News and Analysis 2/9/24

Israel expands its genocide into the zone it pretended to be a refuge for civilians:

• Israel Kills 13 in Rafah, Southern Gaza Town Where Many Palestinians Have Fled (PBS News Hour)
• Netanyahu Orders Military to Make Plans to Evacuate Civilians in Rafah (NY Times)
• Israel-Gaza War: Palestinians Who Fled to Rafah Fear Israeli Assault (BBC)
• Netanyahu’s Delusional, Deadly Quest for ‘Total Victory‘ (Washington Post)

Along with tens of thousands murdered in Gaza, “another victim … is U.S. credibility, which has been damaged by what is at best inconsistency and at worst hypocrisy” …

• How to End America’s Hypocrisy on Gaza (Foreign Affairs)

… and Biden’s too-little, too-late concerns are driven by domestic political considerations:

• Biden Says Israel’s Response in Gaza is ‘Over the Top’ (VoA)
• Biden Aides Meet in Michigan with Arab American and Muslim Leaders, Aiming to Mend Political Ties (AP)

The tactical mission of “Israel’s information warfare campaign is … to flood the public discourse with a stream of false, unsubstantiated, and unverifiable allegations”:

• Netanyahu’s War on Truth (The Intercept)

Indian authorities have bulldozed a mosque and religious school as well as Muslim residences …

• Demolition of Muslim Properties Sets Off Deadly Violence in India (NY Times)
• Indian States Demolish Muslim Homes as Punishment, Says Amnesty Report (Independent)

… and failed to comply with a court order to provide counseling to students traumatized by an order to beat up “Mohammedans”:

• Muslim Boy Slapping Row: SC Slams UP Govt for Not Counselling Students (The Wire)

“The actions of this individual do not in any way reflect the values of Hillel which, upon learning of these events, has terminated its relationship with that contractor”:

• ‘We Have Been Harassed’: UBC Student Group, Muslim Organization Say They Are Taking Legal Action over Pro-Hamas Stickers on Campus (CTV News)

At the same time that it declared supremacy of the federal constitution, the court denied “was trying to curb the powers of Shariah courts”:

• Malaysia’s Top Court Invalidates State’s Islam-based Laws on Incest, Sodomy and Other Offenses (AP)

An organizer said that “the rally was planned to … [hold] the University accountable for its ‘complicity within the genocide’” in Gaza:

• Pro-Palestine Groups Rally, Demand Harvard Divest Ties to Israel (Harvard Crimson)

Denying any sophistication behind the strike, some US officials maintain, “throw enough munitions at well-defended targets and eventually some will get through”:

• US Confronts Dangers from ‘Not Very Good’ Iran-backed Militants (Reuters)

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