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Washington Post Columnist Lambastes US for Supporting Israel’s War Against Hamas
Yahya Sinwar, head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City on April 14, 2023. Photo: Yousef Masoud / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
In a recent opinion piece for The Washington Post (“Biden’s Gaza policy is the latest major U.S. foreign affairs blunder,” December 13), columnist Perry Bacon Jr. questioned both the morality and integrity of the United States’ foreign policy over the last two months, as it continues to support Israel both militarily and diplomatically in its fight against Hamas.
For Bacon Jr., the support by US President Joe Biden and his administration for the Jewish state’s war against a genocidal terrorist enemy is a blunder that is “blotting out positive memories of Biden’s foreign policies — perhaps permanently.”
However, in making his case against the US administration’s steadfast support for Israel’s war in Gaza, Bacon Jr. makes it clear that he has a faulty and simplistic understanding of Israel, Hamas, and both the purpose of the war in Gaza as well as the nature of the intense urban warfare currently taking place in the coastal enclave.
The U.S. wants to lead the world on global policy issues. But the past two months are the latest illustration of why people and nations across the world are so skeptical of American foreign policy and global leadership. https://t.co/skxnVUX0Mq
— Perry Bacon Jr. (@perrybaconjr) December 13, 2023
According to Bacon Jr., Israel is currently engaged in the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians as well as the “bombing [of] everything in Gaza,” ultimately intent on destroying the entire area. To support his claims, he points to Israeli strikes on hospitals and schools as well as the mass displacement of Gazan civilians.
However, the key factor missing from Bacon Jr.’s analysis is the role that Hamas plays in this war. Nowhere in this 17-paragraph piece is it mentioned that Hamas, an internationally recognized terror organization, embeds itself within the general population, using the cover of civilian infrastructure to conceal its gunmen, rocket launchers, elaborate tunnel system, and ruthless terrorist leadership.
Thus, Hamas’ use of these locations takes away their civilian protection and turns them into legitimate military targets. Similarly, Israel encouraged the movement of civilians from northern Gaza to the south in order to shield them from the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists.
This is in sharp contrast to the conduct of the Russian military in its invasion of Ukraine, with its indiscriminate attacks against civilians and non-military targets, which Perry Bacon, Jr., incorrectly compares Israel to a number of times.
Footage published by the IDF shows Hamas operatives opening fire at troops from an UNRWA school in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, and a strike in response. pic.twitter.com/eNpNsTsJJ4
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 9, 2023
Not only is Hamas’ cynical manipulation of Gaza’s civilian population and infrastructure not mentioned once in the piece, but the terror group and its barbaric actions on October 7 only warrant a couple of passing references.
For anyone unacquainted with the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, this piece will leave them with the false impression that the Jewish state is the aggressor in Gaza, without any context or reasoning given for why it has been conducting a large military operation over the past two months, and why there has been so much fighting in supposedly civilian areas.
But it’s not only Israel’s conduct in Gaza that Perry Bacon, Jr., has a problem with — it’s Israel itself.
Citing the US administration’s support for Israel as a democracy in a region that is no stranger to autocracies, monarchies, and dictatorships, Bacon, Jr., seeks to undercut this impression of the Jewish state by questioning its democratic bona fides.
The claims put forward against Israel’s democratic character include the assertion by certain human rights organizations that Israel is practicing apartheid, that Israel has been targeting journalists throughout the war, and that Israel is stifling expressions of criticism of the war in Gaza.
The charge of apartheid has been thoroughly debunked on numerous occasions, including by HonestReporting, as a legal fiction that has been concocted by opponents of the Jewish state and is not grounded in reality.
Concerning the second charge, Bacon, Jr., writes “Over the past two months, dozens of journalists have been killed in Gaza, with credible accusations that the Israeli military has intentionally targeted journalists.”
However, this analysis is belied by the fact that most killed journalists in Gaza did not fall in the line of duty and that the source for the claim that Israel is “targeting” journalists is a single quote by Lebanon’s Minister of Information Ziad Makary. The IDF has also continually asserted that it does not intentionally target journalists.
The third charge against Israel’s democratic character is described by Bacon, Jr., as “a member of Israel’s Knesset was suspended after criticizing the bombing in Gaza.”
However, a look at the source provided for this claim, an article from the Israeli daily Haaretz, proves that it is not as straightforward as he would have us believe.
In mid-October 2023, an extreme-left Jewish parliamentarian, Ofer Cassif, was suspended by the Knesset Ethics Committee for implicitly comparing Israel’s conduct in Gaza to the Holocaust. According to the findings of the Committee, Cassif’s statement was inappropriate to “his status as a Member of Knesset and severely harms the Knesset’s standing and the public’s trust in the Knesset.”
This is a far cry from a blanket suspension of an MK solely for “criticizing the bombing in Gaza.” In fact, there have been expressions of opposition to certain aspects of Israel’s conduct in the war in the Israeli public sphere without reprisal by the government.
From this piece, it is clear that Perry Bacon, Jr., has a superficial understanding of the current war in Gaza, with no nuance or complexity to temper his denigration of Israel and its military activities.
He even admits as much when he writes, “I don’t follow foreign affairs as closely as I probably should.”
This has not stopped him, however, from penning a one-sided critique of the United States’ courageous support for Israel as it combats an immoral terror group bent on the Jewish state’s destruction.
The post Washington Post Columnist Lambastes US for Supporting Israel’s War Against Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump’s threat of military action.
At their second indirect meeting in a week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for almost four hours in Rome with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them.
Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, says it is willing to discuss limited curbs to its atomic work in return for lifting international sanctions.
Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described them as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.
“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” he said.
“It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement.”
The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to “review the experts’ work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement,” he added.
Echoing cautious comments last week from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he added: “We cannot say for certain that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is no reason either to be overly pessimistic.”
There was no immediate comment from the US side following the talks. Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Washington’s ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, who described Iran’s negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, listed its red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal.
The post Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike
Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of Edan Alexander, 19, an Israeli army volunteer kidnapped by Hamas, attends a special Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony with families of other hostages, in Herzliya, Israel October 27, 2023 REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki
Hamas said on Saturday the fate of an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last US citizen held alive in Gaza was unknown, after the body of one of the guards who had been holding him was found killed by an Israeli strike.
A month after Israel abandoned the ceasefire with the resumption of intensive strikes across the breadth of Gaza, Israel was intensifying its attacks.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in March that freeing Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war, was a “top priority.” His release was at the center of talks held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack. On Saturday it said the body of one of the guards had been recovered.
“The fate of the prisoner and the rest of the captors remains unknown,” said Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson Abu Ubaida.
“We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives … but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy’s army,” Abu Ubaida said.
The Israeli military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Hamas released 38 hostages under the ceasefire that began on January 19. Fifty-nine are still believed to be held in Gaza, fewer than half of them still alive.
Israel put Gaza under a total blockade in March and restarted its assault on March 18 after talks failed to extend the ceasefire. Hamas says it will free remaining hostages only under an agreement that permanently ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to a temporary pause.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit about 40 targets across the enclave over the past day. The military on Saturday announced that a 35-year-old soldier had died in combat in Gaza.
NETANYAHU STATEMENT
Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
He dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya’s comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.
Hamas on Saturday also released an undated and edited video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot. Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda.
After the video was released, Bohbot’s family said in a statement that they were “deeply shocked and devastated,” and expressed concern for his mental and physical condition.
“How much longer will he be expected to wait and ‘stay strong’?” the family asked, urging for all of the 59 hostages who are still held in Gaza to be brought home.
The post Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks
FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said gives a speech after being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani/File Photo
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, days after the start of a round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
The sultan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Iran and the US started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Ahead of Saturday’s talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Following the meeting, Lavrov said Russia was “ready to assist, mediate and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the USA.”
Moscow has played a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The sultan’s meetings in Moscow visit will focus on cooperation on regional and global issues, the Omani state news agency and the Kremlin said, without providing further detail.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and economic ties, the Kremlin added.
The post Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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