Hamas, Islamic Jihad: "The Circle of Fire is Expanding"

by Khaled Abu Toameh • August 6, 2019 at 5:00 am

It seems, then, that for Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the ceasefire understandings, reached under the auspices of Egypt and the UN, are meant to give the Gaza-based groups a chance to continue building their military capabilities without having to worry about Israeli retaliatory measures.
Iranian media quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as expressing satisfaction over the "progress" the Palestinians have made in the past few years. The "progress" Khamenei is talking about is not related to the building of a new hospital or school or a medical breakthrough in the Gaza Strip. Instead, the "progress" the Palestinians have achieved -- according to Iran's Supreme Leader -- is that "while the Palestinians used to fight [Israel] with rocks, today they possess precise rockets."
The Egyptian and UN mediators, in failing to call out the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad for their deception and conflicting messages, are permitting the two groups to deploy the ceasefire with Israel as a cover to prepare for the next war.
The leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and their patrons in Tehran... are dead-set on inflicting as much damage on Israel as possible. As per standard operating procedure, the biggest losers of all in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip will be the Palestinians.

A senior Hamas delegation, headed by military leader Saleh Arouri, visited Iran and met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 22. Arouri was quoted as saying that the "Palestinian resistance and Iran are in one front in facing Israel." Khamenei was quoted as expressing satisfaction over the "progress" the Palestinians have made in the past few years: "while the Palestinians used to fight [Israel] with rocks, today they possess precise rockets." (Image source: khamenei.ir)

As Egypt, the United Nations and other parties are pursuing their efforts to prevent an all-out military confrontation in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and its allies are forging ahead in their development of various types of weapons with which to attack Israel.

The Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad, the second largest armed group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, recently revealed how it has managed to upgrade the rocket launchers that are being used to attack Israel.

According to the Islamic Jihad's military wing, Al-Quds Brigades, it began developing its rocket launchers in 2007, when Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip after overthrowing the regime of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

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India: Caste Discrimination Remains, Despite Liberal Laws

by Jagdish N. Singh • August 6, 2019 at 4:00 am

In spite of these laws, the more than 160 million so-called "ex-untouchables" continue to be subjected to discrimination, oppression and violence.
"...this history of religious freedom has come under attack in recent years with the growth of exclusionary extremist narratives—including, at times, the government's allowing and encouraging mob violence against religious minorities. Those have facilitated a pervasive and ongoing campaign of violence, intimidation, and harassment against non-Hindu and lower-caste Hindu minorities." — United States Commission on International Religious Freedom: Annual Report, 2019
Prime Minister Narendra Modi must take effective steps to eliminate the discriminatory caste system not only in word, but in deed. He also needs to provide proper education and empowerment programs for the many impoverished and illiterate "untouchables." Otherwise, India's affirmative action policies, geared towards reserving slots for lower castes in government jobs, are of little practical significance.

As part of his mantra of "everyone's support, everyone's development and everyone's trust," India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi must take effective steps to eliminate the discriminatory caste system not only in word, but in deed. Pictured: Modi (left) on April 3, 2019 in Kolkata, India. (Photo by Atul Loke/Getty Images)

To combat the evils of an age-old caste system -- a form of hierarchical oppression enabling people born to upper-caste groups to discriminate against members of lower castes, particularly "untouchables" (Dalits) -- the founding fathers of the democratic Republic of India, established in 1950, adopted a Constitution that guarantees all citizens equality before the law.

Articles 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution forbid discrimination "against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them... No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition..."

Article 17 is even more specific:

"'Untouchability' is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of 'Untouchability' shall be an offense punishable in accordance with law."

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