For today, links to eight reports: from Reuters, the Cradle, Middle East Eye, National Public Radio, and the Associated Press, and to commentary from jonathan-cook.net and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (WEST BANK, LEBANON, IRAN and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. GAZA 2-6-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM
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Gazans to Trump: We’ll rebuild our own restaurants and hotels. From Reuters. Palestinians in Gaza have rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan of creating a “Riviera of the Middle East” under U.S. control and emptied of its population. READ MORE . . .
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Ex-Israeli war chief confirms issuing Hannibal Directive to kill own civilians, soldiers on Oct. 7. From the Cradle. Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant has acknowledged ordering the army to use the Hannibal Directive to kill Israeli civilians and soldiers during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. READ MORE . . .
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FROM FEB. 6 Trump signs executive order imposing sanctions on ICC over Israel arrest warrants, by Sondos Asem | Middle East Eye U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court for targeting the United States and Israel. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters.
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FROM FEB. 6 Gaza’s police are now back on the streets in wake of ceasefire. Reported by Aya Batrawy and Anas Baba | NPR Gaza’s police were hit hard by Israel in the war against Hamas, but the force is back providing law and order after months of looting and chaos. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM FEB. 6 What Trump said about Gaza and how top administration officials contradicted him, by Will Weissert | AP WASHINGTON — Top officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have contradicted some of his recent comments about the United States taking long-term control of Gaza. They also . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM FEB. 6 Donald Trump’s Gaza plan: Ethnic cleansing or a crime against humanity? by Sondos Asem | Middle East Eye Palestinians, Arab states and U.S. to allies have condemned Trump’s suggestion that the United States take over the Gaza Strip, transfer its Palestinian population to other countries, and rebuild the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” READ MORE . . .
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FROM FEB. 6 The Gaza ‘war’ was a lie, as is the ceasefire. Trump just told you, by Jonathan Cook | jonathan-cook.net / Middle East Eye Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House this week tore the mask off 16 months of gaslighting by western leaders and by the entirety of the western establishment media. United States President Donald Trump finally dropped . . . READ MORE . . .
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Does Trump see Gaza as a business opportunity or a dispossession project? by Jamal Kanj | Middle East Monitor A friend texted to ask if I had watched the joint press conference held by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. “Fortunately, I did not watch it live,” I wrote back. It took me nearly 24 hours to . . . READ MORE . . .