In the news
Kris Kristofferson

Gaza plan likened to Nazi camps, sparks condemnation and political storm
The Jerusalem Post, July 10, 2025

Israel Wants to Build the Most Moral Concentration Camp in the World
Editorial, Haaretz, July 10, 2025

At least 23, including eight children, killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza
AFP, Al Arabiya, July 10, 2025

Israeli soldier killed during attempted Hamas abduction in southern Gaza, IDF says
AFP, Emanuel Fabian, Lazar Berman, Jacob Magid, The Times of Israel, July 10, 2025

The Jewish State Is Building a Ghetto
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, July 10, 2025

PKK disarmament expected to take months to complete
Iraqi News, July 10, 2025

Mahmoud Abbas insists US includes PA in Gaza ceasefire negotiations – report
The Jerusalem Post, July 10, 2025

Rafah, Gaza: Unrelenting tide of injuries in last fully operational hospital
The Jordan Times, July 9, 2025

Netanyahu’s Victory Is Israel’s Loss
Mairav Zonszein, The New York Times, July 9, 2025

Trump is Israel’s last chance to stop ‘Vietnamization’ of Gaza war
Nadav Eyal, YNet News, July 9, 2025

Five Israelis Who Refuse to Fight in Gaza: ‘This War Had Crossed Every Moral, Security and Ethical Boundary’
Yahel Gazit, Haaretz, July 9, 2025

At least 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza: Civil defense
AFP, Al Arabiya, July 9, 2025

Gaza aid workers overwhelmed by ‘mass casualty incidents’ at food distribution sites
Jason Burke, The Guardian, July 9, 2025

While Israel and Iran Swapped Missiles, Palestinians and Israelis Talked Peace in Paris
Yonatan Zeigen, Haaretz, July 9, 2025

US said to tell mediators it won’t let Israel resume Gaza war, as optimism for deal swirls
Jacob Magid, The Times of Israel, July 9, 2025

Trump holds fresh talks with Netanyahu to end Gaza ‘tragedy’
AFP, France 24, July 9, 2025

Israeli troops in West Bank push Palestinians from their homes
Al Arabiya, July 9, 2025

France: US overstated Iran strike impact, nuclear program only set back by months
Reuters, YNet News, July 8, 2025

Israeli officials claim 80-90% of Gaza deal settled, but core issue of ending war unresolved
Nava Freiberg, Lazar Berman, The Times of Israel, July 8, 2025

Trump and Netanyahu Meet Amid Gaza Cease-Fire Negotiations
The New York Times, July 8, 2025

Gazans reject Trump’s displacement plan despite destruction: ‘This is our land’
Reuters, The Times of Israel, July 8, 2025

Israeli defence minister plans to move Gaza’s population to camp in Rafah
Hamas used sexual violence as part of ‘genocidal strategy’, Israeli experts say
Ione Wells, David Gritten, BBC, July 8, 2025

Wartime innovation increases Israeli defense tech growth, drawing global attention
Reuters, Al Arabiya, July 8, 2025

Hamas timed IED blast that killed five soldiers in-between IDF air, artillery fire
Yonah Jeremy Bob, The Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2025

The road to a new Mideast passes through ending the war, will Netanyahu take it?
Nadav Eyal, YNet News, July 7, 2025

BRIC’s joint statement condemns US-Israeli attacks on Iranian soil
Garsha Vazirian, The Tehran Times, July 7, 2025

What’s at Stake as Netanyahu and Trump Meet in Washington
Aaron Boxerman, The New York Times, July 7, 2025

There Is Only One Way to End the Gaza War and Prevent Future Bloodbaths
Dahlia Scheindlin, Haaretz, June 26/July 7, 2025

On the radio and online, Palestinians keep up with Israel’s roadblocks in the West Bank
The Jordan Times, July 7, 2025

Palestinians fear razing of villages in West Bank, as settlers circle their homes
William Christou, Quique Kierszenbaum, The Guardian, July 7, 2025

A look at Israel’s strategy to Balkanize Iran and why it will fail
Xavier Villar, The Tehran Times, July 7, 2025

Why Hamas can keep fighting without Iran, and what that means for Israel
Daniel Freedman, The Jerusalem Post, July 6, 2025

Israel’s Deadly Assault on Iran Prison Incites Fury, Even Among Dissidents
Farnaz Fassihi, Parin Behrooz, Leily Nikounazar, The New York Times, July 6, 2025

Report: Iranian missiles hit 5 Israeli military sites during 12-Day War
YNet News, July 6, 2025

Hamas security officer says group has lost control over most of Gaza
Rushdi Abualouf, BBC, July 6, 2025

‘Now I Understand Why Israel Is Denying Journalists Access to the Appalling Scene in Gaza’
Netta Ahituv, Haaretz, July 5, 2025

Hamas responds ‘positively’ to truce offer, says it’s ready to start proximity talks
Jacob Magid, The Times of Israel, July 5, 2025

‘They’re skin and bones’: doctors in Gaza warn babies at risk of death from lack of formula
William Christou, Malak A Tantesh, The Guardian, July 5, 2025

Thousands rally for hostages with cabinet set to discuss emerging Gaza truce
The Times of Israel, July 5, 2025

Has Gaza’s death toll reached 100,000?
L’Orient Today, July 5, 2025

Dalai Lama says he hopes to live for another 40 years
Al Arabiya, July 5, 2025

Freed hostage Ofer Calderon recounts trauma of learning 2 children also captive in Gaza
The Times of Israel, July 5, 2025

Egypt strives to reach ‘final formula’ for Gaza ceasefire as Hamas submits ‘positive response’
Egypt Today, July 4, 2025

Eternal War: Israel Is Marching Straight Into the Trap of ‘Seizing’ Gaza
Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz, July 4, 2025

As sides await Hamas response to truce deal, Trump said to offer personal pledge to end war
Nava Freiberg, Lazar Berman, The Times of Israel, July 4, 2025

A ceasefire in Gaza appears to be close. Here’s why it could happen now
Jason Burke, The Guardian, July 4, 2025

IDF says 2 soldiers killed in separate incidents in Gaza as toll mounts
Stav Levaton, The Times of Israel, July 4, 2025

Hamas Says It Is Ready to Negotiate Truce Proposal
Adam Rasgon, Ephrat Livni, The New York Times, July 4, 2025

‘We’re not the same people anymore’ What Israelis don’t want to hear after months of fighting in Gaza
Tom Levinson, Haaretz, July 3, 2025

Hamas said happy with US guarantee on talks to end Gaza war as ceasefire momentum grows
Nurit Yohanan, Stav Levaton, The Times of Israel, July 3, 2025

Gaza’s leading cardiologist Marwan al-Sultan killed in Israeli strike
Clémentine Mariuzzo, L’Orient Today, July 3, 2025

Victims of Israeli Strike on Seaside Café: A Journalist, a Star Soccer Player and Gaza’s Youngest Female Boxer
Nagham Zbeedat, Haaretz, July 3, 2025

Where Do Israel-Hamas Truce Negotiations Stand?
Adam Rasgon, Natan Odenheimer, The New York Times, July 3, 2025

Israel steps up deadly bombardment of Gaza before ceasefire talks
Jason Burke, The Guardian, July 3, 2025

UN chief ‘appalled’ by worsening Gaza crisis as civilians face displacement, aid blockades
UN News, July 3, 2025

Anger, protests, tears and courtesy as Netanyahu finally visits Nir Oz, worst-hit Oct. 7 kibbutz
Michael Horovitz, The Times of Israel, July 3, 2025

Israeli forces storm Al Aqsa Mosque 25 times in June — Palestinian ministry
The Jordan Times, July 3, 2025

Gaza hospital director killed in Israeli strike, relative says
Mallory Moench, BBC, July 3, 2025

 I Am a Palestinian Living in Gaza. This Is My Cease-fire Proposal to Israel
Mahmoud Shehada, Haaretz, July 3, 2025

The Unseen Crisis: Childhoods shaped by conflict and poverty in the West Bank
Relief Web, July 3, 2025

Gaza death toll reaches 57,130 amid ongoing Israeli offensive
Egypt Today, July 3, 2025

Israel arms Fatah-linked militias, combatting Hamas in Gaza
YNet News, July 3, 2025

Gaza café attack kills dozens as Israelis use 230kg bomb in possible ‘war crime’: The Guardian
Egypt Today, July 3, 2025

Israel Tried to Stop Iran’s Doomsday Clock – but Ran Out of Time
Yossi Melman, Haaretz, July 2, 2025

Israel and the occupied territories: ICRC alarmed by intensification of Gaza hostilities amid decimated healthcare system
Relief Web, July 2, 2025

BBC visits heart of Tibetan resistance as showdown looms between Dalai Lama and China
Laura Bicker, BBC, July 2, 2025

‘Turns Out You Can Even Kill Cadavers’: Inside the Scientific and Financial Catastrophe Iran Left in Israel
Ruti Levy, Haaretz, July 2, 2025

Israel lost on the battlefield — and also in the diplomatic arena
The Tehran Times, July 2, 2025

Israeli military used 500lb bomb in strike on Gaza cafe, fragments reveal
Jason Burke, The Guardian, July 2, 2025

Chilling Maps Show: Iran’s Missiles Obliterated Israeli Neighborhoods
Bar Peleg, Ran Shimoni, Adi Hashmonai, Haaretz, June 30-July 1, 2025

‘Beyond anything imaginable’: dozens killed at busy Gaza seafront cafe
Witnesses describe grim aftermath of Israeli strike on busy Gaza cafe
Jason Burke, Malak A Tantesh, The Guardian, July 1, 2025

‘Massive response’ needed following Gaza conflict’s ‘horrific toll’ on children
UN News, July 1, 2025

Gaza: Families deprived of the means for survival, humanitarians warn
UN News, June 30, 2025

A shift in our stands ? For years, our sources were the mainstream Western media, from England, France, the US, and Israel, adding Al Monitor for the Palestinian angle. Until it became only too obvious that we needed Eastern sources, to balance. In May 2025 we then started scanning media from Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt. Fair enough, when you’re dealing with the Middle-East.

Begging the question: how come we didn’t open these windows before ? Did you ?

Then came the flood of lies and deception of June 2025. On all sides, from Tehran to Washington. Unsavoury festival of grotesque postures and fake news (in Tehran they claimed they had shot three Israeli F35s down… in Washington, the Boss said he would give it two weeks, and his weeks morphed into days, etc.). Sickening after a while. As Friedrich Nietzsche put it : “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”

Bringing us back to all the previous strings of blatant lies used as excuses to start war, from the Tonkin Gulf incident, back in August 1964, used to send troops to Viet-Nam, to the infamous “Weapons of Mass Destruction” hoax in 2003…

The consequence of this accelerated loss of trust in June 2025 has been that we focused increasingly on our basic coexistence identity, and opened ourselves to such sources as United Nations News, UNICEF, Relief Web (Informing Humanitarians Worldwide), and we neglected media that had fallen into propaganda, or that were too state-controlled, lacking in content, analysis (among them some Israeli, Saudi, Jordanian, Lebanese media).

On top you will find two sources from Israel : Haaretz, and The Times of Israel, followed by Egypt Today, the BBC… We don’t care what the political colour of a source is supposed to be. What matters is the quality of the investigations into reality, facts on the ground, and the relevance of prospects opened.

It will be interesting to check how it all evolves in the summer of 2025, daily.

Gaza: Families deprived of the means for survival, humanitarians warn
U N News, June 30, 2025

Enough of the War, Everywhere – Whether in Gaza, Tehran or Tel Aviv
Sheren Falah Saab, Haaretz, June 30, 2025

Defense agencies have lost control over Jewish extremists in West Bank – analysis
Yonah Jeremy Bob, The Jerusalem Post, June 30, 2025

Far Right settlers damage IDF facility worth millions, meant to protect Jewish residents – report
The Jerusalem Post, June 30, 2025

228 journalists killed since Israeli’s genocidal war on Gaza Strip
Egypt Today, June 30, 2025

Dozens said killed in Gaza; IDF admits it has killed several civilians near aid sites
Emanuel Fabian, Nurit Yohanan, Lazar Berman, Agencies, The Times of Israel, June 30, 2025

Israel was facing destruction at the hands of Iran. This is how close it came, and how it saved itself
David Horovitz, The Times of Israel, June 30, 2025

Author of ‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’: ‘The Government of Netanyahu, for Me, Doesn’t Represent the Israeli People’
Gili Izikovich, Haaretz, May 30, 2025

Israeli protestors urge action for Gaza hostages after Iran truce
Egypt Today, June 29, 2025

IDF ramps up Gaza strikes, signals new phase of war
Einav Halabi, YNet News, June 29, 2025

Israeli army orders mass evacuations in northern Gaza, says operations will intensify
Egypt Today, June 29, 2025

Smotrich responds to settler riots: IDF shooting at Jews is ‘red line’ [‘The IDF and the settlers are one and the same’]
Hagar Shezaf, Haaretz, June 29, 2025

Haifa oil refinery partly reopens after shutdown caused by deadly Iran strike
Reuters, The Times of Israel, June 29, 2025

From missiles to deals
Muhammad Abu Ruman, The Jordan Times, June 29, 2025

Iran’s judiciary says 71 killed in Israeli strike on Evin Prison
Al Arabiya, June 29, 2025

How Israel Can Overcome Iran – and Netanyahu
Ehud Barak, Haaretz, June 29, 2025

Their labs destroyed by a missile, Weizmann scientists publish innovative blood cancer study
Diana Bletter, The Times of Israel, June 29, 2025

A shared commitment to human dignity and the pursuit of global peace
Archbishop Giovanni dal Toso, The Jordan Times, June 28, 2025

Italy allocates €10 million to support health sector in Gaza
Egypt Today, June 28, 2025

‘Make a brave decision’: Thousands in Tel Aviv demand PM seal Gaza hostage release deal
Noam Lehmann, The Times of Israel, June 28, 2025

Qatar urges Israel, Hamas to seize ‘window of opportunity’ for Gaza truce
AFP, The Jordan Times, June 28, 2025

 Hundreds of U.S. Rabbis, Jewish Celebrities Back Gaza Food Aid Campaign [‘Unbearingly heartbreaking’]
Etan Nechin, Haaretz, June 27, 2025

Guterres calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire as humanitarian crisis reaches ‘horrific proportions’
U N News, June 27, 2025

Netanyahu must use displayed courage vis-à-vis Iran in Gaza war – opinion
Yaakov Katz, The Jerusalem Post, June 27, 2025

 She Protested for the Israeli Hostages Every Day. She Won’t Get to See Them Return : Naomi Shaanan
Eden Solomon, Haaretz, June 26, 2025

Israel’s War in Gaza Has Killed Over 17,000 Children. These Are the Stories of 28 of Them
Sheren Falah Saab, Haaretz, June 26, 2025

‘Tehran is beautiful from above, I hope to visit one day’ Israeli pilot says after strike on Iran
The Jerusalem Post, June 26, 2025

‘Yes, Israel Demonstrated Its Power. But Strategically, the War in Iran Was a Mistake’
Jonathan Jacobson, Hooman Majd, Haaretz, June 26, 2025

‘Iran’s surrender’ — A claim far too big for U.S. president to utter [Khamenei’s post-war speech]
The Tehran Times, June 26, 2025

Khamenei declares victory over Israel, says US strikes on nuclear sites ‘failed to achieve anything important’
Egypt Today, June 26, 2025

100,000 Dead: What We Know About Gaza’s True Death Toll [official figures : over 17,000 children, 9,000 women killed]
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, June 26, 2025

The Lethal Risk of Seeking Food in Gaza
Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, Adam Rasgon, The New York Times, June 26, 2025

Netanyahu Halts North Gaza Aid After Smotrich Threatens to Quit Coalition Over Alleged Hamas Access
Yaniv Kubovich, Noa Shpigel, Jonathan Liss, Nir Hasson, Haaretz, June 26, 2025

After a month, deadly shootings near Gaza aid sites still a near-daily menace
Nurit Yohanan, Jacob Magid, The Times of Israel, June 26, 2025

Credit Where It’s Due: Netanyahu Ended the Israel-Iran War When Trump Ordered Him To
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, June 26, 2025

Israeli Jews Think That Attacking a Hospital Is a War Crime – Unless the IDF Does It
Ahmad Tibi, Haaretz, June 25, 2025

UN condemns Gaza aid ‘death trap’ as dozens reported killed by Israeli fire
Yolande Knell, BBC, June 25, 2025

Trump: After Iran truce breach, 52 Israeli jets were en route before strike was aborted
YNet News, June 25, 2025

‘Fuel for Gaza is a matter of life and death,’ UN warns
U N News, June 25, 2025

How global citizens challenge the official story on Israeli strikes in Iran
Faramarz Kouhpayeh, The Tehran Times, June 25, 2025

Expert says 70% of Israelis show trauma symptoms amid ongoing conflict
Maayan Hoffman, YNet News, June 25, 2025

Israel-Iran War: Israelis Now Understand What It’s Like to Have Ton-and-a-half Bombs Dropped on Their Homes
Sheren Falah Saab, Haaretz, June 24, 2025

US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites only set back program by months, Pentagon report says
Hugo Lowell, BBC, June 24, 2025

War shatters illusions on both sides of the October 7 line
Michael Milshtein, YNet News, June 24, 2025

‘Stop This Eternal War’: Hostage Families Demand Israel-Iran Truce to Include Gaza Deal
Bar Peleg, Yael Freidson, Haaretz, June 24, 2025

Poll underscores deep concern among US public over potential escalation with Iran
Reuters, The Times of Israel, June 24, 2025

Israel Will Always Have Gaza
Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz, June 24, 2025

Likud MKs invoke ‘hanging,’ ‘firing squad’ in hearing on impeaching Arab lawmaker
Sam Sokol, The Times of Israel, June 24, 2025

Trump is not interested in listening to US experts on Iran’s nuclear program
James Risen, The Guardian, June 24, 2025

44 said killed near Gaza aid sites; UN condemns ‘weaponization’ of food distribution
Agencies, The Times of Israel, June 24, 2025

Did Trump have the legal authority to strike Iran?
Jake Horton, Lucy Gilder, BBC, June 24, 2025

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe denounces Israeli attack on Iran’s Evin prison
Patrick Wintour, The Guardian, June 24, 2025

UN: Gaza faces “death sentence”
Wesam Bahrani, The Tehran Times, June 24, 2025

Trump thanks Iran for early notice on Qatar attack, says it helped prevent casualties
Al Arabiya, June 24, 2025

Israel Is Waging War on Iran, While the IDF Is Waging Spin on the Public
Yossi Melman, Haaretz, June 23, 2025

White House Faces Risk of Economic Fallout From Iran Strike
Tony Romm, The New York Times, June 23, 2025

Rafael Grossi’s role in provoking war on Iran
Soheila Zarfam, The Tehran Times, June 23, 2025

Freedom of the Press in Israel Is Under Attack Under the Guise of War With Iran
Haaretz Editorial, June 23, 2025

EU may take action against Israel if conditions in Gaza do not improve
Jennifer Rankin, The Guardian, June 23, 2025

Israel’s Orange Helmets: The Rescue Teams Facing Apocalyptic Sights Caused by Iran
Entire Neighborhoods Gone: The Israeli Rescue Teams Facing Apocalyptic Sights Caused by Iran
Bar Peleg, Haaretz, June 23, 2025

86 wounded by Iranian missile attacks on Israel after US strikes 3 Iran nuclear sites
Emanuel Fabian, Diana Bletter, Naomi Lanzkron, The Times of Israel, June 22, 2025

Thousands of Iranians and Israelis Sign Joint Letter Demanding a Cease-fire
Etan Nechin, Haaretz, June 22, 2025

Trump takes huge gamble putting US at heart of Iran-Israel conflict
BBC, June 22, 2025 [“This is how wars start“]

With Military Strike His Predecessors Avoided, Trump Takes a Huge Gamble
David E. Sanger, The New York Times, June 22, 2025

‘Much More Than Ayatollahs and Nukes’: What You Need to Learn to Understand Iran
Moshe Gilad, Haaretz, June 22, 2025

Turkey says Israel leading Middle East to ‘total disaster’
Al Arabiya, June 21, 2025

China’s vision for peace: De-escalating the Iran-Israel conflict
Jianlu Bi, The Tehran Times, June 21, 2025

32 nations but only one man matters – Nato’s summit is all about Trump
Jonathan Beale, BBC, June 21, 2025

Arab FMs condemn Israeli aggression on Iran, urge de-escalation and return to diplomacy
Egypt Today, June 21, 2025

Over 40 Wounded in Northern Israeli City of Haifa After 20 Iranian Missiles Fired
Haaretz, June 21, 2025

U.S. Military Is Pulled Back Into Middle East Wars
Helene Cooper, The New York Times, June 21, 2025

Iran files complaint against Grossi with UN Security Council
The Tehran Times, June 21, 2025

Trump and the Great Wait for Israelis and Iranians
Jess Bidgood, Patrick Kingsley, The New York Times, June 21, 2025

UN Warns of Water Shortage; Reports: Israeli Forces Kill 202 in Gaza in Last 48 Hours
Reuters, Haaretz, June 21, 2025

UAE warns against prolonged Iran–Israel war
Al Arabiya, June 21, 2025

Its country at war with Israel, Iran’s Jewish community walks a delicate tightrope
Zev Stub, The Times of Israel, June 20, 2025

‘The missiles completely erased decades of research; we will need to start from scratch,’ Weizmann president says
Zeev Avrahami, YNet News, June 20, 2025

Why everything Israelis think they know about Iran is wrong
Orly Noy, +972, June 20, 2025

Fear and shock in Iran: ‘I’m constantly afraid a missile might hit my home’
Jedidajah Otte, The Guardian, June 20, 2025

Science minister writes letter to UNESCO chief over assassination of Iranian scientists
Hossein Simaei-Sarraf, The Tehran Times, June 20, 2025

Gaza faces a man-made drought as water systems collapse, UNICEF says
The Jerusalem Post, June 20, 2025

‘The Hunger Games’: Inside Israel’s aid death traps for starving Gazans
Ahmed Ahmed, Ibtisam Mahdi, +972, June 20, 2025

Grand Imam of Al-Azhar posts in Persian for the first time to condemn Zionist aggression against Iran
Egypt Today, June 20, 2025

The Kirya: The Israeli army’s nerve center in the heart of Tel Aviv
Amelia Hankins, L’Orient Today, June 20, 2025

Analysis: How long can Israel and Iran fight, and how is it impacting US stockpiles?
Al Arabiya, June 19, 2025

Egypt’s Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: True humanity cannot be led by arms trade and economies of destruction
Egypt Today, June 19, 2025

Gaza rescuers say Israeli fire kills 72
The Jordan Times, June 19, 2025

The CIA’s Iran coup: Why Trump may fear regime change in Tehran
Zeev Avrahami, YNet News, June 19, 2025

With Iran war as pretext, Israel suffocates the West Bank
Shatha Yaish, +972, June 19, 2025

Trump approves Iran attack plan but has not made final decision, reports say
Graeme Baker, Helen Sullivan, BBC, June 19, 2025

From heart tissue to DNA samples, Weizmann scientists mourn work vaporized in Iran attack
Rossella Tercatin, The Times of Israel, June 19, 2025

Reverse Exodus? The Israelis and Foreigners Escaping the War Through Egypt
Shany Littman, Haaretz, June 19, 2025

Iran nuclear chief: We will pursue legal action against Grossi for ‘inaction’ after Israeli strikes 
The Tehran Times, June 19, 2025

A U.S. War With Iran Would Be a Catastrophe / How to not be dragged into this war
Rosemary Kelanic, The New York Times, June 18, 2025

Israel’s attack has exposed Iran’s lack of firepower – but conflict could yet turn in Tehran’s favour
Dan Sabbagh, The Guardian, June 19, 2025

Regime Change: Why Iranians Warn Israel’s Fantasy Could Turn to Nightmare
Dahlia Scheindlin, Haaretz, June 18, 2025

Israeli Strikes Kill Civilians Across Iran
Farnaz Fassihi, Leily Nikounazar, Parin Behrooz, The New York Times, June 18, 2025

A Fatal Failure: Israel’s Gaza Aid Policy Leaves Dozens Killed Daily as They Seek Food
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, June 18, 2025

Neglect of shelters in Arab towns a ‘grave failure that puts lives at risk,’ report warns
Hila Tsion, YNet News, June 18, 2025

Egypt’s UN Envoy: What happens in Gaza stains int’l community
Egypt Today, June 18, 2025

MK Tibi equates Beersheba hospital strike with hospitals hit in Gaza fighting
Sam Sokol, The Times of Israel, June 18, 2025

Who’s steering the ship? Navigating America’s conflicted approach in the Middle East
Ramzy Baroud, The Jordan Times, June 18, 2025

The farcical March to Gaza debacle shows it’s time the woke wake up – comment
Mathilda Heller, The Jerusalem Post, June 18, 2025

‘What are these wars for?’: Arab Israeli city of Tamra shattered by Iran strike
AFP, The Times of Israel, June 17, 2025

‘What if the strikes hit us on the highway?’: Thousands flee Tehran amid bombardment
William Christou, Deepa Parent, The Guardian, June 17, 2025

‘Don’t let beautiful Tehran become Gaza’: Iranians tell of shock and confusion
Caroline Hawley, BBC, June 17, 2025

Ancient Iranian Jewish community publicly backs Tehran’s call for ‘crushing’ reply
The Jerusalem Post, June 17, 2025

Hamas officials claim IDF killed at least 50 people near aid site; army checking
Nurit Yohanan, Emanuel Fabian, The Times of Israel, June 17, 2025

How did Israel fall into its own self-developed trap?
Sondoss Al Asaad, Tehran Times, June 17, 2025

Days before the Iran strike: Trump received a briefing and gave green light for preemptive attack
YNet News, June 16, 2025

Iranian president says Tehran does not seek nuclear weapons
Reuters, June 16, 2025

 No War With Iran Will Erase Israel’s Crimes in Gaza. Don’t Get Distracted
Michael Sfard, Haaretz, June 16, 2025

At least 37 Palestinians killed in Gaza food site shooting, local authorities say
Jason Burke, The Guardian, June 16, 2025

Israel-Iran: ‘This conflict poses a dire threat to the very foundations of human civilization’
Shirin Ebadi, Narges Mohammadi…, Le Monde, June 16, 2025

‘A bloodbath’: doctors describe carnage at Iran’s hospitals after Israeli strikes
William Christou, Deepa Parent, The Guardian, June 16, 2025

Iranian Nobel laureates, Cannes winner urge halt to Iran-Israel conflict
Iraqi News, June 16, 2025

Israel’s Gains in Iran Are Noteworthy, but the Nuclear Threat Still Looms Near
Ehud Barak, Haaretz, June 16, 2025

Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons: Iranian President
Al Arabiya, June 16, 2025

Interceptions Don’t Come Cheap: Iran’s Missile Barrage Spikes Israel’s Air Defense Costs
Hagai Amit, Haaretz, June 16, 2025

ET report: What roles Egypt played to support Palestinians in their fight for justice, freedom
Egypt Today, June 16, 2025

Netanyahu admits Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was Israeli initiative
Lazar Berman, Stav Levaton, The Times of Israel, June 16, 2025

Iranian strike on Haifa oil refinery plant kills three
Amichai Stein, The Jerusalem Post, June 16, 2025

Iranian president reiterates country’s stance against developing nuclear weapons
Tass Com, June 16, 2025

Projections of Thousands of Dead Civilians Prove Israeli Lives Don’t Matter to Netanyahu
Rogel Alpher; Haaretz, June 16, 2025

• Egypt’s Sisi: Ongoing Israeli military approach will inflict grave harm on peoples of the region, with no exception
  Egypt Today, June 15, 2025

From Deterrence to Desperation: Has Israel Already Lost to Iran in the War for Our Safety?
Eitay Mack, Haaretz, June 15, 2025

Iranian missile barrage sparks fires in Haifa, Kiryat Gat; eight people hurt
Emanuel Fabian, Nurit Yohanan, The Times of Israel, June 15, 2025

From Tehran to Tel Aviv, Bombs Fall. But What Netanyahu Calls Victory Feels Like Collapse
Etan Nechin, Haaretz, June 14, 2025

In Pictures: Aftermath of Iran’s retaliatory missile attacks near Tel Aviv |Rishon Le Zion]
BBC, June 14, 2025

Photos show heavy destruction in Ramat Gan after overnight missile strikes [Ramat Gan]
The Times of Israel, June 14, 2025

Iranian Media: 78 Killed, Over 200 Wounded in Israeli Strikes on Tehran
Haaretz, June 13, 2025

Security Council meets in emergency session over Iran-Israel conflict, amid strikes and counterstrikes
UN News, June 13, 2025

Shahed 129, Shahed 136: How Iran’s drones threaten Israel
The Jerusalem Post, June 13, 2025

Global oil prices soar after Israel attacks Iran
Peter Hoskins, BBC, June 13, 2025

Ben Gurion Airport evacuated, schools to remain closed as Israel braces for Iranian retaliation
YNet News, June 13, 2025

Live Updates: Israel Wipes Out Iran’s Top Military Chain of Command
The New York Times, June 13, 2025

Humanitarians must be able to deliver aid in Gaza, UN agencies insist
UN News, June 13, 2025

UN says Gaza humanitarian foundation has failed in its mission
Al Arabiya, June 13, 2025

 UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopts resolution demanding immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire [149/19 abst./12 against : US, Israel, Argentina, Hungary, Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu, Micro…]
UN News, June 12, 2025

Egypt deports foreign nationals arriving for march to Gaza
Egypt Detains Hundreds of Activists Planning to Join Global March to Gaza
Haaretz, June 12, 2025

Israeli forces kill at least 60 Palestinians seeking food in Gaza, health officials say
Julian Borger, The Guardian, June 12, 2025

US pulls staff from embassies in Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain
Iraqi News, June 12, 2025

Rafah Is Gone. Razed to the Ground. And It’s Not the Only City Wiped Out by the Israeli Army
Nir Hasson, Yarden Michaeli, Avi Scharf, Haaretz, June 12, 2025

Statement on Gaza by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Relief Web, June 12, 2025

Gaza death toll tops 55,000 as calls grow for ceasefire and accountability
Salam Fayyad, Yossi Kuperwasser, Denis Macshane, Al Arabiya, June 11, 2025

Gaza-bound land convoy arrives in Libya, headed to Rafah to defy Israel’s aid blockade
Agencies, The Times of Israel, June 11, 2027

An Israeli Soldier Killed a Palestinian Asleep in His Bed. His Fellow Troops Asked: ‘Are You Crazy?’
Weeks Later, No One Can Explain Why Israeli Troops Killed Yet Another Unarmed Palestinian Boy
Alex Levac & Gideon Levy, Haaretz, June 11 / March 7, 2025

Israeli army withdraws from Nablus after brutal military operation in West Bank city
Qais Abu Samra, Betul Yilmaz, Anadolu Ajansy, June 11, 2025

Boy who survived Gaza strike that killed his dad and 9 siblings goes to Italy for care
AFP, Emanuel Fabian, The Times of Israel, June 11, 2025

Foreign ministry stresses need to comply with Gaza border visit regulations
Egypt Today, June 11, 2025

‘It’s a Disaster’: Gazans Describe Chaos, Violence at Food Aid Distribution Sites
Sheren Falah Saab, Liza Rozovsky, Rawan Suleiman, Haaretz, June 11, 2025

Video shows crowds in Gaza scale fence to rush for aid
BBC, June 11, 2025

Trump administration urges other countries to skip UN conference on Israel-Gaza war
Reuters, The Guardian, June 11, 2025

IDF: 2 Palestinians killed, 4 troops injured during attempt to snatch soldier’s gun in West Bank
Emanuel Fabian, The Times of Israel, June 10, 2025

Two Palestinians killed as Israeli forces storm West Bank city
France24, June 10, 2025

IDF is besieging Nablus’ old city, Palestinian sources call it the largest Israeli operation in over two decades
Jack Khoury, Haaretz, June 10, 2025

More Israelis want the war to end – driven by fears for hotstages, rather than Gaza
Lucy Williamson, BBC, June 10, 2025

Independent UN commission says attacks on Gaza’s schools, religious sites amount to crimes against humanity
AFP, The Times of Israel, June 10, 2025

UK sanctions far-right Israeli ministers over Gaza comments
James Landale, Thomas Mackintosh, BBC, June 10, 2025

Palestinian President Abbas says supports demilitarization of Hamas
AFP, Al Arabiya, June 10, 2025

Abbas tells Macron he supports demilitarization of Hamas, commits to holding PA elections within year
AFP, The Times of Israel, June 10, 2025

Trump on Gaza flotilla: ‘Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg’
The Jerusalem Post, June 10, 2025

Gaza: Search for food puts lives on the line
UN News, June 9, 2025

Top Israeli Military Analyst Has Horrifying Vision of Eternal War in Gaza
Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz, June 9, 2025

There’s No Way to ‘Explain’ This War Away
Hagai El-Ad, Haaretz, June 9, 2025

Gaza: Search for food puts lives on the line
U N News, June 9, 2025

Death toll in Gaza rises to 54,927 martyrs since beginning of war
Egypt Today, June 9, 2025

Statement from the Administrator on the Killing of UNDP Staff Member and his Family in Gaza
Achim Steiner, ReliefWeb, June 7, 2025

The Occupation Is Destroying Israel From Within, and Liberals Can’t Ignore It Anymore
Or Asher, Haaretz, June 7, 2025

Open letter from media and press freedom organizations on Gaza access
ReliefWeb, June 6, 2025

Act now to save lives in Gaza, ICRC head urges world leaders
BBC, June 6, 2025

The Gaza Starvation Experiment
ReliefWeb, June 6, 2025

Gaza rescuers say 37 killed in Israel attacks, as aid group reopens centres
AFP, The Jordan Times, June 6, 2025

FRANCE 24, RFI among 130 press groups calling for ‘immediate’ access to Gaza, journalist protection
France24, June 5, 2025

Number of aid workers killed in Gaza conflict, highest in UN history: Guterres
UN News, June 5, 2025

Mossad’s Former Chief Calls the War in Gaza ‘Useless’
Hana Rosin, The Atlantic, June 5, 2025

Citizen journalists are the eyes of Gaza’s people, says war reporter
UN News, June 4, 2025

Israel no longer has international legitimacy to conduct the war
Itamar Eichner, YNet News, June 2, 2025

Gaza doctor who lost nine children in Israeli airstrike dies from wounds in same attack
Lorenzo Tondo, Malak A Tantesh , The Guardian, June 1, 2025

PEACE LINES MESSAGERIES DE LA PAIX www.peacelines.org peacelines@gmail.com adresse postale pour tout envoi : Lignière, 51310, Joiselle

Lettre de Liaison n° 139

5 mai 2025

Brèves Avant de Partir

2 mai : « Purée ! je ne sais plus lire ! » s’exclame un ami kiné du Grand-Est, après réception de nos deux dernières Lettres. Il précise : « Je me rends compte, face à des pages, je ne comprends pas ce que je lis, d’entrée. Il faut que je reprenne, et là, ça revient… ça imprègne bien… Il faut que je me remette à lire !! »

Je lui demande sur quoi il lit : sur petit écran, 6 cm sur une douzaine, comme tout-le-monde.

Format d’un livre de poche : 11 cm / 18 cm. Feuille standard : 21 cm / 29 cm. Le Point : 20 cm / 26 cm. Format d’écran de cet ordinateur : 30 cm / 50 cm. Le Monde Diplo : 32 cm / 46.

Dernière Lettre de Liaison : 3.400 mots sur 6 pages 21/29. Vingt mille signes, espaces compris. 16.800 caractères.

Différence entre signe et caractère ? Un caractère, c’est une lettre ou un signe de ponctuation. Le signe, c’est l’unité de base de tout texte, y compris les caractères et les espaces entre les mots.

Dans Skype, le nombre maximum de caractères pour sms est de 70. Les SMS, on le sait, sont globalement limités à 160 caractères.

Les deux photos d’en-tête. Elles ont été prises dans la mosquée historique de Naplouse, An-Nasser. Dévastée voici deux mois, dans la nuit du 6 au 7 mars, le huitième jour du Ramadan, par un incendie criminel : une patrouille de soldats l’a allumé, en jetant tous les livres de prière, tous les corans, sur les tapis et en y mettant le feu.

An-Nasser, c’est un peu le Sacré Cœur palestinien. Nous contons son histoire sur notre site :

https://messageriesdelapaix.org/index.php/2025/04/14/conversation-with-the-heart-of-nablus/

Naplouse, une des plus vieilles villes du monde, la couronne de Cisjordanie. An-Nasser, sa perle. Edifiée comme mosquée en 638, dans le cadre de l’islamisation de la ville par les conquérants religieux venus d’Arabie après la mort de Mahomet, reconstruite en tant qu’église byzantine, avec un dôme rouge, par les Templiers durant leur occupation de la Palestine, au début du douzième siècle. Redevenue mosquée à la fin du douzième siècle, après la victoire de Saladin sur les Croisés au lac de Tibériade… Le nom de Naplouse vient des Romains, qui l’ont fondée en 72, et baptisée Flavia Neapolis, Ville Nouvelle flavienne, dédiée à l’empereur Vespasien.

Pourquoi y avoir mis le feu juste avant l’aube du second vendredi de ramadan ?

Des dizaines de milliers de pèlerins, de croyants, étaient attendus sur l’Esplanade des Mosquées, à Jérusalem. Compte-tenu de l’outrage, la colère face à la profanation, ç’aurait pu être l’émeute. Remarquablement, l’énorme foule est restée calme. Le bain de sang n’a pas eu lieu.

An-Nasser se remet lentement de ses plaies. Tous les tapis ont été retirés, ce qui en restait. De nombreux volontaires sont venus, démonter les vitraux noirs de fumée, pour les laver, les reposer. Pour nettoyer la suie sur les murs, les étagères. Cet enfant de dix ans, au regard vieilli prématurément, est venu avec son petit revolver de plastique à la main. Dans l’autre main, un balai.

Sur le site, nous avons posté un raisonnement simple, et chiffré (voir le lien).

Quel est le pays au monde qui compte le plus d’armes par habitant ? Les Etats-Unis.

Quel est le pays au monde où les armes tuent le plus (autour de cinquante mille morts par an, plus de la moitié par suicide, une vingtaine de mille par homicide) ? Les Etats-Unis.

Quel est le pays au monde qui compte le plus de prisonniers derrière des barreaux ? Les Etats-Unis. Les armes sont un modèle de société américain – comme l’obésité (90 millions d’obèses)… 83 millions de personnes y possèdent au moins une arme (un adulte sur trois).

Quel est le pays au monde qui exporte le plus d’armes ? Les Etats-Unis. Avec 43% des exportations mondiales de 2020 à 2024, quatre fois plus que la France, qui se classe seconde, depuis 2022, grâce à « l’Ukraine ».

L’enfant de Naplouse aura-t-il accès à ces informations ?

Guerres à répétition, criminalité organisée : cherchez à qui profitent les crimes, la violence armée.

5 mai. Midi à sa fenêtre…

Levé à 5h. Un mail reçu me fait écho du temps qu’il fait. « Super ! Un printemps bien agréable !!! ».
Je lui réponds, « un missile est tombé hier dans la zone de l’aéroport où je dois atterrir après-demain : vols suspendus… A Gaza aucune nourriture n’est entrée depuis deux mois, c’est la famine ».

J’aurais pu ajouter aussi que les pires incendies de l’histoire d’Israël, il y a trois jours, ont coupé la route de l’aéroport à Jérusalem et dévasté toute la région autour de Neve Shalom-Wahat al Salam (le village emblématique, unique, de la coexistence israélo-palestinienne), et le monastère cistercien de Latroun en son sein, mais « trop d’infos tue l’info » disait l’autre…

Chacun voit midi à sa fenêtre… Encore ne faudrait-il pas que les dites fenêtres se réduisent, à son insu, en fenestrons… condamnés par de lourds rideaux d’indifférence et de jem’enfoutisme.

C’était fin avril : le hasard des lectures ouvertes, interconnectées, me remettait dans les pas, les pages de Victor Hugo. Ses Contemplations. Ainsi préfacées :

« Une destinée est écrite là jour à jour.
Est-ce donc la vie d’un homme ? Oui, et la vie des autres hommes aussi. Nul de nous n’a l’honneur d’avoir une vie qui soit à lui. Ma vie est la vôtre, votre vie est la mienne, vous vivez ce que je vis ; la destinée est une. Prenez donc ce miroir, et regardez-vous-y. On se plaint quelquefois des écrivains qui disent moi. Parlez-nous de nous, leur crie-t-on. Hélas ! Quand je vous parle de moi, je vous parle de vous. Comment ne le sentez-vous pas ? Ah ! insensé, qui crois que je ne suis pas toi ! »
Nos vies, et la vie des autres… Ma vie est la vôtre, la leur ; vous vivez, ils vivent dans le même monde ; nos destinées sont une. Prenez donc ce miroir, et regardez-vous y, vous m’y verrez, vous verrez, à peine plus flou, le visage de Massoud, affamé avec ses enfants, à Gaza ; le visage de Malik, 19 ans, qui m’écrit n’avoir jamais connu un seul moment de douceur dans son camp de Balata en Cisjordanie occupée ; le visage de Natan, octogénaire, doyen survivant de Nir Oz – où un habitant sur quatre fut kidnappé ou massacré le 7 octobre 2023.

Quand je vous parle d’eux, je vous parle de vous. Comment ne le sentez-vous pas ?

Premier weekend de mai. Vous aimez penser que ce qui se passe à Gaza, Nir Oz, Balata, cela ne vous regarde en rien, que c’est sans rapports avec ce que vous vivez… Mais ce gendre sexagénaire, qui s’emporte à répétition contre ses beaux-parents, ici, en France, et qui écourte brutalement avec sa femme le weekend qu’ils devaient leur consacrer – alors qu’ils sont, octogénaires avancés, l’un avec des béquilles, l’autre dans un fauteuil roulant ; tous ces couples qui se déchirent pour des vétilles…; toutes ces oppressions quotidiennes, banalisées, vous ne voyez donc pas que c’est la même barbarie qui est à l’œuvre, sourdement, et qui fait son nid, précisément, dans l’aveuglement systématique, la déshumanisation générale, la non-écoute de l’Autre, la non-concertation, le jugement permanent et son corollaire d’exclusion ?

Vous ne voyez donc pas que le mal est de même nature, en région parisienne, en Ille-et-Vilaine, en Lorraine, dans les colonies israéliennes de Cisjordanie, dans les banlieues syriennes – que c’est juste une question de degrés ?

Retour au 30 avril. La joie de donner.

Qu’est-ce qui nous rend le plus heureux, là où nous vivons ? N’est-ce pas, souvent, la qualité de certains rapports avec les autres, dans notre environnement ? Comme sur une échelle sismographique : certains rapports nous affaiblissent, nous fragilisent, nous détruisent, sur une échelle négative de 1 à 12 (pour les tremblements de terre). A l’inverse, il est des rapports qui nous enrichissent, nous comblent, nous exaltent même. On en sort réconfortés, réjouis, ravis de faire partie du même monde. Il existe un Rapport sur le Bonheur dans le Monde, réactualisé chaque année par des services de l’ONU : World Happiness Report. Une sorte de mesure du bonheur, fondée sur six critères à vocation universelle.

Dans le désordre : la liberté ; les moyens dont on dispose ; l’espérance de vie en bonne santé ; le soutien social dans l’environnement général ; la générosité ; la confiance (politique) dans les autorités, le gouvernement.

Sans surprise, les pays du Grand Nord viennent en tête : Finlande, Danemark, Islande, Suède, Hollande, Norvège… Australie, Nouvelle-Zélande sont 11^ème et 12^ème. Irlande, Belgique bivouaquent en 14^ème et 15^ème positions. L’Allemagne, le Royaume-Uni, les Etats-Unis se situent entre les 22^ème et 24^ème places. La France au 33^ème rang, l’Italie au 40^ème, le Portugal au 60^ème. En fin de liste, encore sans surprise : le Bangla Desh, le Yémen, l’Afghanistan.

Le dernier film de Wim Wenders (2023), sur l’humble vie quotidienne d’un habitant de Tokyo, Perfect Days, parle de ça, de ces simples bonheurs arrachés au laminoir. Wim Wenders, Les Ailes du Désir, Buena Vista Social Club, Le Sel de la Terre…

Alors partir, oui, partir ailleurs, vers des pays mieux lotis, si on en a le goût, la force, les possibilités.

Sinon, faire son bonheur sur place. A la Hirayama ++ (Perfect Days). Offrir des fleurs à une personne aimée… Débarquer chez un ami avec croissants et viennoiseries… dans une famille précieuse avec une belle tarte aux fruits, fine de pâte croustillante, pauvre en crème, riche en fruits… Laisser un livre utile de Thich Nhat Hanh dans une boîte aux lettres… etc. Le plus vif moment de joie du mois dernier : avoir été capable d’envoyer cinq cents euros à une famille bien connue de Gaza, qui subissent le siège abominable de l’enclave depuis deux mois, à bout… Pouvoir retirer aussi la moitié de cette somme, « de sa poche », à convertir en un millier de shekels pour cette autre famille en Cisjordanie, qui a vu la soldatesque faire intrusion chez eux, tout y dévaster, et mitrailler leur fils sans défense, dans sa chambre… Solidaires des abandonnés jamais assez. Le don, antidote à l’abandon.

On a l’impression de prêcher, quand on entre sur ce terrain-là ? Trouvez mieux.

Sur le site World Happiness Report, ils partagent une étude sociologique sur les moyens de contribuer à la hausse des indicateurs de bien-être. De sept façons :

• Prendre soin des autres. Analyse globale du bonheur et de la bonté (kindness).
• Partager des repas avec les autres, renforcer les rapports de convivialité.
• Vivre avec autrui. Comment la taille d’une maisonnée et les liens familiaux importent.
• Entretenir des rapports réguliers avec autrui, de bonne entente, de solidarité.
• Soutenir les autres. Une attitude « prosociale » réduit les morts de désespoir.
• Faire confiance aux autres : le malheur et la méfiance sociale mènent aux populismes.
• Donner aux autres : Convertir votre argent en plus de bonheur pour autrui.

Nuit du 5 au 6 mai. Demain matin, lever un peu avant 4 h, pour prendre la route, puis l’avion. Si un nouveau missile du Yémen n’a pas impacté le périmètre de l’aéroport israélien, et si les compagnies aériennes n’ont pas annulé ou reporté leurs vols, comme hier… 6 mai au matin. Comme ils compliquent tout… Vol Transavia de demain annulé. « Malheureusement aucune alternative n’est disponible à la date sélectionnée » – ni à une date ultérieure, après vérification…

C’est la troisième fois en six mois qu’un de nos billets est annulé par la compagnie aérienne (irlandaise, puis française, maintenant hollandaise) « en raison de la situation ». Cela peut relever d’un boycott d’Israël comme destination, comme d’une réaction de plus en plus craintive des voyageurs face à un pays en guerre : à deux heures du matin cette nuit, au moment de s’enregistrer en ligne, et de choisir un siège, les deux tiers des places étaient vides, et les sièges hublots, offerts à zéro euro. L’enregistrement alors s’est interrompu. Six heures après, le vol était annulé. (A Suivre)

PEACE LINES MESSAGERIES DE LA PAIX www.peacelines.org peacelines@gmail.com adresse postale : Lignière, 51310, Joiselle

 

Lettre de Liaison 138

Complément au 11 avril 2025

Lundi de Pâques. Symbole de renaissance, de retour à la vie… S’agit-il de « vouloir réveiller les foules », comme dit une amie, de la Génération Silencieuse, qui nous rappelle combien « l’individualisme est tellement ancré » ?

Les foules, on s’y perdrait. Appeler au réveil, à la sortie de l’hibernation, ce serait le moment. Pour dire quoi ? Sortir du cube, du cocon, de la routine.

Le passage, peut-être, le plus extraordinaire du dernier livre de Sylvain Tesson, Les piliers de la mer, c’est lorsqu’il se trouve sur l’Ile de Pâques, à 3.700 kilomètres de la côte africaine, et qu’il va escalader un stack de cinquante-cinq mètres, avec son fidèle compagnon, et le gardien de la mémoire de l’île des Rapa Nui, âgé de soixante-dix ans, qui n’a jamais grimpé ! On vous laisse découvrir Le domaine des dieux, pp. 41 à 48, pour les plus curieux.

Un stack ? C’est un « pilier d’érosion », « un mâchicoulis de la mer séparé de la falaise », comme l’Aiguille d’Etretat. Cinquante-cinq mètres, et descendre en rappel… à chacun son talent, chacun sa quête (pour ma part, j’en serais incapable par moi-même), mais Sylvain T. le dit bien : « S’en aller sur les pointes est la seule façon de rester joyeux. »

Ayant inventé le « stackisme », il nous confie qu’il « consiste à repousser la mélancolie en se portant aux bords du monde. On préfèrera partir plutôt que de se morfondre. (…) Ainsi échappera-t-on au pire des maux, la lassitude. »

Une amie de la génération Après-Guerre, qui élève des volailles, me demandait, intriguée, ce que j’éprouvais, en me rendant dans ces destinations difficiles, au Proche-Orient, du plaisir ?

Partir là-bas, du plaisir ? Jamais. Mettons que ce soit de la volcanologie. Jusqu’où aller, pour comprendre les risques réels de ces géants explosifs, si proches ? Certains soldats, comme des rôdeurs en armes, ont la gâchette bien facile… On le sait depuis octobre 2000, où je me retrouvai au chevet de Jacques-Marie Bourget, grand reporter à Paris-Match, intubé de partout, incapable de parler, aux urgences de Ramallah. Le sniper militaire lui avait placé une balle à deux centimètres du cœur.

Pour les plus curieux, on trouve un entretien récent de Jacques-Marie Bourget sur le net : « Le journalisme de terrain disparait, et la presse perd sa raison d’être. » Dont acte.
Mettons que ce soit du journalisme de terrain, depuis la Bosnie Centrale en 1993 jusqu’à la Cisjordanie, et aux portes de Gaza, en 2025.

Une volonté jamais étanchée de savoir, de voir de ses yeux, de vérifier sur place, de faire table rase des anciennes opinions, attrapées comme on attrape des puces avec certains animaux. Cartésien jamais assez, « j’avais toujours un extrême désir d’apprendre à distinguer le vrai d’avec le faux, pour voir clair en mes actions, et marcher avec assurance en cette vie. » Et pour cela, « tant en déracinant de mon esprit toutes les mauvaises opinions que j’y avais reçues (…) qu’en faisant amas de plusieurs expériences… » Discours de la Méthode.

Après tout, Tesson ne dit pas autre chose, avec son invention d’une « discipline, le stackisme. » « Si on l’applique à la vie quotidienne, le stackisme consiste à repérer préalablement dans l’existence toute personne, lieu, activité ou état offrant de se désarrimer de la marche commune, des injonctions ordinaires, de la force des masses.»

Il ajoute, « Rejoindre ces endroits fragiles, confirmer leur permanence, relever leur position, saluer leur constance… » La Palestine, Israël : ces endroits fragiles, à travers leur permanence, leur constance.

Une manière d’être. A la recherche de l’humanité, comme le dit Charles Attonaty, dans le titre de son récit sous-titré Voyage sans argent. « Le lundi 27 juillet 2020, j’ai pris une décision impulsive et suis parti… ». Lui, il avoue sans gêne que ce sont ses pieds qui l’ont guidé, non sa tête. Qu’est-ce qui nous guide, lorsque l’on rompt les amarres, lorsqu’on se désarrime de la marche commune ?

Sylvain Tesson, Charles Attonaty, ont osé le tour du monde. Chapeau bas pour la vision, l’envergure. On pense à Maud Fontenoy, qui a traversé les océans à la rame. A Geoffroy Delorme, qui a vécu seul au fond des bois, sept ans, sans cabane, sans rien, dans la forêt de Bord-Louviers en Normandie, avec les chevreuils. On pense à Nans et Mouts, avec leurs équipées nus et sans argent, « Nus et culottés ».

A propos d’argent, justement. Notre dernière Lettre prévenait les lecteurs fidèles qu’il nous restait 129 euros en caisse. Et 260 euros non dépensés pour les frais de séjour, du dernier voyage. Or nous venons, à deux, de trouver un billet d’avion à 207 euros seulement, pour la prochaine enquête aux portes de Gaza et en Cisjordanie, sur une dizaine de jours, en mai. Deux cents euros, l’aller-retour en vols directs, c’est exceptionnel. Il fallait foncer (on a connu des tarifs de 500 € en 2024).

En toutes choses, être aux aguets, et veiller au budget. Voyager sans argent, comme Nans et Mouts ou d’autres, c’est bel et bon, cela part d’une excellente mise au point : ce n’est pas l’argent qui détermine nos désirs – mais pour se rendre en Palestine, là-bas, en Israël, en admettant le principe, il faudrait un temps « fou » à l’aller, autant au retour. Dans une autre vie, qui sait ?

Refaire les comptes : réduire les frais de séjour au strict minimum ? Avec la gratuité de l’hébergement, chez les amis palestiniens et israéliens. Condition sine qua non. On n’aura jamais de factures d’hôtel aux Messageries. On n’en a jamais eu.

Ce n’est ni la charité, ni le tourisme. Aller là où l’on est connu, accueilli, oser le mot : aimé, utile. Elle est là, la recherche de l’humanité. La quête de ce qui manque tant ici : l’écoute, la disponibilité, la concertation, la solidarité, le partage.

« Les gens, il conviendrait de ne les connaître que disponibles… »

Alors, partir (« plutôt que de se morfondre »), c’est déjà se mettre sur Arrêt. Juguler toute cette frénésie routinière de gestes automatiques et de petites pensées, incessants, qui nous rendent tels une mouche enfermée dans un bocal.

Faire le silence intérieurement. Pause. La petite cloche bouddhiste.

On arrête tout. On réfléchit. « Et-c’est-pas-triste » !

Consulter les sites connus de vols à bon marché. Liligo. Edreams. Kayak. Opodo. Choisir une destination. Comparer les prix, selon les dates. Vols directs. Une escale ? Deux escales ?

Question de méthode, d’organisation, de décision.

Comme une évasion. Sortir du train-train quotidien, de l’usante répétition des mêmes corvées, mêmes nouvelles, toujours centrées sur soi, à huis clos, sur les comptes.

D’abord débrancher radio, télé, réseaux « sociaux », flashes en rafale sur le portable.

Les anciens savent : « Radio-Paris ment… ». Les mass media ne mentent pas par perversion personnelle de leurs éditeurs. Il serait vain de les traiter de « menteurs ». Pour un espace limité, un volume de temps donné, contre argent comptant, ils trient, ils sélectionnent, selon des critères de rentabilité, de consensus souhaitable, ce qu’il est bon de donner en pâture aux auditeurs, aux abonnés.

Ne jamais oublier les aveux de celui qui fut PDG du groupe TF1 durant vingt ans, jusqu’en 2008 : « Passer une émission culturelle sur une chaîne commerciale à 20 h 30, c’est un crime économique ! »

« Nous vivons de la publicité (…) que vendons-nous réellement à nos clients ? Du temps d’antenne. La logique de TF1 est une logique de puissance. Nous vendons à nos clients une audience de masse… » « Or pour qu’un message publicitaire soit perçu, il faut que le cerveau du téléspectateur soit disponible. Nos émissions ont pour vocation de le rendre disponible: c’est-à-dire de le divertir, de le détendre pour le préparer entre deux messages. Ce que nous vendons à Coca-Cola, c’est du temps de cerveau humain disponible. » (2004).

Et ainsi de suite pour tous les media, tous les supports de stratégies mercantiles, non-stop. Leur but constant est bien de conquérir notre disponibilité, de nous occuper les méninges 24/24, nous amuser, nous anesthésier – nous enfumer, nous endormir.

Huxley nous prévenait, dans sa Préface au Meilleur des Mondes, dès 1946 :

« Dans un état totalitaire réellement efficace, l’exécutif tout-puissant de dirigeants politiques et leur armée de managers contrôle une population d’esclaves qui n’ont aucun besoin d’être contraints, puisqu’ils aiment leur servitude. La leur faire aimer est la tâche (…).

Grande est la vérité, mais plus grand d’un point-de-vue pratique est le silence sur la vérité. »

Concrètement, guerres, « économie de guerre », crises, tarifs, « Ukraine », « Poutine », etc., il faut déjà échapper au rouleau compresseur de l’information « lisse » et massive – lisse, comme « l’âme lisse d’un obus de 120 mm » pour les chars allemands ou israéliens, quand il est question de « l’âme des obus », cette âme étant la partie creuse d’un tube !

Donc, débrancher, définitivement, pour réentendre le son cristallin de la petite cloche intérieure, se retrouver, et faire son sac. Pas plus de quarante litres, le sac à dos. Partir avec moins de cinq kilos sur les épaules pour une dizaine ou quinzaine de jours. Voyager léger.

La destination ? On y vient.

Il s’agit de voir le monde réel, tel qu’il est, ailleurs, de ne pas s’enfermer dans encore une autre bulle stérilisée, affaiblis par des infos aseptisées, des séries conçues pour nous assoupir, nous immobiliser, ankyloser.

Alors, partir, pour… les Ardennes, le Jura. Jérusalem. Le Pérou. La forêt de Bord-Louviers. Le Népal. Eragny de Pissarro, Petra et Amman… Pour nous, chercheurs de paix, d’humanité, l’idée est de découvrir la réalité du monde, ce que vivent les autres – que ne disent guère les media.

Nous avons tous entendu parler de guerre entre Israéliens et Palestiniens. Le sujet qui dérange ? Alors, en cherchant, on trouve des chiffres. Une guerre, c’est toujours du profit, énorme, pour certains (fabriquants de chars, d’obus, de drones…), et des pertes, effroyables, pour tous les autres.

Ne pas tourner autour. Notre petit pays est devenu le deuxième marchand d’armes au monde, à partir de 2023, devant les Russes, grâce à « l’Ukraine ». Un autre petit pays, Israël, est passé de la neuvième place en 2023 à la huitième en 2024, grâce à la guerre tous azimuts.

Dans le même temps, de la fin 2023 au début 2025, trente-six enfants israéliens ont perdu la vie dans ce conflit. Et quinze mille enfants palestiniens. A l’échelle de la France, cela représenterait un demi-million d’enfants morts. Au 1^er avril 2025, 322 enfants palestiniens de plus avaient été tués depuis la rupture unilatérale du cessez-le-feu ce 18 mars.

Vous savez sans doute que Gaza (dont la surface totale est, en gros , celle de Strasbourg et sa banlieue) est totalement assiégée depuis le 2 mars : plus aucun secours de farine, de vivres, de médicaments, n’y entre. Depuis octobre 2023, plus personne n’y entre, sauf dérogations exceptionnelles – et alors, à leurs risques et périls. Plus de deux cent journalistes ont été abattus à Gaza. Ainsi qu’un millier d’ambulanciers, secouristes, urgentistes, brancardiers, humanitaires.

Faute de pouvoir aller y retrouver des amis de longue date, qui survivent dans les ruines, on peut se rendre aux portes de Gaza – où des communautés rurales de gens tous profondément pacifiques ont subi la violence de l’assaut palestinien du 7 octobre 2023 – ce que nous faisons depuis février 2024.

Il n’y a aucun rapport décent de proportions entre les deux sortes d’horreur, mais pour les gens de Nir Oz, à un kilomètre et demi de Gaza, tout a été dévasté, détruit, incendié, en quelques heures, et un quart d’entre eux ont été soit tués de sang froid, soit emportés de force comme otages.

Nir Oz, Re’im, Nahal Oz, Gaza, Rafah, Khan Yunis… abysses de la douleur sur Terre.

Alerte : le virus de la violence aveugle se répand en Cisjordanie, à Jénine, Naplouse où des commandos de l’armée abattent à bout portant un homme sans défense dans sa chambre (Balata, fin février), mettent le feu, de nuit, à la mosquée la plus connue de Naplouse, l’historique An-Nasser (église sous les Croisés), début mars. L’état-major, débordé, prend des mesures, mais si peu.

Un peu d’histoire, de géographie.

En France, l’enseignement de l’histoire s’arrête à 1945, avec de rares incursions dans la période de décolonisation. Les cours de géographie, eux, sont sacrifiés, réduits à la portion congrue – quels souvenirs ont-ils laissé à la plupart d’entre nous ? Le résultat de cette double désinformation systématique, par les media et par les écoles, c’est une forme généralisée d’ignorance continue, d’inappétence pour la curiosité, la recherche, avec le repli sur soi et ses semblables comme conséquence, l’auto-confinement à perpétuité. L’inoculation de la paresse mentale et de la peur à grande échelle.

A l’autre pôle, « Partir où personne ne part…» (Brel, 1968)

Ces voyages des Messageries au Proche Orient, depuis octobre 2000, c’est pour chacun de nous rouvrir les passages condamnés, nous remettre en mouvement intérieur, quelles que soient nos convictions, nos limites propres. Que le monde soit « déraisonnable de plus en plus », comme le dit un ami en Meuse, et, implicitement, qu’il l’ait toujours été, ne nous suffit pas.

Dès septembre 1946, l’auteur d’Actuelles nous avertissait : « C’est ainsi que les gens qui n’ont pas envie de penser trop longtemps à la misère humaine préfèrent en parler d’une façon très générale. »

Aussi n’est-ce pas de façon très générale que nous partageons avec vous ce que nous avons appris de la misère humaine à Nir Oz, à Gaza, à Naplouse.

A la famille de notre ami qui enseignait la littérature anglaise à l’université de Gaza (rasée), nous avons fait parvenir 1.340 euros en 2024, soit 37% de notre budget de 3.614 €. Nous continuons à les soutenir, face au dénuement qui est le leur, et au blocus total qu’ils subissent depuis sept semaines.

Une autre famille, à Naplouse, nous a demandé notre aide, pour réparer ce que les soldats ont détruit chez eux, le jour de la fin février où ils ont tiré à bout portant sur leur fils de vingt-cinq ans, dans sa chambre. Dans moins d’un mois, je serai de retour face à eux. Combien pourrai-je leur remettre ?

A Nir Oz, aux portes de Gaza, ce n’est pas d’un soutien matérel qu’ils ont besoin. L’état s’est engagé à tout reconstruire. C’est autrement difficile. Je vous avoue que je suis parfois dans le doute. Je ne me suis jamais trouvé face à une souffrance telle que celle du doyen survivant de Nir Oz – qui a toujours la bonté naturelle de me donner des arachides, des avocats, de leurs plantations, lorsque je repars.

Soyons clairvoyants : nous ne pourrons pas indéfiniment subvenir, dans la mesure de nos maigres moyens, aux catastrophes déclenchées par les extrémistes palestiniens et par les quelques dix-huit cent chars Merkava de soixante à soixante-dix tonnes qui dévastent Gaza – sans compter les quatre-cent chasseurs-bombardiers, les bulldozers géants, et deux centaines d’hélicoptères de combat, une myriade de drones d’observations et de drones tueurs. Cela n’aurait aucun sens.

Aussi avons-nous lancé une nouvelle campagne de Prix Nobel, au début de l’année, pour appeler à la fin de cette guerre. Nos précédentes tentatives, en 2024, n’avaient recueilli, au mieux, que quatre soutiens. Celle-ci en est à vingt-six, à Pâques. Dont onze doyens (âgés de 84 à 96 ans), de sept pays, et sept Nobel de la Paix, de sept pays (Costa-Rica, Etats-Unis, Inde, Irlande, Iran, Iraq, Yémen).

Parmi eux, nous avons choisi de vous présenter Oscar Arias Sanchez.

Buona Pasqua !…  [nous apprenons la mort du pape François au moment de boucler cette Lettre – voici quelques extraits de ses dernières pensées publiques le dimanche de Pâques ; auriez-vous une objection ? revoir le film documentaire de Wim Wenders, en 2018 : Le pape François, Un homme de parole] L’amour a triomphé de la haine, la lumière, des ténèbres, et la vérité de la fausseté. Le pardon a triomphé de la vengeance. Le mal n’a pas disparu de l’histoire ; il restera jusqu’à la fin, mais il n’a plus le dessus ; il n’a plus de pouvoir sur ceux qui acceptent la grâce de ce jour. Quelle grande soif de mort, de tuerie, nous constatons chaque jour avec tous ces conflits qui font rage dans différentes parties du monde ! De combien de violence nous sommes témoins, souvent même au sein des familles, contre les femmes et les enfants ! De quel mépris sont accablés les plus vulnérables, les marginalisés, et les migrants ! En ce jour, je voudrais que tous nous retrouvions l’espérance et que renaisse notre confiance en autrui, y compris vis-à-vis de ceux qui sont différents de nous, ou qui viennent de terres lointaines, qui apportent avec eux des coutumes, des modes de vie et des idées peu familières ! Car tous nous sommes enfants de Dieu ! Je veux dire combien je suis proche des souffrances des Chrétiens en Palestine et en Israël, et de tout le peuple israélien, de tout le peuple palestinien. Le climat croissant d’antisémitisme de par le monde est un vrai problème. Toutefois, en même temps, je pense au peuple de Gaza, et à sa communauté chrétienne en particulier, là où le terrible conflit continue de causer mort et destruction, et de créer une situation humanitaire dramatique et déplorable. J’en appelle aux parties en guerre : déclarez un cessez-le-feu, libérez les otages, et venez à l’aide d’un peuple affamé qui aspire à un futur de paix ! Il ne peut y avoir de paix sans liberté de religion, liberté de penser, liberté d’expression et respect pour les points-de-vue des autres. La paix n’est pas davantage possible sans un véritable désarmement ! L’exigence pour chaque peuple de veiller à sa propre défense ne doit pas se transformer en course aux armements. La lumière de Pâques nous impose de briser les barrières qui créent la division et qui sont lourdes de conséquences politiques et économiques graves. Elle nous impose de prendre soin les uns des autres, d’accroître notre solidarité mutuelle, et de travailler à un développement intégral de chaque personne humaine. J’en appelle à tous ceux en position de responsabilité politique dans notre monde, qu’ils ne cèdent pas à la logique de peur qui conduit seulement à l’isolement par rapport aux autres, mais plutôt qu’ils utilisent les ressources disponibles pour aider ceux qui sont dans le besoin, pour combattre la faim et encourager les initiatives en faveur du développement. Telles sont les « armes » de la paix : des armes qui construisent le futur, au lieu de semer des graines de mort ! Puisse le principe d’humanité ne jamais manquer d’être la signature de nos actions quotidiennes. Face à la cruauté de conflits qui impliquent des civils sans défense, et l’attaque d’écoles, d’hôpitaux, de volontaires humanitaires, nous ne pouvons pas nous permettre d’oublier que ce ne sont pas des cibles qui sont frappées, mais des personnes, chacune en puissance d’une âme et de dignité humaine. En cette année de Jubilée, puisse Pâques être une occasion idéale pour la libération de prisonniers de guerre et de prisonniers politiques !

The siege is very tight. Not enough food or water. No electricity at all. The lucky ones use solar systems to charge mobiles. We walk four miles to get water to our building.

Bakeries are closed due to lack of flour. Last week I bought some flour and paid 300 shekels (75 €).

[In December 2024 one kilo of flour was 35 shekels, about 8 €]

Indeed miserable and hard times.

No medications as well for my high blood pressure.

Top Israeli Military Analyst Has Horrifying Vision of Eternal War in Gaza
Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz, June 9, 2025

UN warns of Gaza famine risk, as Israel vows to build ‘Jewish state’ in West Bank
AFP, The Jordan Times, May 31, 2025

Gaza subjected to forced starvation, top UN official tells BBC
Fergal Keane, BBC, May 30, 2025

Macron: Europe should ‘harden position’ against Israel if it doesn’t ease humanitarian crisis in Gaza
The Times of Israel, May 30, 2025

Reports of looting in Gaza as food shortage continues
BBC, May 30, 2025

Egypt condemns Israel’s decision to establish 22 settlements in West Bank
Egypt Today, May 30, 2025

What To Know About Israel’s Major Expansion of Settlements in Occupied West Bank
Callum Sutherland, Time Magazine, May 30, 2025

Israel announces major expansion of settlements in occupied West Bank
David Gritten, Yolande Knell, BBC, May 30, 2025

As IDF raises reservist call-up cap to 450,000, weary troops decry low Haredi enlistment
Deborah Danan, The Times of Israel, May 30, 2025

‘600 days of failure’: Thousands join nationwide rallies urging hostages’ release
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel, May 29, 2025

‘What is it if not a war crime?’: Ehud Olmert says he can’t defend Israel anymore – CNN
The Jerusalem Post, May 29, 2025

Israel announces major expansion of settlements in occupied West Bank
BBC, May 29, 2025

Israel’s new settlements plan, a response to European push for two-state solution
Elisha Ben Kimon, YNet News, May 29, 2025

An American Doctor Visited Gaza and Saw the Horror Up Close. Five Cases Haunt Her
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, May 29, 2025

Witkoff’s new proposal: 10 hostages and half the fallen to be released within a week
YNet News, May 29, 2025

Low-cost carrier Ryanair follows British Airways in dropping Israel flights until August
Sharon Wrobel, The Times of Israel, May 29, 2025

What Is Genocide? A breakdown of the international legal definition
Egypt Today, May 28, 2025

Smotrich: ‘I will not allow signing a partial deal that gives Hamas oxygen and a lifeline’
The Jerusalem Post, May 28, 2025

UN calls for immediate opening of all crossings into Gaza Strip
Egypt Today, May 28, 2025

Gaza: Top UN envoy calls on Israel to end devastating strikes, starvation of civilians
United Nations News, May 28, 2025

‘The World Is Against Us’: How Israel’s Media Is Censoring the Horrors of Gaza
Anat Saragusti, Haaretz, May 28, 2025

Four people killed after starving Palestinians burst into UN food warehouse in Gaza
Lorenzo Tondo, Manisha Ganguly, The Guardian, May 28, 2025

Performance, Punishment or Policy: What Would Recognizing Palestine Really Mean?
Dahlia Scheindlin, Haaretz, May 28, 2025

Education minister unveils ramped-up Jewish, Zionist studies, mandatory Bible class
The Times of Israel, May 28, 2025

Families of hostages stage protests on 600th day of Israel-Gaza war
Lorenzo Tondo, The Guardian, May 28, 2025

Yes to Transfer: 82% of Jewish Israelis Back Expelling Gazans
Shay Hazkani, Tamir Sodek, Haaretz, May 28, 2025

U.N. Condemns Israel’s New Aid Program in Gaza, After Chaotic Start
Aaron Boxerman, The New York Times, May 28, 2025

Indonesia Willing to Recognize Israel, Macron Reiterates Bid for Two-state Solution
Reuters, Haaretz, May 28, 2025

Thousands rush into new aid distribution centre in south Gaza
The Jordan Times, May 28, 2025

Netanyahu at IHRA Conference: Israel fights civilization’s war against barbarism
Israel National News, May 28, 2025

Activists turn Paris fountain red to denounce Gaza ‘bloodbath’
Iraqi News, May 28, 2025

‘One of the Most Severe Blows’: Could Israel’s Gaza War Cost It Staunch German Support?
Liza Rozovsky, Haaretz, May 28, 2025

Enough Is Enough. Israel Is Committing War Crimes
Ehud Olmert, Haaretz, May 27, 2025

In harshest rebuke yet, Germany’s Merz calls Gaza war ‘incomprehensible’
Reuters, YNet News, May 27, 2025

Security Cabinet secretly approved establishment of 22 West Bank settlements
Itamar Eichner, YNet News, May 27, 2025

‘Unimaginable horrors’: more than 50,000 children reportedly killed or injured in the Gaza Strip
Unicef.org, May 27, 2025

Germany shifts tone on Israel over ‘massive military strikes’ in Gaza
Reuters, May 27, 2025

A family digs through trash for bits of food, showing Gaza’s growing desperation
Al Arabiya, May 27, 2025

Diaries from Gaza: ‘No one should be sentenced to death for where they were born’
Noor Alyacoubi, L’Orient Today, May 27, 2025

Israeli strikes kill at least 52 in Gaza as Netanyahu vows to intensify attacks
Al Arabiya, May 27, 2025

UN says images of Gaza aid rush ‘heartbreaking’
L’Orient Today, May 27, 2025

Gaza’s youngest influencer aged 11 among children killed by Israeli strikes
Lorenzo Tondo, Malak A Tantesh, Aseel Mousa, The Guardian, May 27, 2025

 Jerusalem Day Flag March Reached a New Low: Mocking the Dead Children of Gaza
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, May 27, 2025

Gaza humanitarian group is a ‘distraction’ from what is needed, UN says
Al Arabiya, May 27, 2025

UNRWA says only 6 out of its 22 centres in Gaza operating
The Jordan Times, May 27, 2025

Israeli troops open fire as aid group loses control of distribution centre
Emma Graham-Harrison, The Guardian, May 27, 2025

Hopes of motherhood crushed after IVF embryos destroyed in Israel’s Gaza offensive
Ethar Shalaby, BBC, May 27, 2025

Anti-war protester says prison guards threatened to tattoo Star of David on his face
The Times of Israel, May 27, 2025

Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure continues to deteriorate at alarming rate
Relief Web, May 26, 2025

Gaza aid center remains closed due to ‘logistical difficulties’ as controversy grows over its funding
Yossi Yehoshua, Elisha Ben Kimon, YNet News, May 26, 2025

Far-right Israelis confront Palestinians, other Israelis in chaotic Jerusalem march
Reuters, Al Arabiya; May 27, 2025

Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s storming of Al Aqsa Mosque
The Jordan Times, May 26, 2025

‘Killing People Needs to Have Some Justification’: Why IDF Reservists Are Choosing Jail Over War
Linda Dayan, Haaretz, May 26, 2025

Gazans’ suffering goes on amid intensifying Israeli strikes
UN News, May 26, 2025

In Gaza, Hunger is used as a weapon of war – Doctors of the World Report
Relief Web, May 26, 2025

Hamas agrees to US proposal on Gaza ceasefire, Palestinian official says
Al Arabiya, May 26, 2025

Chants of ‘death to Arabs’ amid clashes in Old City’s Muslim Quarter ahead of Jerusalem Day march
The Times of Israel, May 26, 2025

Families of slain hostages speak out against Gaza escalation: ‘Military pressure kills hostages’
Joanie Margulies, The Jerusalem Post, May 26, 2025

Germany says Gaza war ‘no longer justified as fight against Hamas’
Daniel Bettini, Ze’ev Avrahami, YNet News, May 26, 2025

Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza school as global criticism mounts
Al Arabiya, May 26, 2025

We must all raise our voices to stop the horror in Gaza
The Guardian, May 26, 2025

European and Arab nations gather in Spain to urge an end to Israel’s war in Gaza
AFP, Le Monde, May 26, 2025

Ex-hostage Naama Levy tells rally her greatest fear in captivity was IDF airstrikes
Noam Lehmann, The Times of Israel, May 25, 2025

Nine out of Gaza doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli airstrike
Ibrahim Dahman, Abeer Salman, Tim Lister, CNN, May 25, 2025

Hamas victory is fracturing the once-celebrated Israeli solidarity
Avi Issacharoff, YNet News, May 25, 2025

‘I had nothing left, not even water; then it started raining—that’s what kept me alive’
YNet News, May 24, 2025

Tel Aviv anti-government protesters rage at PM; Silent vigil for Gaza’s slain children swells in size
Noam Lehmann, The Times of Israel, May 24, 2025

Israeli strike kills nine of Gaza doctor’s children
Mallory Moench, BBC, May 24, 2025

Diary of an Israeli sniper: War, routine and the human cost
Amihai Attali, YNet News, May 24, 2025

‘I’m afraid to be a Jew in New York’
YNet News, May 24, 2025

Disarming Palestinian camps to start mid-June: Lebanon govt source
Al Arabiya, May 23, 2025

Historic turning point: Lebanon nears first major victory in war against terrorism
Lior Ben Ari, YNet News, May 23, 2025

Gaza is a pulverised city, doctor tells BBC, as explosions hit nearby
BBC, May 23, 2025

Time is running out, Israel must seek new paths to end war
Ron Ben Yishai, YNet News, May 22, 2025

Julian Assange Makes Bold Statement at Cannes with Shirt Honoring Thousands of Palestinian Children
Egypt Today, May 22, 2025

 What Will It Take for Israelis to Acknowledge the Suffering in Gaza?
Dahlia Scheindlin, Haaretz, May 22, 2025

Gaza Is Starving, but Aid From Israel and the U.S. Won’t Arrive Anytime Soon: ‘Not in a Week, Not in a Month’
Hagai Amit, Haaretz, May 22, 2025

Rally held in Tel Aviv to show support for Jewish-Arab coexistence, Gaza ceasefire
The Times of Israel, May 22, 2025

France and Saudi Arabia said to propose plan to disarm Hamas, but allow it limited political power
Nava Freiberg, The Times of Israel, May 22, 2025

‘The mood is changing’: Israeli anger grows at conduct of war
Tom Bennett, BBC, May 21, 2025

Why Israel Is So Determined to Keep the World’s Media Out of Gaza
Dahlia Scheindlin, Haaretz, May 21, 2025

Bill Expanding State Control Over Media Passes First Hurdle, Despite AG’s Objection
Jasmin Gueta, Nati Tucker, Haaretz, May 22, 2025

Palestinian paracyclist who lost leg in 2014 airstrike killed in Gaza
Kaamil Ahmed, The Guardian, May 20, 2025

British surgeon’s ‘high anxiety’ operating in Gaza
BBC, May 20, 2025

Standing Together Director, Six Others Released to House Arrest After Anti-war Protest
Eden Solomon, Haaretz, May 20, 2025

Yair Golan defends ‘baby killing’ remarks: ‘Ministers celebrate death and starvation’
Dan Raban, Israel Moshkovitz, Gal Ganot, YNet News, May 20, 2025

Elbit Systems secures $53 million contract to upgrade IDF attack helicopters
Navit Zomer, YNet News, May 20, 2025

Netanyahu vows to ‘take control’ of Gaza as UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel
Emma Graham-Harrison, Quique Kierszenbaum, The Guardian, May 19, 2025

Village where Israelis and Palestinians live together to promote peace faces planned tax on funds
Chris Osuh, The Guardian, May 19, 2025

9 arrested at hundreds-strong anti-war protest along the Gaza border
Charlie Summers, The Times of Israel, May 18, 2025

‘People Are Eating Weeds’: Israel’s New Gaza Offensive Intensifies Humanitarian Disaster
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, May 18, 2025

Israel to divide Gaza into 3 troop-sealed zones: report
Niv Shaiovich, YNet News, May 18, 2025

Egypt presses to end systematic killing of Gaza civilians, allow swift aid resumption
Egypt Today, May 16, 2025

Former Shin Bet head says Gaza war ‘no longer serves Israel’s national objectives’
Al Arabiya, May 16, 2025

Trump Says ‘a Lot of People Are Starving’ in Gaza and the U.S. Wants to Help
Luke Broadwater, Erika Solomon, The New York Times, May 16, 2025

France says conference on two-state solution to Mideast conflict set for June
Al Arabiya, May 16, 2025

1000 health workers, 200 journalists died in Gaza since beginning of war: report
Egypt Today, May 16, 2025

Eliminating the most dangerous man in Gaza is not the end of Hamas
Avi Issacharoff, YNet News, May 14, 2025

PM said to tell MKs: Israel destroying homes in Gaza, so Palestinians have nowhere else to go but outside the Strip
The Times of Israel, May 13, 2025

Food security experts warn Gaza at ‘critical risk of famine’ amid Israeli blockade
Jason Burke, The Guardian, May 13, 2025

Chinese ambassador: Hamas attack was ‘outrageous,’ but peace requires two states
Maayan Hoffmann, YNet News, May 12, 2025

From May 12 until May 25, the author of this section was in the West Bank, and Jerusalem, Sderot, Nir Oz,
in rather difficult conditions. Hence, there is now an update above, of the most essential news.

Trump will meet in Saudi Arabia with Abbas and al-Sharaa, report reveals
Einav Halabi, Lior Halabi, YNet News, May 11, 2025

Hostages’ families warn of ‘lost opportunity of the century’ as Hamas airs new clip of captives
Noam Lehmann, The Times of Israel, May 11, 2025

Annihilating Hamas Is Tantamount to Destroying the Entire Gaza Strip
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, May 11, 2025

Israeli airstrikes kill 23 in Gaza as outcry over aid blockade grows
Al Arabiya, May 10, 2025

UNRWA stops providing childbirth and maternity services in Gaza following economic crisis
Haaretz, May 10, 2025

‘I vowed to speak for those who can’t’: Ex-hostage urges Israel, US to push for deal
“We can’t let military momentum override moral clarity”
Tal Shoham, The Times of Israel, May 10, 2025

I Am a Former Hamas Hostage. Here’s My Message to Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu
Tal Shoham, TIME Magazine, May 10, 2025

Hostage forum warns: Israel on brink of historic failure
The Jerusalem Post, May 10, 2025

Hamas releases video of two Israeli hostages alive in Gaza
Al Arabiya, May 10, 2025

If you were shocked by my film on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, you haven’t been paying attention
Louis Theroux, The Guardian, May 10, 2025

In Jerusalem, a peace conference presents a two-state solution plan
L’Orient Today, May 10, 2025

‘Gaza is Palestinian; not Israeli,’ former Israeli PM Olmert says
Hannah Rozenblat, The Jerusalem Post, May 10, 2025

Thousands demand end to Gaza war, two-state solution at Jerusalem ‘peace summit’
The Times of Israel, May 10, 2025

‘My child waits for his father’: Hostage’s wife joins fight to release all Hamas captives
Hagar Kochavi, YNet News, May 10, 2025

Israel committing genocide in Gaza, says EU’s former top diplomat
Sam Jones, The Guardian, May 10, 2025

The Bar Is Open, the Fields Are Plowed: The New Pioneers Bringing Gaza Border Kibbutzim Back to Life
Shany Littman, Hilo Glazer, Haaretz, May 10, 2025

Ben Jennings on Israel’s plans for a new offensive in Gaza
Ben Jennings, The Guardian, May 9, 2025

‘Gaza Is Unlivable’: One Palestinian Man’s Struggle to Feed His Family as Prices Soar
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, May 7, 2025

‘No food when I gave birth’: Malnutrition rises in Gaza as Israeli blockade enters third month
Fergal Keane, BBC, May 6, 2025

UN committee warns against ‘another Naqba’
AFP, L’Orient Today, May 9, 2025

Gaza: UN agencies reject Israeli plan to use aid as ‘bait’
UN News, May 9, 2025

Regev meets with Israeli airline heads as cancellations strand citizens abroad
Sharon Wrobel, The Times of Israel, May 9, 2025

How Did Israelis Become So Indifferent to Children Killed in Gaza?
Carolina Landsmann, Haaretz, May 9, 2025

UN Palestinian agency says irreplaceable in Gaza
Iraqi News, May 9, 2025

As the War Drags On, More Israeli Soldiers Are Alarmed by the Scale of Killing in Gaza
Amos Harel, Haaretz, May 9, 2025

Panic in Tel Aviv as missile attack from Yemen triggers sirens in central Israel
Egypt Today, May 9, 2025

President Sisi meets with Abbas, affirms Egypt’s firm stance towards Palestinian cause
Egypt Today, May 9, 2025

What Matters Now to bereaved mother Elana Kaminka: End the Gaza ‘forever war’
Amanda Borschel-Dan, Elana Kaminka, The Times of Israel, May 8, 2025

Israeli plan to evacuate Gaza would be illegal forceful displacement: Norway and Iceland
Al Arabiya, May 8, 2025

Israel threatens to do to Tehran what it ‘did to Hezbollah in Beirut and Hamas in Gaza’
L’Orient Today, May 8, 2025

Mother of hostage Elkana Bohbot fumes over mixed signals on how many captives dead
Melanie Lidman, The Times of Israel, May 8, 2025

92 dead in 24 hours: An ordinary day of horror in the Gaza Strip
Marie Jo Sader, Le Monde, May 8, 2025

At least 33 killed including children in Israeli strikes on restaurant, market in Gaza
Egypt Today, May 8, 2025

First responders in Gaza run out of supplies
Iraqi News, May 8, 2025

‘Certainly alive’: These are the 21 hostages that have shown signs of life
YNet News, May 8, 2025

Red Cross says Israeli aid blockade of Gaza ‘unacceptable,’ humanitarian situation on ‘razor’s edge’
The Times of Israel, May 8, 2025

 Israel’s New Campaign in Gaza Has No Legitimacy, No Point and No Restraints
Editorial, Haaretz, May 8, 2025

Leading agency shuts its Gaza soup kitchens amid continued Israeli aid ban
AP, The Times of Israel, May 8, 2025

Macron on Gaza: the situation is unacceptable; Israel cannot act without respecting rules
Haaretz, May 7, 2025

 My Friend in Gaza Is Down to His Last Few Drops of His Insulin
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, May 7, 2025

World Central Kitchen says it is forced to halt aid operations in Gaza
Reuters, The Times of Israel, May 7, 2025

Palestinian PM urges halt to ‘deliberate humanitarian crime’ of ‘famine’ in Gaza
Al Arabiya, May 7, 2025

Verification of damages to schools based on proximity to damaged sites – Gaza, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Update # 9 (May 2025)
ReliefWeb, May 7, 2025

Egypt, Qatar assert full commitment to mediation efforts till resolving Gaza crisis
Egypt Today, May 7, 2025

UN experts demand action to avert ‘annihilation’ of Palestinians in Gaza – as it happened
Amy Sedghi, Tom Ambrose, The Guardian, May 7, 2025

Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli plan to expand Gaza offensive
AFP, Al Arabiya, May 7, 2025

New horror in Gaza as double strike on school shelter kills 30
UN News, May 7, 2025

‘Gaza Is Unlivable’: One Palestinian Man’s Struggle to Feed His Family as Prices Soar
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, May 7, 2025

‘Desperate, traumatised people’: Gaza faces wave of looting, theft and violence
Jason Burke, Malek A Tantash, The Guardian, May 7, 2025

We Cannot Look Away From the Images of Children Killed in Gaza
Editorial, Haaretz, May 7, 2025

Syrian’s al-Sharaa meets Macron in first European visit
Al Arabiya, May 7, 2025

Why Occupying Gaza Could Lead Israel Into an Economic Morass
David Rosenberg, Haaretz, May 7, 2025

Against core principles, Israel is leaning on reservists to fight its endless war
Lazar Berman, The Times of Israel, May 6, 2025

France ‘very strongly’ condemns plan to conquer and hold Gaza, says Israel ‘in violation of humanitarian law’
AFP, The Times of Israel, May 6, 2025

Famine in Gaza: Will we continue to watch as Gaza starves to death?
Ramzy Baroud, The Jordan Times, May 6, 2025

Displaced Palestinians scuffle for a portion of hot food at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 5, 2025.
AFP, Al Arabiya, May 6, 2025

‘Let the IDF Mow Them Down!’: In Israel, Violence Saturates Everyday Life
Josie Glausiusz, Haaretz, May 6, 2025

Israel Believes It’s Fighting a Holy War in Gaza, and Dissenters Are Deemed Heretics
Zvi Bar’el, Haaretz, May 6, 2025

Israeli rights group accuses Israel of using starvation as ‘war tactic’
Yusra Asif, Al Arabiya, May 6, 2025

Unexploded Israeli Bombs in Gaza Gift Hamas Firepower Worth Millions – and Cost Soldiers’ Lives
Hagai Amit, Haaretz, May 6, 2025

Israel sets deadline for Hamas: Deal by end of Trump visit or we take Gaza
Itamar Eichner, Yoav Zitun, YNet News, May 5, 2025

Window open for Gaza deal during Trump Middle East visit, Israeli defense official says
Al Arabiya, May 5, 2025

Norwegian NGO decries Israel plan to take over Gaza aid
The Jordan Times, May 5, 2025

Children in Gaza need life-saving support
Unicef.org, May 2025

Netanyahu says new offensive in Gaza focused on consolidating seizure of territory
Announcement of Israel’s Gaza occupation plan is carefully timed
Jason Burke, The Guardian, May 5, 2025

Failure and moral collapse of the international legal order in Gaza
Najla M. Shahwan, The Jordan Times, May 5, 2025

Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Plan to Escalate Gaza Campaign
Michael D. Shear, The New York Times, May 5 , 2025

Israel cabinet approves plan including Gaza ‘conquest’ — official
AFP, The Jordan Times, May 5, 2025

The shadow of the caliphate: Daesh and Syria’s unfinished battle
Mohammad Abu Rumman, The Jordan Times, May 5, 2025

Who will stop Israel in Syria?
Anthony Samrani, L’Orient Today, May 5, 2025

Top UN court rejects Sudan’s bid to sue UAE for genocide
Anna Holligan, BBC, May 5, 2025

‘Depopulation,’ ‘Kill Zone,’ and ‘Second Nakba’: The Lexicon of Brutality Exposes How Israelis Talk About the War
Sheren Falah Saab, Haaretz, May 4, 2025

Ex-security chiefs, Nobel laureates urge IDF to reverse dismissal of reservists who called to free hostages by ending war
The Times of Israel, May 4, 2025

Two Months Into Israel’s Blockade, Gazans Are Nearly Out of Food
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, May 4, 2025

Former hostage says ‘evil’ government ‘led us like sheep to the slaughter’
The Times of Israel, May 4, 2025

From surge to strain: Why Israel’s reservists are no longer rushing back – analysis
Herb Keinon, The Jerusalem Post, May 4, 2025

Houthi rebels threaten ‘aerial blockade’ on Israel; flights canceled en masse
Roy Rubinstein, YNet News, May 4, 2025

In ‘massive failure,’ troops abandoned civilians at Zikim Beach on Oct. 7, IDF probe finds
Emanuel Fabian, The Times of Israel, May 4, 2025

Houthi missile hits Ben Gurion international airport | Watch
YNet News, May 4, 2025

Airlines cancel Israel flights after Houthi missile strike at Ben Gurion Airport
Israel National News, May 4, 2025

Protesters in Morocco block strategic ports to force end to normalization with Israel
YNet News, May 4, 2025

The fine line between truth and misinformation: What to know before you hit ‘share’
Judith Segaloff, The Jerusalem Post, May 4, 2025

Israel calls up tens of thousands of reservists for expanded Gaza offensive
Al Arabiya, May 4, 2025

IDF calls up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of expanded Gaza offensive
Emanuel Fabian, The Times of Israel, May 3, 2025

‘Psychological warfare within me’: Israeli captive in Gaza says survived death twice
Amr Mohamed Kandil, Egypt Today, May 3, 2025

Gaza rescuers say three babies among 11 killed in Israel strike
The Jordan Times, May 3, 2025

China Confronts Israel at ICJ, Demands End to Gaza Siege!
Times New World, May 3, 2025

‘Sending Soldiers Into a Needless War’: Israelis Protested Nationwide for Gaza Hostage Deal, Against Gov’t
Bar Peleg, Adi Hashmonai, Eden Solomon, Linda Dayan, Haaretz, May 3, 2025

Jordan condemns Israeli strike near presidential palace in Damascus
The Jordan Times, May 3, 2025

FPA calls on Israel to allow journalists ‘without restriction’
L’Orient Today, May 3, 2025

Hamas says it offered 5-year Gaza ceasefire, release of all captives
Egypt Today, May 2, 2025

Statement from UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the situation for children in the Gaza Strip after two months of aid blockade
ReliefWeb, May 2, 2025

Reporters in Gaza bear witness and suffer tragic consequences
UN News, May 2, 2025

Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as brutal aid blockade threatens mass starvation
UN News, May 2, 2025

Gaza humanitarian work on ‘verge of total collapse’: Red Cross
Al Arabiya, May 2, 2025

Gaza humanitarian operations ‘on the verge of total collapse,’ warns ICRC
Muntasser Abdallah, Renee Davis, Marguerita Sejaan, L’Orient Today, May 2, 2025

$2.3 B losses: How Israeli economy is affected by a shortage of military personnel
Egypt Today, May 2, 2025

Why Israel isn’t winning the war Hamas started
Maayan Hoffman, YNet News, May 2, 2025

In raw speech, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tells foreign envoys they can get hostages freed
Lazar Berman, The Times of Israel, May 2, 2025

Gaza blockade: a Palestinian widow, her children and a cupboard that is almost bare
Jason Burke, Malak A Tantesh, The Guardian, May 2, 2025

West Bank Palestinians losing hope 100 days into Israeli assault
Iraqi News, May 2, 2025

IDF planning major shift in Gaza aid delivery in bid to thwart Hamas diversion
Emanuel Fabian, Jacob Magid, The Times of Israel, May 2, 2025

Freedom Flotilla: ship carrying aid for Gaza targeted by Israel off Malta
AFP, L’Orient Today, May 2, 2025

Famine in the city
Ilana Sober Elzufon, The Times of Israel, May 2, 2025

Death toll of Palestinians in Gaza due to Israeli war rises to 52,418
Egypt Today, May 1, 2025

The U.N. has once again called on Israel to lift its blockade on the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
L’Orient Today, May 1, 2025

Blocus humanitaire à Gaza : l’ONU dénonce une politique « délibérément » cruelle
UN News, May 1, 2025

Looting of Gaza stores signals worsening hunger crisis
Reuters, Al Arabiya, May 1, 2025

The Jerusalem Wildfires Are No Surprise, but Israel Ignored All Warnings
Nir Hasson, Haaretz, May 1, 2025

Israel urges global help as ‘worst wildfires in decade’ threaten to reach Jerusalem
Egypt Today, May 1, 2025

Jordan urges UN to stop ‘bloodshed’ in Gaza, pressure Israel to open crossings for aid
AFP, The Jordan Times, May 1, 2025

Israel’s worst enemy: Not Hamas, not Hezbollah; experts say it’s climate change
Shir Perets, The Jerusalem Post, May 1, 2025

Jerusalem hills wildfire brought under control after more than 24 hours
The Times of Israel, May 1, 2025

If You Insist on Calling It a Gaza ‘War,’ at Least Own That It’s Generals Versus Children
Odeh Bisharat, Haaretz, May 1, 2025

UNRWA Situation Report #169 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. All information updated for 23-29 April 2025
ReliefWeb, end of April 2025

Israel must end ‘cruel collective punishment’ in Gaza, urges UN relief chief
UN News, May 1, 2025

Children in Gaza ‘going to bed starving’ amid blockade
UN News, April 29, 2025

Gazans face hunger crisis as aid blockade nears two months
UN News, April 28, 2025

We, travellers, each have our cities of the heart, where the spirit feels most attracted and nourished. Depending on how far we explore, how deep we dive. You can see it as a string of precious stones, with some special jewels in it. When you move too fast you miss it all.

People will gather in cities. You cannot always live in a hamlet or a village. Nor can you prosper as a hermit in some no-man’s land. To meet with the great painters, philosophers, musicians, to find the oldest and most astounding temples, churches, and mosques, you will go to the age-old cities.

If I had to, I would name eight. Jerusalem / Al Quds. Algiers / Al Jazair El Beida. Nablus / Neapolis / Shechem. Thessaloniki. Firenze / Florence. Sarajevo. New York. Paris.

As of May 1, 2025, I will tell you about this jewel, Nablus, one of the oldest cities in the world – you can go back to before the Bronze Age, seven to nine thousand years ago. It was then the historical domain of Canaanites, known by the Greeks as Phoenicians, set between two mounts, Ebal and Gerizim. Then came the Hebrews, who made Shechem, East of present-day Nablus, the first capital of the kingdom of Israel, during the Iron Age.

After the Hebrews came the Greeks and the Romans, with the Samaritans who chose Mount Gerizim as their fortress. In the first century of the Christian Era, a Roman emperor, who founded the Flavian dynasty, gave the city the name of Flavia Neapolis. The New City of emperor Flavius. In 72 C.E.

The Roman Eastern empire, known as the Byzantine empire, lasted from the fourth century until the fifteenth century – the end of the medieval ages in the West. Neapolis was settled with Roman veterans from victorious legions. A major seven-thousand people theater was built under emperor Hadrian, in the second century. Neapolis was still pagan at the time. Greek gods were celebrated, Zeus, Artemis, Asklepios… Another emperor, known as Philip the Arab, renamed the town Julia Neapolis in the third century. Then came Christians. Lots of conflicts and strifes between them all. Lots of bad blood between Samaritans, Christians, Romans. You would not want to wade into it.

Suffice to say that the Samaritans rebelled against Christians and Romans, going as far as to murder the Neapolis bishop, hack Christian priests to pieces and burn their corpses (529), upon which emperor Justinian sent troops to massacre all the Samaritans they could find. To this day there are less than a thousand of them, but mount Gerizim remains their main harbour of the soul.

Forward to the future : a Muslim army conquered Neapolis in 636, four years after the Prophet’s death, and then named the city Nablus, giving it the nickname of Little Damascus. Then came the First Crusade, which started in 1095, led by French, German, Dutch, Italian warlords and knights, followed by up to a hundred thousand men, with Jerusalem as its objective.

In early 1099 they conquered Nablus, a mere thirty miles North of Jerusalem, renamed it… Naples, Napoli.

After seizing Jerusalem, the Franks defeated the Egyptians at Askalan, present-day Ashkelon, twenty kilometers from Gaza (August 1099), and this was the end of the First Crusade, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem which lasted two centuries, until the fall of Acre (Akko) in 1291, most of the crusaders returning to their respective lands in the twelfth century.

It was during this Christian period that a Byzantine church was built by the Templars in Nablus, with a red dome, in the early twelfth century, where a mosque had been erected by Amir Ibn Al in 638, two years after Neapolis had been conquered by the Muslims. The mosque-church became a mosque again around 1187, after Saladin crushed the Crusaders at the Battle of Tiberias. It was named An-Nasr after one of the last and shortest suras of the Coran.

Nasr: help, rescue, relief. “When comes the Help of God, and Victory / And you can see the people enter God’s religion in crowds / Celebrate His praises, and pray for His forgiveness, For He is oft-returning.”

In the night of the second Ramadan Friday this year, a little before dawn, a rogue squad of soldiers entered An-Nasr Mosque, stacked all its prayer books on the carpets and set fire to it. The holiest mosque of Nablus started burning, hence the scaffolding since, to repair it.

Their intention must have been to provoke the believers, into some riots on the holy esplanade in Jerusalem, which would have been quelled in blood. Still, no such thing happened. The tens of thousands of people gathered at the Noble Sanctuary maintained perfect peace, against all odds. Nor did the media mention the An-Nasr arson – Reuters alone and the Turkish agency Anadolu covered the March 7 profanation and attack.

May 4. In age-old cities, the point is you meet people. Far more interesting people, to strike a conversation with. Here is a sample of the encounters there have been, in that precious city of Nablus.

The first one was with Adib, a reputed teacher at the famed An-Najah University.

Adib was struck with sadness the last time I met him. As I mentioned the horrendous death of Mahmoud Sanakra, riddled with bullets, defenceless, in his bedroom one morning at the end of February, by another rogue squad of soldiers (the same who later set fire to An-Nasr?), in a poor, historical quarter of Nablus, Adib said with a sigh : “This is our life… to lose the first son, then the second one, and the third one…”.

Before Mahmoud, his elder brothers had already been killed by the army. Ibrahim, at the age of fifteen. Ahmed, at the age of eighteen. Had they thrown stones ? What was the instant death penalty for ?

My wish, at the end of February, in Mahmoud’s home, clearly has been for him to be the last victim of these murderous frenzies.

We then discussed the matter of violence among young men in cities, with Adib, the Wise One.

“They like guns…” Adib said, with some resignation in his voice.

It then came to attention that guns are non-muslim actually. It is an American thing, isn’t it ?

We all have heard of American shootouts. “How many US mass shootings have there been in 2024?”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-4148808 [BBC, December 17, 2024]
You check with the list of countries with the highest gun ownership, and sure enough, who’s on top ?
The US, with 120 guns for 100 people.

Israel ranks 100, next to Iran 98. With around 7 guns for 100 people.
Algeria ranks 160, with 2 guns only for 100 people, like Cuba.
Palestine is behind, 180, with 1 gun only for 100 people.

At the end of the line, you find Japan (208 : 0.3/100). Last, 216 and 217 : Indonesia and Taiwan : 0 gun for 100 people. No need for guns there.

You want to know the cause to effect relation – check on criminality worldwide, the number of people who die from guns in a year, and the highest number of prisoners, and you will get a more precise understanding of what the culture of guns produces.

The child of ten, who volunteered to help clean the burned, desecrated An-Nasr mosque, has a toy gun in his left hand, a broom in his right one. Who will tell him that the number one country worldwide for gun ownership is the United States, where some 50,000 people die from gun-related wounds each year, with 500 to 600 yearly shootouts, and 1.8 million men behind bars because of guns and violence ?

Who will tell him that out of 47,000 Americans killed by guns, 26,000 were from suicide and 21,000 from homicide ? Who will tell him that the gun also kills the gun-owner ?

Newsletter n°116

June 2023

« Who can make the muddy water clear ? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. »

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 3

« Those sharp weapons are instruments of evil omen, and not the instruments of the superior man ; he uses them only on the compulsion of necessity. Calm and rest are what he prizes ; victory by force of weapons is to him undesirable. To consider this desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men ; and he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom. » Tao Te Ching 31

Of course, I am just like you. This book, I had found it in a lovely bookstore, for students and scholars, on the right side of the road, after Qalandiya, on my way to a bilingual school, with pupils on both sides, Jews and Arabs. Was it Hand in Hand, in Katamon, with its 1,350 Muslim, Jewish, and Christian students ? I don’t think so, Katamon is in the South of Jerusalem. Anyway, the thing is, there is not just one open educational place for both Jews, Muslims, and others, in the Land. You should investigate.

https://www.handinhandk12.org/i-want-to-study-something-that-will-help-me-make-change-alma-alumna-of-the-max-rayne-hand-in-hand-jerusalem-school

Of course, people don’t know, flooded as we all are by these social networks and systems of depressing or irrelevant news, night and day. And, of course, once I got lucky enough to walk into this heavenly, unexpected place on my way, I read the book rather fast, and then forgot about it.

I had not been informed. As if this was a non-subject, of zero importance. As if such a Chinese endeavour, in the West, did not matter. Well, you should keep an eye open for the Chinese foray into the Middle East at least.

Does anybody remember the horrific war in Yemen, between Iran-supported Yemeni Houthis, and the Arabia-backed Yemeni loyalists, which left 400,000 dead in its bloody wake ?

And who remembers, for that matter, the 600,000 dead in Ethiopia, from « the most murderous conflict of the 21st century » ?

One million human beings wiped out from the surface of the Earth, all in the same limited sector of Africa/Arabia. Not to mention the 300,000 killed in Syria.

Reminding us of the moonwalker’s dismay and despair, when he was watching it all from up there.

This « feeling of deep despair – the darkest, deepest despair. The most agonizing emotional pain I had ever felt, as I contemplated man and his condition on Earth, behaving like ancient warring tribes fighting over food and territorial rights ».

The good news : these three wars are now over. Leaving us with the tantalizing question : what did these 1,300,000 persons die for ? Since all wars stop in the end.

Take it back to our two previous Newsletters, 114 and 115. What are we driving at ?

What was it we stated in May 2023 ? That we had other burning concerns than the antediluvian quarrel of the « Arabs » and the « Jews », when the Islamic Jihad in Gaza fired hundreds of rockets at its neighbour, suddenly.

First concern, the Rising Global Heat. Second, the current Threat of World War (US & Euros vs Russia).

And what do we have now, as of June 7, 2023 ?

On one hand, that heavy orange smoke all over New York, that spreads as far North as Quebec to South of Washington, D.C., due to the two hundred forest fires in Canada out of control.

On the other hand, this liquid mass of water, over four times the Sea of Galilee, flowing furiously through that broken dam, since 2 :50 in the night of Monday to Tuesday. June 7, 2023. Thrusting tens of thousands of people out of their homes, wading through muddy waters, saving what they can in bags and suitcases. On the Eastern coast of the US, tens of millions are gasping for breath, wearing masks again to survive, as the new virus is this monster manmade warming that sets countless extents of woods ablaze, like never before. Like some insane rerun of September 11, 2001, this time on a much wider scale. People will not die in a few minutes, but from respiratory diseases and distress, through the weeks, and months. Where to go ? Where to live ?

https://twitter.com/i/status/1666550214302347267

https://twitter.com/i/status/1666508242959081490

Please watch the videos taken in Manhattan.

September 11 was a concerted attack aimed at three specific targets, taking three thousand lives. From a precise enemy, leading to the American invasion of Afghanistan, with a toll of over 160,000 killed – and what results, after twenty years of warring and military occupation ? The victory of the reviled talibans, and the restoration of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. Afghanistan, much like Viet-Nam…

Speaking of Viet-Nam now, record temperatures of 44°C were registered in early May, last month, as well as in Laos, Thailand, Burma, Bengla Desh… At mid-day cities like downtown Hanoi were empty, their inhabitants confined inside until the evening.

This is where we’re at. Now. Much faster than we might have thought.

Take it to zones of temperate climate, in Western Europe, the middle Northern part of it. The grass is all dried and yellowish-white, like in August, and the earth bursts with deep crevices, cracks, just like during the worst of droughts. Hay is becoming sparse. Water in wells is getting low and dirty. Every drop of water counts.

Whether by water or by fire, whether by explosives or by neglect and carelessness, the small spaceship we all live in is leaking, reeling and rolling.

Whether you call it Eretz Israel or Falastine, temperatures of 40°C to 50°C will become the new norm. In that tiny piece of land, there were some 200 fires in early June, « like » in Canada.

« In other words, things are happening much faster than we feared. »

https://www.ynetnews.com/environment/article/h1xtd11r9ln

https://www.jpost.com/environment-and-climate-change/article-745343

« What was it you wanted ? …What’s happening in there ?… We can start it all over, get it back on the track… » (Shadow Kingdom). We better get our priorities straight, in the big picture as in details.

 Since the summer of 2014, 8 European Heads of Foreign Affairs have been to Gaza.

The 1st one was Borge Brende, from Norway, on September 8, 2014. Then came George Vella, from Malta, on October 29. Followed by Martin Lindegaard, from Denmark, on November 4, 2014.  A few days later, the Head of External Affairs for Europe, Federica Mogherini, made it to Gaza in her turn.

In 2015, the first one to enter the Gaza Strip was José Garcia-Margallo from Spain, on January 13, 2015. On February 16, 2015, Charles Flanagan, from Ireland, was the 6th European Minister of Foreign Affairs to see for himself. Then came Frank-Walter Steinmeier, from Germany, on June 1st, and Bert Koenders, from the Netherlands, on July 15.

To each of them go our appreciation and gratitude. They represent the Europe that we believe in, standing for awareness and responsibility.

  “We cannot wait until talks about a two-state solution are back on track, to improve living conditions.

 We are sitting on a powder keg here. We must make sure it doesn’t ignite.”

 German Foreign Minister  Frank-Walter Steinmeier upon his visit to Gaza, on June 1, 2015 GermanyForeignOffice   @GermanyDiplo

 FM Steinmeier in Gaza: I take the hope from my Talks in Jerusalem + Ramallah, that the danger of a burning powder keg is being seen.

 FM Steinmeier : Need opening of  Gaza borders + economic development. Gaza must not become launch pad for rocket attacks on Israel again.

Biden said set to make push for demilitarized Palestinian state as part of new doctrine

The Times of Israel, February 1, 2024      https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-february-01-2024/

In The New York Times, January 31, 2024, you find mention of a “Biden Doctrine” aiming at a demilitarized Palestinian state, in the West Bank and Gaza.  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/opinion/biden-iran-israel.html

Beyond wishful thinking, just about the only rational approach to what the Security Council of the United Nations termed “a durable cessation of hostilities”, in its December 22, 2023 Resolution 2720. (13 votes in favour, Russia & US abstaining).

Demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages (§7) and that all parties to the conflict comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, including with regard to the conduct of hostilities and the protection of civilians and civilian objects (§1), reiterating  its unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-State solution where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders(§12) https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1145022

If we truly want a sustainable peace to last, the unending series of rockets and reactions, of attacks and counter-attacks, has to stop, permanently. We have checked the chronology : since the time Israel evacuated its 8,000 settlers in Gaza, it has been the continuous target of rockets from the Strip – first, elementary qassams, with a range of a few miles, to finally advanced Iranian models, with a range of dozens of miles, and warheads of 300 kg.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/islamic-jihad-used-new-rocket-with-300kg-warhead-during-fighting-report

The crater of this rocket, launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in mid-November 2019, was 2 meters deep, with a diameter of 16 meters, as can be seen comparing with the size of the man in the hole.

On the whole, it is a clear timeline and equation, combining Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Military operations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It computes mathematically.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel

Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched tens of thousands^[1][2][3][4] of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of the continuing Palestinian–Israeli conflict. The attacks, widely condemned for targeting civilians, have been described as terrorism by the United Nations, the European Union, and Israeli officials, and are defined as war crimes by human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The international community considers indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets to be illegal under international law.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_operations_of_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict

Wikipedia is a fairly reliable and precise site on these matters. You can always double-check with other sites.

Considering the terrible gap in losses both sides, a radical change in strategy on the Palestinian side would make sense.

Leading to the rational prospect of demilitarization, the way it was done in Ireland and the Basque homeland.

We are just surprised at the silence of the Irish and Basque former chiefs of the armed organizations involved in terror.

Aren’t they in an ideal position to explain how you move from attacks and terror to negotiations and a farewell to arms?

February 2, 2024. News from Ireland. From giving up sectarian violence to winning the elections.

An Irish nationalist, member of the former political wing of the IRA, slated to become First Minister tomorrow, Mrs Michelle O’Neill. “This is a historic moment in time, it’s not lost on the wider public,” she said. “But it depends on what you do with it… Let’s get down to business. Let’s actually deliver, for the wider society out there.”

It’s been a quarter of a century since the 1998 peace agreement that ended all types of military action, and saw the IRA dump its arms. A referendum on a united Ireland still is a possibility, depending partly upon the evolution of demography between protestants and catholics, although the incoming First Minister hasn’t mentioned it.

Call it a historic shift, and see what happens next. Non-violently.

February 3, 2024. Bargaining with people’s lives.

The current talks about a cease-fire: The military quintette in Gaza would agree about a limited cessation of fire, until mid-March, and an exchange of prisoners in three parts. The big wigs in Doha and Turkey want more.

There’s dissent between those who bear the brunt of their suicidal October strategy and the happy few who live in style abroad. Disunity confirmed between the military wing on the ground & underground, and the political wing abroad.

 Wall Street Journal reveals the real reason there’s no ceasefire yet

In yesterday’s Jerusalem Post, an analysis by Yaakov Katz worth reading too :

When the war in Gaza stops, the political war in Israel will begin

On both sides of the divide, the problem is with the pre-October 7 leaders :

– those who let it happen, who did not see it coming,

– those who conceived the onslaught, its scope, and gave full licence to kill, loot, maim, and rape.

February 4, 2024. Hostages detained in the damp dark : what are we waiting for ?

 “Hamas infighting pushes off hostage deal”

 “According to Arab intelligence sources, the stance of Hamas in Gaza differs from that of the movement’s leadership abroad. Surprisingly, the Gaza leadership is willing to engage in such a deal even without international guarantees for a complete ceasefire and without Israeli withdrawal.”

 Avi Issacharoff, one of the all-time best observers, on January 30, 2024. For Ynet News. Confirming emerging internal divisions within the leadership of Hamas, creating almost visible cracks that are expected to widen in the coming weeks if the terror group maintains its resistance to a deal.

The prospect is a month-and-a-half ceasefire, expected to extend to weeks, possibly months, after mid-March, assuming that the ceasefire could start by the end of this week, around February 8 or 9. The whole process could drag on though :

more and more tunnels are being exposed as the IDF records tactical achievements in underground combat. This effort will continue in the coming weeks and is expected to create even greater pressure on senior Hamas figures to agree to a deal mediated by the Qataris and Egyptians.

 February 5, 2024. 3 a.m. “Returning to routine is out of the question – in no way”. 

Clara Marman, kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, released on November 28.

“I cannot go back to normal because I am in a fight until the end”

Clara’s brother, and her companion, are still held incommunicado somewhere underground in Gaza. Along with some 130 hostages – around 30 of them are believed to be dead. Whichever way you think about this, kidnapping civilians is not resistance.

Rape is not resistance. The strategists of October 7 have, indeed, severely corrupted the Palestinian cause. As testified by former Egyptian MP Tawfik Okasha. (see below)

A parallel between Ireland, the United Kingdom, Israel and Palestine :

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill makes history as 1st nationalist to lead Northern Ireland

 “This is a historic day that represents a new dawn,” O’Neill said. “That such a day would ever come would have been unimaginable to my parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Because of the Good Friday Agreement, that old state that they were born into is gone.” 

Former Egyptian MP Okasha, about Hamas :

“I mourn for every death on the Israeli side and every death on the Palestinian side, but I do not mourn Hamas personnel that have been killed because they are a terror organization that has profited from the Palestinian issue. They are an organization that turned Egypt into a no man’s land, and its hands are covered in the blood of Egypt. I will not forget it.”

“Hamas corrupted the Palestinian cause as well as led to the loss of opportunities of reaching a two-state solution because of their uprising against the PA in 2007.

“They orchestrated an attack on Israel on October 7 and used the same tactics and tools as ISIS and al-Qaeda,”

https://www.jpost.com/international/article-785216

February 6, 2024. The in-depth dimension of the confrontation.

Few people in the rich Northern hemisphere know where Yemen exactly is.

A number of people have heard that Yemeni Houthis have hit commercial vessels heading for the Suez canal. Arguing that they were thus targeting Israel and its allies.  The consequence being that hundreds of such Northbound ships  have had to navigate around the Southern tip of Africa to reach Europe, leading to a sharp rise in transportation fees.

More recently, we have heard about ballistic missiles launched at Israel from Yemen.

“Arrow intercepts missile in red Sea headed for Eilat”

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-784928

Eilat, even my garage mechanic knows where that is, due to the Club Med where he spent holidays scuba-diving, long ago. Eilat being 1840 km from Sanaa, as the crow flies, it makes you wonder what the hell the devil’s equation may be between Houthis, Israelis and all the others involved (especially when you learn that the US and the UK have sent planes to bomb Houthi sites). 

 You then look at the Houthi flag in Yemen, check out for the translation, and you go : Huh-huh… there we go again. Déjà vu, all over. Allahu Akbar. God’s the Greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse the Jews. Victory to Islam.

Not so subtle, especially the “Curse the Jews” line, but at least explicit.

It’s the-Jews, all over again, isn’t it ? Goebbels’s got to be laughing out loud in his non-grave, the Biederitz river, having the time of his death…

February 7, 2024. Probably the most important testimony since October 7, 2023.

Yahyah Mahamid, YNet News, February 3, 2024

To think like an Arab Israeli

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjoltmh56

February 8, 2024. Growing weariness.

We all get wearier, by the days. But the hostages, and the thousands of displaced people under tents or in temporary structures, in South Gaza and in Israel, are incomparably wearier than us. With those who expect their homecoming.

Why do the academics and so many Nobel laureates keep so silent ?

February 9, 2024. The feeling of betrayal.

Reading Jonathan’s October message again, from East Negev, stating “The people who lost their lives have been betrayed.”

Thinking of Hayim Katsman, the philosopher-musician, who was murdered in Kholit, the Southernmost, closest to Gaza kibbutz. Like Vivian Silver, Haim Peri, he was one of the volunteers who would drive sick Gazans to the best hospitals in Israel, and back. 

February 10, 2024. Going against the flow.

“going against the flow and forging a new path usually comes at a price”

Yahya Mahamid again.    https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ry0kwr6ka#autoplay

February 11, 2024. Into Gaza.

“… utter devastation. It’s a huge destruction, of almost biblical proportions.”  Avi Issacharoff, YNet News

“Welcome to the grinder: How IDF is burrowing deeper into Khan Younis”   February 10, 2024

February 12, 2024. The damage done.

East or West, the damage done since October 7 is dizzying. People are afraid – of facing the facts of October 7, their ethnical, cultural context, and the consequences. “the October 7 massacre is the largest antisemitic massacre of the 21st century”.  

Le massacre du 7 octobre est le plus grand massacre antisémite du 21e siècle. Le contester est une faute. Sembler le justifier, en y mêlant le nom des Nations Unies, est une honte.

Ces propos sont d’autant plus scandaleux que la lutte contre l’antisémitisme et toutes les formes de racisme sont au cœur de la fondation de l’ONU.

February 13, 2024. A clear and loud statement from France.

From the French president to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, facing denial by a U.N. spokesperson :

“The October 7 massacre is the largest antisemitic massacre of the 21st century. To contest it is a fault. To seem to justify it, involving the name of the United Nations, is a shame.

These declarations are all the more outrageous that the struggle against antisemitism and all forms of racism are at the heart of the foundation of the United Nations.”

 February 14, 2024. Captives and fugitives in a rat-trap.

Images keep coming up from the darkness of the Gaza tunnels.

 The man in flip-flops, and pajamas, is supposed to be the leader of the military quintette, fleeing in one of the tunnels, with his wife, his brother, and three kids.

They speak of psychological warfare, of belittling the man, in his colleagues’ eyes, in Gazans’ eyes, and in his own eyes.
Getting closer to “The End” ?

No progress whatsoever in the talks about the release of hostages.

We have entered another warped dimension of time yet.

No news of the captives – but one and a half million people in Gaza are captives as well, and what will they come home to, “in the end” ?