There are eight links in this entry. They are to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio and to commentary from Capitol Hill Citizen and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Israel says it’s taken control of key area of Gaza’s border with Egypt awash in smuggling tunnels, by Tia Goldenberg, Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said Wednesday it seized control of a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt to cut off smuggling tunnels as it tries to destroy the militant Hamas group in a war now in its eighth month. READ MORE . . .
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Israel reopens Gaza food sales as Rafah raid chokes aid, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, John Davison, Emma Farge and Ali Sawafta | Reuters The Israeli military has lifted a ban on the sale of food to Gaza from Israel and the occupied West Bank as its battlefield offensive chokes international aid, according to Palestinian officials, businessmen and international aid workers. Army authorities . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israel seizes Gaza’s entire border with Egypt, presses with raids into Rafah, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters CAIRO – Israeli forces have taken control of a buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the country’s military said Wednesday, giving Israel effective authority over the Palestinian territory’s entire land border. Israel also continued deadly raids on Rafah in southern Gaza despite . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM MAY 29 The latest in Israel’s expanding military operations in Rafah. Reported by Greg Myre and Daniel Estrin | NPR Israel’s military continues to expand operations in Rafah. The Biden administration continues to warn Israel against a “major operation” in the city. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM MAY 29 Palestinian prime minister visits Madrid after Spain, Norway and Ireland recognize Palestinian State, by Joe Wilson | AP BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and leading officials from several Middle Eastern countries in Madrid on Wednesday after Spain, Ireland and Norway recognized a Palestinian state. READ MORE . . .
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FROM MAY 29 A family fled Rafah as the war closed in. Now they’re living in a bombed-out school. Reported by Kat Lonsdorf | NPR The UN says about a million people have fled the southern city of Rafah since Israeli forces invaded there earlier this month. People are running out of options for where to go. One family is trying to make a bombed out classroom inhabitable. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM MAY-JUNE 2024 Citizens push back against AIPAC dominance, by Russell Mokhiber | Capitol Hill Citizen In April Congress overwhelmingly passed and President Biden signed a military aid bill that provides $95 billion in war aid—including $61 billion to Ukraine, $8 billion to Taiwan and $26 billion to Israel—in effect a genocide tax on the American people. Only a handful of House and Senate members . . . READ MORE, a lot more with subscription . . .
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Instead of recognising ‘Palestine’, countries should withdraw recognition of Israel, by Joseph Massad | Middle East Eye On Tuesday, three additional European states officially recognised a non-existent Palestinian state. Ireland, Spain, and Norway are the latest to join more than 140 other United Nations members in recognising this phantom entity. The Palestinian Authority, which was set up in 1993 to aid Israel in . . . READ MORE . . .