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LAST UPDATE | 19 May 2021
US PRESIDENT JOE Biden has told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he expects “significant de-escalation” in the military confrontation with the Palestinians, amid intense efforts to reach a ceasefire.
Deafening air strikes and rocket fire once more shook Gaza in the conflict that has, since 10 May, claimed 227 Palestinian lives according to the Gaza health ministry and killed 12 people in Israel according to Israeli police.
“The president conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire,” the White House said after a fourth phone call in a little over a week.
Those killed on today in Gaza included a disabled man, his pregnant wife and their three-year-old child, the health ministry said.
As diplomatic efforts intensified to stem the bloodshed, Germany said its top diplomat was heading to Israel for talks tomorrow.
Netanyahu earlier today issued a tough threat against the Gaza Strip’s Islamist rulers Hamas, who Israel says has fired around 3,700 rockets at Israel since 10 May.
“You can either conquer them, and that’s always an open possibility, or you can deter them, and we are engaged right now in forceful deterrence,” he told foreign ambassadors.
“But I have to say we don’t rule out anything.”
But an Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in a separate briefing that Israel was assessing at what stage it may stop its military campaign.
“We are looking at when is the right moment for a ceasefire,” said the source.
Israel was evaluating whether its objective of degrading Hamas’ capabilities had been achieved, the military source said, and “whether Hamas understands the message” that its rocket barrages towards Israel cannot recur.
Warplanes hit Gaza City again in the pre-dawn hours, as the Israeli military kept targeting militant leaders and infrastructure in the crowded enclave which has been under Israeli blockade for nearly 15 years.
Gaza mother-of-seven Randa Abu Sultan, 45, recounted how her family crowded into one room to sit out another night of fear.
“We’re all terrified by the sound of explosions, missiles and fighter jets,” she said. ”My four-year-old son tells me he’s scared that if he falls asleep, he’ll wake up to find us dead.”
Diplomatic flurry
The United States, a key Israel ally, has repeatedly blocked adoption of a joint UN Security Council statement calling for a halt to hostilities.
A UN Security Council meeting broke up without issuing a statement last night, but France then said it had proposed a resolution calling for a ceasefire, in coordination with Egypt and Jordan.
Beijing’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, told reporters his team had heard the French ceasefire proposal and China was “supportive”.
But the United States said today it would not support the proposed resolution, saying it could undermine efforts to de-escalate the crisis.
“We’ve been clear and consistent that we are focused on intensive diplomatic efforts underway to bring an end to the violence and that we will not support actions that we believe undermine efforts to de-escalate,” a US spokesperson at the UN told AFP.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was to meet Israel’s foreign and defence ministers tomorrow and travel to Ramallah to hold talks with the Palestinian premier, his office said.
Humanitarian crisis
Hamas has launched around 3,700 rockets at Israel since 10 May, prompting many people living in communities near the border to hide in bomb shelters virtually around the clock.
Palestinian rocket fire has killed 12 people in Israel, including two children, one Indian and two Thai nationals, and injured 333, Israeli authorities said.
Overnight, armed groups fired 50 rockets towards southern Israel, 10 of which fell short and struck inside Gaza, the Israeli military said.
The Israeli army meanwhile said it had attacked “40 underground Hamas targets” overnight in southern Gaza.
Israeli air strikes have killed 227 people in Gaza, including 64 children, and wounded 1,620, according to health ministry figures.
In the enclave’s north, a journalist working for Hamas-linked Al-Aqsa radio was killed when an Israeli strike hit his home, authorities said.
Israel’s bombing campaign has also left Gaza’s two million population desperate for relief.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed by patients, there are frequent blackouts and sewage from broken pipes has flooded some areas.
Some 72,000 civilians have fled their homes, seeking refuge in UN-run schools and other public buildings, the United Nations says.
‘Day of anger’
The latest escalation was sparked after clashes broke out at east Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of Islam’s holiest sites.
This followed violence over the planned evictions of Palestinian families from homes in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah district.
The conflict has since sparked mob violence between Jews and Israeli Arabs, and sharply heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians clashed with police in multiple towns and in annexed east Jerusalem Tuesday after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement had called for a “day of anger”.
The Palestinian health ministry said a Palestinian woman was shot dead today near Hebron, as the army said she had tried to attack Israeli forces.
The death brought to 25 the Palestinians killed in the West Bank since 10 May.
In northern Israel, the army said it fired artillery shells toward southern Lebanon, in response four rockets launched at the Jewish state from Lebanese territory, in the third such attack in less than a week.
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Great piece. United Ireland forums should start now. The unionist population should be heavily involved in this. They should be assured that their July 12th day of identify should be marked as a public holiday etc etc
I for one won’t be celebrating it but whoever wants to celebrate it should be well entitled too.
Their customs and traditions should be respected provided they respect other customs and traditions. It’s a too way street
Finally it is only a matter of time before we become ‘a nation once again’
I will be an extra proud Irish man that day
@@at: you think the Nationalists in the North would respect the traditions of the Prods in a United Ireland? No way.
@Chin Feeyin: If you and your ilk don’t want to respect the other traditions of this Island, hop on a boat, off with you, over you go to kiss Andrews ring.
No one is holding you here by force
@@at: I don’t think you’re ready for a United Ireland if your first response to simple question is leave the island and kiss rings. I hope someone helps you gather up your toys.
@Clifford Brennan: oh Clifford I am more that ready for it. You obviously don’t know who posted the question, do you ? This chap is going around on this site spreading hatred and bile on all things Irish
Re read my post again like a good lad especially the part where it says that unionists traditions should be respected provided they respect other traditions
If they are not prepared to respect other traditions in equal measure then there is only but one alternative
Now, I bet you feel a fool now. In future read and digest before you comment
@@at: never gonna happen lad. The north is too filled with hate and ignorance.
@@at: Here’s the thing, I haven’t seen any hatred or bile. I’ve seen you scattering your lego when your ( hopefully) naive magnanimity is questioned. You either don’t realise what uniting the country will involve, or you don’t care as long as it gets united. Both positions are dangerous.
@Rebecca De Stanleigh: don’t worry it will happen. Hate can only take you so far
@Clifford Brennan: Clifford, just because YOU have not seen it, don’t not mean it is not posted here. The whole world does not hinge on what you see and don’t see. You only have to look through yesterday’s article on the UK GA to find plenty of hatred from this chap
It is you that is coming across very childish but adopting the approach ‘I did not see it therefore it could not have happened’
Grow up …
@@at: best comment ive read for sometime. Not a fan of the orange lads but for a united ireland to work we need to be inclusive to all whom we share the island with. Reassure them their traditions are safe and their culture will be respected. New anthem, flag, holidays etc. You catch more bees with honey..
@@at: Is this hatred/ bile you reference their not wanting a united Ireland? You’ll find many in life who don’t share your opinions. It’s best if you don’t open discussions with ‘get off my island and kiss rings’. Ironically, its one of your own comments that has been removed by mods. Why was that?
@Clifford Brennan: Once again you have let yourself down Clifford. You are now speculating on what the poster said even though a few min ago you have clearly stated that you did not see any of this.
Let me enlighten you because it is obvious that you don’t have a clue what the aforementioned poster said or did not say. The poster constant narrative on here is to run down and insult the nationalist community in the North at every single opportunity he gets. I called him out as a hate filled loyalist on here and this is why my comment was deleted. The posters cover has been blown and once that happens his posts loses their impact and even people like you will not be fooled by them anymore
So this is why he reported me and got comment removed
Before you speculate, educate yourself
@Clifford Brennan: open your eyes Clifford. There is a lot more activity from our Northern friends on this website lately with all this anti Irish comments. All this ‘return to violence’ nonsense if there is a UI
the reason I am pretty certain of this is that, I have deliberately left an unused website in my twitter profile and any time I pull up one of these chaps on their nonsense talk I automatically get a visit or 2 on my website from a certain part of Northern Ireland
Knowledge is power Clifford, educate before you speculate
@@at: Oh I’ve read a lot of what this poster has said previously. Like I said their crime is not being in favour of a united ireland. You translate that into they hate nationalists so therefore must be hate filled loyalists who enjoys bonfires etc, and are therefore welcome to leave/ kiss rings etc. This is why I said you mightn’t be ready for a united ireland, much less what getting united will entail. Folk being against a united ireland is a position you’ll run into a lot in the days ahead. Flying off the handle and running with your least best version of what loyalism means to you, kind of undermines your magnanimous declared vision of mutual respect. For what its worth I agree with most of what your first comment outlines. Your reaction to a basic question is the issue. It betrays you.
@Clifford Brennan: no Clifford, you cannot back track now
You clearly have not read most of what he said. Clearly not. You only have to go back to yesterday. He was pulled up by a good few other posters here on his comments
Stop back tracking
@Chin Feeyin: we’ve been respecting unionist traditions since partition. Why would anything change?
@@at: Jaysis, agreeing that mutual respect is paramount is backtracking now? Here’s what I’ve read from you: “Everyones traditions are to be respected”. Someone else: “would nationalists respect “the prods”. You: ” shut it, you bonfire loving loyalist, leave now, kiss rings” ( comment subsequently deleted) I know you’re avoiding this gaping hole in your warm inclusivity but still. You must see how it undercuts everything you’ve said. Seriously!
@Clifford Brennan: Awwww,! Come on lads,!
@@at: It doesn matter what the man said or didn’t say. We are all wise enough to know when Loyalist trolls appear on here, as we also do when supporters of particular free-state parties appear trying to wind others up.
perhaps its ordinary reasonable guys like Clifford who might not be able to spot them when they first appear. Perhaps Clifford is right though and maybe you should instead be killing them with kindness.
that aside – fair play to the Journal for publishing the above article – it was one of the best on here in quiet a while!
@Clifford Brennan: nope, nope. You stated earlier that hos only crime is not wanting an united Ireland. If you had studied the posters comments the last few days you would clearly see it runs far deeper than that with his hatred and bile towards the nationalist community
You said you have read his comments and judging what you have said, you clearly have not read his comments at all and you have been caught bluffing
That is where you big large back track came from
Now, I will not waste anymore time on someone like you who cannot admit they got it wrong when they tried to call me out on something
Come back to us when you are less gullible and have grown up a bit
@Clifford Brennan: I have explained to you about the comment been deleted
And please point out to me where I used the derogatory word ‘prod’
If you cannot point it out, I expect a full apology
@@at: Right, I’ve read through a few of the articles you mentioned. The extent of this bile/ hatred you mentioned is them saying they dont want a united Ireland, boris won’t allow a border poll, & welcoming the sdlp gaining a seat. At worst, they replied “curry my yoghurt” to a “tiocfaigh ar la” comment. Your accusations are suspect, and thats being generous. Your own part involves calling anyone you disagree with a loyalist/unionist/ the ring kissing thing. Again, your use of these folks as a term of slander undercuts your earlier open armed welcome to all. With regard to “the prod” part of my comment, can i delicately suggest you read the comment again? You’ve mobilised your outrage on the back of your own poor comprehension. Lastly, was the mod right to delete your comment?
@Rebecca De Stanleigh: A sweeping statement that radiates your own ignorance and thinly veiled hatred in itself. It would be like me saying: Irish citizens who have Norman surnames are all just craven West-Brits with wildly misplaced delusions of grandeur.
@Chief Buck Cat: Ouch
@Chin Feeyin:
Well the Nationalists n the North wouldn’t be running the country.
Unionism brought down not by Irish Nationalism but by English Nationalism – who would have thought it – -English nationalists do not want the Unionists – imagine living with people English Nationalists who do not want you – but all the Unionist do is shout at nationalists.
@GO GREEN: The historian Norman Davis wrote a history book around 2011 on the vanished kingdoms and countries of Europe which have come and gone over the centuries.
He predicted English nationalism would lead to Scottish independence and an United Ireland.
Over the next few years, it will be interesting to see if he will be right.
Re- reading it over the last few days.
The end is “neigh”
@Matt Dillon: no-way hi !!!!
Independent Northern Ireland.
Hopefully a peaceful end to British apartheid in Ireland…
I don’t know why the UK Gov want to keep it. It costs an absolute fortune to keep! I think it’s a poison chalice! Let it go Britain, let it go!
@Dom Layzell: No, thanks. They can keep it.
@Chin Feeyin: they can keep you FFG mouth piece. We will welcome our brothers and sisters with open arms
And stop thumbing up your own comments you clown. You had the comment posted less than a min and loads of thumbs up on it
@@at: you can only give yourself one thumb up.
@Dom Layzell: —–And do you think that we can neutralise the poison?
@Dom Layzell: guess who picks up the tab!!
@Stuart Wootten #FBPE: We will have to pay a little more in taxes to carry out the heavy work for our brothers and sisters?
@Dom Layzell: It’s not a case of the the UK gov or anyone else wanting to keep it. Northern Ireland is part of the UK. If and until a majority of the population decide to leave the UK and want to join Ireland in some form of a united country, then Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK, whether the UK gov want it or not.
At the minute, the only people pushing for a border poll are Sinn Féin. Based on their percentage of Thursday’s vote, they represents less than 23% of the population of Northern Ireland. A border poll is a long way off, a united Irish state farther away again.
Sinn Féin’s campaign efforts include flooding social media, the Journal included. I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the nonsense that masquerades as comments on here.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: like your own comments
@Pat Ryan: Thanks Pat. I think your comment is an excellent example of what I was referring to. You have no considered opinion of your own, so you substitute glib nonsense for discussion. Well done.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: Thanks Feardorcha, But as an Irishman I aspire, dream & hope for a 32 County Ireland, where we are thought to speak Irish in School, sing Amhran Na bhFiann, & look up to Dev in school history etc! Aspirations surely dont have costs? Its not a big ask.
@Stuart Wootten #FBPE: “guess who picks up the tab!!” Stuart Wooton picks up the tab. Thank you for raising the issue and volunteering. You are a gentleman.
The Northern entity always had a shelf life…Ireland had lots of lines drawn on it over the centuries…They came…they went…this carved out colonist fiefdom will be no different…Ireland’s border is the beach…just like Iceland’s and Malta’s….That’s just the way it is and no amount of tattered union jacks hanging from lampposts in Larne will change that. So it might be a good idea to start a conversation as to how we deal with it coz as we all know…if you don’t deal with reality…it has a rather awkward tendency to deal with you.
Time to consider a federal Ireland solution to soften the departure from UK for northern Unionists
Ulster is 9 counties but it was Gerrymandered into 6 in order to make the Protestants be in the majority and then it was called N. Ireland, I suppose next year this will be called hate speech because facts offend people who want to ignore them with the PC police ready to attack???
Kathy, Ulster unionism is really a state organised sectarianism, its not Ulster because about 3 of the 9 counties that make up Ulster would be classed as really Unionist, it was a land steal from Elizabeth 1′s plantation and that unionism is based on hate of religion, surname and area based on religion and DNA but too many are afraid of saying the truth because it might offend when its facts. The Irish and English get on well together but up there hatred is a wall used for sectarian clanish mental illness.
@TamuMassif2019: If unionism is based on DNA, how do you explain Arlene Foster (nee Kelly)?
Questions need to be asked about the Protestant Faith’s and why they perpetuate hatred towards Catholic Irish.
Only last week , the Church of Ireland held a commemoration in Christchurch for the 150th anniversary of the disestablishment of the Chuch of Ireland.
Why oh why, would they commemorate that.
@Teresa Ryan: Commemorate ? Next year, they will be handing back the tithes with interest. 1869 – 1171 = 698 years of refunds plus interest. Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks – be prepared for the wave of money.
Another ‘ethnic’ minority group looking for freebies and special treatment!!
There are no winners in NI only people on both sides that are victims. The sectarian divide promoted both by SF/DUP for their own self serving ends is what makes it ungovernable. Triumphalism is not a policy option it’s an outdated emotive way of sustaining division.
“Secondly, the DUP has been chastened.” Arlene doesn’t do chastening – that’s a Catholic thing.
have your say