Today’s Top Stories
1. If you thought recent disclosures of NGO and UN aid benefiting Hamas was bad enough, you won’t believe the scope of the shenanigans going on in Syria. The Guardian reports that UN aid money is propping up the regime.
Businessmen whose companies are under US and EU sanctions have been paid substantial sums by the UN mission, as have government departments and charities – including one set up by the president’s wife, Asma al-Assad, and another by his closest associate, Rami Makhlouf.
The UN says it can only work with a small number of partners approved by President Assad and that it does all it can to ensure the money is spent properly
. . .
However, critics believe the UN mission is in danger of being compromised.
They believe aid is being prioritised in government-held areas and argue UN money is effectively helping to prop up a regime responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of its own citizens.
2. Wow: AP picked up on Human Rights Watch‘s denunciation of Fatah and Hamas crackdowns on journalists and freedom of expression.
These crackdowns on free speech and the use of torture violate the legal commitments that the PA assumed in 2014, when it ratified the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention Against Torture. They also violate provisions of the Palestinian Basic Law protecting speech. At a time when many Palestinians are critical of their leaders, the crackdowns have a chilling effect on public debate in the traditional news media, and on social media.
You know, the Palestinian stringers (reporters, cameramen, producers, etc.) employed by the Western news services face the same repression. Just saying . . .
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3. Why is Norway‘s government funding non-governmental organizations that support BDS?
4. Susiya: Media Disregards Rule of Law For Palestinian “Human Rights” Narrative: Is Susiya’s story really as simple as what you’re reading in the papers?
5. Deporting BDS Activists from Israel – the Real Story: Is a new Israeli policy reallyh “anti-democratic,” “irrational,” and “heightened repression?”
Israel and the Palestinians
• A majority of Palestinian locales face the possibility of being unable to hold elections this October. According to the Jerusalem Post:
Iyyad explained that tribal disputes were generally behind the failures to submit lists.
• Mark down October 14 on your calendar. That’s when the UN Security Council is scheduled to address Israeli settlement activity.
Around the World
• Syrian refugee creates website to thank Israelis.
Aboud Dandachi, a Sunni Muslim from the city of Homs now living in Istanbul, has created a website dedicated to the Israeli and Jewish organizations and people helping Syrian refugees.
The website, Thank You Am Israel, highlights the humanitarian aid being given to displaced Syrians and also refutes any reasons why Israelis and Syrians should be enemies.
• In a letter to Israel’s ambassador in Belgium, Brussels Airline reversed a ban on halva produced in a West Bank settlement. Several days ago, the airliner stopped serving Achva halva following a passenger complaint. The dessert is made in Achva’s factory in the Barkan Industrial Zone, which is near Ariel.
• The UEFA may take disciplinary measures against French football club St.Etienne for banning Israeli flags while permitting Palestinian flags at a match last week.
In response to the letter, the UEFA’s Disciplinary and Integrity unit informed Samuels that disciplinary proceedings have been instigated against St. Etienne for several reported incidents during the match, including the presence of illicit banners.
• With all the fuss about Israeli-made spyware exploiting vulnerabilities in Apple’s iOS, I’m glad Foreign Policy put some well-deserved spotlight on the United Arab Emirates.
Commentary/Analysis
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Elliott Abrams: Deja vu and the coming Palestinian elections
– Yoni Ben Menachem: Egypt and Jordan fear Hamas victory in West Bank
– Micah Lakin Avni: The Palestinian Scouts hero who murdered my father
– Shashank Joshi: Why Israel and the Arab nations are slowly drawing closer together
– John McLaughlin: Whatever happened to the two-state solution?
– Benjamin Weinthal: BDS initiatives and their counter-efforts play out across Europe
– Ben-Dror Yemini: Fuelling the flames in Hebron
Featured image: CC BY Ian D. Keating with additions by HonestReporting; Assad via YouTube/EndRevelationTimes; money CC BY-SA knowmadic news;
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