The Iran-aligned Houthis of Yemen are playing an escalating role in the Middle East, attacking shipping in the Red Sea and firing drones and missiles at Israel in a campaign they say aims to support Palestinians in the Gaza war, Reuters reported.
Retired Lebanese judge Peter Germanos said in a December 2, 2023 interview on Voice of Lebanon Radio that Lebanon is turning more and more into a leftist rogue state by refusing to abide by UN resolutions such as 1701 and others. But he added that while North Korea has nuclear power, Cuba has vast territory and food, and Venezuela has oil, Lebanon has nothing.
Recently, Sa’adollah Zarei, who is on the editorial board of the Iranian regime mouthpiece Kayhan, and Ramazan Sharif, who heads the Intifada and Quds Central Headquarters of the Islamic Propaganda Coordination Council and is spokesman of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both expressed opposition to the “two-state solution” for Israel and Palestine proposed by countries in the West for after the Israel-Hamas war is over.
On December 7, 2023, Saraya Al-Quds, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), eulogized two of its fighters who allegedly were killed in south Lebanon in a combat against Israel.
Citing a Quranic verse that promises heavens for “martyrs,” the statement, which was posted on the group’s Telegram channel, identified the two fighters as Mohammad Ahmad Saleh (31 years) and Malik Ahmad Omar, a.k.a. Abu Hussien (27 years).
Introduction
Yemen’s Ansar Allah Houthi Movement – a delisted foreign terrorist organization (FTO) – has, since October 7, launched six rounds of aerial projectiles at Israel,[1] downed a U.S. drone in Yemen,[2] captured a shipping vessel in the Red Sea,[3] and, most recently, fired ballistic missiles and drones in the vicinity of a U.S. Navy vessel.[4]
On November 13, 2023, a Chinese influencer known as “Flower-Dappled Horse Kesi” on the Chinese Bilibili social media platform shared a video titled “Suppose Hamas Wins,” in which he criticized Hamas’s leadership and speculated that even if Hamas defeated Israel and were able to rule Gaza with no external intervention whatsoever, the desperate situation of the Gazans would not change. He said that Hamas leaders don’t even live in Gaza and that they do not want to rule over their people with integrity, and he said that in this scenario of a Hamas victory, Gaza would become like Venezuela or Zimbabwe. It is noteworthy that the video contradicts the generally pro-Hamas tone of the Chinese government’s propaganda. Kesi also shared a screenshot from a MEMRI TV clip.
Amid the ongoing hostilities and losses in Ukraine, the Russian authorities are automatically extending the contracts of those already on the frontline and trying to recruit soldiers to avoid another partial or general mobilization ahead of the upcoming presidential elections. These measures have prompted the rise of a powerful women’s protest movement.[1]
General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, spoke in an address before Basij students that was aired on IRINN TV (Iran) on December 1, 2023 about Iran’s role in the Gaza war. He said that Iran “has done what it had to do.” Hajizadeh explained that in the past, the only means of defense the people of Gaza had were stones, but now they have rockets and advanced weapons and capabilities.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Monday Operation Prosperity Guardian, which he said was in response to “reckless Houthi attacks” from Yemen in the Red Sea.
Countries joining the naval task force include the UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.
After the Arab Spring, the African left was left demoralized and disorganized. However, a recent book argues that the revolution continues in quotidian life.
Twelve years have passed since the Arab Spring, and both Egypt and Tunisia are facing a stark economic crisis. Both are currently under the mercy of extremely unfavorable structural adjustment programs imposed by the International Monetary Fund, relying heavily on food imports, mired in debt, and facing historical inflation rates with unprecedented hikes in food prices. This dire economic situation is made all the worse by a relentless escalation of authoritarian measures in both countries. The prevailing atmosphere indicates that the counterrevolution has prevailed and that avenues of emancipatory possibility have shrunk almost to the point of extinction.