الكاتب: kafej

Israel’s war on Gaza has taken a multitude of shapes, but the bombing and the raids are only part of the story.

Another less talked-about weapon is connectivity – or lack thereof.

Israel controls most of the electricity as well as the telecommunication and internet access in Gaza. Access to the internet is considered a basic human right by the United Nations. It keeps us informed and allows us to connect with each other and the world.

That connection is especially important during times of war.

Presenter:
Anelise Borges

Guests:
Afaf Al Najjar – Gaza Resident
Alp Toker – Executive Director of NetBlocks
Mirna El Helbawi – Journalist
Dorgham Abusalim – Writer and communication specialist

President Lazarus Chakwera announced austerity measures aimed at healing the economy.

Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has suspended all foreign trips by government officials, including himself.

The move, announced in a nationally televised address on Wednesday night, was part of what he called tough measures to heal the Southern African nation’s economy.

He also directed all ministers who are currently outside the country to return home and said the suspension will be in place until March next year.

“Any travel deemed absolutely necessary by anyone during that period must be submitted to my office for my personal authorisation,” Chakwera said.

The president unveiled a range of austerity measures, including cutting by 50 percent fuel entitlements for cabinet ministers and senior government officials.

Chakwera has faced criticism over his frequent foreign travel, local media reported. He said he would lead by example by curtailing his travel plans, including cancelling his attendance at the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai later this month.

As part of the measures, he also directed the minister of finance to include provisions for a reasonable wage increase for all civil servants in the midyear budget review.

And he ordered a lowering of income tax on individuals, so that workers whose incomes have lost value are helped with a “lower tax burden”.

Malawi is battling an economic crisis that has led to fuel shortages, inflated food prices, and a shortage of foreign exchange. Last week, the country’s central bank announced that it was devaluing the local currency against the United States dollar by nearly 30 percent.

Pedro Sanchez has been re-elected prime minister of Spain.

The vote came after nearly two days of debate among party leaders that centred almost entirely on a highly controversial amnesty deal for Catalonia’s separatists.

Mr Sanchez agreed to the bill in return for vital support of six smaller parties to get elected prime minister again.

The Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) leader, who has governed Spain since 2018, was backed by 179 politicians in the 350-seat lower house of parliament.

Only right-wing opposition parties voted against him.

It means the PSOE will form another minority coalition government with the left-wing Sumar (Joining Forces) party.

As the vote was completed inside, outside parliament, around 400 angry protesters shouted and shook police barricades.

The protests on Thursday were a continuation of nightly demonstrations that have taken place outside PSOE headquarters in Madrid and first started two weeks ago.

Many citizens are angered by the amnesty bill, which would mean any politicians and activists who were convicted for taking part in an attempt to separate Catalonia from Spain would be pardoned.

Those who helped facilitate Catalonia’s two independence votes in 2014 or 2017 will receive amnesty, and those who tried to prevent the ballots – such as police officers accused of using excessive force – are also protected by the proposed law.

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The law would particularly benefit former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont, who is a fugitive from Spanish law and considered public enemy number one by many in Spain.

A debate will now take place next week on whether the amnesty threatens judicial independence in Spain.

Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the conservative People’s Party (PP), accused Mr Sanchez of “pathological ambition” and trading an amnesty for personal gain after the bill was submitted to the lower house on Monday.

“He hasn’t secured the support of anyone, he has bought it signing cheques that we will all pay for,” Mr Feijoo said, telling Mr Sanchez: “History won’t amnesty you, I can assure you.”

The leader of the PP won the most seats but failed to secure enough support from other parties in his own bid to
lead the country.

He has called for a mass protest to take place in Spain on 18 November.

Meanwhile, Mr Sanchez was congratulated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

“It is good that we can continue to work side by side,” Mr Scholz said.

“We see many challenges in the world from a very similar perspective.”

Israel is approaching the end of the first phase of its operation in Gaza and with it comes a dilemma.

“You break it, you own it,” US secretary of state Colin Powell warned President Bush ahead of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, quoting signs in US department stores meant for customers.

The same principle applies to Israel with northern Gaza. Sporadic fighting goes on but it effectively controls the top third of the territory and has comprehensively broken the area as a place to live.

Israel has its reasons for flattening it. It says it has used artillery and air strikes “professionally” to protect its soldiers and that ultimate blame lies with Hamas.

But either way, it has pulverised most of the zone it now occupies to rubble and is well on the way to erasing Gaza City from the map.

So what does it do with the smouldering ruins?

Follow live: Biden warns Israel of ‘big mistake’ after war

Israel doesn’t look like it wants to own what it has broken. It has not followed its military campaign with any largescale humanitarian operation, though it has a duty to do so.

Israeli spokesman Mark Regev has told Sky News this is not the time for that, with fighting still going on. But that seems disingenuous.

It is clear that any fighting in northern Gaza is increasingly limited and largely confined to night-time. More importantly there are no signs of Israel preparing such a humanitarian mission.

Mr Regev estimates a million people have now moved south on the Israeli military’s urging.

Inside Gaza our correspondent Mark Stone and his cameraman Richie Mockler have documented what that looks like.

They’ve witnessed utterly miserable scenes belonging to another century as Palestinians line up to file away from their completely devastated neighbourhoods.

By Mr Regev’s figures, that leaves an estimated 200,000 people behind.

Israel is now the occupying force in northern Gaza. Under the rules of law it has obligations to the civilian population whose homes it has utterly broken. So far, it says it has brought in 300 litres of fuel, boxes of medical aid and a few incubators.

That is the here and now. Israel faces an even bigger dilemma over what it does next.

It could call it quits and give up what it’s broken. There’s talk of pulling out, leaving Arab neighbours and the West to put Gaza back together. But that could leave the field clear for Hamas to return, as it has every time in the past. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised this time to destroy it for good.

His political survival depends on it.

It could double down. Hamas forces still prevail in two thirds of the Gaza Strip. If Israel is serious about eradicating its threat it will need to go after them. But really? In an area already one of the most densely populated on Earth that’s now been swelled by another million? It seems inconceivable, even if the mission remains Israel’s stated war aim.

Or there’s a halfway house. Staying in, but only in the north and not pressing south.

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Mr Netanyahu insists Israel will keep control of security in Gaza which implies a lasting presence on the ground of some sort.

That will suit his far-right partners in government just fine because it destroys even further the chances of a viable Palestinian state, something they vehemently oppose.

But in Washington the Biden administration is warning against anything approaching reoccupation because it jeopardises the only hope for peace in the region, however remote, that ever elusive two-state solution.

Read more:
What is the two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians?

Potential donor countries whose support could rebuild Gaza want the same. They will demand signs of progress towards peace before pouring in the billions needed to rebuild broken Gaza.

A divided, destroyed Gaza, still under Israeli occupation, may satisfy Mr Netanyahu’s far-right partners in government for their own ideological reasons. But the Biden administration won’t tolerate that outcome for long.

Israel relies on America for military aid and diplomatic support and cannot afford to alienate its patrons indefinitely.

Mr Netanyahu relies on his far-right partners to stay in power.

Patrons and partners. Israel’s leader cannot please both and will need to choose between them sometime soon.

Roger Kastel, the artist behind the iconic film posters for Jaws and Empire Strikes Back, has died at the age of 92.

He died on Wednesday in Worcester County, Massachussetts, according to a statement shared on his official website.

Kastel illustrated paperback book covers and film covers for around 40 years, after getting his first paid art job at the age of 15.

The Gone With the Wind-inspired poster for the first Star Wars sequel and the iconic shark painting for Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, first created for the novel by Peter Benchley, were just two of more than 1,000 images he made throughout his career.

Kastel created the artwork for the paperback edition of Benchley’s book following Paul Bacon’s hardback illustration, which was black and white, and was inspired after visiting the American Museum of Natural History in New York to photograph the fish there.

Universal Studios purchased the rights to use the image for the movie, which was released in 1975. Instantly recognisable, Jaws still regularly tops polls of the greatest film posters of all time.

“While Jaws and The Empire Strikes Back may be the most widely recognised of his work, Roger received multiple awards for various other illustrations and fine art over the years,” the tribute on his website read.

Kastel’s works also included the posters for films including Doctor Faustus, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, and The Great Train Robbery, starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland, as well as covers for novels such as Jackie Collins’ Hollywood Wives.

Dean Newman, head of content for fan site The Daily Jaws, was among those paying tribute, writing: “Kastel’s ability to distill the essence of a movie into a single image was unparalleled.

“The Jaws poster captured the primal fear associated with the unknown lurking beneath the ocean’s surface, setting a new standard for movie marketing. The image not only contributed to the film’s success but also solidified Kastel’s reputation as a master of visual storytelling.”

The artist is survived by Grace, his wife of 66 years, their children Beth and Matthew, and four grandchildren and a great-grandson.

“Roger truly loved the art world; paintings, artists, art museums, and galleries,” his tribute read. “Early in their relationship, Roger informed Grace, ‘Art is my life’, and it was!”

Kastel was a member of the Society of Illustrators, the Artists’ Fellowship, the Kent Art Association and the Portrait Society.

His family is raising money for the fellowship, a charity that assists professional artists in times of emergency, disability, or bereavement, in his memory.