For today, links to five reports: from Middle East Eye, National Public Radio and, via ScheerPost, Democracy Now!, and to commentary from Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, UKRAINE and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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FROM JAN. 8 UNICEF: At least 74 children killed in Gaza during first week of 2025. From Middle East Eye. UNICEF said Wednesday the killings of Palestinian children in the first week of this year were in attacks on Gaza City, Khan Younis, and the Israeli designated “safe zone.” READ MORE . . .
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FROM JAN. 8 Blinken is in Israel on his Mideast tour aimed at trying to contain the war in Gaza. Reported by Jackie Northam | NPR U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel on Monday as part of a multi-country trip to try to curb Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and prevent a wider regional war. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM JAN. 8 Jimmy Carter in 2007 addressed criticism of his book ‘Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.’ Reported by Steve Inskeep | NPR Hear an excerpt from an interview where former President Jimmy Carter addressed criticism of his 2006 book about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict titled “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM JAN. 6 American Historical Assoc. votes overwhelmingly to support resolution to oppose scholasticide in Gaza. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! speaks with Sherene Seikaly and Barbara Weinstein, two scholars who supported the resolution and helped push for the groundbreaking vote. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM JAN. 8 NYT rejects Quakers’ ad calling Gaza a ‘genocide,’ by Eloise Goldsmith | Common Dreams / Consortium News The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization, said Wednesday it has cancelled planned advertising with The New York Times after the outlet rejected one of the group’s proposed ads that read: “Tell Congress to . . . READ MORE . . .
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Remembering the First Intifada and the birth of Hamas, by Mustafa Fetouri | Middle East Monitor The Palestinian First Intifada started on Dec. 7, 1987, marked by mass demonstrations, first in Gaza before spreading to the entire Palestinian occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. READ MORE . . .
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How the Palestinian Authority became Israel’s enforcer in the West Bank, by Lubna Masarwa | Middle East Eye The Palestinian Authority, which has long functioned as a security arm of Israeli occupation forces, has dedicated its time and resources to launching raids against its own people. On Dec. 29, PA security service snipers . . . READ MORE . . .