The West Bank is under two occupations

July 10, 2021

Palestinians protest against illegal Israeli settlements in Beita district of Nablus, West Bank on July 02, 2021 [İssam Rimawi / Anadolu Agency]

Majed El-Zebdah
July 10, 2021 at 12:46 pm

The suppression of freedoms, threats and political arrests in the West Bank have increased following the assassination of political activist and parliamentary candidate Nizar Banat. Banat was killed under torture by a security force affiliated with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Area C, under Israeli occupation control. This suggests a high level of coordination between the PA and the Israeli occupation regarding silencing any voice opposing the security coordination and cooperation with the Israeli occupation.

The assassination of Banat exposed the painful reality of the West Bank, which is under two occupations. The first occupation aims to confiscate land, displace Palestinians and bury their dreams of building a state and independence. The second seeks to strengthen the police grip, seize freedoms and suppress any Palestinian voice calling for building a state of law or abolishing the security and economic dependence on the occupying power.

The PA's leadership and Fatah in Ramallah are in denial of the major changes witnessed in the Palestinian streets after the battle of Saif Al-Quds. Currently, there is overwhelming support for the Palestinian resistance and a sharp decline in the popular support of the PA and Fatah. This has been confirmed by numerous recent opinion polls, including one published by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah a few days ago. The poll showed that 53 per cent of Palestinians believe that Hamas is the movement most worthy of representing and leading the Palestinian people, compared with only 14 per cent who voted for Fatah led by Mahmoud Abbas. This shows that the PA has become a heavy burden standing in the way of Palestinian liberation from the Israeli occupation.

There has recently been a significant escalation in the following areas: Palestinian security services' attacks against the families of political detainees in Ramallah; the arrests of dozens of human rights defenders, writers and ex-prisoners; the abuse of women; torture of people in the streets; the arrests of journalists and the confiscation of their equipment; the prevention of peaceful sit-ins; the masked men roaming the streets of the West Bank in the name of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, issuing threats against those who think of protesting against the repressive measures of the authority and requesting the occupation to support the PA in its repression demonstrations.

Read: AIPAC calls out Palestinian Authority's abuse of journalists but neglects Israel's attacks

In addition to all of the above, according to Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, there are suspicions of corruption surrounding the coronavirus vaccines deal associated with high-ranking officials of the PA, according to a leaked official document published by Quds News Network. Moreover, there was the arbitrary dismissal of Palestinians denouncing the state of repression in the West Bank. The latest of such incidents was the dismissal of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Public Library Ihab Bseiso, as well as the dismissal of the diplomat at the Palestinian Embassy in Lisbon Shahd Wadi, because they denounced the killing of Banat and refused to provide political cover for his killers. All of these acts are evidence confirming that the leadership of the PA and the Fatah movement in Ramallah have become a fascist dictatorship against their own people, and that they no longer object to collaborating with the occupation in its oppression and persecution against Palestinians to deprive them of their right of expression.

The Fatah movement and the PA's leadership have underestimated the public's anger which escalated with the assassination of political activist Banat. Rather than trying to lessen this anger by dismissing Mohammad Shtayyeh's government and bringing security services' leaders to justice for giving the direct orders that led to his murder, they called for a governmental investigation committee headed by the minister of justice of the same government. The committee lacked transparency, especially after Banat's family representatives and human rights organisations withdrew from its membership. In addition, the committee refrained from announcing its findings. Meanwhile, intelligence services pressured leaders of Fatah in Gaza to provoke protests and clashes with the security services in Gaza to draw attention away from the ongoing acts of repression and suppression of freedoms taking place in the West Bank.

Recent attacks of security authorities against those who denounced the assassination of Banat, insisting on suppressing freedoms and violating them in the Palestinian streets, are all a natural extension of Abbas's failure and his monopoly in representing Palestinians and making decisions for them. Abbas, who is the president of the PA in Ramallah, committed a number of legal violations when, in December of 2018, he dissolved the Palestinian Legislative Council and reconstituted the Supreme Judicial Council in Ramallah in early July 2019. This was a major encroachment on the judicial and legislative systems and a clear violation of the Palestinian Basic Law that stipulates the principle of separation of powers. It is as if Abbas was preparing for these days in which masses in the streets of the West Bank are rising up to demand freedom, only to find themselves facing a fully repressive regime that is not different from the occupation regime oppressing Palestinians for decades.

The PA's leadership in Ramallah and the security services may temporarily succeed in suppressing protests calling for freedom of expression and peaceful demonstrations in support of political detainees, but they will certainly not succeed in stifling the free Palestinian voice. Palestinians are no longer afraid of subjugation and persecution. They now see the repression of the security services as an extension of the occupation, and believe that they need to be freed from them as a necessary prelude to liberation from the oppression of the occupation and its occupiers.

Translated from Felesteen, 8 July, 2021.

UN: Israel demolished, seized 421 Palestinian homes since start of 2021

Report: US smuggled 2 scientists out of Iran before assassination of nuclear programme mastermind

July 12, 2021

Iranian intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi in Tehran on February 23, 2016 [BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images]

July 12, 2021 at 9:45 am

The US smuggled two Iranian Defence Ministry scientists out of the country only two weeks before the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Ensaf News quoted a former security official as stating.

Ensaf News's report has reportedly prompted the Iranian authorities to threaten the news website, which is known for its ties to reformist forces, and pressure it to remove the report from the website.

The former official added that Fakhrizadeh's name was leaked to the assassins following reports about the theft of the nuclear programme official documents by the Israeli occupation.

Fakhrizadeh was the mastermind behind Iran's nuclear programme and head of the Defence Ministry's Organisation of Defence Innovation and Research. He was assassinated on 27 November of last year in the Damavand district near the capital, Tehran.

YOU MAY REMEMBER THIS ASSISSINATION WHEN IRAN CLAIMED A REMOTE CONTROLED HIGH POWERED MACHINE GUN WAS USED TO KILL THE NUCLEAR SCIENTISY

Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi indicated that one of the accomplices in the assassination was a former armed forces member who had fled Iran before the operation was carried out.

This is not the first time that Iranian scientists working on Iran's nuclear programme have been assassinated. Between 2009 and 2011, four Iranian nuclear scientists linked to the programme were also assassinated in Tehran.

The killing of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and how Israel and Saudi Arabia might be behind it? – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Palestinian-American Christians urge Biden 

to reconsider Hamas policy

July 10, 2021 

US President Joe Biden seen in Washington D.C. US, on May 25, 2021 [Tasos Katopodis/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

July 10, 2021 at 11:47 am

A letter sent by Palestinian-American Christians has asked US President Joe Biden to reconsider his policy towards Hamas, stressing that it is not a terrorist group, but a freely-elected movement.

The letter was sent to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken by the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP). It came following remarks made by Blinken in Ramallah on 25 May.

According to PCAP, at a press conference in Ramallah, Blinken acknowledged Palestinians' aspirations: "To live in freedom; to have their basic rights respected, including the right to choose their own leaders; to live in security; to have equal access to opportunity for themselves, for their children; to be treated with dignity."

The letter, written by the board of PCAP, recognises: "That more positive cooperation has been taking place between the United States and the Palestinians." PCAP called for the Biden administration to "reconsider its policy towards Hamas" and: "To support fair and transparent elections for Palestinians including Hamas and their candidates, and voters in East Jerusalem."

Replying to a question about the timing of the letter, PCAP co-chair Alex Awad stated: "During the events last month in Sheikh Jarrah, around the Damascus Gate and at the Al Aqsa Mosque, followed by Israel's bombing of Gaza, major media in the US repeatedly described Hamas as a terrorist organisation." He argued:


That single description reported over and over justifies Israel's asymmetric response to Hamas's actions in the minds of many Americans. We wanted to reach out to American officials and the American public to help them see another perspective.

Awad added: "We believe that assigning the label of 'terrorist organisation' to Hamas hides the more complicated truth that Hamas is a reflection and result of the untenable and unjust status quo in the land."


PCAP wrote that Hamas won the 2006 parliamentary elections with the support of the US president and observed by US NGOs. But when Hamas won, the letter stated: "The US backed away from its endorsement of the democratic process and halted aid to the PA."

The letter also affirmed that Hamas provides: "Most everyday functions and services for its more than two million residents. In addition, many Palestinians support Hamas because they have seen little to no benefit from Fatah rule and what they have concluded are phony peace processes."

Meanwhile, PCAP asserted: "We have to say that Hamas is responding to decades of Israel's violence and to the over fourteen years-long land, air and sea blockade that has devastated the Gaza Strip."

PCAP's letter also calls attention to a little-reported fact: "Hamas even has a number of Palestinian Christians among its representatives and constituents."

Read: Abbas meets US Congress delegation, applauded Biden's support for Palestinians

Biden Administration Vows Only to 'Condemn' Cuba Violence As Havana Accuses U.S.

BY JACK DUTTON ON 7/12/21 

WHAT VIOLENCE THE POLICE ARRESTED PROTESTERS IN SCUFFLES

THET DIDN'T WEAR ARMOR AND BEAT THEM LIKE IN PORTLAND


The United States on Monday vowed only to "condemn" violence in Cuba at the anti-government protests that have swept across the country, shortly before Havana accused Washington of "betting on" the unrest.

The communist Caribbean Island has been seeing its biggest anti-government protests in decades. Thousands marched on Havana's Malecon promenade and elsewhere on the island on Sunday to demand President Miguel Diaz-Canel step down, shouting slogans like "freedom" and "unite." There were also a smaller number of pro-government protesters that were chanting "Fidel," referring to Fidel Castro, Cuba's former long-time communist head of state.

Special forces jeeps with machines on the back were seen through the capital on Sunday night, with a heavy police presence even hours after most of the demonstrators were home after the 9 p.m. curfew.

The demonstrations take place against the backdrop of the country's raging COVID-19 epidemic and its worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union, its old ally. U.S. sanctions imposed during Donald Trump's tenure as president have further crippled the Latin American country's economy. Cubans have taken to the streets in Havana, as well as San Antonio de los Baños and Palma Soriano, to complain about food shortages and high prices amid the COVID-19 crisis. Many Cubans in Miami also were out to protest against the communist government.

In a tweet early on Monday, Jake Sullivan, U.S. national security advisor, said: "The U.S. supports freedom of expression and assembly across Cuba, and would strongly condemn any violence or targeting of peaceful protesters who are exercising their universal rights."

Cuba's Director General for U.S. Affairs Carlos de Cossio hit back on Twitter, writing: "[The] US State Department and its officials, involved to their necks in promoting social and political instability in #Cuba, should avoid expressing hypocritical concern for a situation they have been betting on. Cuba is and will continue to be a peaceful country, contrary to the US."

Other Biden administration officials showed their support for the anti-government protests. "Peaceful protests are growing in #Cuba as the Cuban people exercise their right to peaceful assembly to express concern about rising COVID cases/deaths & medicine shortages. We commend the numerous efforts of the Cuban people mobilizing donations to help neighbors in need," tweeted Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary for state for Western Hemisphere affairs, on Sunday night.

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also applauded the rare anti-government protests, as Díaz-Canel blamed the U.S. for the unrest in a nationally televised speech.

"Florida supports the people of Cuba as they take to the streets against the tyrannical regime in Havana," DeSantis tweeted. "The Cuban dictatorship has repressed the people of Cuba for decades & is now trying to silence those who have the courage to speak out against its disastrous policies."

Earlier that afternoon, Díaz-Canel accused Washington of "provoking a social uprising" in an alleged plot to legitimize a military intervention. "We are not going to hand over the sovereignty or the independence of the people," he said. "There are many revolutionaries in this country who are willing to give our lives, we are willing to do anything, and we will be in the streets fighting."

"The order to combat has been given. Revolutionaries need to be on the streets," Díaz-Canel concluded, not making concessions to protesters.

State run media has said that Diaz-Canel will address the nation again at 9 a.m. local time on Monday.

Protesters gather in front of Versailles restaurant to show support for the people in Cuba, who took to the streets there to protest on July 11, 2021 in Miami, Florida. The United States has vowed only to “condemn” violence in Cuba at the anti-government protests that have swept across the country, shortly before Havana accused Washington of “betting on” the unrest.JOE RAEDLE

CONTRARY TO THE REACTIONARIES IN MIAMI THIS WAS NOT AN ANTI COMMUNIST ANTI GOVERNMENT DEMO IT WAS OVER SHORTAGES CAUSED BY THE RENEWED USA EMBARGO

Demonstrators in Havana protest shortages, rising prices

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZtoday

HAVANA (AP) — Thousands of Cubans marched on Havana’s Malecon promenade and elsewhere on the island Sunday to protest food shortages and high prices amid the coronavirus crisis, in one of biggest anti-government demonstrations in memory.

 THE RETURN OF THE T* PARTY

Fight breaks out after protesters disrupt Rep. Katie Porter's town hall

CATHERINE GARCIA

JULY 11, 2021

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Police officers had to intervene during a Sunday afternoon town hall hosted by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), after a fight broke out between her backers and supporters of former President Donald Trump.

The town hall was held at Mike Ward Community Park in Irvine, and was Porter's first in-person town hall in over a year. Porter has three children, and said she made sure this was a family-friendly event because she knows how hard it can be to get child care. At the start of the town hall, Porter thanked everyone for "coming out to express your opinion," and said because there was a lot of wind, "I'm going to ask that everyone, regardless of your views, try to keep your voices down and be quiet so we can have a conversation."

As she spoke, a handful of Trump supporters began loudly interrupting her, the Los Angeles Times reports, shouting and calling her "Corrupt Katie Porter" and "Carpetbagger Katie." In response, there were chants of "Katie! Katie! Katie!" When several of the Porter supporters walked over to the protesters and confronted them, it sparked a fight, and punches were thrown, the Times reports. Porter ran over and put her arms around an elderly woman who was close to the scuffle, and officers from the Irvine Police Department quickly separated both sides. One Porter supporter was arrested and released on citation, Sgt. Karie Davies told the Times.

In a statement, Porter said that everyone was welcome to ask her questions, and it is "disappointing that a small but vocal group of attendees, who advertised a 'confrontation rally,' created unsafe conditions at a planned family-friendly event. While I absolutely respect their right to disagree, their disturbance disrespected all the families who attended and were ready to engage in a thoughtful, civil, and safe way." Porter's team is "evaluating next steps," she added, but her "promise to Orange County families is that I will continue to hold town halls and to be in conversation with them."

On Thursday, a man named Nick Taurus, who said he will run against Porter in 2022, posted on Instagram that people should go to the town hall with him to "CONFRONT KATIE PORTER!" the Times reports. Porter is the first Democrat to represent her district, and Taurus claimed she is "a far-left ideologue supported by Bay Area academics" whose policies are "awful...and we intend to voice our displeasure." The Times said Taurus was involved in the melee; he turned down the newspaper's request for comment.

*TRUMP

CHESS
The FIDE World Cup Begins!

Streamed live on Jul 12, 2021



Chess.com

It's Day 1 of the 2021 FIDE World Cup in Sochi, Russia! This marks the return of over-the-board chess on a global scale after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of many sporting events. Elite players from all over the world will compete for a part of the $1,892,500 prize fund and two spots in the 2022 Candidates Tournament. Full event details: https://www.chess.com/article/view/fi...

TOMB ROBBERS

Egypt repatriates 114 trafficked artifacts

Artifact trafficking in Egypt is back under the spotlight as Egyptian authorities recovered in Paris over 114 stolen antiquities in a case involving prominent figures.

Egypt's Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani attends the opening of an exhibition displaying ancient artifacts that were seized by authorities before being smuggled abroad, on Oct. 24, 2016, at Cairo's Egyptian Museum. - STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images

A correspondent in Egypt
July 12, 2021


CAIRO — “The Great Antiquity Smuggling Case” is how Egypt's media is referring to the latest incident of the large numbers of antiquities stolen and smuggled abroad.

Investigations indicate the involvement of several prominent Egyptian figures accused of illegal antiquity trafficking, including businessman Mohammad Baghdadi, who was arrested on July 2.

On June 27, Egypt's public prosecutor returned from Paris on a plane loaded with 114 artifacts Egyptian authorities recovered from France after more than two years of investigating the smuggling case.

Two days later, on June 29, prominent Egyptian businessman Hassan Rateb was arrested on charges of funding illegal antiquity excavations.

A few days earlier, on June 24, Egyptian security forces arrested Alaa Hassanein, a former member of the Egyptian parliament, on charges of illegally digging up artifacts and illegal possession of several antiquity pieces.

The coincidence of recovering the antiquities from Paris and the arrests of Rateb and Hassanein suggested the latter might have played a role in smuggling Egyptian artifacts to the French capital. More than 200 antiquity pieces were seized in Hassanein's warehouses.

But the prosecution’s official investigations have not yet announced a connection between Rateb and Hassanein, the smuggling of antiquities abroad and those that were officially recovered from Paris.

Commenting on the smuggling case, Alaa al-Kilani, a security expert specializing in combating artifact trafficking, told Al-Monitor, “This is a major case for the Egyptian security and antiquity sector. Dismantling the major smuggling networks would dry up the huge source of funding for this illegal trade and deter smaller smuggling groups.”

In a December 2020 report, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that artifact trafficking was the third-largest illicit trade after drugs and weapons, with an estimated worth of $10 billion annually.

“I trust the Egyptian authorities’ keenness, under President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, to dismantle these networks — especially since several incidents at home and abroad showed that the huge revenues from this illegal trade are being used in money laundering and financing terrorists in many cases,” Kilani said.

In May 2019, some regional and international media outlets reported the Islamic State had made more than $100 million from selling antiquities from Syria and Iraq in several countries, using these funds to fund arms and recruits.

Meanwhile, there was talk about Rateb’s possible ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. According to businessman Ashraf al-Saad, a former friend of Rateb, the latter’s father was a leader and member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Office. The Muslim Brotherhood has been classified as a terrorist organization by Egyptian authorities since November 2013.

In a 2012 TV interview, when the Brotherhood was still in power, Rateb said he was friends with Mahdi Akef, the group’s former head.

According to Kilani, there are two challenges in the face of curbing antiquities trafficking and recovering artifacts smuggled abroad.

“First, it is difficult to monitor all sites where smugglers and dealers dig up artifacts, as these sites are spread throughout the country and some … remain unknown or undiscovered by the authorities. Second, there are several artifacts that remain stored in the [Egyptian] Ministry of Antiquities’ warehouses without being accurately registered — something that has been ongoing for several decades and makes it difficult to detect any theft from the warehouses,” Kilani explained.

He said in many cases Egyptian authorities were surprised to find Egyptian artifacts displaced in Europe or the United States. However, he said the Recovered Antiquities Department affiliated with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities had recently succeeded in properly registering and categorizing most of the stored artifacts and equipped all the discovered or potential archaeological sites with fences and surveillance cameras.

Smuggled Egyptian artifacts were sold in several prominent auctions, including those at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong and China over the last few years that saw the sale of five Egyptian antiquities. This is not to mention an auction at Christie's in 2019 where a statue of a Middle Kingdom wood funerary model of a boat was sold. In 2020, dozens of Egyptian artifacts were sold via video conference in an auction house in California.

Legal expert Mohammad Sadiq told Al-Monitor, “The Egyptian laws are still not sufficiently deterrent to limit illegal excavations, especially since the prison terms for this crime remain short. This traffic is extremely profitable to the extent that offenders could easily pay their bails or fines.”

He said the laws are more deterrent when it comes to smuggling antiquities abroad or stealing from stores and museums.

Under the Antiquities Protection Law No. 117 of 1983 and its 2020 amendments, illegal antiquity excavation is punishable by three to seven years in prison and a fine of no more than 1 million Egyptian pounds ($63,777). Meanwhile, the theft and smuggling of antiquities abroad is punishable with a lifetime in prison and fines exceeding 5 million Egyptian pounds ($318,885) in case of theft, and 10 million Egyptian pounds ($637,771) in case of smuggling abroad.

Sadiq said one of the main challenges is the absence of laws criminalizing the illegal antiquity trade and a law requesting countries to return stolen Egyptian artifacts when they enter their territories, except for the pieces that are discovered and registered in museums and stores, according to the 1970 UNESCO Convention.

He called on UNESCO to adopt an international law or convention obligating countries to return smuggled antiquities to their home countries, even if they were not registered on museum or warehouse lists.

In October 2019, the UNESCO Executive Council passed an Egyptian initiative to combat illicit artifact trade but it did not lead to any official and legally binding agreement at the international level.

MORE FROM A CORRESPONDENT IN EGYPT

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/egypt-repatriates-114-trafficked-artifacts#ixzz70OS8OX6u

Turkish sexologists attract following on social media

As the ruling AKP tries to shut down the conversation on sexuality, Turkey's public finds new ways to gather and speak openly about their lives and desires.

Spotify, Dec. 11, 2017. - Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Spotify

Kenan Behzat Sharpe
@kenan_sharpe
July 9, 2021


A brave group of digital activists in Turkey is using social media and podcasts to battle conservative taboos about sexuality. At a time when TV shows are fined for even hinting at sex between characters and women are often harassed in the streets for wearing shorts, these trailblazers use Instagram and Spotify to discuss everything from the orgasm gap to masturbation.

This digital activism shows that when conservative governments try to shut down the conversation on sexuality, citizens will find new ways to gather and speak openly about their lives and desires.

In Turkey, the situation for women often feels grim. According to UN data, 38% of women in Turkey experience physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lifetimes. In 2020 alone, at least 409 women were killed by men. Despite this epidemic of femicide and widespread gender inequality, the Turkish government on July 1 officially withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, known formally as the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

In this context of rising conservatism and increasing threats to women’s safety, many are finding refuge in social media and podcasts.

Gizem Onay creates digital safe spaces to discuss women’s everyday problems and sex lives. She runs a New Age cafe in Ankara and works as a sex coach, leading workshops and classes. She moonlights by running a highly popular Instagram account. With women coming to discuss everything from their issues with sexual desire to vaginal lubrication, the account functions as a 100,000-person group therapy session.

“Sexuality is a topic that we can only embarrassedly share behind closed doors. Some of us don’t get the opportunity to talk about it at all, but we have an incredible need for safe and nonjudgmental places to speak,” Onay told Al-Monitor.

On Instagram, Onay’s goal is to create a place where her followers can also talk openly about sexuality. She seeks to break taboos, encouraging women to be vocal about their sexuality and prioritize their own pleasure. It is a radical message in a country where the president himself declares that “women are not equal to men” and encourages them to have “at least three children.”

Asuman is a 35-year-old office manager at a firm in Istanbul and an avid follower of Onay’s Instagram page. “It was in one of Gizem Onay’s live YouTube videos on women’s orgasms that I first realized how much these topics are repressed by society and how little knowledge we have of our bodies,” Asuman told Al-Monitor, preferring not to disclose her full name out of fear of negative professional consequences.

Asuman argues that there is a need for places where sexuality can be discussed. In public school, the extent of her sex education was a single session on menstruation.

“We can’t talk in school. We can’t talk with our families or in public. And so it requires talking with each other to become aware. After learning from Gizem Onay and other projects, I made peace with my sexuality. I began loving my body more and learned to put my own desires first,” she said.

Another project that Asuman follows is "Mental Klitoris." The podcast focuses on sex, sexual violence, gender and pleasure. With a total of 35 episodes since April 2020, it has developed a strong base of followers among Turkey’s feminist and LGBTQI+ communities, as well as others interested in frank and rigorous discussions of sex.

“People really want to be able to talk about sexuality,” the show’s producer and creator, Hazal Sipahi, told Al-Monitor.

"Mental Klitoris" has episodes on issues such as consent, sexually transmitted infections, sex toys as well as concepts like “slut-shaming,” “ghosting,” “rimming” and “dick pics.” Though trained as a journalist, Sipahi has spent years reading the international literature on sexuality. Her goal is to translate concepts discussed globally into Turkish. Taking a feminist and queer approach to sexuality, she seeks to provide an informative resource for people in Turkey.

“I think about myself at 16 years old when I didn’t know English. Sex education at school was surface-level. I think about what kind of content I wish I had access to at that age, and that’s what I create,” Sipahi said.

The title "Mental Klitoris" directly challenges censorship. A journalist, Sipahi initially wanted the project to be a radio show, but she realized that she would not be able to use anatomical terms like “penis” or “vulva” on the air. The streaming music and podcast platform Spotify represented an alternative for discussing sexuality without having to self-censor.

Yet even these relatively free spaces are under attack. In May 2021, Turkey’s media watchdog RTUK called on Spotify to “regulate its content” in accordance with local guidelines. In October 2020, Spotify followed Netflix and Twitter in applying for a license to continue operating in the country. Under Turkey’s social media regulations, licensed foreign companies can be asked to remove content that RTUK deems inappropriate.

Thus far, Spotify content remains uncensored and Sipahi can produce "Mental Klitoris" how she wants. Even if censorship increases, she believes there will always be other options. “If one app goes down, I’ll just move to the next one. There are always escape routes.”

According to Sipahi, the conversation on sexuality is finally changing in Turkey thanks to social media. She lists a podcast project on sex-positive parenting by sexual wellness expert Rayka Kumru, the "Umarim Annem Dinlemez" podcast offering frank discussions of women’s lives, and the queer/sex-positive Instagram page "Biricikseksuel."

Under growing conservatism and repression, women and LGBTQI+ people in Turkey face intense challenges. Yet Sipahi still sees a reason for hope.

“Despite the political pressure we face, this is one of the most progressive periods in terms of the topics that are finally being talked about openly,” she said.

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/turkish-sexologists-attract-following-social-media#ixzz70ORkBGag

UN rights expert says Israeli settlements a 'war crime'

Israel blasted the report as “the latest one-sided and biased report against Israel."

The UN special rapporteur on Palestine, Michael Lynk, delivers a video message on May 18, 2018, in Geneva, during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to discuss "the deteriorating human rights situation" in the Palestinian territories, after Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians along the Gaza border. - FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Al-Monitor Staff
July 9, 2021


A top human rights expert for the United Nations called Friday on the international community to designate the establishment of Israeli settlements as a war crime.

On Friday, Michael Lynk, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, called the settlements “the engine of Israel’s 54-year-old occupation, the longest in the modern world.”

“In my report, I conclude that the Israeli settlements do amount to a war crime,” Lynk said, adding that they violate the Rome Statute’s ban on transferring parts of a civilian population into an occupied territory.

In a statement provided to Reuters, Israel’s UN mission in Geneva dismissed the report as “the latest one-sided and biased report against Israel” and accused Lynk of ignoring rights abuses by the Palestinians.

The Palestinians envision the West Bank as part of a future state, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The UN says more than 680,000 settlers now live in nearly 300 settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Most of the international community views the settlements as violating international law and undermining the prospects for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"The time for criticism of the Israeli settlements has passed,” said Lynk, who is a Canadian academic. “A new approach grounded in international law is the only path to a just end to this perpetual occupation.”

In March, the International Criminal Court announced an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel in the Palestinian territories, part of which will focus on settlement expansion in the West Bank. Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the court, and has denounced the probe.

On Thursday, Israel’s highest court upheld a controversial nation-state law that defines settlements as “a national value” and Israel as the home of the Jewish people. Critics of the law say it discriminates against Israel’s Arab citizens.

MORE FROM A

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/un-rights-expert-says-israeli-settlements-war-crime#ixzz70ORNBiY6

Palestinian vaccine-gate investigation report out

The independent report about the deal between the Palestinian government and Israel that led to the PA's receipt of expired vaccines has been finalized and made public with leads on incompetence and oversight.

A worker unloads a refrigerated truck carrying the first delivery of the coronavirus vaccine via the United Nations Covax program, to be kept at the Palestinian Authority's storage facility in Nablus, West Bank, March 17, 2021. - Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images

Daoud Kuttab
@daoudkuttab
July 9, 2021

An independent investigation committee charged with examining the modalities of a botched Palestinian-Israeli agreement to provide Palestinians with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has produced a scathing report that reflects incompetence by the Palestinian Health Ministry and government officials.

The committee headed by Ammar Dwaik, CEO of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, and his team of professionals presented Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh with a 30-page 7-annex report that detailed the problem and offered concrete recommendations.

According to the report, the state of Palestine had secured an excellent agreement with Pfizer signed in April and approved by the Palestinian Cabinet: The agreement provided over 4 million shots of the needed vaccines for a very low cost of $6.75 per shot.

However, because the delivery dates of the different tranches of the vaccine were not immediate, an offer was made to take some of the unused Pfizer vaccines from Israel, which would have provided a quicker availability of the badly needed vaccine.

Israel dragged its feet with providing an agreement that was given to the Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila to sign on June 17, with the vaccines being made available the next day. Unlike the original Pfizer contract, the agreement with the Israelis was totally skewed to the Israelis. The minister signed it with the hope of administering the vaccines as soon as possible. The following morning, the first batch of the vaccine was delivered four hours late thawed to around 2-9 degrees Celsius, instead of the -70 degrees Celsius as required, and without the data logger. After reviewing it and due to the numerous Israeli violations of a signed agreement, they returned the vaccines to the Israelis.

The report that provided specific and technical details of the above called on the government to further investigate if any violations or criminal acts were committed. Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem told Al-Monitor that the government “will take all needed actions against anyone who is proven to have failed in carrying out their duties or were negligent when receiving the vaccines.”

Ammar Dwaik, head of the committee, told Al-Monitor that all Palestinian government officials and agencies were cooperative with the investigative committee and provided all needed documents. "The report is objective and placed everything in its proper perspective," he said.

But Dwaik was concerned about the lack of serious follow-up by the Palestinian government. He noted, “The official media was totally silent on the report and the prime minister has not acted yet in terms of beginning to implement the recommendations.”

The daily Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam newspapers ran the report of the investigation on their front pages, but the Wafa news agency, the government-owned Al-Hayyat al Jadida and both the voice of Palestine and Palestine TV ignored the entire story.

The American Axios media outlet said in a report from Tel Aviv that Netanyahu was behind the delay in the transfer of the vaccine to the Palestinians. “Bennett quickly approved a vaccine deal with the Palestinian Authority [PA] that Netanyahu had held up for months. He was disappointed when the deal collapsed, Israeli officials say, because he had seen a positive first step in relations.”

Bassem Khoury, CEO of a pharmaceutical company and a member of the investigative committee, told Al-Monitor that there is a huge gap between the Pfizer deal and the Israeli one. He said, “We were so impressed with the deal with Pfizer that was carried out with lots of input and finally approved by the Cabinet and the last-minute biased deal that the minister signed at the last moment. It leaves many questions still unanswered of why the agreement with the Israelis was not presented to the usual legal and other consultants and got the approval of the Cabinet.”

Khoury, a former Palestinian Cabinet minister in the Fayyad government, said the Israelis' irregularities were very stark. “Imagine they brought the first shipment that had the words Ofer camp [a reference to an Israeli prison where Palestinians are held] on them, which is a violation of the agreement that requires the sender’s name on the packages to match what is in the contract.”

Khoury said that everything was rushed in a way that violated the normal very careful process that exists in the Ministry of Health. Khoury revealed that at least one Ministry of Health official recommended that the deal with the Israelis should not be signed in the way it was written. Among other things, the Israeli-drafted agreement removes any responsibility from Israel and considers only the Tel Aviv courts as the legal reference of the agreement. But for Khoury the biggest violation was the absence of the data logger. “Every batch is supposed to have an acknowledgment of the temperature that the batch is at. We received thawed vaccines that were not even documented in the mandated data logger.”

The investigative report clearly states that the prime minister, the Cabinet and the Civil Coordination Authority are ultimately responsible, as they should have scrutinized the deal with Israel. Since the deal was an external agreement with Israel signed on behalf of the PA, it is, therefore, a collective responsibility. The routine procedure is that the minister of health should have been barred from signing international deals without prior scrutiny and approval.

While the investigative report is informative, thoroughly researched and well assembled with all necessary documentation, it leaves a number of crucial questions as to what was the reason for the pressure that was placed on the Palestinian minister of health to sign her name to an international document that should have gone through the Cabinet and was not shared with anyone. The process was totally lacking in any transparency both within the government and with the public at large, and in this sense, everyone including the prime minister is responsible for what had happened — and not just the minister of health.

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/07/palestinian-vaccine-gate-investigation-report-out#ixzz70OQxvzED