Palestinian Fighters, Israel’s Rejection of Peace, Nuclear Piracy, and More
This week on Inkstick Media.
Hello everyone,
It’s been a brutal week for Gazans. Hanna Davis reported for Inkstick on Hezbollah-backed Palestinian fighters in Lebanon that are ready to fight for Palestine — and have been training to do just that. While Davis explained how Hezbollah may be playing a “calculative engagement game,” Zachary Foster gave us a history lesson about another group: Hamas. He pointed out that Hamas sought a truce with Israel in 1988, 2006, 2008, 2012, and 2017, but Israel chose war rather than peace.??
With no end to the violence in sight, Eli McCarthy called on the American public to urge President Joe Biden and Congress to take a just peace approach to the violence because sending weapons to a war zone only increases dehumanization, destruction, and trauma. He wrote, “Yes, all of us have a right of defense. Yet, how we choose to defend ourselves can either perpetuate cycles of violence and trauma, or it can break cycles of violence and trauma.”?
Have you heard the tale of Captain Blackbeard and his pirates, who occupied the port of Charleston in 1718 for a week until his demands were met? Ali Alk?? argued that this is basically what Russia is doing in its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. He also explained why the occupation is not “nuclear terrorism,” which seems to be the preferred term for some Western scholars and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.?
There’s more, so check out the rest of this week’s pieces below.
?This week on Inkstick Media:
“Hezbollah-Backed Palestinian Fighters in Lebanon Prepare for War” by Hanna Davis (Oct. 23)
Since 2006, Hezbollah has significantly developed its arsenal and improved its fighting techniques and intelligence capabilities, learning from its Russian allies on the ground in Syria. Compared to 2006, Hezbollah is also now spread all over Lebanon, and Israel is less able to distinguish between Lebanese and Hezbollah targets.?
“Serving the Servicemen in Ukraine” by Anna Romandash (Oct. 23)
Anna Romandash, our columnist in Ukraine, reports that currently, Ukraine has around 1 million active soldiers. By the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war, it is predicted to have around 1.6 million veterans, many with disabilities. While the state guarantees free prosthetics and rehabilitation services to the soldiers, many of these things exist only on paper as there are no funds or infrastructure to provide them.
“Russia’s Hold on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is Nuclear Piracy” by Ali Alk?? (Oct. 24)
Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is an example of nuclear piracy. It needs to be addressed with urgency as the plant is on the verge of a nuclear accident. While there is no easy way to predict the extent of contamination in the event of an intentional nuclear accident, the psychological effects could be devastating.
“Beware the False Promise of Another Armed Intervention in Haiti” by A.J. Manuzzi (Oct. 24)
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An American military intervention would repeat or amplify rather than eradicate the root causes of instability in Haiti. Throughout its history, Haiti has consistently served as a canvas for North Atlantic powers, and those foreign powers have failed the Haitian people.
“Israel Rejected Peace with Hamas on Five Occasions” by Zachary Foster (Oct. 25)
Before August 1988, Hamas was an Islamic charity, not a militant group. It provided social services, organized youth sports and educational programs, and operated health clinics and orphanages. That’s why Israel funded and supported the organization in the early 1980s. Israeli political leaders at the time believed that strengthening the apolitical, non-violent Islamists would weaken the violent and revolutionary secularists represented by the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the umbrella group that had dominated Palestinian politics in exile for decades.?
“Imagine the War Home: Part I” by Kelsey D. Atherton (Oct. 26)
In this week’s Deep Dive, featured in Critical State, Kelsey D. Atherton looked at research that analyzed how terrorist attacks by right-wing and Islamist groups distort public debates in Germany. Turns out, the perspectives of victims, especially victims of far-right terror, have been excluded even though they are crucial to these debates.
“War is Trauma for Palestinians and Israelis Alike, Not Justice” by Eli McCarthy (Oct. 27)
The just peace norm of conflict transformation focuses on engaging stakeholders in relentless negotiations with the help of credible messengers, such as country leaders, religious leaders, other civil society leaders, family members, etc. Pursuing the just peace method in the Israel-Palestine conflict would include focusing on who has leverage with Israeli leaders and with Hamas leadership and then mobilizing them to influence these leaders toward de-escalation, a ceasefire, and accountability.
“You’d Hate Your AI Voice Too” by Duncan Allen (Oct. 27)
The age of watching a video or hearing a recording and taking it at face value is over — and has been for some time. If you get a call from a loved one asking for thousands of gift cards, call them back on their personal cell. If you see a video of a politician saying they want to increase the price of a pint, double-check if any trusted news sources have reported the story.?
–From the desk of Sahar Khan, managing editor of Inkstick Media. Sadly, this is my last update, but fear not! It will be written by our new managing editor, who shall be revealed soon so look out for some news. It has been a pleasure writing this every week. ?