Yemen’s Cancer Patients Increased by 30% after US-Saudi War

 30.10.2021

By Staff, Al-Masirah

The Director of Yemen’s National Center for Oncology, Dr. Abdullah Thawabeh, confirmed that cancerous tumors in Sanaa have witnessed an enormous increase since the start of the US-Saudi aggression in 2015.

In a statement to Yemeni Al-Masirah network on Thursday, Dr. Thawabeh indicated that the center’s annual statistic before the aggression was up to 4,500 cases, but after it, the annual registered cases increased to 6000, which means an increase of 30%.

It was not the first time the health sector announced such horrible news.

In 2019, the official reports of the Ministry of Health indicated that the closure of Sanaa airport to critical cases caused the death of over 43000 patients, in addition to over 28000 cases of cancer patients, due to the siege and lack of necessary medical supplies.

Meanwhile, the UN has done nothing in dealing with the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for nearly seven years, except for announcing optimistic initiatives and solutions to alleviate suffering without any tangible result on the ground.

The UN didn’t manage to create a medical bridge to transport patients and health conditions, which the coalition of aggression was forced to accept and declare in May 2018, under pressure, a catastrophic humanitarian situation, only for misleading public opinion.

On December 3, 2018, a UN plane evacuated 50 injured people, accompanied by the National Delegation, to Muscat for treatment, a step towards what they called supporting confidence-building efforts ahead of peace talks in Sweden, to be followed by humanitarian flights for incurable medical conditions.

In the face of the determination of the coalition of aggression to underestimate the suffering of the Yemenis in addition to the silence and complicity of the international community, this was the first and last flight.

Neither the UN has pushed for the medical bridge to run at a rate of two trips per month, according to the agreement, nor has it brought the wounded home. Even those who died in the course of treatment were stranded with their families and had to bury their bodies abroad.

Since then, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen has been mere figures and statistics circulated by UN organizations to solicit international sympathy and make money despite the shocking and bloody connotations that have made it the worst crisis in the world.

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Anti-War Groups Urge US Congress to End Support for Saudi War in Yemen, Prevent Human Catastrophe

 September 21, 2021

By Staff, Agencies

Anti-war groups in the United States are urging the Congress to “prevent a human catastrophe” in Yemen by ending military support for Saudi Arabia’s aggression on the war-ravaged country.

The 56 organizations called on American lawmakers in a letter to take advantage of the National ‘Defense’ Authorization Act [NDAA] to end the sale of arms to the aggressors.

“By suspending the sale of arms and ending US participation in the Saudi coalition’s war and blockade, Congress can prevent a humanitarian catastrophe from spiraling further out of control as it reasserts its constitutional authority on matters of war and peace,” the letter read.

Unless the lawmakers take such an action, Washington would remain complicit in the tragedy created by the Saudi monarchy in Yemen, they further suggested, asserting that the lawmakers have the power to “legislate an end to ongoing US complicity in the war and blockade in Yemen.”

“With the help of US logistical and maintenance support, Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen has created untold suffering for tens of millions of people and contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths,” Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, one of the letter’s organizers, said in a statement.

If the lawmakers refuse to endorse an amendment to the bill filed by Rep. Ro Khanna, the US would continue abetting the Saudi kingdom and its crimes against humanity, he noted.

“It’s now critical Congress support Rep. Khanna’s amendment to the FY2022 National ‘Defense’ Authorization Act and finally terminate US participation in Saudi’s aerial operations for the sake of millions of Yemenis in desperate need,” El-Tayyab added. “Members of Congress have two choices: vote for this amendment, or vote for an active US role in crimes against humanity for millions of people, including children.”

The amendment would block funding for “logistical support in the form of maintenance or the transfer of spare parts for aircraft that enable coalition strikes,“ as well as “sharing intelligence for the purpose of enabling coalition strikes.”

It would also oblige the US military not to “command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany the regular or irregular military forces of the Saudi-led coalition forces.”

Despite the growing outrage among lawmakers and the public, the United States continues to aid and abet the cruel war on the Yemeni nation.

“Without real action, millions of lives are at risk, and the US will be complicit,” Marcus Stanley, advocacy director at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said in a statement. “The Khanna amendment offers an opportunity to genuinely end American support for Saudi aggression and take a crucial step to end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. We urge a vote for this amendment. Half measures like reporting requirements or partial restrictions will not do, it is time to definitively end our support for this war.”

In February, US President Joe Biden announced that he was ending the US support for the war in Yemen, including “relevant arms sales,” touting the move as part of efforts to restore an emphasis on human rights, but that pledge is yet to materialize.

Saudi Arabia and its regional allies launched a devastating war in Yemen in 2015 to reinstall a former friendly government and crush the popular Ansarullah movement.

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Syrian FM Dr Faisal Mikdad: western hypocrisy on humanitarian assistance

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Sayyed Nasrallah Vows to Keep Serving the Lebanese People on Every Level: Iranian Fuel Promise Still Valid

 25/06/2021

By Zeinab Abdallah

Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered on Friday, June 25th, 2021 a speech in which he tackled the latest developments on the Lebanese arena.

At the beginning of his speech, Sayyed Nasrallah reflected deep and warm condolences to Imad Hawila who has lost this week his wife and four daughters in a car accident that was caused by traffic of cars waiting their turn in front of a gas station on South Lebanon-Beirut highway. His Eminence also condoled the family of the deceased relative, Hussein Zein, who was driving them to Beirut when the accident happened, for the loss of their son.

Labelling Washington’s banning of websites in the region as an evidence on the fake claims of the US administrations, Sayyed Nasrallah denounced the American aggression against media outlets that majorly belong the culture of resistance.

Moving to the home front, Sayyed Nasrallah blasted the US media provocation targeting the Lebanese people against each other, underscoring that “the real goal behind the American rhetoric is to incite the people of resistance through making the fortifying of the Lebanese Army a suspicious matter.” Nevertheless, Sayyed Nasrallah made clear that Hezbollah always calls for fortifying the Army even if the US is the side in charge.

“When the US attempts to justify its logistic aid to the Lebanese Army it says that it is to confront Hezbollah,” His Eminence said, pointing, however, to that “even in Hezbollah’s practical behavior, we sought support for the Lebanese Army from friendly countries.”

The Hezbollah leader highlighted that “We find the establishment of the Lebanese Army as the real guarantor for Lebanon’s security, stability and unity,” adding that “in our culture, the Lebanese Army is a main part of the golden equation of Lebanon’s strength; which is the Army, the people, and the Resistance.”

Sayyed Nasrallah also explained that the US administration fears that the Lebanese Army would be in a serious and true position to confront the ‘Israeli’ enemy.

Ruling out any Iranian involvement in the Lebanese affairs, Sayyed Nasrallah stated that Iran refuses to discuss any issue other than its nuclear program in the Vienna Talks: “Neither does Iran negotiate on the ballistic missiles, nor on the regional issues.”

Additionally, in the entire course of the Saudi-Iranian talks, the Lebanese issue was not discussed, Sayyed Nasrallah assured citing Iranian allies whom he referred to as “people who don’t hide facts from us.”

The aforementioned talks, Sayyed Nasrallah said, “focused on bilateral ties, and not on the Lebanese issue that doesn’t make any difference in the Saudi-Iranian understandings.”

“Iran doesn’t negotiate on behalf of any side,” His Eminence emphasized, pointing to that it is ready to offer any help when asked to by a friend.

The resistance leader blasted some sides in Lebanon that seek to take advantage of any incident to defame others and settle political accounts and said: “Some sides insist in their political stances to hold Iran and Hezbollah responsible for not forming the Lebanese government, and the Americans are trying to link the Lebanese issue with the negotiations with Iran, but Tehran is the side that is rejecting it.”

While describing the practices of accusing Hezbollah of hindering the formation of a new Lebanese government as a calumny, deception and aggression, Sayyed Nasrallah shifted to an advise saying that “all efforts should consolidate at home to confront the government and lead the country to exit this impasse.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Sayyed Nasrallah hailed the initiative of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri which he said has led with different sides to reach an important point which is agreeing on the number of ministers.

Additionally, in comments on the Free Patriotic Movement’s Leader, Gibran Bassil’s proposal, and the reactions that followed, Sayyed Nasrallah slammed the political Takfirism, and sectarian and racial language that have been heard.

“The campaign that was launched after Bassil’s speech is a clear evidence that those who are responding to him don’t listen, and when they listen, they don’t understand, and if it happened that they understood, then they will deny it,” His Eminence explained.

“We started responding to Bassil’s call, we open our hands for help, and we defend the rights of every Lebanese person who has a right; this is our duty,” Sayyed Nasrallah said.

Then he went on to explain Bassil’s use of the word ‘judge’ which he said expresses trust and not the literal meaning of the word, adding that the judge needs to be accepted by either side; this is not suggested and I, myself, am not in place of playing this role, His Eminence noted.

On the level of the humanitarian crisis, Sayyed Nasrallah said that “what we are witnessing on the level of fuel, food, and medicine should be an ethical point of pressure on those concerned with forming the government.”

“We are not neutral regarding the issue of the government, we rather take the stand that supports righteousness, and on the level of the governmental crisis, we have been and we will always be by the side of righteousness,” the resistance leader made clear.

All administrative and logistic introductions to import gasoline and diesel oil from Iran to Lebanon and distributing it have been done, and this promise is still valid, Sayyed Nasrallah underscored, then reiterated the promise he has given a few days earlier that when the state fails to secure the shortage of oil derivatives, then Hezbollah will seek buying oil from Iran.

Expressing that Hezbollah’s perceptions didn’t ever include being involved in the sector of importing gasoline and diesel oil, Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized, without any hesitation, that “we are even ready to work as dustmen for our society and people to preserve their honor and dignity.”

He then addressed those who block paths towards solutions, and advised them to go to their Saudi, Gulf and American friends to help Lebanon in solving the problem of gasoline, diesel and fuel, telling them “we will wish you luck!”

Asking why doesn’t the state establish oil refineries and secure a huge share of the Lebanese market’s needs with lower costs, Sayyed Nasrallah uncovered that there is a company which is ready for this project and just needs an [official] signature.

Elsewhere on the livelihood crisis, Sayyed Nasrallah considered that the finance card could help many Lebanese families to survive amid the crisis.

Sayyed Nasrallah warned that the continued blocking of roads will lead to another line of humiliation aside from that of waiting for gasoline and medicines. “People should pay attention in this stage because vandalizing public facilities & blocking roads harm people & increase their pains.”

Despite the many crises in Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said we have a blessing of security, stability, and civil peace, however, there are some sides that want to push the country to a blast, those are the ones serving the enemy.

His Eminence also mentioned that the Lebanese Forces don’t spare any occasion to attack Hezbollah, but the resistance movement doesn’t respond to them.

Sayyed Nasrallah underscored, from a religious perspective, that burying discord inside the country is the most important thing to do.

Before the end of his speech, Sayyed Nasrallah didn’t miss the opportunity to thank Iraq and every side that would contribute to helping Lebanon overcome its crises.

Sayyed Nasrallah finally hailed the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah resistance group for joining the equation he has launched in a previous speech about being part of the front that is responsible for defending the holy occupied city of al-Quds in Palestine.

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LARGE-SCALE HOUTHI OFFENSIVE IN YEMEN AND THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM

  21.06.2021

Source

Video here

Yemen is on the brink of a massive humanitarian crisis, and it is all Ansar Allah’s fault. At least, as far as the collective ‘West’ and MSM are concerned.

In recent days, the Houthis (as Ansar Allah are known) have ramped up their attacks and have had some successes in clashes with the Saudi-led coalition. As has become customary, calls that this will lead to a humanitarian disaster immediately surface when such an occasion comes round.

In the most successful operation, at least 3 Saudi-coalition personnel were killed in attack at the base at the Wadi’ah crossing on June 19.

The next day, the Houthis shot down a US drone over the central Yemeni province of Ma’rib, where they have been leading a large-scale offensive against the Saudi-led coalition and its proxies for more than three months.

Ansar Allah spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Sari said that the drone, a Boeing Insitu ScanEagle, was intercepted with a ground-to-air missile over the area of al-Mushaj’a in the Sirwah district. It was likely used to provide reconnaissance to the Saudi-led coalition, as that is what a ScanEagle is typically used for.

The US drone was shot down amid a major military escalation between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition.

A day earlier, the Saudi-led forces intercepted a total of 17 “booby-trapped” drones launched from Yemen by the Houthis. On June 19th, between morning and noon, the coalition intercepted seven Houthi drones. The drones were shot down over Yemen, likely by warplanes of the Royal Saudi Air Force. Later in the day, 13 more were intercepted.

Sources in Saudi Arabia also shared videos on social media showing what they claimed to be missiles launched by the Houthis impacting targets in an unspecified part of the Kingdom.

The Houthis are yet to pay for the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia, only one drone attack has been admitted.

The attacks were likely a part of a large-scale operation. Usually, the Yemeni group announces such operations once they are over.

In recent days, Saudi Arabia boasted that it had stopped bombing civilian targets such as the capital Sana’a while its warplanes continue carrying out air raids throughout Yemen, hunting for Houthi targets. That has led to very limited success, while Ansar Allah’s offensive could potentially just be in its early stages.

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• Number Of Houthi Drone Attacks On Saudi Arabia Reached 11 In One Day
• Weariless Houthis Pound Saudi Arabia With Seven Drones, But To No Avail

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Malnourished Children Starve as Pandemic Worsens Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis

 

By Ben Farmer – The Telegraph

Starving children in Yemen are facing their worst levels of malnutrition since the country’s war began, as the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically worsened the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Aid groups say the global spread of the new coronavirus has deepened economic chaos in the country of around 29 million people, making hunger a bigger threat than the outbreak itself.

A recent survey from the United Nations estimates acute malnutrition rates among children under five are at the highest ever recorded in parts of Yemen.

The country suffered a significant wave of Covid-19 infections and deaths in May and June. Those have now subsided, only to leave a devastating economic toll.

Covid’s arrival on top of the grinding six-year-long conflict has further weakened the economy, while the lifeline of remittances from overseas has dried up as economies in the Gulf have locked down. Transport restrictions have hit food supplies for a country which imports as much as 90 per cent of its sustenance.

“We are actually seeing the highest rates of acute malnutrition in Yemen since the very start of the war, which is incredibly concerning,” said Stephanie Puccetti, deputy programs director in Yemen for International Rescue Committee.

“Yemen already had a very high baseline level of malnutrition and then with the war it’s just continued to deteriorate over the past five years. The rates we are seeing now are absolutely the highest.”

Food prices have risen by 30 per cent, she said, while at the same time remittances had fallen by four-fifths.

“You can imagine these families that were already in such a precarious situation and already really struggling to survive are now having an even harder time to come up with the money on a day to day basis to but food for their families,” she said.

Estimates published last week by the United Nations found acute malnutrition had risen by 10 per cent in the south of the country this year. The most extreme form of hunger, called severe acute malnutrition, had gone up 16 per cent.

“We’ve been warning since July that Yemen is on the brink of a catastrophic food security crisis, said Lise Grande, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Yemen.

“If the war doesn’t end now, we are nearing an irreversible situation and risk losing an entire generation of Yemen’s young children.”

The lives of thousands of women and children are at risk, she said.

A severe lack of testing has made the spread of Covid-19 difficult to track in Yemen. Last week a first-of-its-kind study using satellite images to count fresh graves in the Aden region estimated 2,100 excess deaths between April and September around.

“This total is best interpreted as the net sum of deaths due to Covid-19 infection and deaths indirectly attributable to the pandemic,” said the researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The indirect deaths would be those caused by disruptions to health services or by measures which may have caused problems accessing food, they added.

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An Ocean of Lies on Venezuela: Abby Martin & UN Rapporteur Expose Coup

On the eve of another US war for oil, Abby Martin debunks the most repeated myths about Venezuela and uncovers how US sanctions are crimes against humanity with UN Investigator and Human Rights Rapporteur Alfred De Zayas. FOLLOW // @EmpireFiles // @AbbyMartin LIKE // https://www.facebook.com/TheEmpireFiles

The text of his report

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2002 documentary about the April 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt which briefly deposed Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. A television crew from Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ happened to be recording a documentary about Chávez during the events of April 11, 2002. Shifting focus, they followed the events as they occurred. During their filming, the crew recorded images of the events that they say contradict explanations given by Chávez’s opposition, the private media, the US State Department, and then White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. The documentary says that the coup was the result of a conspiracy between various old guard and anti-Chávez factions within Venezuela and the United States.

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For the Bony Bodies of Yemeni Children… You’d Never Become Poor by Giving!

Zeinab Daher

In Yemen, people get up early in the morning because of war, death and famine…

Although Yemen occupies a large noticeable area on the world map, it can barely go noticed in the hearts and minds of the entire people.

{The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills} – Holy Quran, Surat al-Baqarah, verse 261

It is not only Save the Children, Islamic Relief and other few charitable organizations that are helping Yemen and its inhabitants. There is a humble association in Lebanon that drew the country’s people’s attention to the tragedy happening in the forgotten spot of the world.

The Beirut-based Seven Spikes (7 Sanabel) association was founded in 2012.

According to its chief, Ms. Zahra Badreddine, the association tends to serve poor and needy people.

“Since one of our goals is to help those in need, as the Yemen crisis broke out, one volunteer within the association suggested that we help them. We publicized an advertisement to start raising funds for Yemen, and we provided the text with the official phone numbers of the association. People were suspicious in the beginning, even the close ones… they wondered how could we deliver such aid to the blockaded country. But they were also happy that there is side capable of delivering their donations. Money is transferred through special channels to the safe areas, where the amounts are used to buy necessary foods such as rice, sugar, other nutrients, in addition to medicines to the deprived families,” she explained.

We have delivered three batches of aid, and now we are fundraising for the fourth one. People donated gold coins during the third batch. And we, as an association, demanded to document the aid delivery in a video to assure donors that the help is destined to its people. And indeed, there was a report that documented the process with a banner raised in the targeted area with a thank you message to the association, Badreddine told al-Ahed News.

“Many people thanked us for opening them a door to help. They said that they are feeling the pain and suffering but don’t know how to help.”

She further elaborated that “Due to the blockade, we couldn’t deliver food from here, we just send the money there and they take charge of buying food to those in need. An amount of $7000 helped feed 180 families.”

“We stressed that the donations target the most needy areas; those who are starving,” Badreddine concluded.

She closed her words by urging other associations and campaigns to open their hands and make every effort to help the Yemeni people.

And for those wishing to give a helping hand, the (7 Sanabel) association’s hotlines are as follows:

00 961 71021536

00 961 76835300

00 961 70678100

00 961 70653690

It is worth mentioning that the aid group restricted gathering the donations to its representatives, and for those found outside the capital city or even outside the country, the group is open to receive them via Online Money Transfer service [OMT].

Hereby, it is an invitation for all schools, universities and any other sides to take the initiative in solidarity Yemen.

Although the association’s capabilities only cover small areas, its people in charge harbor hopes that their initiative help widen the scale of aid given to the starving people, and lift the suffering there are struggling to end in the face of the years-long brutal war imposed on them.

In this respect, the latest UNICEF estimates reported that the total people in need are 22.2 million, 11.3 million of them are children.

In further details, the UN agency warned that Yemen has become one of the world’s largest and most complex humanitarian crises. Almost 80 per cent of the population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The war has led to the internal displacement of 2 million people, left over 1 million public sector workers without pay for two years, and undermined access to ports and airports, obstructing essential humanitarian and commercial deliveries.

The crisis has led to many problems among the following:

• Growing food insecurity, poor water and sanitation, and the spread of preventable diseases threaten millions more. The caseload of outbreaks of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)/cholera has reached over one million. The strain on an already weakened health system has been further compounded by the diphtheria outbreak in early 2018, with over 2,200 cases, so far
• In addition, 16 million people lack access to safe water
• Children are the primary victims: more than 6,000 have been verified as killed or maimed since the conflict began
• Almost 394,000 children under 5 currently suffer from severe acute malnutrition [SAM] and require treatment
• The damage and closure of schools and health facilities threaten children’s access to education and health services

Although the bony faces of Yemeni children can say it all, people should notice that famine is not caused by a shortage of food, it is rather caused by a shortage of sympathy and giving, and you cannot feel the hell they are suffering from unless you are in their shoes.

But if you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one. You would never become poor by giving a small amount of the entire blessings you enjoy.

And always remember that we can’t help everyone, but for sure everyone can help someone.

So, this platform is meant to open your eyes to the fact that any one of you can give a helping hand. Borders are not a barrier. When you want’ to make something happen, then you’ll definitely find a way to do.

Source: Al-Ahed News

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Foreign Policy Matters interviews The Saker (part three)

August 23, 2018

by Eric Zuesse for The Saker Blog

Israel is fighting constantly not only against Gazans, and against Palestinians generally; it is fighting constantly against freedom-loving people everywhere, who oppose dictatorship of any type, and in any country, on principle, irrespective of nationality.

Here’s an example showing how much of a dictatorship and enemy of democrats it is:

Anna Dressler was a ship-hand on a flotilla of two small boats launched from Palermo Italy that were manned by 34 people from 12 countries in international waters and that were seized — stolen — by Israel’s military, on 29 July 2018. They became seized because these boats were carrying medical supplies in violation of Israel’s internationally illegal blockade against food and medicine reaching the residents of Gaza. She was on the boat “Al-Awda,” which was 42 miles from Gaza at the time of seizure-theft. Israel’s troops seizing it were masked, and were armed with machine-guns.

The first video of this incident was released on August 20th.

A “Legal and Welfare Update and Appeal” dated August 14th by the Freedom Flotilla, stated that,

The two boats ‘Al Awda’ (The Return) and ‘Freedom’ were hijacked by the Israeli Occupation Forces in international waters 42 and 49 nautical miles respectively off the coast of Gaza. During their unlawful detention, crew, participants and journalists were subjected to a range of physical and emotional violence.

The captain of Al Awda was threatened with execution, 4 people were tasered, 3 people had ribs broken by the Israeli military and one person had his foot broken.

They were all taken against their will to Israel, unlawfully imprisoned and ultimately deported. The Israeli authorities have stolen the boats and the 13,000 Euros worth of medical supplies that we were carrying as gifts, as well as many of the participants’ personal belongings (including clothes, a Bible, credit cards, IDs and mobile phones). Incredibly, they have begun to take legal action to attempt to confiscate the boats.

These people had been in constant communication with their colleagues on land; so, if they’d been killed by the Israelis, it would immediately have become an international incident, enraging 12 countries. They had to be released, and thus they were. These people weren’t Palestinians; they had rights that were cared-about in other countries. Though a gangster-state, Israel recognized that these people couldn’t be simply discarded, like trash — as Palestinians are treated by Israel.

—

So, here’s how the journey got to that stage:

On June 27th, Ms. Dressler, writing in the third person as “she,” had posted, as “Deckhand on Freedom”, her personal background, and presented an explanation, written as impersonally as she could, as to why she was participating in this flotilla (which, though she didn’t note the fact, was manned entirely by volunteers who knew that they were placing themselves in severe jeopardy for doing this):

Anna was born in Germany and is now living in Sweden, but mostly she is out on travels and ‘projects’ around the globe. She is an activist and problem solver – a person with a diversity of professions. In 2012, she was the Project Leader for an anti-money laundering campaign. In 2015-2016, she participated in a private project working with refugees near the Macedonian border and along the Balkan route. She enjoys her freedom wholeheartedly and wants others to have the same opportunity.

On July 18th was posted, by the Freedom Flotilla, the following “Leaving For Gaza – Media Release”:

Four boats from the ‘Right to a Just Future for Palestine’ Freedom Flotilla Coalition are scheduled to leave Palermo, Sicily, to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza, and to assert the Palestinian people’s right to freedom of movement and their right to a just future. …

As always, our boats carry representatives from across the world and messages of love and solidarity for those living under the inhumane, decade-old blockade – the collective punishment on the civilian Palestinian population of Gaza. Given the dire situation in Palestinian hospitals, we are also transporting some urgently needed medical supplies (#Gauze4Gaza).

This need is even more critical given the thousands of people severely wounded by Israeli snipers and tear gas in the past few months during the Great March of Return protests (see 10 July UN report on serious injuries). …

It is also encouraging to see the local welcomes we are being given, including by the Mayor of Palermo who rightly connects our campaign with the Caravana Abriendo Fronteras, who have just arrived from Spain, and similar demands for the opening of borders and freedom of movement from the City Council of Cádiz (Spain) and Naples (Italy).

Spokesperson for the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza, James Godfrey said: “This Flotilla is necessary to highlight the international community’s failure and its ongoing complicity in the illegal blockade of over two million Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them children.”

On July 23rd, was posted “Freedom Flotilla Coalition sets sail for a just future for Palestine”, and it reported:

Freedom Flotilla leaves Palermo to break the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Three boats are sailing with boxes of medical supplies: Al Awda (The Return), a large converted fishing vessel; Freedom to Gaza, a large sailing vessel; and Falestine, a smaller sailing vessel. A fourth boat, Mairead, will not sail at this time. Another Sicilian port Messina, opened its open arms as usual with a series of wonderful community events, and we are grateful for their solidarity.

All three boats making their way to Gaza will be donated to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, that includes a fisherman’s union that will use the boats to fish in order to feed their families.

Spokesperson for the Swedish Ship to Gaza campaign, Jeannette Escanilla, said the boats would provide important economic and training opportunities for Palestinians trapped in Gaza.

“The illegal Israeli naval blockade has devastated the Palestinian economy, and in particular has hurt the fishing industry in Gaza so these boats will provide important economic opportunities for Palestinians in Gaza, and also training opportunities in sailing, to enable them to gain better qualifications. Currently, the Israeli Occupying Force prevent Palestinians in Gaza from sailing more than a few nautical miles from shore, and routinely attack fishing and other boats from Gaza.”

On July 26th, Dressler posted “ON THE WAY TO GAZA WITH FREEDOM – ANNA DRESSLER (UNITED KINGDOM/GERMANY)”. She said:

Gaza is a zone in the world where human rights seem to be forgotten. I believe that every person can change the world, on their own way, wherever they are and in which way they can. Let’s start here, with a blockade that should never have existed, and continues, along with everyone else, man-made, disasters.

On August 4th was posted to youtube “ANNA DRESSLER – SOS”, in which, six days after the seizure, theft, and assault, by Israel, against these people and their vessels, Anna, speaking in Swedish, publicly demanded that her Government in Stockholm enforce her rights as a Swede, against the Government of Israel, and that the ships and their supplies be at least returned to their owners.

On that same date, August 4th, the Freedom Flotilla itself headlined “SOS – Just Future for Palestine”, and officially notified the foreign ministers of the 12 involved countries whose nationals’ rights had been violated by Israel in this incident. These 12 countries were: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UK, and U.S.

The following day, August 5th, Jeannette Escanilla wrote, for the Steering Committee, Ship to Gaza Sweden (her official title being “Spokesperson for the Swedish Ship to Gaza campaign”), addressed as follows:

To the Foreign Minister of Sweden; Margot Wallström

To the Prime Minister of Sweden; Stefan Löfven

Ship to Gaza’s sailing ketch “Freedom for Gaza” was approaching the coast of Gaza when it was boarded by Israeli militants on Friday 3 August on international waters, a gross violation of international law. The last reported position of the vessel before boarding was about 40 nautical miles from coast of Gaza at 20:06 (CET).

The Swedish flagged ship and its cargo of medical supplies were seized by Israel and the 12 persons onboard were abducted and led to Israel, a country they did not intend to visit.

Ship to Gaza demands that the captured crew, the ship and its and cargo will be returned to the position where they were boarded and allowed to continue their voyage on international and Palestinian waters without being interupted, in accordance with international law. In this way we can complete the purpose of the journey, which is to hand over “Freedom” as a gift to Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)*, as well as 18 boxes of medical supplies, gauzes and sutures, to the organization My Care in Gaza. The lack of healthcare in the Gaza strip is appalling.

Our long term demands are also that the eleven-year illegal and destructive blockade of the Gaza Strip is finally lifted. The Swedish government has repeatedly backed the requirement of a lifting of the blockade. We now expect that the same government, whose flag is worn by the attacked ship, will also support our specific requirements regarding crew, cargo and ships. Ship to Gaza calls on Israel and Egypt to now meet the demands of large parts of the world community, that the illegitimate and destructive blockade of the Gaza Strip will be lifted after eleven years of isolation and aggression.

There is an obvious discrepancy between that “Friday 3 August” date, which she wrote on 5 August, versus the subsequent claim in the August 20th released video, of “29 July 2018,” as being the date on which their boats were stolen. An explanation is thus needed from them, regarding that discrepancy. However, in any case, the Swedish Ship to Gaza has made public that,

Ship to Gaza has now received an answer to the open letter that we, through our chairman Jeanette Escanilla, have sent to the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margot Wallström on August 5th.

The Minister writes:

**

Thank you for your letter dated 5th of August 2018. 

The situation in Gaza is very critical. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has described the situation as a humanitarian crisis. Furthermore, as you wrote, the lack of medical supplies is disastrous, not least since so many people have been injured as Israeli military has been deployed in connection with demonstrations along Gaza’s border in recent months.

Sweden upholds the principle of freedom of the seas and freedom of navigation. The government has been in contact with the Israeli authorities regarding Ship to Gaza, and has expressed that the actions of the Israeli authorities in relation to the Swedish-flagged vessel Freedom and the persons onboard constitutes a breach of international law. The government has also demanded that the ship, its cargo and the persons who were aboard be released. The Swedish Embassy in Tel Aviv is monitoring the imprisoned Swedish citizens’ consular rights and visited all of them on Sunday, August the 5th. 

The Swedish government will continue to work towards an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and towards a fair and sustainable two-state solution in which the two states can co-exist, peacefully, side by side. Ending the isolation of Gaza and providing humanitarian aid to its people are two critical, urgent steps towards that end. 

(Translated by Ship to Gaza)

The Swedish Ship to Gaza commented on that statement:

Ship to Gaza wishes to emphasize that the wording … in principle corresponds with our own demands that the crew, cargo and boat should be returned to the place where they were boarded and be allowed to continue their journey to Gaza. We are now being notified that the activists and crew is being deported from Israel. This is not in agreement with our demands or with the requests of the Swedish government.

We also want to know what the Swedish government is doing now to enforce the demands regarding our ships, cargo and crew, but even more importantly, also with regards to the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

On August 8th, Ms. Dressler posted:

Anna arrived last night at Berlin airport. Read her preliminary report of the cruel and inhumane treatment that the Israeli authorities meted out to her despite having a German passport. “…Can you then imagine how few rights Palestinians have…”

Anna’s resolve is strengthened and she declared that “We will continue to fight for freedom…”.

Please continue to demand the release of all of the Political Prisoners.

On August 13th, the Freedom Flotilla posted “SECOND MEDIA RELEASE ON MEDICAL SUPPLIES NOT REACHING GAZA” and listed, and linked, to the international laws that Israel had violated in this incident.

On August 17th, UK’s Stuart Littlewood headlined at American Herald Tribune “The UK’s Prime Minister-in-Waiting Must Zap the Circling Sharks”, and he reported on the extreme pressure that the progressive UK politician Jeremy Corbyn was facing for his not clearly taking a stand favoring Israel against the Palestinians, and he reported Corbyn’s being accused by Israel of “anti-Semitism” for that (as if it were wrong to recognize that Israel is an enemy nation; as if to recognize this is somehow against Jews or Judaism, instead of being against racist fascism in any nation, and against apartheid in any nation, and against theocracy in any nation, and against the imposition by any nation, of dictatorship — all of which presumptions are clearly lies). Littlewood noted that,

While the mainstream, including the BBC, have been sticking the knife into Corbyn, none of them (as far as I’m aware) reported a much more serious outrage – the hijacking by Israeli Occupation Forces of two vessels heading for Gaza and the violent assault, abduction and imprisonment of the 34 people from 12 countries who were on board – one of them a British consultant from the famous ‘Barts’ Hospital in London.

That is basically where things currently stand on this matter. The other governments involved (among the 12, besides Sweden), have been silent. Only Dressler’s nation has not. But no indication exists that even Sweden is following up with any demand against Israel. The underlying assumption seems to be that governments in The West (including the Sauds and their friends — all also “Western”) will continue simply to side with Israel against the Palestinians, even when their own citizens’ rights have been violated by Israel’s illegal imposition and enforcement of this illegal blockade.

Among the Governments that refused to enforce its citizens’ rights in this matter is the United States. Refusing to enforce its citizens rights that have been illegally violated by Israel, is routine for the U.S. Government to do. Ever since 1967, Israel has been supported by America, though America’s enemy, at war against Americans, and Israel has stayed that way, but the U.S. Government itself (and its news-media) has been keeping that fact, of Israel’s war against Americans — Israel’s being an enemy — a bipartisan secret from the American people (who are required, furthermore, by their Government, to pay to Israel’s Government, $3.8 billion per year, so that it can buy U.S.-made weapons from Lockheed Martin and other politically top-connected American companies — Eisenhower’s “military-industrial complex” — which are the intended beneficiaries of this coercion, by America’s Government, against America’s citizens). It’s the proven and incontrovertible reality, of the U.S. Government’s tyranny, against its own people.

Without such lies as that Israel is America’s friend instead of America’s enemy, and without such hiding of crucial facts from the public (for ‘national-security’ purposes, of course — not for billionaires’ profits), none of this could happen, and could be even credibly called ‘democracy’. This is actually a ‘democracy’ based on lies. But is that really possible, or is it instead just another lie, one to cover-up all the others? If that’s the case, then the problem is, obviously, much deeper than merely Israel versus the Palestinians, and nothing that the mainstream press publishes in The West regarding international relations can be trusted, at all, for its keeping this secret throughout the decades.

Certainly, what you are now reading, on this site, isn’t mainstream in The West. So, you are here reading Western samizdat, forbidden truths — truths that are forbidden to be published in The West. Nonetheless, all of this article is documented to be true. Just click onto a link anywhere that you doubt it. You will find that it’s all true — not just “maybe true” (like mainstream ‘news’ often is) — it is all unequivocally true. And, yet, what politician can say it? What would they be implying if they did say it? Can they say it? Apparently not.

What you’ve read here is, therefore, exposing just the visible tip, of an iceberg, of lies.

—————

Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of  They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of  CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

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