News and Analysis 9/18/24

Israel turns 20th century tech communication devices into weapons of death and destruction:

• Exploding Pagers Targeting Hezbollah Kill 9 and Wound Thousands, Lebanon Says (NY Times)
• Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Injured by Pager Explosion (Reuters)
• Exclusive: Hezbollah Suspicions Forced Israel to Expedite Lebanon Pager Attack (Al-Monitor)
• Hezbollah Vows to Punish Israel After Pager Explosions Across Lebanon (Reuters)
• US Downplays Ability to Prevent Escalation After Lebanon Pager Explosions (Aljazeera)

Responding to a female reporter’s assertion that morality police were still on the streets, Pezeshkian said, “The morality police were not supposed to confront [women]. I will follow up so they don’t bother [them]”:

• Iran’s Morality Police Will Not ‘Bother’ Women, President Says (BBC)

“In recent weeks, journalists Sarah Wilkinson and Richard Medhurst, as well as Palestine Action co-founder Richard Barnard were all arrested under the the UK’s Terrorism Act”:

• In Disturbing Escalation Against the Palestine Movement, UK Police Arrest Journalists and Activists Under Terrorism Act (Mondoweiss)

Turnout is unusually high in local elections in what is seen as a gauge of anti-BJP sentiment :

• Jammu And Kashmir Elections 2024 Live Updates: J&K Sees 41% Polling Till 1 PM In 1st Assembly Polls Since 2014 (NDTV)
• ‘Utter Disillusionment’: Kashmir Sees First Election Since 2014 as Chance to Reject Modi (The Guardian)

“Palestine introduced a draft resolution that demands an end to the occupation within one year, which Member States are expected to vote on at 11am (New York time) on Thursday”:

• General Assembly Resumes Emergency Special Session on Palestine (United Nations)

Israeli war crimes continue:

• Israel-Hamas War Latest: Israeli Airstrikes Kill 16 in Gaza, Including 4 Children, Palestinians Say (AP)
• Gaza Publishes Identities of 34,344 Palestinians Killed in War with Israel (The Guardian)

The “number of respondents in Gaza who said they support Hamas [dropped] to 35% from 38%. But the Islamist movement remained more popular than Fatah”:

• Palestinian Poll Finds Big Drop in Support for Oct 7 Attack (Reuters)

The decision to allow the Brotherhood to run “can only be interpreted as a Jordanian response to Israel’s efforts and intentions to force the transfer of the residents of the West Bank to Jordan, and the existential risks that this represents for the kingdom”:

• The Muslim Brotherhood Is Allowed Back in Jordan’s Parliament: A Blunt Message to Israel (World Crunch)

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