U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan on Oct. 22, despite criticism from Ukraine, Voice of America reported.

The BRICS group, a bloc of countries that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates, is convening in Kazan for a three-day summit from Oct. 22-24. According to Moscow, 36 world leaders are participating in the conference.

Guterres is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the event on Oct. 24, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry criticized the U.N. secretary general’s visit.

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  • RubberDuck
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    -44 hours ago

    Yeah, we disagree on the whole illegal occupation part when it comes to Israel proper. And this in turn leads to disagreement about a lot of the other aspects.

    Everything in life has to do with priorities and where you put them and when it comes to the founding of Israel we disagree.

    • @[email protected]
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      2 hours ago

      Gaza is illegaly occupied. The Westbank is illegally occupied and partly annexed. East Jerusalem is illegally occupied and partly annexed. This is not by my opinion, but by the ICJ

      The people have a right to resist against that. And if the source of the occupation is in “Israel proper” (i presume 1967 borders) then it is legitimate to attack military targets there too. For instance it is impossible to remove the occupation of Gaza through the total border control on the side of Israel without attacking on soil of 1967 Israel.

      Or would you say that Ukraine fighting in Kurst Oblast is to be condenmmed too?

      There is many similarities between Ukraine and Palestine, except in the way Western leaders and Media talk about it and which side they support.

      • RubberDuck
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        1 hour ago

        Hezbollah is in Lebanon. Why do they have the right to keep rocket shelling Israël?

        Gaza occupation had ended, settlers where removed, Israel closed it off as gazans have no right to enter Israël, if Israël don’t want them too. Egypt had the border closed too, I guess the people in Gaza are not ones you let into your country.

        West bank I have nothing to add, the whole settler stuff is criminal and Israel needs to do to the Jewish settlers there what they did with Gaza settlers, convoy them out back into Israël proper and wall of the border.

        The issue is landlocked countries need to play nice with their neighbors and Palestinians have no friends on their borders. Neither Jordan not Syria want open borders with them, cause of the whole attempted coup by the PLO, sectarian “differences” and terrorism.

        The fact that terrorist organisations like Hezbollah, Hamas and the PLO are so intertwined with civilian life in the Palestinian territory is an issue… for the Palestinians as it makes everyone in the organisation a valid target.

        Edit: Jerusalem should be split off and given a status similar to the Vatican and governed by representatives from both sides imo.

        • @Keeponstalin
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          220 minutes ago

          The occupation never ended, it became more extreme with the blockade

          De-development via the Gaza Occupation

          The Israeli imposed closure on Gaza began in 1991, temporarily, becoming permanent in 1993. The barrier began around Gaza around 1972.

          Between July 1971 and February 1972, Sharon enjoyed considerable success. During this time, the entire Strip (apart from the Rafah area) was sealed off by a ring of security fences 53 miles in length, with few entrypoints. Today, their effects live on: there are only three points of entry to Gaza—Erez, Nahal Oz, and Rafah.

          Perhaps the most dramatic and painful aspect of Sharon’s campaign was the widening of roads in the refugee camps to facilitate military access. Israel built nearly 200 miles of security roads and destroyed thousands of refugee dwellings as part of the widening process.’ In August 1971, for example, the Israeli army destroyed 7,729 rooms (approximately 2,000 houses) in three vola- tile camps, displacing 15,855 refugees: 7,217 from Jabalya, 4,836 from Shati, and 3,802 from Rafah.

          • Page 105

          Through 1993 Israel imposed a one-way system of tariffs and duties on the importation of goods through its borders; leaving Israel for Gaza, however, no tariffs or other regulations applied. Thus, for Israeli exports to Gaza, the Strip was treated as part of Israel; but for Gazan exports to Israel, the Strip was treated as a foreign entity subject to various “non-tariff barriers.” This placed Israel at a distinct advantage for trading and limited Gaza’s access to Israeli and foreign markets. Gazans had no recourse against such policies, being totally unable to protect themselves with tariffs or exchange rate controls. Thus, they had to pay more for highly protected Israeli products than they would if they had some control over their own economy. Such policies deprived the occupied territories of significant customs revenue, estimated at $118-$176 million in 1986. (Arguably, the economic terms of the Gaza—Jericho Agreement modify the situation only slightly.')

          • page 240

          In a report released in May 2015, the World Bank revealed that as a result of Israel’s blockade and OPE, Gaza’s manufacturing sector shrank by as much as 60 percent over eight years while real per capita income is 31 percent lower than it was 20 years ago. The report also stated that the blockade alone is responsible for a 50 percent decrease in Gaza’s GDP since 2007. Furthermore, OPE (com- bined with the tunnel closure) exacerbated an already grave situation by reducing Gaza’s economy by an additional $460 million.

          • Page 402

          • The Gaza Strip: The Political Economy of De-Development - Third Edition by Sara M. Roy

          Blockade, including Aid

          Hamas began twenty years into the occupation during the first Intifada, with the goal of ending the occupation. Collective punishment has been a deliberate Israeli tactic for decades with the Dahiya doctrine. Violence such as suicide bombings and rockets escalated in response to Israeli enforcement of the occupation and apartheid.

          After the ‘disengagement’ in 2007, this turned into a full blockade; where Israel has had control over the airspace, borders, and sea. Under the guise of ‘dual-use’ Israel has restricted food, allocating a minimum supply leading to over half of Gaza being food insecure; construction materials, medical supplies, and other basic necessities have also been restricted.

          The blockade and Israel’s repeated military offensives have had a heavy toll on Gaza’s essential infrastructure and further debilitated its health system and economy, leaving the area in a state of perpetual humanitarian crisis. Indeed, Israel’s collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population, the majority of whom are children, has created conditions inimical to human life due to shortages of housing, potable water and electricity, and lack of access to essential medicines and medical care, food, educational equipment and building materials.

          Settlements, Occupation, and Apartheid

          Israel justifies the settlements and military bases in the West Bank in the name of Security. However, the reality of the settlements on-the-ground has been the cause of violent resistance and a significant obstacle to peace, as it has been for decades.

          This type of settlement, where the native population gets ‘Transferred’ to make room for the settlers, is a long standing practice.

          The mass ethnic cleansing campaign of 1948:

          Further, declassified Israeli documents show that the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip were deliberately planned before being executed in 1967:

          While the peace process was exploited to continue de-facto annexation of the West Bank via Settlements

          The settlements are maintained through a violent apartheid that routinely employs violence towards Palestinians and denies human rights like water access, civil rights, etc. This kind of control gives rise to violent resistance to the Apartheid occupation, jeopardizing the safety of Israeli civilians.

          The apartheid regime is based on organized, systemic violence against Palestinians, which is carried out by numerous agents: the government, the military, the Civil Administration, the Supreme Court, the Israel Police, the Israel Security Agency, the Israel Prison Service, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and others. Settlers are another item on this list, and the state incorporates their violence into its own official acts of violence. Settler violence sometimes precedes instances of official violence by Israeli authorities, and at other times is incorporated into them. Like state violence, settler violence is organized, institutionalized, well-equipped and implemented in order to achieve a defined strategic goal.

          Visualizing the Ethnic Cleansing

          Peace Process and Solution

          Both Hamas and Fatah have agreed to a Two-State solution based on the 1967 borders for decades. Oslo and Camp David were used by Israel to continue settlements in the West Bank and maintain an Apartheid, while preventing any actual Two-State solution

          How Avi Shlaim moved from two-state solution to one-state solution

          ‘One state is a game changer’: A conversation with Ilan Pappe

          One State Solution, Foreign Affairs

          Hamas proposed a full prisoner swap as early as Oct 8th, and agreed to the US proposed UN Permanent Ceasefire Resolution. Additionally, Hamas has already agreed to no longer govern the Gaza Strip, as long as Palestinians receive liberation and a unified government can take place.

          During the current war, Hamas officials have said that the group does not want to return to ruling Gaza and that it advocates for forming a government of technocrats to be agreed upon by the various Palestinian factions. That government would then prepare for elections in Gaza and the West Bank, with the intention of forming a unified government.

          On Hezbollah:

        • @[email protected]
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          113 minutes ago

          Hezbollah is in Lebanon. Why do they have the right to keep rocket shelling Israël?

          Because Israel attacked them and has repeatedly escalated the conflict over the past 12 months.

          Gaza occupation had ended, settlers where removed, Israel closed it off as gazans have no right to enter Israël, if Israël don’t want them too.

          Gaza was described as the largest open air prison by experts around the world.

          Egypt had the border closed too, I guess the people in Gaza are not ones you let into your country.

          That’s an incredibly disgusting generalization to say regarding an oppressed population. These people are being isolated and oppressedfrom the world due to their much more powerful and well-funded neighbors and you’re just sitting there saying “Yeah they’re not the kind of people I would want to let in”.

          The fact that terrorist organisations like Hezbollah, Hamas and the PLO are so intertwined with civilian life in the Palestinian territory is an issue

          Hamas was funded and propped up thanks in large part to Israel.

          Hezbollah started as a direct result of Israeli aggression in the 80s and 90s. Israel occupied the south of Lebanon throughout the 90s and Hezbollah harassed them so much they were forced to leave. This conflict is Israel’s second chance on this whole settlement project.