IDF holiday snaps 17, August 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.Tags: Eden Abergil, Eden Abergil photos, Palestinian prisoners
1 comment so far
What a delightful photo to put on facebook or to send to your mom. This photo emerged from an album entitled: “The IDF…the best time of my life.”
You’ve got to think that when the Israeli army describes your behavior as “ugly and callous” then you’re really far out in left (perhaps that should be right) field…
Is it just me or do examples like this not really seem to hit on one of the key cruxes of the issue: an institutionalized lack of respect? Obviously, I am sure [desperately hope, rather] that most IDF soldiers are not like the delightful Eden Abergil here, but the simple, every day banality of the measures – from arrests to roadblocks to detentions – can only foster such deep hatred on a personal level. How routine, for example, are the detentions in the above picture? To say that this would build a simmering, burning resentment would be an understatement of epic proportions.
Qatar, Saudi and Israel in investment venture 15, August 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Qatar, Saudi Arabia.Tags: Credit Suisse, Credit Suissw, Israel Qatar Saudi investment, Nochi Danker, Olayan group, Qatar Saudi Arabia relations, QIA and Israeli venture
1 comment so far
An Israeli conglomerate will be joined by Qatar and Saudi Arabia to invest together in emerging markets.
Under the auspices of Credit Suisse (in whom the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) are the largest shareholders: 10%) the troika will launch a $1 billion fund for investment. The Saudi side, the FT reports, that it is led by the Olayan Group, one of the longest established Saudi business families. QIA is leading the Qatari end and IDB controlled by Israel’s “most powerful businessman” Nochi Danker who has a 3% stake in Credit Suisse, plays the Israeli role.
It appears as if this has been led by Credit Suisse and is not some kind of ‘statement’ by Qatar and Saudi Arabia in choosing to work with an Israeli partner. A QIA spokesman, for example, gave the refreshing answer that he had “no idea” about any of this.
Whilst Qatar has been seeking to reopen the Israeli trade office in Doha in recent months in a quid pro quo for access to Gaza and might well look for other opportunities to work ‘with Israel’, the same cannot be said for Saudi Arabia. Israeli relations for Saudi Arabia are a taboo. Whilst there have been mooted meetings at conferences and summits, these are usually pleasantly deniable.
If certain actors in the Kingdom decide to pick this story and highlight it, this venture will fall flat quickly. While the erudite, well-traveled Saudi businessmen will have no problem in such a deal (an Israeli’s money is as good as anyone else’s) the accompanying press coverage may be highly unwelcome.
Israelis to sue Al Jazeera 15, July 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Al-Jazeera, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.Tags: Al Jazeera sued, Al-Jazeera, Israel sue Al Jazeera
add a comment
AP reports that a group of Israelis are suing Al Jazeera for $1.2 billion in New York for aiding Hezbollah. These 91 Israelis were wounded by Hezbollah’s rockets in the 2006 war. They suggest that Al Jazeera intentionally broke Israel’s military censorship rules and reported specific locations of rocket attacks in Israel allowing Hezbollah to more accurately aim their rockets.
Israeli soldiers dancing on patrol in Hebron 6, July 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.Tags: Israeli dancing, Israeli patrol dance, Israeli solidiers dancing
1 comment so far
Who says war or patrol needs to be dull?
New Israeli flotilla attack video 16, June 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in American ME Relations, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.Tags: Flotilla, Flotilla video, New flotilla video
add a comment
Some parts of this video are a bit difficult to watch.
Israeli Attack on the Mavi Marmara, May 31st 2010 // 15 min. from Cultures of Resistance on Vimeo.
This is the latest video from the Israeli flotilla attack. Some things I learned:
- The boat was a lot larder than I first realised
- There were SIGNIFICANTLY more people on board than I first realised
- This video mooching around what I’d guess to be a fair bit of the ship gave no evidence whatsoever of any quasi-militias on board. The worst was a guy – quite literally – flicking something at an Israeli helicopter with a tiny hand-held catapult. A bit pathetic and pointless really.
- This video shows what I imagine to be a majority of the people on board having nothing whatsoever to do with brandishing any weapons or attacking anyone. Most people seemed to be holding cameras, offering first-aid and generally milling around.
- The caveat to some of the above points being that this video does not cover any struggles/fighting between Israelis and others. Yet, my point overall has been and still is that the vast majority of people on board wanted no fight to break-out. I’ve no doubt that some were looking for a confrontation, but, I suggest, that such people are not in the majority.
Gulf News’ unadulterated anti-semitism 7, June 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in American ME Relations, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Media in the ME, Middle East.Tags: Anti semitism, Anti semitism picture, Arab press, Gulf News anti semitism
6 comments
The Gulf News out does itself in this example of egregiously anti-Semitic sentiment. As if to try to out perform the host of atrocious newspapers across the Middle East, the Gulf News, a hopelessly bland, emasculated and talentless newspaper, really pulls out all the stops with this classic. Yet another triumph for Arab newspapers.
I think and have said that on this occasion – as many before – Israel was mostly, if not vastly, in the wrong. Yet this kind of pathetic demonization of one side is just really so unhelpful. I truly hate this kind of populist (or purportedly populist) pandering of newspapers to the very lowest common denominator in society. The absolute definition of the gutter press.
Israel to be world’s 4th largest arms exporter 6, June 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.Tags: Israel, Israel arms industry, World's largst arms exporters
5 comments
The Israeli Defense Ministry has announced that it expects to have sold some $8 billion worth of arms by the end of 2010. This will make it the world’s 4th largest arms exporter after the U.S., Russia and France.
On the flotilla 5, June 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in American ME Relations, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.Tags: Flotilla, Gaza aid, Gaza blockade, Gaza srtip
add a comment
Two quick thoughts on the flotilla saga:
1. Why doesn’t Obama send a ship filled with humanitarian supplies to Gaza? The U.S. could also, to avoid difficulties, take the aid from the Irish ship currently motoring towards Gaza, verify that it’s all aid and not money or weapons for Hamas and deliver it. The Israelis would thus have a guarantee from the U.S. that no nefarious stuff is getting through and the U.S. could begin to repair their wholly tarnished reputation (and do the right thing).
2. This sort of issue seems to divide and blind people like no other. Why can one side not say that the overwhelming majority of people and cargo were/was there for purely humanitarian reasons. There were, however, some people looking for trouble and some contraband. What can’t the other side say that this was a wholly botched and poorly thought out operation – mea culpa – and that a few chiefs need to go? However, we resolutely stick to the overriding principle that we need to make sure that we check stuff going into Gaza.
Both sides so implacably asserting that they are 100% correct makes them both sound absurd. Though, on this occasion, I’ve got to say that Israel sounds especially daft.
Mark Steel on the Flotilla 2, June 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in American ME Relations, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.Tags: Flotilla, Mark Steel
add a comment
Mark Steele on the Flotilla debacle:
It’s time the Israeli government’s PR team made the most of its talents, and became available for hire. Then whenever a nutcase marched into a shopping mall in somewhere like Wisconsin and gunned down a selection of passers-by, they could be on hand to tell the world’s press “The gunman regrets the loss of life but did all he could to avoid violence.” Then various governments would issue statements saying “All we know is a man went berserk with an AK 47, and next to him there’s a pile of corpses, so until we know the facts we can’t pass judgement on what took place.”
To strengthen their case the Israelis have released a photo of the weapons they found on board, (which amount to some knives and tools and wooden sticks) that the naive might think you’d expect to find on any ship, but the more astute will recognise as exactly what you’d carry if you were planning to defeat the Israeli army…
…logical as the statement from the Israeli PM’s spokesman – “We made every possible effort to avoid this incident.” Because the one tiny thing they forgot to do to avoid this incident was not send in armed militia from helicopters in the middle of the night and shoot people. I must be a natural at this sort of technique because I often go all day without climbing off a helicopter and shooting people, and I’m not even making every possible effort.
…
If this incident had been carried about by Iran, or anyone we were trying to portray as an enemy, so much condemnation would have been spewed out it would have created a vast cloud of outrage that airlines would be unable to fly through.
But as it’s Israel, most governments offer a few diplomatic words that blame no one, but accept the deaths are “regrettable”. They might as well have picked any random word from the dictionary, so the news would tell us “William Hague described the deaths as ‘hexagonal’”, and a statement from the US senate said “It’s all very confusing. In future let’s hope they make every effort to avoid a similar incident.”
Fast roping 101 2, June 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.Tags: Abu Muqawama, CNAS, Fast roping 101, Fast roping diagram, Flotilla, Flotilla attack
add a comment
This fantastic and helpful little diagram is taken from Abu Muqawama’s tip-top blog over at CNAS.
Hat tip: MEI Editor
