Israeli narrative on Al-Shifa Hospital

"Israel needs to offer the outside world more than a few rifles and other armaments to justify its attacks on Gaza's hospitals and ill and injured civilians," said Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.

A human rights monitor in Geneva on Friday called on the United Nations to help get to the bottom of Israel's claim that its bombing and raid of Gaza's largest medical complex this week was necessary to stop Hamas from running a vast military compound beneath it—an allegation that more than two days after the attack began, has been backed up only by images Israel released of a small cache of weapons.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said the time has come for an independent international investigation into "Israel's absurd narrative" about Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, and noted that administrators at the facility are also demanding a probe that includes a United Nations inspection.

Israel did extensive damage to al-Shifa's cardiac care department, surgical ward, and a pharmaceutical warehouse when it began bombing the hospital at dawn on Wednesday in just one of more than 245 attacks on medical facilities in Gaza since October 07. Israeli officials said they expected to find "the beating heart" of Hamas' military operations in the hospital.

After searching basement areas and several health departments as well as conducting a "violent interrogation campaign" targeting displaced people and medical personnel, Euro-Med said, Israel has so far produced only a video showing a small number of weapons.

"The absence of any neutral international party's involvement in the Israeli military raids and searches of al-Shifa Medical Complex and other hospitals in the strip raises widespread doubts about the Israeli narrative," said Euro-Med. "Israel needs to offer the outside world more than a few rifles and other armaments to justify its attacks on Gaza's hospitals and ill and injured civilians."

Separately, the BBC aired a segment on Friday in which the network noted the Israel Defense Forces first released a seven-minute video displaying the weapons it found—a video that appeared to be edited despite IDF claims that it was filmed in a single shot with no edits, and that raised several other questions.

"This IDF video was posted, then deleted, then reposted, this time without a section referring to an Israeli soldier who'd been held hostage," reported the BBC.

Reporters from the network arrived at Al-Shifa a few hours after the IDF released the original video, and were shown a different selection of weapons than those that appeared in the military's video.

"What we see in this IDF video doesn't equate Israel's description of an operational command center for Hamas,” the BBC reported.

The footage, released late at night after long hours of searches and fruitless inspections, said Euro-Med, raises a lot of questions, especially since no gunman has been arrested and no evidence has been found to back the previous claims about the presence of tunnels beneath the hospital.

The IDF has also claimed that Hamas knew we were coming" and had likely made off with or hidden traces of their presence at Al-Shifa, The New York Times reported.

Israel's narrative about al-Shifa has also drawn scrutiny from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, who said that even if the hospital were being used as a command center for Hamas, protecting patients is paramount.

"Even if health facilities are used for military purposes, the principles of distinction, precaution, and proportionality always apply," Tedros said.

The director of Al-Shifa, Muhammed Abu Salmiya, told Al Jazeera Friday that staff are still trying to save as many of the 7,000 patients and refugees in the hospital as they can amid Israel's ongoing siege, but they lost all those who were in the intensive care unit following the attack on Wednesday.

"We are left with nothing—no power, no food, no water," said Abu Salmiya. "With every passing minute, we are losing a life. Overnight, we lost 22 persons."

The Biden administration, which has continued supporting Israel's bombardment of Gaza as the death toll has grown to at least 11,470 in less than six weeks, said this week it believed the IDF's claims about Al-Shifa, with President Joe Biden saying it was a fact that Hamas has their headquarters, their military hidden under a hospital.

A day after the bombing, as observers awaited evidence of an extensive command center beneath the hospital, US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller appeared less confident in Israel's narrative, telling reporters that the White House never said there were command posts in every hospital in Gaza.

"We don't want to see hospitals struck from the air," said Miller. "We understand that Hamas continues to use hospitals in places where they embed their fighters."

After the BBC reported on the IDF's changing video documentation of its findings, Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft called Israel's propaganda supporting its onslaught in Gaza increasingly clownish.

"Only Joe Biden seems to believe it," said Parsi.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill pointed out that Israel itself is known to have built an underground operating room and tunnels under the hospital in 1983.

"This is not a secret," Scahill wrote on social media, noting that Israel has claimed Hamas expanded the tunnels in recent years.

Allegations of a Hamas command center, supported by the US, said Scahill, "should be backed up by clear evidence, not a Geraldo Rivera/Al Capone's vault-style video presentation featuring an English-speaking IDF soldier."

"No matter what is or is not found, there is no justification for the repeated attacks against civilian hospitals—in fact Al-Shifa is the largest hospital treating the most vulnerable people in Gaza, including NICU babies," he added.

"The mere existence of tunnels, originally built by Israel, does not prove the specific allegations made by the US or Israel. The standard for such evidence should be very, very high."

Pakistan Stock Exchange benchmark index posts 3.02%WoW increase

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) sustained its positive momentum and surged to record highs. The benchmark index closed at record high of 57,397 points on Thursday before posting a slight correction to close at 57,063 points on Friday, posting an impressive 3.02%WoW increase.

During the week investors remained focus on the IMF review, concluding with a successful staff-level agreement, paving way for a US$700 million inflow post-IMF Board approval.

A major but negative development was the government’s decision to impose a 40% tax on banks' windfall income, meeting IMF demands and to agree on further revision in the gas prices in January 2924.

There was a noteworthy increase in remittances, surging to US$2.21 billion. In addition, international oil prices experienced a considerable ease, attributed to increased US strategic reserves and reduced demand from China.

Market participation witnessed a substantial improvement, taking average daily trading volume to 687 million shares, registering a 26%WoW increase from earlier week's average of 544 million shares.

Notably, Thursday saw participation cross one million share mark for the first time in last 28 months.

On the currency front, the rupee appreciated marginally by 0.19%WoW against the greenback, closing at PKR286.5/US$ on Friday.

Other notable news of the week included: 1) MSCI keeping Pakistan’s Frontier Market Index unchanged, 2) Debt/ liabilities soaring to PKR78 trillion, 3) Bank deposits rising 18%YoY on high rates and currency crackdown, 4) Car sales plunging by 24%MoM in October, 5) UAE firms expressing intent to invest US$25 billion in real estate sector.

Close-end Mutual Funds, Synthetic & Rayon, and Woollen were amongst the top performing sectors. Vanaspati & Allied Industries, Commercial Banks, and Textile Weaving were amongst the laggards.

Major net selling was recorded by Banks with a net sell of US$9.14 million. Foreigners remained bullish with a net buy of US$8.22 million.

Top performing scrips during the week were: HGFA , PAEL, RMPL, IBFL, and PKGP, while top laggards included: BIPL, BAFL, CNERGY, PABC, and MEBL.

Despite the benchmark index reaching record highs, the market remains at attractive valuations.

Analysts maintain their positive outlook on the market owing to favorable economic developments like improving inflation and expected monetary easing in the current fiscal year.

While the market is flourishing, Analysts strongly advise market participants to avoid potential pitfalls and instead concentrate on companies with robust fundamentals.

Furthermore, companies with healthy dividend yields can be a prudent strategy for navigating inflation safely.

 

 

Germany on wrong side of history again

For a state visit, Friday's visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Germany is remarkably low key. He was scheduled to meet German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and then have dinner with the chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

Apart from the intense security in the centre of the capital — the same level as precautions taken for US presidential visits — the German government hopes Erdogan's visit will pass with little notice. That's because this event couldn't come at the worst time for Germany.

Relations between President Erdogan and successive German governments have been difficult for years, with spats between Berlin and Ankara regularly breaking out. When German government spokespeople mention the phrase difficult partner you know they're talking about President Erdogan.

The Hamas atrocities in Israel on October 07, and Israel's subsequent retaliation in Gaza, have left Germany and Turkey on opposite sides of the conflict. Over the past month the Turkish president has become increasingly strident in his criticism of Israel.

He has refused to condemn the killings and hostage-taking by Hamas, referring to the group as liberators. Hamas is classed as a terrorist organization by Western allies, including Germany.

He has also appeared to call into question the Jewish state's existence by saying that Israel's own fascism undermined its legitimacy.

Jewish leaders in Germany have accused Erdogan of fuelling antisemitism with such comments and there have been calls for the German government to cancel the Turkish president's visit.

For Germany, historical Nazi guilt for the Holocaust means that support for the state of Israel is non-negotiable and a key cornerstone of Berlin's foreign policy. When asked in a news conference earlier this week about President Erdogan's comments Chancellor Scholz called them absurd.

Both Olaf Scholz and former Chancellor Angela Merkel have repeatedly called Israel's security Germany's Staatsräson, or reason of state, a vague term German leaders use to express the idea of unwavering German support for Israel.

But as Israeli attacks on Gaza intensify, and the death toll rises, that principle is coming under strain.

After the initial shock of the Hamas attacks, German mainstream media is increasingly also portraying the humanitarian suffering in Gaza, leading to a growing unease about Israel's actions.

On German streets outrage at Israel's actions is growing and pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held most weekends since October 07. Germany has large Arab diaspora communities with links to, or sympathy for, people in Gaza. Support for Palestinians is also traditionally a totemic issue for some German left-wing groups.

There are fears that any comments about the conflict by President Erdogan during his visit could inflame tensions. But Germany and Turkey need each other. Germany is an important trade partner for Turkey. It also is home to the world's largest Turkish diaspora community and is an electoral battleground for President Erdogan. He is popular with some German-Turks.

Around three million people of Turkish heritage live in Germany, with half of them still able to vote. In May a majority of Turkish voters in Germany who took part in the election put their cross by Erdogan.

Berlin, meanwhile, needs Turkish help to control migration from the Middle East. Chancellor Scholz is hoping to revive a refugee pact with Turkey to send back asylum seekers and wants more Turkish support for the West in Russia's war in Ukraine.

Behind closed doors on Friday those issues were to be discussed. But the German government would be more nervous about what President Erdogan might say in public.

It was in May, after Erdogan's re-election as Turkish president, that Chancellor Scholz issued the invitation to Berlin. He probably now wishes he hadn't.

 

United States needs war in Gaza

A summit by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) resulted in a blanket condemnation of Israel, but lacked substantive solutions. The summit was sabotaged by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco, who recently normalized relations with Israel. These countries block significant actions due to extensive US influence and future geopolitical calculations, causing disappointment among the international Muslim community.

After all, the Arab street – even while repressed in their home nations – has pulsed with protests expressing ferocious rage against Israel’s wholesale massacre of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Arab leaders were forced to take some sort of action beyond suspending a few ambassadorships with Israel, and called for a special Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit to discuss the ongoing Israeli war against Palestinian children.

Representatives of 57 Muslim states convened in Riyadh on 11 November to deliver a serious, practical blow against genocidal practitioners and enablers. But in the end, nothing was offered, not even solace.

The OIC’s final statement will always be enshrined in the Gilded Palace of Cowardice. Highlights of the tawdry rhetorical show: we oppose Israel’s self-defense; we condemn the attack on Gaza; we ask (who?) not to sell weapons to Israel; we request the kangaroo ICC to investigate war crimes; we request a UN resolution condemning Israel.

For the record, that’s the best 57 Muslim-majority countries could drum up in response to this 21st-century genocide. History, even if written by victors, tends to be unforgiving towards cowards.

The Top Four Cowards, in this instance, are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco – the latter three having normalized relations with Israel under a heavy US hand in 2020. These are the ones that consistently blocked serious measures from being adopted at the OIC summit, such as the Algerian draft proposal for an oil ban on Israel, plus banning the use of Arab airspace to deliver weapons to the occupation state.

Egypt and Jordan – longtime Arab vassals – were also non-committal, as well as Sudan, which is in the middle of a civil war. Turkiye, under Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once again showed it is all talk and no action; a neo-Ottoman parody of the Texan “all hat, no cattle.”

Oil prices drop 5% on economic concerns

Crude oil prices dropped around 5% on Thursday to their lowest in four months, as investors worried about global oil demand following weak data from the United States and Asia.

Brent futures slipped to US$77.42 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) to US$72.90. Both Brent and WTI earlier traded at their lowest since July 07 this year.

Both WTI and Brent's front-month contracts also traded below later-dated contracts, a structure known as contango.

"The mood is negative, the charts are negative," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. "It's going to take something to change that mood, and until then people will ride it down until they realize it's overdone."

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased to a three-month high last week, suggesting that labor market conditions continued to ease.

The report came after other data that showed US retail sales fell for the first time in seven months in October as motor vehicle purchases and spending on hobbies dropped. This pointed to slowing demand at the start of the fourth quarter that further strengthened expectations the Federal Reserve is done hiking interest rates.

OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have both predicted supply tightness in the fourth quarter, but US data on Wednesday showed inventories were abundant.

Meanwhile, an expected slowdown in Chinese oil refinery throughput also gave investors pause. Runs eased in October from the previous month's highs as industrial fuel demand weakened and refining margins narrowed.

Still, Chinese economic activity rallied in October as industrial output increased at a faster pace and retail sales growth beat expectations

"The current price drop is taking place amid a seemingly auspicious backdrop, which suggests that investors simply do not buy into the 'Q4 stock draw' narrative; something that is not backed up by the recent weekly EIA reports either," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

As the Israel-Hamas conflict appeared to be escalating in Gaza, US officials on Wednesday said they would enforce oil sanctions against Iran, which has long been a backer of Hamas.

 

Unyielding negotiations amid fighting in Gaza

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday that the US is involved with intense negotiations on securing the release of some hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas but there was no deal on the table yet.

Kirby told CNN, the US has a team on the ground that is working by the hour on a potential deal but pumped the brakes on sharing any other details.

“We are in some intense negotiations; hopefully they’ll come out the right way and we’ll have good news to talk about with multiple hostages getting free,” he said. “But we don’t have a deal right now, and until we do, the less said the better.”

A deal could involve the swapping of dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in return for a truce of a few days in the war, along with the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, according to media reports.

Qatar, which maintains communications with Israel, Hamas and the US, is also reportedly in the midst of the negotiations. Qatari officials have already helped secure the release of a few Israeli prisoners.

President Biden has also hinted at a deal, telling reporters at a press conference Wednesday night that he was deeply involved in moving on the hostage negotiation.

“We’ve gotten great cooperation from the Qataris. I’ve spoken with them as well a number of times,” Biden said. “I’m mildly hopeful.”

Hamas took about 239 hostages in a deadly October 07 surprise attack on Israel, which also left more than 1,200 Israelis dead.

Israel is now waging an intense war on Hamas, invading Gaza and now fighting in the streets of Gaza City, the Hamas stronghold, to rescue hostages and eradicate the Palestinian militant group.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed there would be no cease-fire without the release of hostages and also said his forces would free the prisoners.

But this week, Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office that Israel has been employing increased pressure to secure the release of hostages since launching the Gaza ground invasion in late October.

“If and when there will be something concrete to report,” he said, “we will do so.”

Western media whitewashing Israeli genocide in Gaza

While the Israeli regime, with the support of the west, has killed over 11,000 people in Gaza in more than 40 days - two-thirds women and children - Western media is busy in justifying the crimes of Israel.

Of course, propaganda and psychological operations in war are not a strange phenomenon, and Western media must also be considered part of the unequal forces involved in this war. Western media is trying to support Israel's crimes in Gaza with flimsy and unacceptable excuses such as the right to self-defense.

One of these psychological operations was exposed by Reuters on November 15. Reuters claimed in a news report, citing three informed sources in Iran, that Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of Iran, complained in a recent meeting with Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran that Hamas had refused to inform Iran about the "Al-Aqsa Storm" operation.

It may be said that this is a tendentious and unprofessional news report. Accurate information received by the Tehran Times indicates that such a claim was not true and such a matter was not even discussed in the meeting.

This fake news can be examined from two perspectives. First, sowing discord on the enemy's front is an old and perennial technique. Both sides of a conflict strive to weaken the unity and cohesion of the opposing party through various methods, especially through psychological operations.

The Reuters fake news can also be analyzed from this angle; an attempt to create discord between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Palestinian resistance front. In fact, Reuters tried to portray, Hamas does not trust Iran and Iran is also complaining about this lack of trust.

Second, the discussion is related to Reuters' history in this regard. Mohammad Javad Zarif, the former foreign minister of Iran - who has always tried to take a balanced approach toward foreign media - could not remain silent in the face of baseless reports by Reuters.

On July 24, 2018, Zarif had said, "Know that Reuters produces 50 lies about Iran's economy every day."

A very long list of Reuters' lies about Iran can be presented: the claim of 1,500 deaths in the events of November 2019, the claim of Iranian snipers shooting Iraqi protesters in October 2019, the claim of transferring ballistic missiles from Iran to Iraq in August 2018, the claim of a drone attack on Aramco from southern Iran in November 2019, etc.

There are just a few examples of Reuters' lies against Iran. Interestingly, Reuters often attributes its lies to three anonymous sources. It's as if a lie becomes believable if it is attributed to three people!

The fact that most rooted and professional media in the West, when it comes to Iran and its issues, set aside their principles and frameworks and turn their dreams into a tool of vile propaganda, is a separate and important issue that must be addressed independently and deeply.