[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week.]
Palestine-Israel / United States
The Shortest Distance Between Palestine and Ferguson, Jaime Omar Yassin
Yassin draws a parallel between police brutality in Ferguson, Missouri and Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians Express "Solidarity with the People of Ferguson" in Mike Brown Statement, Rana Baker
Electronic Intifada publishes a statement of released by Palestinian groups and individuals in solidarity with Ferguson, Missouri teenager Mike Brown and those protesting his death.
Globetrotting Warriors, Treated Inconsistently, Ahmed Tharwat
Tharwat, writing for the Star Tribune, criticizes the lack of US government oversight of Americans traveling to Israel to participate in IDF operations, as compared with relatively frequent FBI investigations of Americans traveling to fight in Syria or Somalia.
German Magazine Reports Israel Spied on Kerry Last Year, Reuters
German magazine Der Spiegel has reported that Israel and one other unidentified intelligence agencies listened in on US Secretary of State John Kerry`s phone conversations during Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
Gaza Crisis: Israel Outflanks the White House on Strategy, Adam Entous
The Wall Street Journal covers the recent Obama Administration decision to tighten control of arms transfers to Israel, in response to revelations that the Israeli military had been transferred ammunition from the Pentagon without White House or State Department approval.
University of Illinois Faced Growing Boycott Over Firing of Palestinian American Professor, Ali Abunimah
Abunimah provides an overview to the backlash against the University of Illinois` decision to fire newly-hired professor Steven Salaita, a decision allegedly taken by the university because of his vocal criticism of Israel on Twitter and elsewhere.
Hillary Clinton`s Foreign Policy is Already Terrifying, Matt Taylor
Taylor finds a defense of Israeli aggression in Gaza made by Hillary Clinton in a recent interview with Jeffrey Goldberg a troubling preview of Clinton`s foreign policy should she run for president in 2016.
Return of the Blacklist?, David Palumbo-Liu
The firing of Steven Salaita is an attempt to silence criticism of Israel and attack on academic freedom, writes Palumbo-Liu in Salon.
Israel`s Most Important Source of Capital: California, Darwin Bond-Graham
Writing in Counterpunch Bond-Graham summarizes the economic links which tie together investments in Israel and investors in California, as well as the high-technology nexus between the two.
Law and the "War on Terror"
American Muslims Sue for Being Watchlisted Without Due Process, Julianne Hing
Colorlines reports on a lawsuit filed by five American Muslims alleging they were added to a federal watch lists of terror suspects without due process.
Judge Demands Answers on Guantanamo Force-Feeding, Michael Doyle
US District Judge Gladys Kessler has issued a five-page order of questions regarding the force-feeding of Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Abu Wa`el Dhiab, ordering Guantanamo commander Col. John Bogdan and other authorities to justify the safety of the force-feedings, among other questions.
Alleged 9/11 Plotters Don Palestinian Attire in Courtroom Gaza Protest, Carol Rosenberg
The Miami Herald reports on a silent protest waged by the defendants in the 9/11 trial, as well as allegations from the defense that FBI agents have secretly questioned their staff.
Al Qaeda Begs for American Hostage Swap, John Santucci, James Gordon Meek, Ali Weinberg
ABC News covers a public plea from al Qa’ida urging the family of American hostage Warren Weinstein to "pressure [the US] government" for his release.
Libyan Assembly Asks for UN Help as Militias Clash, Associated Press
The Libyan parliament has asked the United Nations for an "international intervention" to help the country curb militia violence
Palestine-Israel
The Anti-Zionism of Fools, Richard Seymour
An essay from Jacobin argues that while Zionists charge legitimate critiques of Israel with anti-Semitism, the left much challenge all anti-Semitism.
How Israel`s Shriveling Peace Camp Failed the Public, Avner Inbar
The Israeli peace movement failed to offer a clear narrative on Israeli aggression during Operation Brother`s Keeper and Protective Edge, writes Inbar in The Nation.
Palestinians Accuse Israel of Violating Gaza Truce, Nidal Al-Mughrabi
Reuters reports on a Palestinian-Israeli ceasefire passed 14 August 2014 and on Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza allegations that Israel soon violated the ceasefire.
How to Respond to Thoughtful People Who Can`t Help Saying "But Hamas," Donna Nevel
Nevel, writing for Mondoweiss, urges the Jewish community to situate criticism of Hamas in the "necessary context and historical perspective" regarding the Nakba, the 1967 occupation, and the more recent siege of Gaza.
Regional Powers Enter the Fray as Palestinians Make Their Own Demands During Negotiations, Youssef Fares
Writing for Al-Akhbar Youssef Fares discusses the roles of regional actors in the negotiating process between the Palestinian resistance and Israel.
International Law
UN Nuclear Chief to Visit Iran before Investigation Deadline, Frederik Dahl
IAEA chief Yukiya Amano plans to visit Iran prior to the 25 August deadline for Iran to cooperate with an IAEA investigation of the "possible military dimensions" of Iran`s nuclear program.
Egypt Should be a Pariah State for its Bloody Crackdown on Dissent, The Washington Post Editorial Board
The Washington Post criticizes the Egyptian government for its massacre of demonstrators on 14 August, 2013, recently called the "world`s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history" by Human Rights Watch.
Attacks on Schools -- What About International Law?, Kristin Hausler, Robert McCorquodale
Hausler and McCorquodale critique the notion that Israeli air strikes on Palestinian schools are legitimate under international law, as Israel has claimed, given Hamas practices of storing weapons in schools.
Iraq
Iraq`s Maliki Finally Steps Aside, Paving Way for New Government, Raheem Salman, Michael Georgy
Nouri al-Maliki has stepped down as Prime Minister of Iraq amidst political pressure over his government`s handling of the Islamic State in northern Iraq.
US Team Lands on Iraqi Mountain where Yazidis are Trapped, Arshad Mohammed, Jeff Mason
US military and humanitarian personnel landed on Mount Sinjar in Iraq to assess the possibility of evacuating thousands of members of the Yazidi religious minority are under siege from Islamic State.
Islamists Sought to Turn Lebanon into Iraq, Samia Nakhoul, Laila Bassam
Reuters reports on fears in the Lebanese Army of Islamic State incursion into Lebanon.
The Alternatives to More War in Iraq, Tom Hayden
The idea of a "Long War" in the Middle East is an "actual doctrine promoting eighty years of unending war" that the Left must refute, rather than just argue the American public has "no appetite" for another war, writes Hayden.
Obama: No Iraq Rescue, Further Airdrops Unlikely, Robert Burns, Ken Dilanian
President Obama has promised to expand US humanitarian relief in Iraq but ruled out the possibility of armed combat.
Another War in Iraq Won`t Fix the Disaster of the Last, Seumas Milne
Further military intervention in Iraq will largely bolster the groups like Islamic State it seeks to target, writes Milne for The Guardian.