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UNRWA Gaza chief recalled after telling truth about
Israel’s strikes being ‘precise’
Jun 4, 2021 | News
UNRWA Gaza chief recalled after telling truth about Israel’s strikes being ‘precise’
The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency’s mission in Gaza has been recalled from his post following uproar in Gaza, primarily from Hamas, after he correctly detailed Israel’s strikes against Hamas as being “precise” and “sophisticated”.
Hamas was outraged by the comments made by UNRWA’s chief, who also in the interview explained how Gaza was not suffering from any lack of food, water or medicines throughout the conflict.
Matthias Schmale, who made the comments, left the Hamas run territory on Wednesday along with his deputy David de Bold. They are currently working from UNRWA’s offices in Jerusalem.
The uproar came from a May 23rd interview where Schmale was asked about the IDF’s assertion that its military strikes were very precise. He responded: “I’m not a military expert but I would not dispute that. I also have the impression that there is a huge sophistication in the way the Israeli military struck over the last 11 days.”
In the interview, Schmale said that despite their accuracy, the strikes in the latest conflict were much more “vicious” than in the 2014 war.
“So yes they did not hit, with some exceptions, civilian targets, but the viciousness and ferocity of the strikes were heavily felt,” he said.
He then clarified, “so the precision was there, but there was an unacceptable and unbearable loss of life on the civilian side.”
Even though the IDF informs people in a building that it will be targeted, about an hour ahead of time!
As you can see from the interview, his comments were not exactly praising the IDF, but merely pointing out facts that instead of Israel’s airstrikes being “indiscriminate” as the media keeps telling us, he instead told the truth that Israel’s strikes are “precise”.
Imagine, the truth coming out of Gaza. No wonder Hamas is mortified!
He later apologised for his comments and called for an independent investigation into Israel’s actions, seemingly in an attempt to quell the outrage.
Hamas was furious and said in a statement that his “comments are a complete distortion in favour of the Zionists, including an attempt to exonerate the Occupation of the murder of 254 Palestinians, more than 40% of them children, women and the elderly.”
You will notice from media reports about deaths in Gaza that the ministry of health inside the strip, which is run by Hamas, never reveals the number of Hamas or other terrorist fighters that were killed. This latest statement from Hamas may give a hint to the fact that most of those killed by Israeli strikes were indeed terrorists.
Israel maintains that the vast majority killed are fighting-age men. And many of the civilians killed (at least 50) were killed by Hamas rockets being misfired.
On the first day of fighting alone, eight civilians (including six children) were killed by a Hamas rocket that fell on a Gaza home. This occurred before the IDF fired a single shot into Gaza but Israel was blamed for the atrocity even by MPs in Britain.
When the dust settles from this recent conflict we will have a much clearer picture of all those killed, including which ones were members of terror groups and how each one died. With hindsight, we usually see that Israel’s side of events is closer to the truth than those projected by Hamas and spread by the media. Unfortunately, the world will have moved on by that point and already made their mind up about the conflict regardless of how accurate that view may be.
It is a shame the UN’s representatives in Gaza are unable to speak the truth about the conflict. The narrative of Hamas must be countered with the truth.
Lod: Arab girls attempt to drown Jewish girl in swimming pool
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'I didn't understand what she wanted from my life, but then she made a motion on my neck
as if she was slitting it,' 11-year-old H. says.
Arutz Sheva Staff ,
Jun 02 , 2021 12:43 PM
Arab girls attacked a Jewish girl in a swimming pool in the central city of Lod, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
In one of the incidents, which occurred Tuesday, a local Arab girl attempted to drown a Jewish girl, identified as H.
As she worked to drown the Jewish girl, the Arab girl and her friends cursed H. and "all the Yahud (Jews - ed.)."
H., who is eleven years old, told Kikar Hashabbat, "I went with my friends to the municipal pool, which on this day has hours for us, and suddenly one Arab comes over, a young girl, and jumps on me with her friends."
"I was in the deep water, so I almost drowned. At the beginning I didn't understand what was happening to me, what she wanted from my life, but then she pulled my swimsuit and made a hand motion on my neck as if she was slitting it, and her friend told me, 'Palestine is on your head."
H. said she hurried to exit the pool, but the Arab girls did not leave her alone. "'We will chase every Yahud out of here, this is all ours, get out of here,' they screamed at me. And then several women heard it and one of them called the police," H. recounted.
"Afterwards, when I came home, I told everything to my mother and I went together with her to the police station - my father at the time was giving a class - and we'll see what happens now."
H.'s mother added, "I hope she recovers from this quickly, and no less important: That the municipality set separate days for swimming in the pool - for Jewish girls."
Revital, a 26-year-old who lives in Lod's Ganei Aviv neighborhood, told Kikar Hashabbat: "When we arrived at the pool, the Arab girls who we passed cursed us that we die and called us names, and we tried to ignore them as much as possible."
"But when I was swimming, one of the Arab girls kicked me, and I got out of the water. And then my friend's daughter also got out of the pool, upset, and said that they were threatening her, and another girl said they hurt her in other ways."
At this point, when the Jewish swimmers approached the Arabs and asked that the harassment cease, the Arabs "began to scream: 'We hate you and all the Jews.' So we understood that this would be a big mess and my friend called the police," Revital said.
"The whole time, meanwhile, I was filming them and when one of the Arabs realized, she came up to me making a move as if to punch me near my heart, cursed me that I die, and tried to take my phone. It's a miracle that the girls who were at the scene separated us and begged her to leave me alone and stop being wild."
The mother of one of the girls told Kikar Hashabbat: "My daughter came back from the Lod pool and now I found out that the Arab girls made slaughtering motions at the Jewish girls on their necks and told them, 'We can make you disappear.'"
"Were it not for the intervention of one of the women at the pool, who called the police, it's impossible to know how this story would have ended. The girls come on the 'separate' day for women, and if in the past we could send our girls safely, now that can't happen anymore - unless they do not allow Arabs to enter on that day, which is what we expect the municipality to do - and urgently."
Chinese miners kidnapped in Niger
The men were abducted near the country's border with Mali and Burkina Faso, a hotbed for Islamists. China, which mines uranium, gold and oil in the country, has expanded its operations across Africa.
French uranium mine in Arlit, Niger. Attacks on foreign facilities or people are not unheard of in Niger;
this French uranium mine was targeted by suicide bombers
Two Chinese nationals working for a Chinese mining company in the west of Niger, near the country's borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, were abducted by armed men late Saturday night as Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, the governor of Niger's Tillaberi region, told news agency AFP on Monday.
Katiella said the men "have a permit to search for gold," and that they had "refused to go home" after receiving prior warnings from armed groups in the area.
The area, known as the "three borders" zone of Sahel nations, has been a hotbed of jihadist activity, in which Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida and "Islamic State" have carried out attacks in all three countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger). Niger also faces ongoing threats from the group Boko Haram in the south.
It is not yet known who was behind the kidnapping.
'An ultimatum to Chinese companies'
China, which aggressively mines minerals and other resources across Africa, signed an expanded deal for uranium, gold and oil exploration and extraction with Niger in 2006.
The last time a Chinese national was kidnapped in Niger was in 2007, when an employee from the China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corporation (CNEC) was taken hostage by the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ), a rebel Tuareg group operating in the north of the country.
At the time of the kidnapping, the MNJ said it was an "ultimatum to the Chinese companies that cooperate with the Niger army." The kidnapped engineer was eventually released after several days of negotiations.
China's manufacturing and export economy has fueled the need for raw materials and has seen Beijing invest billions in mining operations across the entire continent of Africa.
Beyond the oil, copper and iron needed for traditional manufacturing, Africa is rich in rare earths, such as coltan, needed for the manufacture of electronic goods, holding an estimated 75% of global supply. It is also estimated that Africa holds 90% of the world's platinum and cobalt reserves, 50% of its gold and 35% of its uranium.
Three Borders
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is dead, rival militant group says
Thomson Reuters ·
Posted: Jun 07, 2021 3:15 PM ET
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, centre, is pictured in this still image taken from an undated video obtained in 2018. Shekau reportedly died around May 18, according to an audio recording from a rival militant group. (Boko Haram Handout/Sahara Reporters/Reuters)
The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) militant group said in an audio recording heard by Reuters on Sunday that Abubakar Shekau, leader of rival Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram, is dead.
Shekau died around May 18 after detonating an explosive device when he was pursued by ISWAP fighters following a battle, a person purporting to be ISWAP leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi said on the audio recording.
"Abubakar Shekau, God has judged him by sending him to heaven," he can be heard saying.
If he is there when I get there, I will be astonished!
Two people familiar with al-Barnawi told Reuters the voice on the recording was that of the ISWAP leader.
A Nigerian intelligence report shared by a government official and Boko Haram researchers have also said Shekau is dead.
Last month, Nigeria's military said it was investigating Shekau's alleged death, also reported in Nigerian and foreign news outlets. The audio statement, first obtained by local media, is ISWAP's first confirmation that its arch-rival in the Lake Chad region has been killed.
Islamic State "are consolidating the whole area, the Lake Chad region and [Shekau's stronghold]," said Bulama Bukarti, an analyst specializing in Boko Haram at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in London.
"ISWAP had framed Shekau as the problem and he was the only person they wanted to remove," Bukarti said of Islamic State's attempt to lure Boko Haram commanders and fighters to their side.
Shekau's death could lead to the end of a violent rivalry between the two groups, enabling ISWAP to absorb Boko Haram fighters and consolidate its hold on territory in northeastern Nigeria, political analysts said.
That would allow ISWAP to focus its attention on the government and military, whose war efforts are languishing.
'Languishing'! That's a hopelessly optimistic word to describe it.
Boko Haram's leader was reported to have been killed on several occasions over the last 12 years, including in announcements by the military, only to later appear in a video post.
In the audio recording, the man identified as al-Barnawi said his fighters had sought out the warlord on the orders of the Islamic State leadership and battled Boko Haram insurgents until Shekau fled.
ISWAP chased him down and offered him the chance to repent and join them, he said.
"Shekau preferred to be humiliated in the afterlife than getting humiliated on Earth, and he killed himself instantly by detonating an explosive," he said.
Boko Haram grabbed headlines worldwide with its 2014 kidnapping of more than 270 schoolgirls from the Nigerian town of Chibok, sparking a global campaign for their return dubbed #BringBackOurGirls, backed by the likes of Michelle Obama.
About 100 of the Chibok Girls are still missing, and some are thought to have died in captivity.
The names of missing Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants are displayed on desks
in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2019. (Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)
Shekau led the transformation of Boko Haram from an underground Islamic sect in 2009 to a full-fledged insurgency — killing, kidnapping and looting its way across northeast Nigeria.
The group has killed more than 30,000 people, forced about two million people to flee their homes and spawned one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
ISWAP was previously part of Boko Haram before its split five years ago, pledging allegiance to Islamic State. The schism was caused by religious ideological disagreements over the killing of civilians by Boko Haram, to which ISWAP objected.
There is no indication whether the orders from IS came from the leadership of ISWAP, or from somewhere outside of Africa. While the original split might have been about the horrific slaughter of civilians, it's more likely that the push to rid Nigeria of Shekau had to do with consolidating the terrorists rather than being less murderous. Christians are not likely to be any safer with Shekau locked in Hell.
4 killed in London, Ont. attack likely targeted for being Muslim
By Nick Westoll & Jacquelyn LeBel Global News
Posted June 7, 2021 3:49 pm
Four members of a London, Ont., family who were struck and killed by a vehicle in the city’s northwest Sunday evening are believed to have been targeted because they were Muslim, the area’s police chief says.
“We believe this was an intentional act and that the victims of this horrific incident were targeted,” Chief Steve Williams told reporters during a news conference Monday afternoon.
“We believe the victims were targeted because of their Islamic faith.”
Williams called Sunday’s attack a “devastating loss” for the community.
“We understand that this event may cause fear and anxiety in the community and in particular the Muslim community and any community targeted by hate. I want to reassure all Londoners that all of us on the call today and many others stand with you and support you,” he said.
“There is no tolerance in this community for individuals who, motivated by hate, target others with violence.”
It was Sunday evening at around 8:40 p.m. when Det. Supt. Paul Waight said emergency crews were called to the intersection of Hyde Park and South Carriage roads, south of Gainsborough Road. He said it’s alleged the driver of a black pick-up truck drove south on Hyde Park Road, mounted the sidewalk and struck the family members.
Waight said the vehicle took off southbound “at a high rate of speed.” Approximately five minutes later, he said the driver stopped the vehicle at Cherryhill Village Mall at Cherryhill Boulevard and Oxford Street West, which is roughly a six-kilometre drive away from the scene.
The accused was subsequently arrested by police. Waight said the suspect was wearing “a vest that appeared to be like body armour” at the time of his arrest.
“There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act motivated by hate. It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim,” Waight said.
“There is no known previous connection between the suspect and the victims.”
