas rejected those conditions, which led the Quartet to suspend its foreign assistance program and Israel to impose economic sanctions on the Hamas-led administration.[40][41] In March 2007, a national unity government headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas was briefly formed, but this failed to restart international financial assistance.[42] Tensions over control of Palestinian security forces soon erupted in the 2007 Battle of Gaza,[42] after which Hamas took control of Gaza, while its officials were ousted from government positions in the West Bank.[42] Israel and Egypt then imposed an economic blockade of the Gaza Strip on the grounds that Fatah forces were no longer providing security there. from Wikipedia
海陆同时多国演习 日美想扩大遏华“小圈子”？20210512 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
May 13, 2021
May 13, 2021
Taiwanese empty supermarket shelves as local COVID cases rise
Nation sees runs on toilet paper, instant noodles, masks as level 3 warning looms
May 13 - TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Panic buying set in across Taiwan after 16 local COVID-19 cases were reported in one day, which sparked fears that the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) would declare a Level 3 epidemic warning.
At a press conference on Wednesday (May 13), Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced 21 new cases, including 16 local cases in four different parts of the country. Earlier that day, Chen told the Legislative Yuan that the epidemic warning could be raised to level 3 that day, but he later backtracked and said this would be issued in "the coming days." more
Nation sees runs on toilet paper, instant noodles, masks as level 3 warning looms
May 13 - TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Panic buying set in across Taiwan after 16 local COVID-19 cases were reported in one day, which sparked fears that the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) would declare a Level 3 epidemic warning.
At a press conference on Wednesday (May 13), Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced 21 new cases, including 16 local cases in four different parts of the country. Earlier that day, Chen told the Legislative Yuan that the epidemic warning could be raised to level 3 that day, but he later backtracked and said this would be issued in "the coming days." more
