Showing posts with label Palestinian Authority. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palestinian Authority. Show all posts

Friday, June 07, 2019

Consequences of Listing IRGC as Terror Group

Ahmadreza Roholazad


As Reported by Qods News Agency (Qodssna) The United States has announced that April 8 will identify the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist movement and put it on its terrorist list.

This action by the US government is in fact in conflict with international rules and regulations, and will in some way create confusion and turmoil in international relations. In Iran, a state-based system is established based on the will of the people and in an electoral structure. Whether a government, by ignoring international regulations and the dangerous consequences of interrupting international relations, wants to divide a part of a government structure into a terrorist organization and expect the cooperation from another part of it, is a measure that will undoubtedly cost Imposes heavy burdens on the international system.

The US government has already listed groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas in the list of terrorism, but it should be noted that they were considered as an organization, not a part of a government. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is part of Iran's military structure and operates under the laws of the Islamic Republic and is part of the structure of the Iranian government and not a group or organization outside the government structure. Although Lebanon's Hezbollah, as the Lebanese Foreign Minister has recently officially announced in a meeting with the Secretary of State, is part of the power structure in Lebanon, and the Hamas movement is also part of the Palestinian Authority's It comes in. Accordingly, the terrorist reading of them is illegal and unacceptable on the basis of the demands of the Zionist regime.
 
On the other hand, these kinds of measures, which are seen by the United States and some other western and sometimes dependent states of the region, namely, the terrorists of identifying relief movements based on the demands of Israel, actually challenge the definition of terrorism and the existence of definitions And different criteria on terrorism can aggravate and continue to threaten insecurity and not only in the West Asia region, but also in other parts of the world.

If it is acceptable that part of a military structure of a state is a terrorist, how can a US military presence in the region be defined? Currently, US troops are confessing to senior US political and military officials, as well as undeniable evidence with many terrorist groups in the region, such as the training and arms, as well as the logistical support of the US Army to the terrorist group. P. K and Sahwa forces cooperate in Syria! There is no doubt that cooperation with terrorist groups is not accepted by the international community, and international rules have blamed this type of cooperation and defined it as a terrorist act. Given that US military actions in the region and their cooperation with terrorist groups are confirmed by its political authorities, there is no doubt that the US government is a terrorist state and that the US's action to put the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the list of terrorism is in fact a The terrorist act against the only true force of the region that has been successful in the fight against terrorism is to succeed and its aim is to remove it from the realm of confronting terrorism and the opportunity for terrorism at the regional level to re-create and strengthen itself.
 
Why the Americans are trying to terrorize the knowledge of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the eve of the anniversary of the establishment of this Iranian military and law institution should be assessed under the law of Katsa. The law passed by Ed Roose and passed by Congress and Senate in July 2017 and became the law on August 2 of that year, signed by President Donald Tramp. Katsa's law emphasizes the fight against US enemies through sanctions regimes. Accordingly, the United States has repeatedly emphasized Donald Trump, intending to push the country to a negotiating table by increasing pressure on Iran to meet its demands. Because the admission and entry into negotiation of the pressure actually means sending this message that Iran has come to the stage and ready to accept many of the demands of the United States.
 
The question is: Will America's goal be realized? Is this America's chosen route to increase the pressure on Iran to surrender that path and lead to a favorable outcome? And will there be a special shift in putting the Guardian in the list of terrorism? The United States has already introduced a terrorist terrorist attack by the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Republic of Iran's Guard Corps, in all its forms, and expects to see the impact of the conflict equation in the region, but regional developments are unproductive. America went. So the question is that now, with a new name for the entire IRGC on the list of terrorism, a new transformation will occur? The fact is that the Revolutionary Guards do not have much interaction with the outside world, but they have the greatest interaction and reliance on domestic capacities, and based on this lack of dependence and interaction with the outside world and the priority and reliance on the inside, which has strengthened its various dimensions. And get a lot of achievements. Basically, the military structure of Iran, including the army and the IRGC, is defined in such a way that at least the need for outside is seen. It seems that the new US action can not make any progress in limiting or slow down the IRGC's activities in various aspects of hardware, software, and infrastructure.
 
Analysts say the move will only increase tensions in the region and block the way for crisis resolution in the region, and will allow any action that will impose a heavy burden on global security. Accordingly, representatives of the US Congress and Senate have advised the US government to review the names of the Revolutionary Guards in the list of terrorism and believe that this would seriously threaten the US interests in the region and the security of the US military. Because, as noted, if part of the legal structure of a terrorist state is defined, the possibility of counter-terrorism on the part of the government is obvious, in this case, the American military presence in the region is also defined as the number of terrorists, and any action against them is probable. . Particularly that the Iranian military is now, if not said, the only effective military force in the war on terrorism, the main force in the region is defined, and it is natural that this powerful force, which every day on the dimensions of its ability to increase in the regional geography of the region, It extends its definition of terrorists to supporters and expands the scope of the war on terrorism.
 
In this case, the US military and the Zionist regime will be in the number of terrorist targets. Of course, many Iranian political and military elites, as well as various Iranian social strata who have not forgotten America's crimes against Iran in a recent century, are seriously calling for a punishment of the United States and its mandate at the regional level, and in particular the Zionist regime, and this can be done in slogans like "We love the fight against Zionism" or "We say that there is shakir and disbelief, there is a struggle and there is a struggle, we are. We do not fight anyone over the city and the country. We decide to throw the flag "La Ilaha Allah" on the forefront of dignity and magnanimity. "
 
Iran has spent many years in preventing the transit of drugs to the West, especially Europe. If all of these costs are to be shared by Europe with the United States and Israel and passive anti-Iranian measures, why should Iran have security costs Pay europe Of course, there are still a lot of capacities available to Iran, which, if necessary, can call them to the square. The Mahdi International Army, the most powerful and influential actor in the Western Asia region, and only one of its sections, "Hashd al-Sha'b of Iraq," says Sardar Qasem Suleimani, the army of several major countries of the region, is also stronger and more powerful. Only one capacity Which is in the passion for war with the United States and Israel, and it is our duty to fulfill the slogan of raising the flag of Allah and Muhammad, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH & HP) over the dominant palaces. The United States and its allies should not forget that the history of this army has been formed on the Ashura of Karbala, and its future has been drafted by the promised government of God, the Mahdi (aj), and the point of connecting this past with the future of the culture of resistance and martyrdom Which is embodied in Imam Hussein's illuminated speech in Karbala "Hayat Manna Al-Dhula".

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Palestinians to be sacrificed for Israel-Gulf marriage

Tamara Nassar
King Hamad of Bahrain and the Trump administration are planning an economic summit with Israel in Manama that Palestinians see as part of an effort to liquidate their rights. (Wikimedia commons)
Ties between Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, and Israel are warmer than ever as the United States beats its war drums against Iran and prepares to reveal its so-called “Deal of the Century.”
President Donald Trump last pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear agreement, recently sent some 1,500 troops to the region and is imposing “tougher sanctions on Iran than ever before.”
This economic and political warfare is part of an escalating regime change effort led by the US, Israel and Gulf states following a Saudi-led campaign against Iran that spans more than a decade.
Palestinians are to be the sacrificial lambs at the Israel-Gulf wedding, as United Arab Emirates businessman Khalaf Al Habtoor made clear Wednesday in an op-ed in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
Al Habtoor, who has been at the forefront of normalization efforts with Israel, urged Palestinians to attend the Trump administration’s planned economic conference in Bahrain next month.
“I long for the day when Israel and Arab states, in particular Gulf States, are able to normalize diplomatic and trade relations as Egypt and Jordan have done,” Al Habtoor writes, adding that “all share a common enemy”: Iran.
Al Habtoor characterizes Iran as an “existential threat,” and asserts that closer ties with Israel are the solution.
“However, normalization requires a satisfactory resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – or, at the very least, for tensions to be reduced,” Al Habtoor explains. “Once achieved, we will be well placed to halt Tehran’s belligerent adventurism in its tracks.”
“Satisfactory” in this case does not mean satisfactory to Palestinians, but rather to Israel and its allies; the entire Palestinian body politic, including the Palestinian Authority, are refusing to participate in a summit they see as integral to the Trump administration’s effort to liquidate their rights.
While Trump claims that the US is not seeking regime change in Iran, but rather “no nuclear weapons,” Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif challenged the assertion, calling US sanctions a form of “economic terrorism.”


Ayatollah long ago said we're not seeking nuclear weapons—by issuing a fatwa (edict) banning them. #B_Team's #EconomicTerrorism is hurting the Iranian people & causing tension in the region. Actions—not words—will show whether or not that's 's intent
Convincing the regional public that Iran is indeed a dangerous enemy is integral to Israeli, American and Gulf regime common interests.
“Since 2004, the Arab people have been subjected to an unprecedented chauvinistic campaign, which accuses Iran and Shiites of being the main enemy of all Arabs and that they, not Israel, deserve the anger and hatred of the Arabs,” Columbia University professor Joseph Massad writes this week in Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar.
“Fifteen years after its launch, this campaign has cost hundreds of thousands of Iraqi, Lebanese, Syrian and Yemeni victims who have been sacrificed on the altar of oil families,” Massad adds.
“Today, it is demanded of the Palestinian people that all their rights be renounced as a price to be paid to preserve their thrones.”

Manama conference

As Trump and his allies escalate their assault on Iran, they are also planning to launch the economic component of his administration’s so-called Deal of the Century between Israel and the Palestinians at a conference in the Bahraini capital Manama on 25 and 26 June.

Peace to Prosperity will facilitate discussions on an ambitious, achievable vision and framework for a prosperous future for the Palestinian people and the region. #Bahrain #bh #bnanews #bna #البحرين #بنا #وكالة_أنباء_البحرين

11:50 PM · May 19, 2019Hootsuite Inc.
Bahrain, whose King Hamad has given Israel and its lobby a warm embrace, is a natural choice for a venue.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have reportedly confirmed their attendance.
That Qatar – which has been totally isolated and blockaded by Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the last two years – is attending, is a sign of how obedience to Washington, and by extension to Israel, is a common interest even among the most antagonistic Gulf regimes.
Since the Saudi-led blockade began, Qatar has been competing with its Gulf rivals for US affections, and like those rivals it views cultivating the support of Israel and its lobby as the fastest route to Washington’s heart.
In a sign of rapprochement, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz invited Qatari ruler Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to two Arab summits in Mecca this week.

Palestinian rejection of Trump deal

Even the Palestinian Authority, which normally cooperates closely with Israel, is refusing to go along with the Trump administration’s plans.
“Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ will go to hell, as will the economic workshop in Bahrain that the Americans intend to hold and present illusions,” PA leader Mahmoud Abbas said earlier this week.
China and Russia will also be boycotting the conference, according to a PA official.
It is unclear, however, whether Jordan plans to attend.
Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to Trump, will meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Wednesday, likely to pressure Jordan to attend the Manama meeting.
Moshe Kahlon, Israel’s finance minister, is expected to head the Israeli delegation to Bahrain.
The Trump administration is evidently trying to co-opt individual Palestinians into the normalization effort.
Palestinian businessman Abed Alkarim Ashour said on Facebook that he received an invitation from “the Americans and our brothers in Bahrain” who “seek to sell Palestine for a few dollars.”
He posted an image of a letter addressed to him from Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, inviting him to the so-called Peace to Prosperity workshop.
“You have sent the invitation to the wrong person and the wrong address,” Ashour added.
Opposition is also coming from within the host state.
The Bahraini Society Against Normalization with the Zionist Enemy asserted its rejection of the Manama meeting and called “on the Bahraini government to cancel this workshop, whose objectives include deepening normalization with the Zionist entity and cementing its alliances with some Arab regimes.”

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Chasing Mirages: What Are Palestinians Doing to Combat the ‘Deal of the Century’?

By Ramzy Baroud
US President Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas in the White House on
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Save for a few symbolic ‘victories’ at the United Nations and UN-related bodies, Abbas has done little by way of a concrete and unified Palestinian action.



More US measures have been taken in recent weeks to further cement the Israeli position and isolate the Palestinian Authority (PA), before the official unveiling of President Donald Trump’s so-called ‘deal of the century’. But while attention is focused on spiteful US actions, little time has been spent discussing the PA’s own responses, options and strategies.
The last of Washington’s punitive measures came on March 3, when the US shut down its Consulate in Jerusalem, thus downgrading the status of its diplomatic mission in Palestine. The Consulate has long served as a de-facto American embassy to the Palestinians. Now, the Consulate’s staff will merge into the US embassy in Israel, which was officially moved to Jerusalem last May—in violation of international consensus regarding the status of the occupied city.
Robert Palladino, US State Department spokesperson, explained the move in a statement, sayingthat “this decision was driven by our global efforts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our diplomatic engagements and operations.”
Diplomatic hogwash aside, ‘efficiency and effectiveness’ have nothing to do with the shutting of the Consulate. The decision is but a continuation of successive US measures aimed at “taking Jerusalem off the table”—as per Trump’s own words—of any future negotiations.
International law, which recognizes East Jerusalem as an occupied Palestinian city, is of no relevance to the Trump administration, which has fully shed any semblance of balance as it is now wholly embracing the Israeli position on Jerusalem.
To bring Palestinians into line, and to force their leadership to accept whatever bizarre version of ‘peace’ Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has in mind, the US has already taken several steps aimed at intimidating the PA. These steps include the cutting of $200 million in direct aid to Gaza and the West Bank, and the freezing of another $300 million dollars that were provided annually to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
That, and the shutting down of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington DC, on September 10, were all the signs needed to fully fathom the nature of the US ultimatum to the Palestinian leadership: accept our terms or face the consequences.
It is no secret that various US governments have served as the financial and even political backers of the PA in Ramallah. While the PA has not always seen eye-to-eye with US foreign policy, its survival remained, till recently, a top American priority.
The PA has helped Washington sustain its claim to being an ‘honest peace broker’, thus enjoying a position of political leadership throughout the Middle East region.
Moreover, by agreeing to take part in assisting the Israeli military in policing the Occupied Territories through joint US-funded ‘security coordination‘, the PA has proved its trustworthiness to its US benefactors.
While the PA remained committed to that arrangement, Washington reneged.
According to the far-right Israeli government coalition of Benjamin Netanyahu, PA leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is simply not doing enough.
‘Doing enough’, from an Israeli political perspective, is for Palestinians to drop any claims to occupied East Jerusalem as the future capital of Palestine, accept that illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank would have to remain in place regardless of the nature of the future ‘peace agreement’, and to also drop any legal or moral claims pertaining to Palestinian refugees right of return.
While the PA has demonstrated its political and moral flexibility in the past, there are certain red lines that even Abbas himself cannot cross.
It remains to be seen how the PA position will evolve in the future as far as the soon-to-be announced ‘deal of the century’ is concerned.
Yet, considering that Trump’s blind support for Israel has been made quite clear over the course of the last two years, one is bewildered by the fact that Abbas and his government have done little by way of counteracting Washington’s new aggressive strategy targeting the Palestinians.
Save for a few symbolic ‘victories’ at the United Nations and UN-related bodies, Abbas has done little by way of a concrete and unified Palestinian action.
Frankly, recognizing a Palestinian state on paper is not a strategy, per se. The push for greater recognition has been in the making since the PLO Algiers conference in 1988, when the Palestine National Council declared a Palestinian state to the jubilation of millions around the world. Many countries, especially in the global south, quickly recognized the State of Palestine.
Yet, instead of using such a symbolic declaration as a component of a larger strategy aimed at realizing this independence on the ground, the PA simply saw the act of recognizing Palestine as an end in itself. Now, there are 137 countries that recognize the State of Palestine. Sadly, however, much more Palestinian land has been stolen by Israel to expand on or build new Jewish-only colonies on the land designated to be part of that future state.
It should have been clear, by now, that placing a Palestinian flag on a table at some international conference, or even having a Palestine chair at the G77 UN coalition of developing countries, is not a substitute for a real strategy of national liberation.
The two main Palestinian factions, Abbas’ own Fatah party and Hamas, are still as diverged as ever. In fact, Abbas seems to focus more energy on weakening his political rivals in Palestine than on combating the Israeli Occupation. In recent weeks, Abbas has taken yet more punitive financial measures targeting various sectors of Gaza society. The collective punishment is even reaching families of prisoners and those killed by the Israeli army.
Without a united front, a true strategy or any form of tangible resistance, Abbas is now vulnerable to more US pressure and manipulation. Yet, instead of moving quickly to solidify the Palestinian front, and to reach out to genuine allies in the Middle East and worldwide to counter the bitter US campaign, Abbas has done little.
Instead, the Palestinian leader continues to chase political mirages, taking every opportunity to declare more symbolic victories that he needs to sustain his legitimacy among Palestinians for a while longer.
The painful truth, however, is this: it is not just US bullying that has pushed the PA into this unenviable position, but, sadly, the self-serving nature and political bankruptcy of the Palestinian leadership itself.



Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle. His latest book is The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story (Pluto Press, 2018). His latest book is The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story (Pluto Press, 2018). He earned a Ph.D. in Palestine Studies from the University of Exeter, and is a former Non-Resident Scholar at Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, UCSB.