World

Palestinians: Israeli Troops Kill 10 In West Bank Violence

Published

2 years ago

2023-01-26

Kiara Grace

JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, WEST — According to Palestinian officials, Israeli forces killed at least nine Palestinians and injured several others in a large-scale raid Thursday in the occupied West Bank. After the deadliest single operation in the territory in 20 years, Palestinian leaders broke security ties with Israel, which could lead to more violence.

In a separate incident, the Israeli military fatally shot a 22-year-old Palestinian.

The raid in the Jenin refugee camp raises the prospect of a major flare-up in Israeli-Palestinian fighting, puts Israel’s new hardline government to the test, and casts doubt on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned trip to the region next week.

In an effort to stop Islamic militants, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority said they would cut security ties. This raised the stakes. Previous such efforts have failed, partly due to the benefits the authority derives from the relationship but also due to US and Israeli pressure to keep it going.

The move makes people worry that Islamist militant groups won’t be stopped from attacking and that the Israeli army will have to do more raids on its own.

Hamas, the Islamist militant group that rules Gaza, has threatened retaliation for the raid. In the past, when violence got worse in the West Bank, rockets were fired back from the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Troops On High Alert

Israeli troops were on high alert in the West Bank and along the border with Gaza. Protesters poured into the territory’s streets, chanting in solidarity with Jenin. Palestinians in the refugee camp dug a mass grave for the deceased, and Abbas declared three days of mourning, with flags flying at half-staff.

According to Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, Abbas decided to reduce security coordination “in light of repeated aggression against our people and the undermining of signed agreements,” referring to commitments made during the Oslo peace process in the 1990s. He also said that the Palestinians planned to complain to the Security Council of the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and other international groups.

The last time the PA cut security cooperation with Israel was in 2020. This was in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to annex the occupied West Bank, which would make it impossible to have a Palestinian state in the future. Six months later, however, the PA resumed cooperation, indicating the importance of the relationship and Palestinian relief at the election of President Joe Biden.

According to Barbara Leaf, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, the administration is deeply concerned about the situation, and civilian casualties reported in Jenin are “quite regrettable.” However, she said the Palestinian announcement to halt security cooperation with Israel was a mistake.

“We do not believe this is the appropriate step to take at this time,” she told reporters.

International Criminal Court Is Problematic

According to Leaf, the Palestinian pledge to take the matter to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court is also problematic.

“We want to see them go in the opposite direction,” she added, “and they have to engage with each other.”

The Israeli military launched a rare daytime operation in the refugee camp on Thursday, claiming it was to prevent an imminent attack on Israelis. The camp, where the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group has a significant presence, has been the target of near-daily Israeli arrest raids.

Palestinians identified at least one of the dead as a militant, but it was unclear how many others were associated with armed groups.

Later in the day, Israeli forces fatally shot a 22-year-old Palestinian, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, as Palestinians protested Thursday’s raid north of Jerusalem.

Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have risen since Israel increased raids in the West Bank last spring in response to a wave of Palestinian attacks.

Israelis Who Murder Palestinians Will Get Immunity

Israel’s new national security minister, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who wants to give Israeli soldiers who shoot Palestinians legal immunity, posted a video of himself triumphantly beaming. He praised security forces, saying the government “backs our fighters in the war against terrorists.”

The raid left a trail of destruction in Jenin. The apparent target of the operation, a two-story building, was a charred wreck. The military claimed it entered the building to detonate the alleged explosives of the suspects.

During the fighting, Palestinian Health Minister May Al-Kaila said paramedics struggled to reach the wounded, while Jenin Governor Akram Rajoub said the military prevented emergency workers from evacuating them.

Both accused the military of firing tear gas into a hospital’s pediatric ward, causing children to choke. A hospital video showed women carrying children into a corridor.

According to the military, forces closed roads to facilitate their operation, which may have complicated rescue efforts, and tear gas was likely blown into the hospital from nearby clashes.

Officials Investigating Deaths

Magda Obaid, 61, was identified as the victim by the Palestinian Health Ministry, and the Israeli military said it was investigating her death. Health officials identified eight other men who died as men aged 18 to 40. One of the dead, Izz al-Din Salahat, was identified as a fighter by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, an armed militia affiliated with Fatah, the secular political party that controls the Palestinian Authority. According to the ministry, at least 20 people were injured.

According to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, May 14, 2021, will be the deadliest day in the West Bank since 2002. Thirteen Palestinians were killed in various clashes that day. However, Thursday marked the single bloodiest incursion since 2002, during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which left scars visible in Jenin.

“We request that the international community assist Palestinians in their fight against this extremist right-wing government and protect our citizens,” Jenin governor Rajoub said.

The violence has “deeply alarmed and saddened” United Nations Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland, who has urged calm. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Turkey, which recently reestablished full diplomatic ties with Israel, condemned the attack, as did neighboring Jordan.

Tensions over violence in the West Bank have previously spilled over into Gaza.

“The resistance’s response to what happened today in the Jenin camp will not be delayed,” warned top Hamas official Saleh Arouri.

Dozens Of People Killed

The coastal enclave’s Islamic Jihad branch has repeatedly fought Israel, most recently in a three-day clash last summer that killed dozens of Palestinians and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

According to B’Tselem, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest year in those areas since 2004. 30 Palestinians have been killed this year.

According to Israel, the majority of those killed were militants. However, youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the clashes have also been killed. One-third of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops or civilians this year, not including Thursday, had ties to armed groups.

Last year, 30 Palestinians were killed in attacks on Israelis.

Israel claims its raids are intended to dismantle militant networks and prevent attacks. According to the Palestinians, the agreement cements Israel’s 55-year-long occupation of the West Bank, which Israel captured along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those areas for their future state.

Israel has built dozens of settlements in the West Bank, which now house 500,000 people. Even though peace talks have been stalled for more than a decade, the Palestinians and much of the international community see settlements as illegal and an impediment to peace.

SOURCE – (AP)

World

Biden Escalates Ukraine War With Long-Range Missiles

Published

6 days ago

2024-11-18

Geoff Brown

The Kremlin announced on Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with US military long-range missiles is “fuel to the fire” and will exacerbate international tensions.

Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to employ US military long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia has raised concerns about growing tensions, with many fearing that this decision could lead to world conflict.

On Monday, with less than two months remaining in office, President Joe Biden authorized American-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike deep within Russia.

“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” said Peskov, the spokesman for the president.

Peskov reminded journalists of a September statement by President Vladimir Putin, who stated that enabling Ukraine to target Russia would dramatically raise the stakes.

It would alter “the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” Putin stated. This would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries would be at war with Russia.”

Peskov asserted that Western countries that deliver longer-range weaponry also provide targeting services to Kyiv. “This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict,” he said.

Ukraine War Escalation

In June, Putin threatened that if NATO permitted Ukraine to utilize the arsenal of its partners to attack Russian territory, Moscow would send longer-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

“The Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine and say: ‘We do not control anything here anymore and it does not matter how they are used.'” Putin had said. “We can also say, ‘We supplied something to someone — and now we have no control over anything.'” “And let them think about it.”

Putin again emphasized Moscow’s willingness to deploy nuclear weapons if it perceived a threat to its sovereignty.

Biden’s decision will “mean the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in military action against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated.

The new policy has unpredictable consequences. ATACMS, with a range of roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles), can travel deep behind Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, although their range is modest compared to other types of ballistic and cruise missiles.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not responded, but he won the election on promises to stop the conflict, and some people close to him have decried the action as a hazardous escalation.

Missile Decision Sparks Anger

The Military Industrial Complex appears to want to start World War III before my father has a chance to restore peace and rescue lives. We need to lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!! Imbeciles!” Donald Trump Jr., the President-elect’s son, posted on X

“On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles against Russia,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on X. “The American people gave a mandate on November 5 against these exact American last decisions.”

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” speculated that the stories were a “trial balloon to disrupt Trump” and that Biden may not have authorized the ATACMS strikes yet.

According to Dani Belo, PhD, Director of Security and International Relations at Global Policy Horizons Research Lab, Ukraine’s ability to currently hit Russian territory has the potential to escalate the war with Russia.

However, Donald Trump’s victory is likely to moderate the escalation.

There is speculation that Donald Trump’s administration would restrict military hardware deliveries to Ukraine, putting political pressure on Kyiv to resolve the crisis. This implies Ukraine has no motivation to escalate now and lose its fighting capability in a matter of months.

Russia sees no reason to escalate the situation at this time. Moscow expects that Trump’s administration will try to finish the war soon, so the Kremlin will likely take a wait-and-see approach until the new presidential administration takes office without significantly escalating the conflict. As a result, any escalation is unlikely.

Source: AP

Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

World

A Court Filing Reveals Elon Musk Flatly Rejected OpenAI’s ICO in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – Elon Musk, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla, claims in a subsequent court filing that was submitted on November 14 that he was successful in stopping OpenAI from doing an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.

According to the filing requirements, this information was disclosed.

Musk and his legal team have claimed that two of OpenAI’s founders, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, tried unsuccessfully to create a token in early 2018 to help the company grow. To the best of our knowledge, this was the founders’ intention.

Elon Musk accurately described the scenario.

Elon Musk made the remark during the pertinent time period, according to the lawsuit’s accusations.

This, in his opinion, would lead to a significant decline in trust in OpenAI and everyone involved in the initial coin offering (ICO). These statements are extracted from his initial declaration.

A unique project backed by Altman, Worldcoin launched a token twenty-three years ago with the goal of creating digital identification for verified individuals.

Furthermore, the company in charge of token distribution was Worldcoin. Through the use of the token, Worldcoin was able to authenticate individual identities.

When OpenAI was first founded, it was a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe artificial general intelligence (AGI).

In this context, the acronym AGI stands for artificial global intelligence. “Musk has continuously voiced concern about the grave threat that these sophisticated systems pose to humanity,” his attorney wrote in the complaint. These sophisticated technologies represent a serious threat to humankind.

“Musk remains apprehensive regarding this threat.” “Musk regards these threats with the utmost seriousness.” “Elon Musk has harbored these concerns for an extended period.”

This led to Musk joining OpenAI’s board of directors and continuing to serve as co-chair of the board. Furthermore, he was appointed to that board of directors post.

Elon Musk contributed $44 million to the enterprise.

OpenAI declared in a March 5th news release that it was imperative that the company adopt a profit-making structure in order to obtain the necessary funding to achieve its objectives. In order to enable OpenAI to fulfill its objectives, this transition was necessary.

According to both the OpenAI statement and the amended filing, Elon Musk advocated for the combination of OpenAI and Tesla to help the artificial intelligence startup with its financial issues.

The aforementioned measures were implemented to mitigate the challenges that the organization was facing at that specific moment. Musk submitted his resignation as an OpenAI employee in February 2018.

He founded his own artificial intelligence company, which he named XAI, in the ensuing years. His efforts directly led to the achievement he achieved.

We are deeply disappointed that our friendship with someone we have always held in the highest respect has deteriorated.

As we started to make significant strides toward OpenAI’s goal on our own, this person, who had previously motivated us to achieve greater heights, abruptly predicted that we would fail, established a rival company, and filed a lawsuit against us, according to the group’s press release.

In August of this year, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEOs, Altman and Brockman, claiming that they had violated federal RICO statutes, engaged in unfair competition, and committed fraud. OpenAI is the target of legal action taken by Elon Musk.

According to Elon Musk, they have engaged in additional illegal activity. Microsoft was named as one of the defendants in the dispute in the updated complaint, which was submitted on November 14.

It’s being presented as a case at the moment. Microsoft and OpenAI started working together in 2019, and Microsoft committed $1 billion in the partnership.

In July 2023, OpenAI’s native cryptocurrency, Worldcoin (WLD), was made available to the general public. Not too long ago, an article published by The Block disclosed this knowledge. When the market closed on November 15 at 11:36 p.m. Eastern Time (16:36 UTC), the price of a share of WLD was $2.21.

SOURCE: TB

World

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Geoff Brown

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

President-elect Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sending Democrats and Big Pharma allies into a tailspin.

“I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and medicine firms, which have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health,” Trump stated in his announcement.

“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in ensuring that everyone is safe from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to this country’s overwhelming health crisis.

Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to gold-standard scientific Research and Transparency traditions, stopping the Chronic Disease Epidemic and making America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump added.

Reactions to RFK Jr HHS Appointment

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy is a former environmental justice lawyer who has recently started an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He ran for president as an independent candidate in 2024 but dropped out to join Trump’s closest circle.

House Republicans have reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination of former presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.

Chip Roy, a Texas congressman, calls it “great news”. He tells me, “We need disruption throughout the federal government.” He’ll be fantastic at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that.”

Roy adds that he expects Kennedy’s candidacy will clear the Senate.

“There’s been a few Kennedy’s in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he speculates.

South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman concurs with Roy on Kennedy’s confirmation in the Senate: “I believe he was an excellent choice by the president, as have all of them. Kennedy is interested in, and passionate about, the medical industry. He will do a terrific job with it.”

According to Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group focused on consumer protection, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health.”

He should not be allowed to enter the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be appointed director of the nation’s public health agency.”

“Donald Trump’s mishandling of public health policies during the Covid outbreak resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “By appointing Kennedy as secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health disaster,” the organization continued.

Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, described the statement as a “scary day for public health”.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical stocks such as Pfizer and Moderna plummeted following news of Kennedy’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as investors considered his potential impact on vaccine sales.

Novavax and BioNTech finished down more than 7%, with almost all losses occurring when word of the selection broke—Novavax shares fell to $7.22, and BioNTech shares fell to $103.56.

Moderna’s stock closed 5.6% at $39.77, reaching its lowest point of the year.

Sanofi’s stock fell 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long share price decline that began after the company’s latest earnings report last month.

Pfizer lost less than its competitors on Thursday, closing down 2.6% at $26.02, despite having its sharpest drop of the day immediately following the RFK Jr. announcement.