Whatever the outcomes of Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House on Monday and the latest scenario for a ceasefire in Gaza, a bilateral policy of genocide has united the Israeli and U.S. governments in a pact of literally breath-taking cruelty.
Chest thumping “Mission Accomplished” claims by President Trump that he ordered the world’s biggest conventional bombs to be dropped on a sleeping nation of 90 million people, were premature. To top it off he bragged that Iran’s nuclear capacity was devastated and that the whole nation fired “not a single shot” back.
Twenty years ago, one day in June 2005, I talked with an Iranian man who was selling underwear at the Tehran Grand Bazaar. People all over the world want peace, he said, but governments won’t let them have it.
A deal between the US and Iran is possible if Iran’s bottom line -- its right to nuclear enrichment -- and Israel’s bottom line, guarantees that Iran will never have a nuclear bomb are met. This “win-win” outcome would require Donald Trump’s personal engagement. With weapons turned to plowshares, Trump would be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities may be justified if one takes Netanyahu’s explanation at face value. I doubt, however, if he and Trump have fully considered the ominous regional ramifications of the attack and whether negotiations to limit Iran’s nuclear program would have led to much more positive results.
The United States, a longstanding and unyielding Israeli ally, is threatening UN member states urging them to keep off an upcoming high-level meeting aimed at recognizing a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
The meeting, to be co-chaired by France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and Saudi Arabia, a strong political ally of the US, is scheduled to take place June 17-20.
The world is experiencing a surge in violence not seen since the post-World War II era. 2024 marked a grim new record: the highest number of state-based armed conflicts in over seven decades.
During President Trump’s tour of Gulf monarchies last month, he mentioned Gaza only two times. The first time was in Doha, when he expressed his desire to make Gaza a “freedom zone.” Gaza’s 2.1 million residents, nearly half of whom are children, would like that, too.
For over a year, I refused to ascribe Israel's war against Hamas and the reign of horror it is inflicting on the Palestinians in Gaza as genocide, but now I feel shaken to the core by what I am witnessing. If what I see is not genocide, then I do not know what is.
Israel’s ongoing war of annihilation in Gaza has wiped out hospitals, schools, homes, water, and food, reducing the Palestinian territory to a wasteland and leaving a death toll of more than 53,000 people. But an equally lethal campaign has been unleashed against the foundations of Palestinian society and identity.
When US President Donald Trump offered to declare neighboring Canada as America’s 51st state, the Canadians vehemently rejected the proposal.
“We don’t want to be part of America,” was the rallying cry. And the short-lived offer was shot down in flames.
The international community must take action to uphold international humanitarian law, say healthcare and rights advocates, as attacks on healthcare in war zones reached a record high last year.
The Gulf's most powerful weapon isn't a military, a United Nations (UN) Security Council seat, or a legacy of global diplomacy. Choosing multilateralism and mega-projects over militaries and old-world diplomacy, they are tipping the scale without firing a single shot. Their approach is more modern, where money, alliances, and an active vision for the future are the weapon of choice.
Since the dissolution of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in March, roughly 2 million Palestinians residing within the Gaza Strip have struggled to survive amid constant barrages of airstrikes from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and a persisting blockade on humanitarian aid. With essential border crossings in Gaza remaining closed, humanitarian organizations have expressed fear that the Palestinians within the enclave could experience exacerbated rates of famine and malnutrition.
Eight years before the U.S.-backed regime in South Vietnam collapsed, I stood with high school friends at Manhattan’s Penn Station on the night of April 15, 1967, waiting for a train back to Washington after attending the era’s largest antiwar protest so far.
The
Trump administration is reportedly
pursuing a deal with Saudi Arabia that would be a pathway to developing a commercial nuclear power industry in the desert kingdom and maybe even lead to the enrichment of uranium on Saudi soil.
Since the deterioration of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in March, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have issued numerous evacuation orders and bombardments on the Gaza Strip, resulting in exacerbated rates of displacement and a significant amount of civilian casualties. Roughly two million Palestinians within the enclave struggle to stay alive amid repeated blockages of humanitarian aid.
France, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, the most powerful political body at the UN, is planning to break ranks with the other two Western members, the US and UK-- and recognize Palestine as a nation state.
French president Emmanuel Macron was quoted as saying that France would recognize a Palestinian state within months, and suggested he could do it alongside a UN conference in New York in June.
The Syrian war has left countless Syrians with devastating injuries, ranging from limb amputations and burns to the loss of sensory functions. These injuries have profoundly impacted their lives, compounded by the limited attention and support they receive from civil society organizations.
In the heart of Istanbul, a remarkable transformation is underway. What began as student protests following the politically motivated arrest of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has evolved into Turkey’s most significant pro-democracy mobilisation in years. The streets that once pulsed with the routine of daily life now throb with the energy of millions demanding a return to democratic governance.
Since the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to significant bombardment and blockages of humanitarian aid. With aid deliveries having been halted from entering the Gaza Strip for over one month, roughly two million Palestinians have been relying on dwindling resources, facing heightened risks of malnutrition and disease.