Gaza Fighting Continues Despite UN Vote, Baltimore Bridge Collapses, Maple Syrup Shortage

💡 SPOTLIGHT

The doctrine of armed struggle — a fatal flaw for the Palestinian cause

The military struggle of the Palestinians has become a holy matter that banned any discussion about it — including reviews, criticism and accountability. That has given the tyranny of militarism the upper hand at the expense of politics and popular movements, writes Majed Kayali in Arabic-language independent digital media Daraj.

The idea of armed struggle has occupied the political consciousness of the Palestinians, since the launch of the contemporary national movement six decades ago. Indeed, the armed struggle is imprinted on the character of its primary political organizations and entities — which inevitably shapes relations directly with the Palestinian people.

The centrality of the armed struggle has also affected the nature of Palestinian foreign relations, making its leadership dependent on external support, whether armed, financial, or political.

Fatah’s original call for armed struggle was considered, at the time, the only factor that had enabled it to impose itself on the Palestinian and Arab political arena, which was crowded with nationalist and leftist forces, as well as to attract the Palestinians and to lift them out of the shock of the Nakba, (catastrophe) that was the expulsion from their land during the 1948 Israeli-Arab war.

The call for armed struggle was pragmatic. That was evident by the fact that Fatah, in its early literature, was talking about the “mindful involvement” of regimes in the liberation battle (of Palestine), and about considering the Palestinian dimension as the forefront of the Arab armies in that battle.

The problem is that all of this happened despite the weak capabilities of the Palestinians, their submission to multiple authorities, and their dependence on external support. The leadership at the time — particularly Fatah, which engineered the Palestinian national movement — was well aware of all of these shortcomings.

Of course, years later, the Fatah movement would itself attempt to lead the Palestinians from armed struggle to political negotiation. It led the transformation of the entire Palestinian national movement from being a national liberation movement to an Authority (ruling power) over the Palestinian people, under the auspices of Israel in the Occupied Territories, which is part of historic Palestine.

It was Fatah’s previous transformations — coupled with the obsolescence and exhaustion of the Palestinian national movement, and subsequently the marginalization of the Palestinian Liberation Movement (PLO) — were the main factors behind the rise of Hamas. In one sense, having started its armed struggle in its own way and according to its terms, Hamas picked up from where Fatah had left off.

Hamas appeared in the Palestinian street as a competitor and rival to Fatah over power, status, and leadership, particularly after the 1993 Oslo Accords, which were consolidated with the division of the government in two: one for Fatah in the West Bank, and the second for Hamas in Gaza. [...]

— Read the full article by Majed Kayali for Daraj, translated into English by Worldcrunch.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Fighting continues in Gaza despite UN ceasefire vote: Fighting continues in Gaza despite the first UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire passing on Monday. The resolution, which also called for the release of all hostages, followed several failed attempts at similar measures since the Oct. 7 attacks. The U.S. abstained from the vote, which allowed the motion to pass and lead Israel to cancel a meeting in Washington. Read more in this analysis translated from French to English by Worldcrunch: U.S. And The UN: The Abstention That Could Change The Course Of The War In Gaza.

• Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses after ship crash: Rescuers are searching for survivors in the Patapsco River after a major bridge collapsed in the U.S. port of Baltimore in the early hours of Tuesday, having been struck by a container ship. The accident caused huge parts of the 1.6-mile (2.57-km) Francis Scott Key Bridge to fall into the water, plunging cars and as many as 20 people into the river.

• Five Chinese nationals killed in Pakistan suicide attack: Five Chinese nationals have been killed in an explosion when their convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan. A suicide bomber rammed an explosives laden vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers, which was on its way from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 

• Venezuela opposition fails to register candidate for presidential election: Venezuela’s main opposition coalition (PUD) claims it has been blocked from registering its candidate to challenge Nicolas Maduro in the upcoming presidential election. Neighboring states have expressed concern that President Maduro has so far managed to block his chief opponents from the July 28 vote.

• New Zealand accuses China of hacking parliament, China hits back at U.S. and UK: The New Zealand government said it had raised concerns on Tuesday with the Chinese government about its involvement in a state-sponsored cyber hack on New Zealand's parliament in 2021. The revelations come as Britain and the U.S. accuses China of a wide sweeping cyber espionage campaign. Meanwhile, Beijing has lashed out at the U.S. and UK for imposing sanctions over alleged Chinese government-backed cyberattacks, calling the Western allies’ move an act of “political manipulation.”

• UK court grants Assange temporary reprieve from U.S. extradition: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a further wait to find out whether he can bring an appeal against his extradition to the U.S. Meanwhile, UK judges are seeking further assurances on his case from the U.S. and have adjourned their decision until May 20. For more, read this article about Assange and Navalny, translated from Spanish to English by Worldcrunch.

• Maple syrup in a sticky situation: Canada's maple syrup reserve — the world's only! — has reached a 16-year low, raising questions about the future of a globally loved sweet staple in the face of climate change. The reserve, located in Quebec, is designed to hold 133 million pounds of maple syrup; in 2023, the supply fell to 6.9 million pounds.

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Showing scenes of destruction in Gaza, Paris-based daily l’Humanité lends its front page to the long-awaited temporary ceasefire for Ramadan, with the headline “UN puts Israel under pressure.” The U.S.’s decision to abstain from the vote on the ceasefire resolution Monday, which allowed the measure to pass, drew criticism from Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who canceled a delegate’s planned trip to Washington afterward. Read more about it on Worldcrunch.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Putin, 72 hours: the Kremlin timeline before, during and after the theater attack

As Russia mourns the victims of the worst terrorist attack in the Moscow area in more than two decades, differing narratives about the attack are spreading, as well as questions about why Putin addressed citizens just once in three days and did not acknowledge ISIS as the perpetrators, reports Russian independent media Vazhnyye Istorii.

⚠️ On the evening of March 7, U.S. authorities warn that terrorists are planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Moscow in the near future in places where citizens gather en masse, including concert venues. Putin does not comment on this in any way. The most fraudulent elections in modern history are taking place in Russia: the Central Election Commission declares Putin the victor with more than 87% of the vote. On March 19, Putin calls the U.S. warning “outright blackmail.” Three days later, terrorists will kill more than 130 people and injure over 180 at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow.

🇷🇺 Night of March 22-23: ISIS claims responsibility for the terrorist attack, which had already been verified by U.S. intelligence agencies. Reports now confirm 62 people have been killed and 146 are wounded; the bodies of the dead are being removed from the building. Police beat up peaceful citizens near Crocus. Almost six hours from the start of the terrorist attack, Putin wishes recovery to all victims of the attack. He does not do so himself, but conveys his words through Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.

💬 March 23, 19.5 hours from the start of the terrorist attack: Putin appears in public for the first time. In his address, he repeats the FSB version of events that the terrorists tried to hide in Ukraine and were somehow connected with it. He compares the militants to “Nazis.” After that (judging by reports from the press service), he calls the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

💬 LEXICON

紅麹

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical, a major Japanese pharmaceutical company, is investigating one death and more than 70 hospitalizations thought to be linked to its red yeast rice pills (紅麹, pronounced beni kōkiku), marketed as cholesterol-lowering. The drug maker issued a voluntary recall of the pills last week, and urged customers to stop using the supplements. The company stated Tuesday that there is a “casual relationship” between its product and the customer’s death, reportedly related to kidney disease.

📣 VERBATIM

“If I leave Spain, I give the racists exactly what they want.”

—  Brazilian football winger Vinicius Junior used a news conference to address the racism he faces in Spain as a Black man. The 23-year-old Real Madrid star broke down in tears at the emotional conference, mentioning the slurs soccer fans shout at him from the stands and sharing his struggle to stay motivated. Last season, La Liga reported some 10 such instances of racism against Vinicius. “I will stay because that way the racists can continue to see my face more and more,” the player added during the conference.

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

A major bridge in the U.S. port city of Baltimore collapsed Tuesday morning after being struck by a container ship, plunging vehicles and as many as 20 people into the river below. The 1.6-mile (2.57-km) Francis Scott Key Bridge caved in when the ship struck the support pylon. The Baltimore City Fire Department stated the collapse is a “mass-casualty, multi-agency event” that “is going to extend for many days.” An active search-and-rescue operation is currently underway. — Photo: Harford County MD Fire & EMS/Handout

👉  MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH  

• Parents, Children, Black Markets: Inside The Desperate Search For Food In Gaza — AL MANASSA

• Dying To Get To America: Why So Many Missing Migrants Go Unidentified — DISTINTAS LATITUDES

• Student Protests In Pisa: Why Italy's Government Is So Afraid Of Teenagers— LA STAMPA

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