News and Analysis 6/20/21

On Thursday, the Israeli army launched a second wave of airstrikes over the Gaza Strip through the night, the second flare up since “a ceasefire on 21 May ended Israel’s 11-day assault on the territory, which killed 248 Palestinians, including 66 children”:

• Israel Bombards Gaza For Second Night Following Incendiary Balloon Launches (Middle East Eye)

Hours after Israel offered to trade vaccine doses to the Palestinian Authority for newer doses, the authority rejected the first shipment as the vaccines were nearly expired, but Israel wants to restore the scam:

• The Palestinian Authority Rejected 90,000 Vaccine Doses From Israel Because They Were Almost Expired (Business Insider)
• Israel Struggles to Restore Vaccine Swap Deal After Palestinians Reject Doses for Being Too Old (Washington Post)

New documents reveal that Ali al-Hajj al-Sharqawi and Abd al-Salam al-Hilal, held in Guantanamo bay without charge for the last seventeen years, “were approved for transfer to other countries on 8 June”:

• Two Yemeni Guantanamo Inmates Win Release After Being Held Without Charge For 17 Years (Middle East Eye)

The new elected Iranian president “now has four years to try to turn Iran’s depressed economy around”:

• Judiciary Chief, Backed by Supreme Leader, Wins Iran Presidency (NPR)

680 global leaders “from politicians and Nobel laureates to leading academics and peace advocates” urged Biden to protect Palestinian human rights in an open letter that was published earlier this week:

• Politicians, Academics and Nobel Laureates Urge Biden to End Israeli ‘Oppression’ (Middle East Eye)

Like her scholar/activist father who “languishes in the notorious prisons of the” UAE, the human rights activist was known for her strong stances in rejecting the normalization deal signed between the UAE and the occupation state of Israel:

• Prominent UAE Activist Alaa al-Siddiq Dies in London Car Crash (Al-Jazeera)

Congress Party demands restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and the Jammu and Kashmir Peace and Justice Forum (JKPJF) on Sunday invited the attention of Secretary-General United Nations, Antonio Guterres towards the resolution of the longstanding Kashmir dispute:

• Restore Jammu and Kashmir’s Statehood, Says Congress Ahead of PM Modi’s Meeting (Mint)
• UN Chief Asked to Force India to Respect Human Rights in IIOJK (Kashmir Media Service)

Proposed legislation would “bar girls under 18 from wearing headscarves in public … prevent mothers who wear hijab from accompanying their children on school trips”:

• ‘It’s My Choice. It’s My Life’ (Washington Post)

The IBA strongly denied unsubstantiated accusations that “domestic NGOs involved in cryptocurrencies” transferred “foreign currency overseas”:

• Tehran Government Bans Iran Blockchain Association (Bitcoin.com)

Abdullah Khan