Sorry about the typeface/font everybody -
......had another go - google has not produced a very good blog system, ........
See also https://jim-quinn0.blogspot.com/ Education
New item : 28 April 2024
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Agreed in 1948 by the UK :
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
but the UK decided to ignore the UNHR, for so many, including for Alan Turing, Mathematician, who so much helped the UK Code-breaking War Effort in the late 1930's to 1940's. They could not even thank him for that effort and accept that humans are not perfect so forgive any minor problems! The lawyers/judges decided he should be nastily DRUGGED in 1953 for being a homosexual, leading to his suicide in desperation in 1954, for the UNHR was NOT adopted within the UK….
.... usual lousy lazy Government lawyers and politicians, who had 4 years by then to so implement the UNHR internally!! Bastards…..Several Articles apply : Article 7 is about discrimination......and it took 56 years (1953 to 2009) for UK Government to recognise it!
1951 UK acceded to the European Convention on Human Rights ......... TOO!
1998 : Human Rights Act refers to the Convention (not even described as the European Convention on Human Rights)....why not 1949 (ref UNHR), or even 1952 (ref ECHR)? Why ...... 46 years later ? Whatever is going on in UK Government? Why do politicians rate their own policy priorities above those of the Citizen?
56 years after the end of WW2 in 1945 :
2001 Tribute in centre of Sackville Gardens, Manchester, England :
Jim 0413 EST 28 April 2024
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Contact form email to IISS 28th April 2024 0007 EST
via https://www.iiss.org/contact-us/contact/
" See also https://jim-quinn.blogspot.com/
Many people do not realise that the Houthi are the biggest group in Yemen, and they want a united Yemen. The recognised Govt is built of those who want Yemen divided into small groups - the Southern Transitional Council want their own separate Nation for example. The Houthi refused to take part in the election as a result of this fragmentation "team" outnumbering them. The International Community has got it wrong - the Houthi should be recognised as the Govt, not the more numerous fragmentation tribes govt!!!! Red Sea shipping should reroute around South Africa for a few extra pennies of expense. The West Wrongly bombs Yemen, the poorest nation on Earth, for that cost is NOT much lower than losing lives and shipping in the Red Sea - and the extra pennies. And all the Houthi are doing is supporting their Arab colleagues in Gaza - which the West again does wrong - Netanyahu has caused a Nazi Style holocaust in Gaza - and we should impose xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx as a result. Why did we NOT sanction israel for occupying the West Bank from the 1960's, like we have Putin in Ukraine? Israel has long caused HATE among the Arabs, because of its huge pre-empting aggression, which will last for decades - see the Israeli imposed apartheid (HRW poster below) in the West Bank. And remember the 1846 Irish famine, which caused so much HATE against the British, that eventually they became a Republic - just so in the Middle East - against the (stupid bombing by) British/USA Israeli once again. The Arabs are supporting Arabs - good for them I say!
Ref the IISS webinar : Turmoil in the Red Sea: assessing the Houthis’ strategic agenda on 29 April 2024
Jim Quinn BSc CEng FIMechE CPD "
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My report :
The Middle East from 1922 8th November 2023
is at the end of this file. It was sent to Mr President Mr Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, my Stroud MP, the leaders of the SNP, the Greens, The LibDems, and the Media and many friends.
Jim
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Dear Mr President Joe Biden 0126 EST 20 April 2024
Bloody hell :
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/17/west-bank-israel-responsible-rising-settler-violence?utm_medium=email&utm_source=the-week-in-rights&utm_campaign=2024-04-19
Jim
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Israeli Apartheid :
Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Moussawi said
on SkyNews just now - 1235 EST 19 April 2024
that they (the Arabs) all speak the same language, have the same religion, have the same values, and all see the USA and UK supporting Israeli aggression against all of them.
I agreed with him full stop.
So they stick together, exactly as I have been telling you all in emails for a long long time now, and for instance, I said :
....that Iran has just the same right to exist as any other country in the world and will obviously support its Arab neighbours against the Israeli aggression
.......and that the US and UK seem to have an Institutional bias against the poor
Israel, decades ago, should have tried to be friendly with its neighbours, to negotiate, and not be so aggressive. Israel even pre-empted war when Nasser of Egypt merely took back the Sinai in the 1960's from the UN/British...... they have caused their own problems and the USA and UK have been - wrong there too.
See my Report at the end of the blog - "The Middle East since 1922", published last November 2023 to help the USA and UK understand. Shame on them, that they did not bother !
And even did not take advice for themselves at their own initiative, just knee-jerked on 7 October 2023 WITHOUT THOUGHT to support Israel's horrendous attacks on Gaza Citizens - see my Report. All I did was look up the data record as deeply as I could, which they should have already done, with their long term Public Service employees database - or was it false? Did they never audit it? Double check it? Often?, for International Relations surely depend on in-depth knowledge - AND THINKING!
And MORE THINKING - with HELP too, from well qualified and experienced individuals......
thinkers like me, or University Professors, or Humanists
all needing ACCURATE DATA
Jim BSc CEng FIMechE CPD yup, Top Engineers
1320 EST 19April2024
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sent using White House contact form
Dear Mr President Joe Biden 19 April 2024 0531 EST
.......notes from a concerned friend.....
In UK, a General Election is held every 5 years or so, but in between there are 1800 days of not recruiting others different ideas.......or so.
.......
......
What is liberal democracy all about chaps? It strikes me that China is not the only autocracy on Earth.........
.......continued at
https://jim-quinn.blogspot.com/
Prove there were 300 missiles fired at Israel, for I do not believe it, but tell me the real number please. Israel will tell their own PR story, not Iran's.
How Democracies Die ISBN 978-0-241-38135-9
By Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt who are both Professors of Government at Harvard University. Steven's research is mostly Latin America and the developing world, while Daniel's focus is on Europe, from the 19th Century.
Jim
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19 April 2024 0244 EST
In UK, a General Election is held every 5 years or so, but in between there are 1800 days of not recruiting others different ideas.......or so.
The EU Referendum in 2016 in the UK, resulted in a 51%/49% Leave/Remain split in the Nation's vote.
The 49% have been totally stuffed, with the 51% thinking the vote was more like 90%/10% and totally opposing the Scot and Northern Ireland vote Remain majorities!! Who cares they said. A BIG change in International Relations, for such LITTLE reason. Is this democracy caring for ALL residents? Taking care with policy democratically well, as the book below worries......
Threats by the current UK Government to withdraw from the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights - a Constitution) attempts to violate Table 1, Item 1 below.
What is liberal democracy all about chaps? It strikes me that China is not the only autocracy on Earth.........
Jim
How Democracies Die ISBN 978-0-241-38135-9
Chapter 1 pages 13/14
Table 1: Four Key Indicators of Authoritarian Behaviour
1. Rejection of (or weak commitment to) democratic rules of the game
Do they reject the Constitution or express a willingness to violate it?
Do they suggest a need for antidemocratic measures, such as cancelling elections, violating or suspending the Constitution, banning certain organizations, or restricting basic civil or political rights?
Do they seek to use (or endorse the use of) extra-constitutional means to change the government, such as military coups, violent insurrections, or mass protests aimed at forcing a change in the government?
Do they attempt to undermine the legitimacy of elections, for example, by refusing to accept credible electoral results?
Do they describe their rivals as subversive, or opposed to the existing constitutional order?
Do they claim that their rivals constitute an existential threat, either to national security or to the prevailing way of life?
2. Denial of the legitimacy of political opponents
Do they baselessly describe their partisan rivals as criminals, whose supposed violation of‑ the law (or potential to do so) disqualifies them from full participation in the political arena,
Do they baselessly suggest that their rivals are foreign agents, in that they are secretly working in alliance with (or the employ of) a foreign government ‑ usually an enemy one,
3. Toleration or encouragement of violence
Do they have any ties to armed gangs, paramilitary forces, militias, guerrillas, or other organizations that engage in illicit violence?
Have they or their partisan allies sponsored or encouraged mob attacks on opponents?
Have they tacitly endorsed violence by their supporters by refusing to unambiguously
Have they praised (or refused to condemn)other significant acts of political violence, either in the past or elsewhere in the world?
4. Readiness to curtail civil liberties of opponents, including media
Have they supported laws or policies that restrict civil liberties, such as expanded libel or defamation laws, or laws restricting protest, criticism of the government, or certain civic or political organizations?
Have they threatened to take legal or other punitive action against critics in rival parties, civil society, or the media?
Have they praised repressive measures taken by other governments, either in the past or elsewhere in the world?
By Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt who are both Professors of Government at Harvard University. Steven's research is mostly Latin America and the developing world, while Daniel's focus is on Europe, from the 19th Century.
this also affects Democracy..........""300" repeated just now
email to SkyNews 18 April 2023 2343 EST
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2253 EST 18 April 2024
Dear Kamala Harris, US Vice President
https://jim-quinn.blogspot.com/ a JQ blog
I have just discovered the UK OFSI list of sanctions - wow, such a length, I had no idea.
Very many are against people who violate Human Rights, and I support those of course, including those on Iran violators.
My over reaction at 0240 EST on 17th April 2024 in my blog, was angrily against the UK Government for calling out sanctions on Iran for their attack on Israel on ONE night, when Israel had been murdering Gaza citizens for 6 months of days and nights! So, yes I am Human, and DO NOT LIKE THE UK AUTOCRATIC CONFIRMATION BIAS that anything Iranian is xxxxxx ugly.
I withdraw my request to remove all sanctions on Iran. I was wrong, but I certainly do not want any more imposed solely because of that ONE night attack on Israel on 13 April 2024 - in retaliation for the murder of its own personnel by Israel.
The UK Government must also stop saying demonstrations against any of their policy are non democratic - this is AUTOCRACY in action, and must be stopped please. Similarly they seem not to respect the ECHR (contained within UK's Human Rights Act 1998) for its long term moral high ground evolved over many years, when they find themselves stopped by it for their own AUTOCRATIC manoeuvrings. They may suggest an amendment, and accept a majority view of that by International partners, but not resign AUTOCRATICALLY from it, for Adolf Hitler used to reign with such intent. I think friends ought to know.
I still want BIG sanctions on Israel please for their Gaza murders and continuing murderous intent, and their nasty treatment of the Palestinians for so many years. They should NOT proceed further in Rafah or Gaza. They have to be contained within their own territory, and withdraw from others please.
It is time Palestine had its West Bank back, rejecting Israeli apartheid.
Jim
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Dear Kamala Harris, 0718 EST 18th April 2024
US Vice President
Sorry for not getting this right first time.
https://jim-quinn.blogspot.com/
If you looked at this blog early on, you may have seen its typeface and font considerably scrambled even though the words existed in the right places. This shows how poor the Google blogspot software is, for I copied and pasted from good well laid out text, onto the blog page - Google scrambled it poorly.
I have now spent time, correcting it all, though not perfectly because of Google, and I hope that you will try again please.
Jim from UK
0718 EST 18th April 2024
I have just had to correct this font because of Google!
As you see, it is quite different from my corrections above.
......................................................
0240 EST 17th April 2024
Will somebody please reprimand UK for putting sanctions on Iran today.
They should ALL be withdrawn please.
Iran has as much right as anybody to exist - and so to defend itself, and any of its people who are hurt by other Nations, too. See my argument below.......
Every Nation has problems - China with its housing, Iran with its Laws, USA with its guns, UK with its autocracy, Afghanistan with its US/UK "supported" anti-women Taliban (never ever withdraw from Human Rights again, especially when YOUR US/UK military were hardly at any risk, for the Afghan Army took that - at the time, I thought UK could go it alone too, for it did not require that many UK troops).
Give everybody room to breathe please. There is no Planet B.
And so much immigration because of floods, drought and autocracy - we are all going to have to build more housing - prefabs in Britain and quickly.
Jim
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Dear Kamala, 0235 EST 17th April 2024
I have put my messages to you on this blog
https://jim-quinn.blogspot.com/
Jim from UK
0235 EST 17th April 2024
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Letter in local newspaper email, Stroud News and Journal 17th April 2024 :
Message : Beware LOOKSRATER is NASTY for kids especially Jim
Dear SNJ,
As a parent I really want to raise awareness about some of the negative impact this new wave of AI apps is having in our schools
ChatGPT was mostly fine, it seemed to impact homework a bit but teachers started using AI checkers and switched to more in person testing and seem to have the situation handled.
But this next wave of AI apps seem far far more dangerous and I'd really like to see them age restricted or banned. "looksrater" for example is a site that ran through our school causing massive issues with bullying and exclusion.
On the site you can submit a picture of yourself or anyone else and it'll use AI to rate every aspect of your appearance out of 10 while going into detail on your faults. It's horrible. If you thought Instagram was doing damage to our kid's self image and self esteem you should see the effect this has. My daughter was crying because some of the boys in her class put her on the app and shared her score. It's just awful.
The kids have a list of their scores ranked. Even if a kid doesn't want to use the website they'll just take a photo from their social media. In some cases they'll take pictures of other kids themselves. The number of issues with bullying have sky-rocketed.
The school can't really do anything because even if they banned phones the kids would just use them outside of school uploading eachother's social media pictures.
I got taken completely by surprise on this and I don't want this to happen to other kids or parents. Any awareness on this site would be a massive help for parents who might not even know their kids are going through this. I think it would be an amazing thing to inform them about.
I really appreciate you reading this. Thanks,
Sarah
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Dear Kamala Harris, 2110 EST 17th April 2024
In the 1967 war, Israel occupied these territories (Gaza Strip and the West Bank) including East Jerusalem, which was subsequently annexed by Israel. The war brought about a second exodus of Palestinians, estimated at half a million - occupation through 2024.
Not once did the USA or UK sanction Israel for doing what Putin has done in Ukraine.
In 2017 Hamas proposed a two state solution which it hoped would bring a consensus to the region. Israel sneered, despised, loudly declared suspicion, and hated Hamas for doing so - the USA and UK did nothing to stop Israel from such behaviour.
Why do you lot not take things at face value - because you are suspicious and nasty yourselves? And it resulted in the 7th October 2023 attack by Hamas on what they regarded as shit. Sorry, but you lot deserved it! But also, we were all sorry to hear that about 1000 died in israel.
The knee jerk reaction of Netanyahu was supported by the USA and UK, and he went on to murder over 30,000 in Gaza - with your support!
The Houthi in Yemen had had enough of the Israeli murders, and attacked shipping in the Red Sea, which should immediately have sent them all around South Africa instead. But the USA and UK rich fat cats could not afford that extra ONE DOLLAR, so decided to spend MILLIONS OF DOLLARS on air strikes against the POOREST Nation on Earth - good headline A?
The further outcome of Netanyahu's destruction was an attack on Iranian personnel, triggered by Israel. Iran have long been the supportive neighbour of Palestinians, and had not responded to the over 30,000 holocaust.
Now they have, in ONE night - not SIX MONTHS of Netanyahu.
PLEASE, I CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO SANCTION IRAN - "Israel must be allowed to defend itself" - just so for Palestine, whose only support comes from Iran, not having the F15 and F35 the USA donated - withdraw their spares please, used in non-humanitarian, anti UN Resol'n, WAR!
Jim
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Dear Kamala Harris, 1628 EST 16th April 2024
SkyNews says the IAEA is pulling away from nuclear sites monitoring in Iran.
Israel would surely not be that stupid.....
So, this is just a news update for you.
JimQ from UK
1628 EST 16th April 2024
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Dear Kamala, USA Vice President 14th April 2024
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/what-happened-chibok-girls-kidnapped-abduction-h05h20w97
Between 2016 and 2018 another 107 Chibok captives were either rescued by the Nigerian military or released through negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram.
Negotiations are not perfect, but so helpful for many.......
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/iranus-ngo-collaboration
In his presentation at the Wilson Center Mr. Baquer Namazi, Senior Advisor, Population Council and Director, Iran NGO Initiative, discussed the possibilities for cooperation between Iranian and American civil society organizations. He said there is a desire in Iran to widen the cooperation between U.S. and Iranian NGOs and move beyond environmental issues, where there is already successful cooperation.
The number of NGOs in Iran has increased rapidly in recent years. Fifty per cent of the 7,000 NGOs in Iran were set up in the last four years, Mr. Namazi said. In Iran today there are 500 environmental NGOs, 300 women's NGOs, 115 scientific NGOs, 2,181 cultural NGOs and 2,500 youth-oriented NGOs. There are also 5,000 charitable NGOs.
May your USA war mongers learn that charities do better than they do in sorting out world problems - USA government supports war mongering .........why? what is the purpose? world peace or more poverty through not spending wisely.......
Ever hear of negotiating principles, Mr war monger?........
good luck
Jim from ...... afar
0326 EST 14th April 2024
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Dear Vice President Harris, 12th April 2024 2pm EST
I think you may have a saner approach to International Relations than The President or the Pentagon or the CIA.
Sky News just now said : US says Iran threat "real and viable".
May I remind you that the USA said there was a real threat from Iraq's President Saddam Hussein in 2003, to use Weapons of Mass Destruction , probably Chemical. That message was clearly wrong, but the USA and UK, particularly, went to war on that flimsy basis.
And again the USA may be wrong, and stoking up hypochondria among Israeli's, the UK, and European civilians, fearing WAR will break out imminently.
You could have kept quiet worldwide, but discussed it with the Israeli Government. And to suggest that your outspoken publicity words would slow down Iran is very unlikely, for you KEEP saying they are the Enemy over many years now - the USA and Israel have destroyed peace in the Middle East, because of your aggression, so very often applied. Israel practices apartheid in the West Bank, and you do not even notice - thus how bad your military intelligence advisers are - BLIND, DEAF AND unfortunately NOT DUMB.
How about maintaining your criticism of Israels Government, for that way Iran might take notice and NOT do anything at all, for it could see that action was being taken....... at so very very long last!
You were doing all right criticising Netanyahu recently in Arab eyes, but now you are back supporting nazi Netanyahu again! Come on, come on, be consistent and think about your flipflop image worldwide - do not muck it up because of one silly over aggressive Nation (Israel)....and a lack of World thinking.
See what persuasive power you have Kamala......good luck
Jim from UK - it is easier to observe others behaviour and consequences from a distance, than your own!
2.34 pm EST 12th April 2024
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Email to Mr President, Joe Biden, 0756 hours GMT 12th March 2024 via
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Mr President, 0756 hours GMT 12th March 2024
Air drops for Gaza.
Ship with 200 tonnes of food leaves Cyprus for Gaza.
At last.
Better late than never.
November it started........
Good to see you have changed your mind about the Israeli Government.
Jim
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Email to Mr President, Joe Biden, 1054 hours GMT 9th March 2024 via
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Dear Mr President, 1054 hours GMT, 9th March 2024
..... my arguments to you about Israel's aggression in the 20th Century, over the last couple of days are not just hindsight - this is a copy of last Novembers advice/warning letter to you which enclosed my history discovery in 10 pages.....
Why did you not think for yourselves and investigate history a bit better - given my November start, if not earlier......like from 1967.
Mr President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
USA 11th November 2023
Dear
Please find enclose my argument that Israel are MORE WRONG than Hamas in the Middle East since 1922, for they have been very aggressive for many years, and I suspect have long wanted the arable fertile land in the West bank – leading to their long aggression against the Palestine.
My apologies to Rishi Sunak.
Yours Sincerely
B J A Quinn BSc(1965) CEng(1985) FIMechE(1994)
ex Rolls Royce Aerospace Tornado Concept Design Engineer
ex RR Chief Engineer Audit IMechE Gloucester Area Hon Treasurer
LRQA Lead Auditor No 01298
This letter enclosed my 10 page report, with my introduction as follows (the 2017 Hamas document supported a two state solution)
JQ Comment 2023nov08:
The current military activities between Israel and Hamas are a direct result of Israel and THE WEST FAILING to accept Hamas “document-of-general-principles-and-policies” in 2017 at FACE VALUE.
THAT IS OVER ACTIVE SUSPICION AND PREJUDICE – caused by Western style democratic countries not Understanding what democracy is all about – freedom of expression and respect for others, and NOT RESIDING in the past, but learning from it.
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Email to Mr President, Joe Biden, 1011 hours GMT 7th March 2024 via
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Dear Mr President, 1011 hours GMT, 7th March
https://www.ecns.cn/news/2024-03-06/detail-ihcyipmf1902861.shtml
China could be winning hearts and minds in the Middle East - for the long term. What does the US/UK Government think it is winning?
I am fedup with the word "terrorist" being used with gay abandon by the rich - very frustrated minority's are eventually driven to violence by those who so long totally ignore or bully them......fat cats lack a caring intelligence, and blame those who want justice under their regime.
Democracy is about caring for ALL through representation of ALL.
Politics bends this ideal - rich or poor bias so obvious. We should care for ALL within a nation, and the logic of such democracy surely applies between nations too - how else do you make international friends? - or do you see the delayed result........7th October 2023 war for being sniped and sneered at for so many years? for wanting a denied legitimate two state solution.....and West Bank returned after 1967's occupation (57 years, like Ukraine's two). Why does US/UK not sanction Israel's Government, like they do Putin's?
Is US/UK Government racist? - institutionally against the poor?
The minority always lose in the UK. The CEng Fellow as a qualification not even recognised by UK Government. Nobody in UK Government or Quango has qualifications declared. The majority without, win again - the better thinker denied their rank and thus demoted to dustbin men, ignored.
Is that the same in the USA?
CEng Fellow - creative, thinking, problem solving ability. Fake News Spotters. Study https://jim-quinn0.blogspot.com/
Democracy is shit. Do you now agree?
We have to do something to improve it, to show China we can think, but we are not doing well.......they are winning in Africa and the Middle East.......
How much more are you going to lose, through not thinking?
Jim Quinn BSc CEng FIMechE CPD
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Email to Mr President, Joe Biden, 0822 hours GMT 7th March 2024 via
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
0822 GMT 7th March 2024
An immediate ceasefire in Gaza would save more lives than a delay demanding hostage release before negotiating.
Why are you such a bully that you demand your view before you negotiate? Rich fat cat........
Have you never negotiated anything before? Not even in Northern Ireland?
Are you institutionally racist? in support of .......
Never a caring approach? Never an attempt to ask "why" ..... did that happen?
Go on - why did Hamas hit Israel on 7th October 2023? WHY? - not just knee jerk hysterically!
Have you looked at the Israeli domination of the Arab in the West Bank since 1967? Why do you support such dictatorship, such Putin-like evil? Study - and think for a change:
https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution
I would jettison you and the UK from the G20......join Russia as an outcast
The UN security council - get out! For not allowing Palestine a voice/vote there.
Rational thinking? you have none....just gun slinger reactions.
Does the USA have any rational think tanks who could help open up genuine democracy, rather than your autocracy? Do you never discuss with their data educated view?
One of the things I have learnt about the UK is that the minority lose all the time. There are fewer who think critically than those who do not think at all. I am one of only 80,000 Design and Development Engineers in the UK according to Google, among five million all qualifications Engineers total, and a 65 million population. Similar small numbers of intelligent people in other disciplines - we are all ignored by the knee jerking majority, of which, YOU have shown your USA Government as ONE.
You must consult more please. Challenge your close advisors with think tank ideas. University Professors. Design Engineers. Humanists. A team of differences, explored........
Jim Quinn BSc CEng FIMechE CPD
Humanist
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Email to Mr President, Joe Biden, 0707 hours GMT 7th March 2024 via
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Yemen is the poorest nation on Earth, bar one, and is populated by Arabs. The Houthi are the largest tribe in Yemen and they want a united Yemen - a one nation Yemen - 30% of the population are Houthi. Those elected in Yemen represent various factions more likely to want it broken apart into pieces - the Southern Transitional Council for example.
I prefer one nation, all 30 million of whom deserve support from the rich - like the USA and UK. They need business opportunity and jobs, but only Iran stepped in to help - they paid people to join the Houthi - the West did not even bother.......only recently giving a little food insufficient to feed all those needing it!
If you want to win hearts and minds you have to invest......but you have so little money? You could send ships around Africa instead of through it via the Red Sea, for you could easily afford that low price, but you choose to BOMB THE POOREST NATION ON EARTH instead - do bombs cost you no money? less than going around Africa?
And then, do you ask yourself why the Houthi are attacking Red Sea shipping? Do you not think it is the only weapon they have for defending their Arab colleagues in Gaza, against the Nentanyahu holocaust there? The one who long refuses a two state solution (Hamas have long supported that), because he wants to retain the West Bank - for Israeli Putin-like greed. Sanction them!
Have you thought about the Jews, and their belief in Noah's and Moses commandments - so ignored by Netanyahu who is acting against that religion's beliefs? Anti-semitism is to oppose Jews freedom to practice their beliefs - criticising Israel's government is not anti-semitic, for it is not acting in accordance with the Jewish religion's care for others.
The fact they suffered badly under Hitler, does not mean they are perfect people - as Netanyahu illustrates. Hitler wanted a wholly Aryan population - he murdered gypsies, disabled, and Jew. Sympathy for the Jews 1940's holocaust, has gone too far.
Jim Quinn BSc CEng FIMechE CPD
The Middle East from 1922 8th November 2023
......this file was sent to Mr President Mr Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, my Stroud MP, the leaders of the SNP, the Greens, The LibDems, and the Media and many friends.
JQ Comment 2023nov08:
The current military activities between Israel and Hamas are a direct result of Israel and THE WEST FAILING to accept Hamas “document-of-general-principles-and-policies” in 2017 at FACE VALUE.
THAT IS OVER ACTIVE SUSPICION AND PREJUDICE – caused by Western style democratic countries not Understanding what democracy is all about – freedom of expression and respect for others, and NOT RESIDING in the past, but learning from it.
When the West oh so politely speaks in the UN - As a non-member observer, Palestine can speak at UN meetings but can't vote on resolutions about the situation in Gaza. The 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly are expected to vote on the Israel-Gaza war on Friday 10th November 2023, but as an observer rather than a member, Palestine will not have a say! It is like criticising my swearing, when you so strongly criticise or muscle me – you are thus swearing too, but not using such words as I do. Sneer is a swear word in my world, and officials do it all the time!
The data I have collected (this is shown below under Wikipedia headings) shows that the Middle East’s problems are mostly personality clashes, where dictatorship has ruled rather than consensus – a word which Hamas has used, but nobody else!
The 1936 UK Peel Commission even blamed the Palestinians for population growth, even though so many Jews had come to settle there.
I am suspicious of why Israel will not hand the West Bank and Gaza Strip back to Palestine, as a country. The West Bank has much fertile arable land – and thus the Israeli 2017 suspicion hides …… something more? !
Terrorism comes about because of failure to agree a consensus with their minority view, by failing to persuade, or to even try to persuade, and by imposing autocracy, dictatorship, or even muscle to SHOW GOVERNMENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT. Israel is showing that is wrong – now! And there are many in the Gaza Strip killed and wounded – more than in Israel !! Who is the terrorist?
It seems to have taken Hamas 6 years to collect enough weapons to strike hard at Israel, for so not negotiating with their 2017 suggestion, and they struck in 2023. Israel has hit back extremely hard and over the top if Gaza numbers killed and wounded is believed, but they were the cause of the Hamas attack in the first place.
Just like in the Suez crisis, Israel STRODE IN, with UK and French help, to declare their need for access via the Red Sea, but they could have freighted their products via the Mediterranean, and around Africa – it was presumably cheaper to have a war than to pay for the extended travel time to the Far East??
And the 6 Day war in 1967? An Israeli pre-empt, based upon President Nasser’s take over of the Sinai peninsula – Israel may be scared, but surely that means negotiation would be a good starter? The Sinai was Egypt’s anyway, but it was previously taken away by UK imperialism – and then UK resignation.
The problems really started because of Hitler in the 1930’s when so many Jews needed a home – and found many Nations would only accept small numbers. Big numbers went to Palestine as a result, muscling their way in amongst the Palestinians – and were scared it would all happen again, so they have become aggressive! And are showing it today.
This is now a humanitarian crisis, and we should all be trying to promote a ceasefire, not siding with either party to the conflict. A ceasefire would be welcome, on the basis that ISRAEL in 2017, and as a result, HAMAS in 2023, are BOTH at fault here.
It was/is wrong to claim Hamas is a terrorist organisation, and not blame Israel for them becoming so. It is like declaring your friend cannot be wrong, because they ARE your friend, and can never make a mistake of arrogance and short sightedness. Or strongly supporting the local football team, even when they, or their crowd, are behaving poorly…....
For THE WEST to side with Israel so obviously, just makes the Arab World hate us more – our SHORT-SIGHTED-NESS and LACK OF INSIGHT is NOT helping.
Jim Quinn BSc CEng FIMechE CPD
72 Lansdown, Stroud GL5 1BH, Glos,UK
PS
18th January 2024 update
In retrospect, we should have been alive, in 2017, to Hamas proposal for a two state solution, and in particular REJECTED Israel’s condemnation of the proposal – resulting, if no recovery, in sanctions against Israel for their sneering aggression against Hamas. We should also recognise that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is no different from the Putin occupation in Ukraine, and sanctioned that too.
The Houthi problem in Yemen would not then have resulted in missile strikes in the Red Sea in January 2024.
The UK Foreign Office appears to be asleep! What qualifications do the Middle East Team have?
Jim
My Investigation Findings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Egypt
The Kingdom of Egypt (Arabic: المملكة المصرية, romanized: Al-Mamlaka Al-Miṣreyya, lit. 'The Egyptian Kingdom') was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan in 1953 following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Until the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, the Kingdom was only nominally independent, as the United Kingdom retained control of foreign relations, communications, the military, and Sudan. Officially, Sudan was governed as a condominium of the two states, however, in reality, true power in Sudan lay with the United Kingdom. Between 1936 and 1952, the United Kingdom continued to maintain its military presence, and its political advisers, at a reduced level.
The legal status of Egypt had been highly convoluted, due to its de facto breakaway from the Ottoman Empire in 1805, its occupation by Britain in 1882, and the re-establishment of the Sultanate of Egypt (destroyed by the Ottomans in 1517) as a British protectorate in 1914. In line with the change in status from sultanate to kingdom, the title of the reigning Sultan, Fuad I, was changed from Sultan of Egypt to King of Egypt. Throughout the Kingdom's existence, Sudan was formally united with Egypt. However, actual Egyptian authority in Sudan was largely nominal due to United Kingdom's role as the dominant power in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. As had been the case during the Khedivate of Egypt, and the Sultanate of Egypt, the Egyptian monarch was styled as the sovereign of "Egypt and Sudan".
During the reign of King Fuad, the monarchy struggled with the Wafd Party, a broadly based nationalist political organisation strongly opposed to British influence in Egypt, and with the British themselves, who were determined to maintain their control over the Suez Canal. Other political forces emerging in this period included the Communist Party (1925), and the Muslim Brotherhood (1928), which eventually became a potent political and religious force.
King Fuad died in 1936, and the throne passed to his 16-year-old son, Farouk. Rising nationalist sentiment in Egypt and Sudan, and British concern following Fascist Italy's recent invasion of Abyssinia led to the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, which required the United Kingdom to withdraw all troops from Egypt proper (excluding Sudan), except in the Suez Canal Zone (agreed to be evacuated by 1949), but permitted the return of British military personnel in the event of war. The Kingdom was plagued by corruption, and its subjects saw it as a puppet of the British, notwithstanding the bitter enmity between King Farouk and the United Kingdom during the Second World War, as evidenced by the Abdeen Palace incident of 1942. This, coupled with the defeat in the Palestine War of 1948–1949, led to the 1952 Egyptian Revolution by the Free Officers Movement. Farouk abdicated in favour of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who became King Fuad II. In 1953 the monarchy was abolished, and the Republic of Egypt was established. The legal status of Sudan was only resolved in 1953, when Egypt and United Kingdom agreed that it should be granted independence in 1956.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emigration_of_Jews_from_Nazi_Germany_and_German-occupied_Europe
In 1933, Hitler and the Jewish League agreed to the Haavara Agreement in which, over time, German Jews and their finances could and would settle in Mandatory Palestine. Furthermore, the Havaara Mark was used instead of the Deutschmark, because of its lower interest rates, and it was seen as more favourable. By the end of 1933, of the 600,000 German Jews, 100,000 had already emigrated to Palestine.[1] Following this, they discouraged emigration by restricting the amount of money Jews could take from German banks and imposed high emigrations taxes. The German government forbade emigration from the Greater Germanic Reich after October 1941. The German Jews who remained, about 163,000 in Germany and less than 57,000 from annexed Austria, were mostly elderly who were murdered in ghettos or taken to Nazi concentration camps, where most were murdered.[2] Jews were able to leave Vichy France until the fall of 1942.[3]
Although Jews could initially leave Nazi Germany with ease, it was difficult to find countries that would take them, particularly after the initial wave of immigrants in Europe, Britain, and the United States had been accepted.[2] One of the reasons that emigration was so difficult was that it began during the Great Depression.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peel_Commission
The 1936 UK Lord Peel Commission found that "though the Arabs have benefited by the development of the country owing to Jewish immigration, this has had no conciliatory effect. On the contrary, improvement in the economic situation in Palestine has meant the deterioration of the political situation".[17] Addressing the "Arab charge that the Jews have obtained too large a
proportion of good land cannot be maintained", the Commission noted that "Much of the land now carrying orange groves was sand dunes or swamp and uncultivated when it was purchased."[18] They write that "The shortage of land is, we consider, due less to the amount of land acquired by Jews than to the increase in the Arab population".[18] "Endeavours to control the alienation of land by Arabs to Jews have not been successful. In the hills there is no more room for further close settlement by Jews; in the plains it should only be allowed under certain restrictions."[15]
The Commission stated that Government have attempted to discharge the contradictory obligations of the Mandatory under conditions of great difficulty by "holding the balance" between Jews and Arabs. Repeated attempts to conciliate either race have only increased the trouble. The situation in Palestine has reached a deadlock.[15] Development of local autonomy and self-governing institutions, this also has been hampered.[15]]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Egypt_under_Gamal_Abdel_Nasser
The Suez
Crisis (also
called the Second
Arab–Israeli war,[8][9][10] the Tripartite
Aggression[a] in
the Arab
world[11] and
the Sinai
War[b] in Israel)[c] was
an invasion of Egypt and
the Gaza
Strip in
late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United
Kingdom and France.
The aims were to regain control of the Suez
Canal for
the Western powers and to remove Egyptian president Gamal
Abdel Nasser,
who had just[12] nationalised the
foreign-owned Suez
Canal Company,
which administered the canal. Israel's primary objective was to
re-open the blocked Straits
of Tiran.[13] After
the fighting had started, political pressure from the United
States,
the Soviet
Union,
and the United
Nations led
to a withdrawal by the three invaders. The episode humiliated the
United Kingdom and France and strengthened Nasser.[14][15][16]
On 26 July 1956, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal Company, which prior to that was owned primarily by British and French shareholders. On 29 October, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian Sinai. Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to cease fire, which was ignored. On 5 November, Britain and France landed paratroopers along the Suez Canal. The Egyptian forces, before they were defeated, blocked all ship traffic by sinking 40 ships in the canal. It later became clear that Israel, France and Britain had conspired to plan the invasion. The three allies had attained a number of their military objectives, but the canal was useless. Heavy political pressure from the United States and the USSR led to a withdrawal. U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower had strongly warned Britain not to invade; he threatened serious damage to the British financial system by selling the U.S. government's pound sterling bonds. Historians conclude the crisis "signified the end of Great Britain's role as one of the world's major powers".[17][18][19][20][page needed]
The Suez Canal was closed from October 1956 until March 1957. Israel fulfilled some of its objectives, such as attaining freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran, which Egypt had blocked to Israeli shipping since 1948–1950.[21][22]
As a result of the conflict, the United Nations created the UNEF Peacekeepers to police the Egyptian–Israeli border, British prime minister Anthony Eden resigned, Canadian external affairs minister Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the USSR may have been emboldened to invade Hungary.[23][24]
The history
of Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser covers
the period of Egyptian history from
the Egyptian
Revolution of 1952,
of which Gamal
Abdel Nasser was
one of the two principal leaders, spanning
Nasser's presidency of Egypt from
1956 to his death in 1970. Nasser's tenure as Egypt's leader heralded
a new period of modernisation and socialist reform in Egypt, along
with a staunch advocacy of pan-Arab
nationalism (including
a short-lived
union with Syria),
and developing
world solidarity.
His prestige in Egypt and throughout the Arab
World soared
in the wake of his nationalisation of the Suez
Canal Company in
1956, and Egypt's political victory in the subsequent Tripartite
Aggression,
but was damaged badly by Israel's successful
invasion and occupation
of Jordanian, Egyptian, Palestinian, and Syrian territory in
the Six-Day
War of
1967.
The era witnessed a rapid increase in living standards unparalleled in Egypt's millennia of history, and is regarded as a time when ordinary Egyptian citizens enjoyed unprecedented access to housing, education, employment, healthcare, and nourishment, as well as other forms of social welfare, while the influence of the former aristocracy waned, as did that of the Western governments that had hitherto dominated Egyptian affairs.[1][2] The national economy grew significantly through agrarian reform, major modernisation projects, such as the Helwan steel works, and the Aswan High Dam, and the nationalisation of key parts of the economy, notably the Suez Canal Company.[1][2]
At its economic peak, Nasser's Egypt was capable of not only offering free education and healthcare to its own citizens but also to the citizens of other Arab and African countries, who were offered full scholarships and living allowances to undertake higher education in Egypt before returning to their home countries. However, the substantial economic growth that marked the early 1960s took a downturn later in the decade, particularly as Egypt's military quagmire in the North Yemen Civil War deepened, only recovering in the late 1970s.[3] During Nasser's time in office, Egypt experienced a golden age of culture, particularly in theatre, film, poetry, television, radio, literature, fine arts, comedy, and music.[2][4] Egypt under Nasser dominated the Arab World in these fields, with Egyptian musical artists such as Abdel Halim Hafez,[4] Umm Kulthum, and Mohammed Abdel Wahab, literary figures such as Naguib Mahfouz, and Tawfiq el-Hakim,[2] actors such as Faten Hamama, Salah Zulfikar, Soad Hosny and Rushdi Abaza,[4] and the release of over 100 films yearly, compared to the production of just more than a dozen annually during Hosni Mubarak's presidency (1981–2011).[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis
Nasser's response was the nationalisation of the Suez Canal. On 26 July, in a speech in Alexandria, Nasser gave a riposte to Dulles. During his speech he deliberately pronounced the name of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the builder of the canal, a code-word for Egyptian forces to seize control of the canal and implement its nationalisation.[108] He announced that the Nationalization Law had been published, that all assets of the Suez Canal Company had been frozen, and that stockholders would be paid the price of their shares according to the day's closing price on the Paris Stock Exchange.[109] That same day, Egypt closed the canal to Israeli shipping.[110] Egypt also closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, in contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888. Many argued that this was also a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements.[111][112]
According to the Egyptian historian Abd al-Azim Ramadan, the events leading up to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company, as well as other events during Nasser's rule, showed Nasser to be far from a rational, responsible leader. Ramadan notes Nasser's decision to nationalise the Suez Canal without political consultation as an example of his predilection for solitary decision-making.[113]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956%E2%80%931957_exodus_and_expulsions_from_Egypt
The
exodus of the Mutamassirun ("Egyptianized"),
which included the British and French colonial powers, and also the
Jews, Greeks, Italians, Syro-Lebanese and
the Armenians, began after World
War I.[1] By
the end of the 1960s, the exodus of the "foreign population"
was effectively complete. According to Andrew Gorman, this was
primarily a result of the "decolonization process and the rise
of Egyptian
nationalism".[2][3][4] Following
the invasion of
Egypt by Britain, France and Israel in 1956, the new president Gamal
Abdel Nasser enacted
a set of sweeping regulations abolishing civil liberties whilst
implementing targeted policies, allowing the state to stage mass
arrests and strip away Egyptian citizenship from any group it
desired.[5] Some
lawyers, engineers, doctors and teachers were no longer allowed to
work in their professions.[6] As
part of its new policy, 1,000 Jews were arrested and 500 Jewish
businesses were seized by the government.[7] Jewish
bank accounts were confiscated and many people lost their jobs.[6]
The actions taken to encourage emigration or expel the foreign minorities applied to the whole Mutamassirun population, and after 1956 a large majority of Greeks, Syro-Lebanese, Italians, Belgians, French, and British, including Jews, left the country.[8][failed verification] The expellees were allowed to take only one suitcase and a small sum of cash, and forced to sign declarations "donating" their property to the Egyptian government.[9]
On 9 December 1956, Egyptian Interior Minister Zakaria Mohieddin stated that of Egypt's 18,000 British and French citizens, 1,452 had been ordered to be expelled.[10]
Jews, especially those with free professions and relatives in Israel.[6] Although there was an indigenous Jewish population, most Jews in Egypt in the early twentieth century were recent immigrants to the country, who did not share the Arabic language and culture
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal_Authority
Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is an Egyptian state-owned authority which owns, operates and maintains the Suez Canal. It was set up by the Egyptian government to replace the Suez Canal Company in the 1950s which resulted in the Suez Crisis. After the UN intervened, the three invading countries (France, Israel, and the United Kingdom) were forced to withdraw.
SCA is an independent authority having legal personality. SCA[2] was established by the nationalization act signed on 26 July 1956 by the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.
The act at the same time nationalized the Suez Canal Company and transferred all its assets and employees to the SCA established by this act.[3]
The head office is located in Ismaïlia. In Port Said the administration building of the earlier Suez Canal Company is used. Its board of directors comprises 14 persons, including the chairman and managing director.[citation needed]
SCA owns the Suez Canal and all areas, buildings and equipment pertaining thereto.[clarification needed] SCA issues the Rules of Navigation, specifies the tolls for the use of the canal and collects them. The tolls are expressed in XDR and collected in USD, GBP, EUR and other currencies.[which?] In 2008, the total revenue in tolls was 5,381.9 million USD for the passage of a total of 21,415 vessels - resulting in an average toll of 251,314.5 USD per vessel.[citation needed]
SCA is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Suez Canal, for the safety of the traffic and for all other matters relating thereto. According to the nationalisation act, SCA is bound by the 1888 Convention of Constantinople, which grants the right of free access and use of the canal at equal conditions to all ships, commercial ships and ships of war, in times of peace or of war, even to ships of belligerent parties.
SCA is responsible for the computerized traffic management supported by radar, for the 14 pilot stations and their pilots. Since 1996, SCA operates the Maritime Training and Simulation Center for its pilots. SCA operates some 60 ships and boats, such as tugs, dredgers, cranes, and smaller boats.[citation needed]
According to SCA's web site, its facilities also include 114 ferry connections with 36 ferry boats; the Ahmed Hamdi road tunnel; the Nile Shipyard; the roads alongside the canal; a silk production in a farm at Serabium using treated sanitary waste water for irrigation; water plants in the canal cities; 12,000 housing units; a hospital in Ismailia and emergency hospitals at both ends of the canal; 4 schools and various sports and recreational centers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bank
The West
Bank (Arabic: الضفة
الغربية, aḍ-Ḍiffah
al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה
הַמַּעֲרָבִית, HaGadáh
HaMaʽarávit)
is the larger of the two Palestinian
territories (the
other being the Gaza
Strip).
A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean
Sea in
the Levant region
of Western
Asia.[2] It
is bordered by Jordan and
the Dead
Sea to
the east and by Israel (via
the Green
Line)
to the south, west, and north.[3]
The region initially emerged as a Jordanian-occupied territory after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, before being annexed outright by Jordan in 1950, and was given its name during this time based on its location on the western bank of the Jordan River. The territory remained under Jordanian rule until 1967, when it was captured and began to be occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank – sans East Jerusalem – as the Judea and Samaria Area division. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas. As both Palestinian territories (including East Jerusalem) are claimed by the State of Palestine, they remain central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be illegal under international law.[4][5][6][7] Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur.[8] Citing the 1980 Jerusalem Law (in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capitol), the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank and East Jerusalem remain Israeli-occupied territory.[9]
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has a land area of 5,640 square kilometres (2,180 square miles) plus a water area of 220 km2 (85 sq mi), consisting of the northwestern quarter of the Dead Sea. It has an estimated population of 2,747,943 Palestinians, and over 670,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, of which approximately 220,000 live in East Jerusalem.[10][11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_occupation_of_the_Sinai_Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula came under military occupation by Israeli forces after Israel's seizure of the region from Egypt during the Six-Day War in 1967. Israeli provisional control over the Sinai Peninsula ended in 1982 following the implementation of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty, which saw Israel return the region to Egypt in exchange for the latter's recognition of Israel as a legitimate sovereign state.
A total of 18 Israeli settlements were established in the region during the occupation, primarily along the Gulf of Aqaba and in the northeast portions located south of the Gaza Strip.
The Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt in multiple stages beginning in 1979 as part of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty.[1] Israel dismantled 18 settlements, 2 air force bases, a naval base, and other installations by 1982, including most oil resources under Israeli control.
Israeli forces first seized the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Crisis of October–November 1956. Under heavy international pressure, Israeli forces withdrew in March 1957, after heavily mapping the territory and placing secret supply caches in preparation for the next war. As part of the conditions for the Israeli withdrawal, the Sinai Peninsula was demilitarized and the UNEF peacekeeping force was established there to police the border between Israel and Egypt. In May 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the withdrawal of this force and moved Egypt's own troops into the area. Israel, believing war to be imminent, ultimately launched a preemptive strike against Egypt, beginning the Six-Day War. Within three days, Israel had occupied most of the Sinai Peninsula.
Following the Israeli capture and occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt launched the War of Attrition (1967–1970) aimed at forcing Israel to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula. The war saw protracted conflict in the Suez Canal Zone, ranging from limited to large scale combat. Israeli shelling of the cities of Port Said, Ismailia, and Suez on the west bank of the canal, led to high civilian casualties (including the virtual destruction of Suez), and contributed to the flight of 700,000[2] Egyptian internal refugees.
Ultimately, the war concluded in 1970 with no change in the front line.[3] On 6 October 1973, Egypt commenced Operation Badr to retake the Sinai Peninsula, while Syria launched a simultaneous operation to retake the Golan Heights, thereby beginning the Yom Kippur War (known in Egypt and much of Europe as the October War). The canal was reopened in 1975, with President Sadat leading the first convoy through the canal aboard an Egyptian destroyer. In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the entirety of the Sinai Peninsula. Israel subsequently withdrew in several stages, ending on 26 April 1982.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas
Hamas (UK: /həˈmæs/ hə-MASS, US: /həˈmɑːs/ ⓘ hə-MAHSS;[57] Arabic: حماس, romanized: Ḥamās, IPA: [ħaˈmaːs]),[58] an acronym of its official name, the Islamic Resistance Movement (حركة المقاومة الإسلامية Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah), is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist[59] political and military organization governing the Gaza Strip of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.[60] Headquartered in Gaza City, it also
has a presence in the West Bank (the larger of the two Palestinian territories), in which its secular rival Fatah exercises control.
In 1987, after the outbreak of the First Intifada against Israel, Hamas was founded by Palestinian imam and activist Ahmed Yassin. It emerged out of his Mujama al-Islamiya (Islamic Centre), which had been established in Gaza in 1973 as an Islamic charity involved with the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood.[21] Hamas became increasingly involved in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict by the late 1990s;[61] it opposed the Israel–PLO Letters of Mutual Recognition as well as the Oslo Accords, which saw Fatah renounce "the use of terrorism and other acts of violence" and recognize Israel in pursuit of a two-state solution. Hamas continued to advocate Palestinian armed resistance, won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election,[62] gaining a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council,[63] and took control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah following a civil war in 2007.[64][65] Since then, it has run Gaza as a de facto autocratic and one-party state.[66][67][68]
While historically seeking an Islamic Palestinian state over the combined territory of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip (rejecting the two-state solution),[69][70] Hamas began negotiating with Israel and the 1967 borders in the agreements it signed with Fatah in 2005, 2006 and 2007.[71] In 2017, Hamas released a new charter that supported a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders without recognizing Israel.[72][73][74][75] Hamas's repeated offers of a truce (for a period of 10–100 years[76]) based on the 1967 borders are seen by many as being consistent with a two-state solution,[77][78][79][80] while others state that Hamas retains the long-term objective of establishing one state in former Mandatory Palestine.[81][82] Under the ideological principles of Islamism, Hamas promotes Palestinian nationalism in an Islamic context; it has pursued a policy of jihad (armed struggle) against Israel.[c] It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.[d][e] Since the mid-1990s,[21] Hamas has gained widespread popularity within Palestinian society for its anti-Israeli stance.[86][87] The group's attacks, including suicide bombings against civilian targets and indiscriminate rocket attacks, have led many countries and academics[59] to designate Hamas a terrorist organization.[88][89][50] A 2018 attempt to condemn Hamas for "acts of terror" at the United Nations failed.[f]
The Gaza Strip is currently under blockade. Israel and Hamas have fought a number of wars there, including in 2008–09, in 2012 and in 2014. In the 2023 war, Hamas launched "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" and its fighters broke through the Gaza barrier, attacked Israeli military bases, massacred civilians and took civilian and soldier hostages back to Gaza.[91][92][93] The attack has been described as the biggest military setback for Israel since the 1973 Arab–Israeli War. In response, Israel intensified the existing Gaza blockade and began a large-scale aerial bombardment campaign over the territory in preparation for a ground assault, having announced its intention to destroy Hamas.[94] The European Parliament and the US have also called for the elimination of Hamas
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/01/hamas-new-charter-palestine-israel-1967-borders
n advance of the publication, Netanyahu’s office said: “Hamas’s document is a smokescreen. We see Hamas continuing to invest all of its resources not just in preparing for war with Israel, but also in educating the children of Gaza to want to destroy Israel.”
Hamas has unveiled a new political programme softening its stance on Israel by accepting the idea of a Palestinian state in territories occupied by Israel in the six-day war of 1967.
The new document states the Islamist movement it is not seeking war with the Jewish people – only with Zionism that drives the occupation of Palestine.
The new document also insists that Hamas is a not a revolutionary force that seeks to intervene in other countries, a commitment that is likely to be welcomed by other states such as Egypt.
The policy platform was announced by the head of the movement’s political bureau, Khaled Meshal, at a press conference in Doha. “Hamas advocates the liberation of all of Palestine but is ready to support the state on 1967 borders without recognising Israel or ceding any rights,” he said.
The move comes just two days before a White House meeting between Donald Trump and Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement remains at odds with Hamas.
But according to diplomatic sources, the new document has been in preparation for years and has been the subject of intense debate between the various Hamas factions in Gaza, in exile and in prison.
Although it does not explicitly supplant the previous charter of the founding fathers, seen by many as racist, it is being described by those seeking to help Hamas toward a more peaceful path as the contemporary summary of Hamas beliefs and aims.
Israel rejected the document before its full publication, with a spokesman for the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: “Hamas is attempting to fool the world, but it will not succeed.”
Ed Royce, the chair of the House foreign relations committee, said: “Until Hamas recognises Israel’s right to exist, its words are meaningless. I will see to it that Hamas remains designated a terrorist organisation as long as it continues to launch rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, remains an Iranian proxy, and engages in other acts that threaten the US and Israel.”
But some influential diplomatic figures will seek to persuade Trump’s Middle East advisers that the document at least shows there is the potential for a peace settlement based on the recent regional push led by Egypt. It may also open the way for international investors to start rebuilding basic services in Gaza, and end the blockade.
In the biggest concession, the new document states that Hamas “considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of 4 June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus”.
By implication, the document accepts that there will be another state entity outside these borders, even if it does not mention Israel.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/02/hamas-charter-antisemitism
This article is more than 6 years old
Why now is the time to talk to Hamas by Tareq Baconi 2nd May 2017
On Monday night, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khaled Meshal, officially unveiled the organisation’s much-anticipated “Document of general principles and policies” during a press conference in Doha.
Compared to the movement’s founding document, this new one is relatively nuanced and politically astute. Although it falls short of many privately voiced hopes regarding anticipated reforms within Hamas, it offers a fair representation of Hamas’s evolution as a movement and governing entity in Gaza nearly 30 years after its founding.
Hamas unequivocally supports the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital. It does not recognise the state of Israel or abandon the right of return of Palestinian refugees. Acquiescence to intermediate statehood while maintaining a commitment to the eventual liberation of Palestine is presented as a “formula of national consensus”. This phrase underscores the nature of this document as a compromise between Hamas’s various constituencies
The document explicitly differentiates between Jews and Judaism on the one hand, and political Zionism on the other, and notes that Hamas’s struggle is limited to the latter. It stresses that the Jewish people’s struggle with antisemitism is not tied to Arabs or Muslims but rather to Europe’s past.
This document is a counterweight to claims that Hamas is an irrational, fanatical and bloodthirsty group intent on murdering all Jews. However, the notion that it is a sign of absolute moderation or a volte face by Hamas is hype. The release of the document
should be understood as a balancing act, an effort to allow pragmatism within Hamas to be presented publicly without undermining the movement’s ideological base. It is a diplomatic tool that opens space for both the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and the international community to engage with Hamas.
Israel has systematically acted in violation of international law for decades, killing thousands of Palestinian civilians through its occupation and in warfare conducted in densely populated areas. This is not to say that the two sides are equivalent or to present a hierarchy of suffering. Rather it is to suggest that the premise of engagement and diplomacy cannot be withheld from one party and extended to another when both commit acts that violate international law.
Hamas’s political document is closer to the two-state framework than the manifesto of Likud, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s own political party
Likud refuses to recognise the right of Palestinians to self-determination. The racist views of the Israeli political establishment have been met with a strengthening of diplomatic ties with the US and the UK, while Hamas continues to face marginalisation.
Despite its shortcomings, Hamas’s new document articulates political demands that have long been central to the Palestinian struggle, and that are enshrined in numerous UN resolutions, including the right of return.
Trenchant criticism of Zionism and its political manifestations in Israel today is hardly limited to Hamas or even to Palestinians. Israel has historically chosen to evade these political demands,
Hamas’s new document must be recognised as an opportunity to engage with a crucial interlocutor that continues to enjoy some legitimacy among its constituents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Israel
Agriculture in Israel is a highly developed industry. Israel is a major exporter of fresh produce and a world-leader in agricultural technologies despite the fact that the geography of the country is not naturally conducive to agriculture. More than half of the land area is desert, and the climate and lack of water resources do not favor farming. Only 20% of the land area is naturally arable.[1] In 2008, agriculture represented 2.5% of total GDP and 3.6% of exports.[2] While farmworkers made up only 3.7% of the work force, Israel produced 95% of its own food requirements, supplementing this with imports of grain, oilseeds, meat, coffee, cocoa and sugar.
i News page 13 8th November 2023
i News page 15 8th November 2023
Both have committed crimes against Humanity
by Legal expert Mark Weller
Jim
