Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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Qatar confirms ceasefire in Gaza starting Sunday

The situation in Gaza

Published 16 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the agreement “an important first step” and urged the parties to stick to their commitments.

Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement that will take effect on Sunday, January 19. Qatar, which mediated the negotiations, confirmed the news during a press conference on Wednesday evening.

The truce includes the release of hostages, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the hope that the fighting will eventually stop completely.

Qatar’s Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Al-Thani, announced on Wednesday that the ceasefire will have an initial duration of six weeks, according to Swedish TV4.

The Prime Minister expressed hope that the truce will lead to a permanent solution.

– Hopefully, these are the last negotiations leading to a permanent ceasefire.

Under the three-stage agreement, Hamas will, in phase one, release 33 Israeli hostages (out of a total of 98) in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners. The parties have also agreed to allow daily shipments of up to 600 trucks of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the Associated Press reports.

The “Trump effect” may have played a role

Political analysts and experts believe that US President-elect Donald Trump may have had an indirect impact on the agreement.

Isabell Schierenbeck, a political scientist at the University of Gothenburg, says: “Trump’s upcoming inauguration has probably acted as a catalyst for the parties to reach a ceasefire. There is a clear political signal that it may be more difficult to negotiate in the future”, she says in a comment to Stampen-owned Göteborgs-Posten.

Trump himself has taken credit for the agreement, expressing this on his social platform Truth Social.

– This epic ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our historic victory in November, he wrote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly thanked Donald Trump in a phone call for his role in making the truce possible.

Some hope but also uncertainty

The ceasefire is welcomed by many international actors as an important step towards reducing tensions and delivering much-needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, among others, expressing his support for the agreement and stressing the importance of getting aid to those in need.

Despite this, there is still uncertainty about how sustainable the agreement will be. Previous ceasefires have been broken by both sides, and the conflict between Israel and Hamas remains deeply rooted.

According to local reports, both sides plan to use the ceasefire to redeploy their forces, raising fears that fighting could resume with renewed intensity after the agreement ends.

Swedish foreign minister: “Greatly welcomed”

Several countries, including Sweden, have welcomed the agreement. The Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), expresses cautious hope.

– The news of a ceasefire in Gaza is greatly welcomed. At last, several hostages can be reunited with their families. My thoughts are with the families of those who have not returned alive. It is now absolutely essential that the ceasefire eases the immense suffering of Gaza’s civilian population and increases access to humanitarian aid, writes the Foreign Minister in a comment to TV4.

Draft ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas (according to Associated Press).

PHASE 1: (42 days)

  • Hamas releases 33 hostages, including female civilians and soldiers, children and civilians over 50.
  • Israel releases 30 Palestinian prisoners for every civilian hostage and 50 for every female soldier.
  • Fighting stops, Israeli forces move out of populated areas to the outskirts of the Gaza Strip.
  • Displaced Palestinians start returning home, more aid enters the Strip.

PHASE 2: (42 days)

  • Declaration of “sustainable calm”.
  • Hamas releases remaining male hostages (soldiers and civilians) in exchange for a yet to be negotiated number of Palestinian prisoners and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.

PHASE 3:

  • Bodies of deceased Israeli hostages are exchanged for bodies of deceased Palestinian soldiers.
  • Implementation of a reconstruction plan in Gaza.
  • Border crossings into and out of Gaza are reopened.

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Israeli army shelled its own on October 7

The situation in Gaza

Published yesterday 11:47
– By Editorial Staff
Yoav Gallant was dismissed as Minister of Defense on 5 November.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant now admits that the Israeli military used the much-criticized Hannibal Directive during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023.

The military protocol allows for the use of lethal force even if it carries a very high risk of killing hostages and aims to prevent Israeli prisoners from falling into enemy hands.

I think that, tactically, in some places, it was given, and in other places, it was not given, and that is a problem, Gallant said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12.

The policy has long been the subject of harsh criticism, including from Israel, and is believed to have been used unofficially in several conflicts. The directive prioritizes preventing the enemy from gaining an advantage over protecting the lives of its own soldiers.

One version of the directive states that “kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces”.

Tanks and helicopters

According to figures from Israeli authorities, Hamas killed around 1,100 Israeli soldiers and civilians during the 2023 attack but Gallant’s admission is interpreted by analysts as meaning that many of these may in fact have been killed by the Israeli military instead.

In connection with the October 7 attacks, the Israeli army deployed helicopters, drones and tanks on its own territory to fight Hamas, and an unknown number of Israelis are believed to have lost their lives during that operation.

Mr. Gallant has not commented on how many of his own citizens may have been killed during the Israeli counter-offensive, but according to witnesses, Israeli attack helicopters were used to fire on civilian targets at the Nova music festival, near the Reím military base.

“Shot at civilians”

An independent international commission concluded last May in a report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council that

The Commission is aware of allegations that ISF used the “Hannibal Directive” to prevent the capture of Israeli civilians and their transfer to Gaza, even at the cost of killing them. Such allegations were made in relation to ISF actions in the Nova site, including reports of ISF attack helicopters shooting at Israeli civilian cars, resulting in the killing of Israelis”.

The Commission confirmed the presence of at least eight attack helicopters in various locations on 7 October, but it could not confirm that they shot at civilians or civilian cars, including in the area of the festival. The Commission documented one statement by an ISF tank crew, confirming that the crew had applied the Hannibal Directive by shooting at a vehicle which they suspected was transporting abducted ISF soldiers”.

“The Commission also verified information indicating that, in at least two other cases, ISF had likely applied the Hannibal Directive, resulting in the killing of up to 14 Israeli civilians. One woman was killed by ISF helicopter fire while being abducted from Nir Oz to Gaza by militants. In another case the Commission found that Israeli tank fire killed some or all of the 13 civilian hostages held in a house in Be’eri”.

Israeli defense minister: Europe should take in Gaza’s population

Population replacement in the West

Published 9 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
“The people of Gaza should have the right to freedom of movement and migration, as is customary everywhere in the world”, said the Minister of Defense.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz praises Trump’s plans for the US to take control of the Gaza Strip.

He also emphasizes that European countries are legally obliged to take in Gaza’s Palestinian population and that their “hypocrisy will be exposed” if they refuse.

The Nordic Times has previously reported on Trump’s plans to take control of the Gaza Strip and permanently empty the area of Palestinians.

Like Netanyahu, Katz praises the plans, describing them as a “bold initiative”. He also claims that European countries are legally obliged to receive the displaced Palestinians and that he expects this to happen.

“Countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have falsely accused Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow Gazans to enter their territory. Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse. Meanwhile, countries like Canada, which has a structured immigration program, have previously expressed willingness to take in residents from Gaza”, he writes.

The people of Gaza should have the right to freedom of movement and migration, as is customary everywhere in the world”, the Minister of Defense further argues.

Mr. Katz announces that he has instructed the Israeli army to “allow any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave to do so, to any country willing to receive them”. The plan is to deport the Palestinian civilian population, partly via land crossings, but also by ship and airplane.

Unclear how Sweden will be affected

The Swedish government has so far refused to distance itself from or condemn the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will not even answer whether the systematic bombing of Palestinian hospitals falls within the scope of proportionate self-defence.

Instead of pressuring Israel, he has chosen to focus on protecting Israeli interests in Sweden – for example, by monitoring parts of Stockholm with drones around the clock.

Historically, Sweden has also been hit very hard by mass immigration in connection with conflicts and wars in the Middle East – but there is no information yet on how many Palestinians the government plans to accept this time.

Trump: US to take over Gaza – and deport all Palestinians

Donald Trump's USA

Published 6 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Trump and Netanyahu during yesterday's press conference.

In a stunning announcement on Tuesday, President Donald Trump declared that the US will “take over” the entire Gaza Strip, “level the site” and then rebuild it.

The US President also believes that the two million Palestinians currently living in the area must leave Gaza permanently.

– They instead can occupy all of a beautiful area with homes and safety, and they can live out their lives in peace and harmony in other areas or countries, he said at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

– The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area, the President continued.

Gaza, according to Trump, will be transformed into the “Riviera of the Middle East”. However, it is not mainly Palestinians in Gaza who will benefit from this prosperity instead, “people from all over the world will live there”.

“Can’t live in Gaza”

Trump wants the entire Palestinian population to be permanently relocated to other countries such as neighboring Jordan and Egypt.

– We should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts, and there are many of them that want to do this, and build various domains that will ultimately be occupied by the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza.

Forcing the entire Palestinian population to leave their homes forever has, according to the President, great advantages because in such a scenario they’re “going to have peace” and will not be shot at and killed.

– The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative.

“Everyone loves the idea”

He also believes that a US “long-term ownership” of Gaza will “bring great stability” to the region and that this is a very popular idea back home in the US.

– Everybody I have spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land.

Asked if the displaced Palestinians will have the right to return in the future, the President says this is not an issue.

It would be my hope that we could do something really nice, really good, where they wouldn’t want to return. Why would they want to return? That place has been hell.

“Fresh ideas”

Speaking briefly after Trump, Netanyahu praised the US president for his “fresh ideas”.

– I believe, Mr. President, that your willingness to puncture conventional thinking, thinking that has failed time and time and time again, your willingness to think outside the box with fresh ideas will help us achieve all these goals.

Jordan and Egypt have so far resisted taking in millions of displaced Palestinians but Trump said he still had “a feeling” that the countries’ leaders “will open their hearts and will give us the kind of land that we need to get this done. And people can live in harmony and peace”.

MEP at the Holocaust ceremony in Brussels: “Let us pray for the victims in Gaza”

The situation in Gaza

Published 31 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Grzegorz Braun has recently attracted attention for several controversial actions.

The European Parliament’s annual minute’s silence for the victims of the Holocaust on Wednesday was interrupted by Polish MEP Grzegorz Braun, who instead focused on Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

Let us pray for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza, Braun declared and then repeated his call once more.

 

Thank you very much, thank you very much, for your prayers for the victims of the Jewish genocide in Gaza, Braun repeated once more before the minute of silence ended.

According to Braun, he did not interfere with the purpose of the ceremony, but rather wanted to draw attention to how some victims of war crimes and genocide are valued more than others.

I shared the observation that all victims are apparently equal, but some are more equal than others”, he explained afterwards.

Dragged out of the room

The move was not appreciated by the President, Roberta Metsola, who shortly afterwards ordered Braun to be dragged from the room. Braun’s outburst has been described by critics as “hateful rhetoric”, with Dutch Christian Democrat Bert-Jan Ruissen, among others, calling for Braun to be punished and subjected to the “highest possible sanctions” that the EU body can impose.

Braun is a member of the national conservative party Korona, the “Crown”, and is running for president in Poland later this year. He has come under fire for strong statements against the Jewish lobby and for demolishing a sign for an official press conference on COVID passports when they were launched in Poland.

Perhaps Braun’s most high-profile action in the past was when he used a fire extinguisher to put out a Jewish candlestick (menorah) placed in the Polish Parliament for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

– The people participating in the Satanic cult should be ashamed, he declared in connection with this event.

Following the incident, Mr. Braun was suspended for six months and legal proceedings were initiated. However, Braun later followed up the high-profile action by condemning Jewish racism against European nations in the Polish Parliament.