Last week’s resignation of Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman and withdrawal of his party’s support for the coalition government of prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has not only sown political turmoil in the country, but also signals dangerous days ahead for Palestinians throughout the Occupied Territories.
The ultra-right wing Lieberman left the government in protest over Netanyahu’s Gaza cease fire agreement with Hamas, and already even more extreme members of the prime minister’s razor thin coalition majority are pushing for harsher measures against both the eight month-long Great March of Return in Gaza and Palestinian protesters generally.
Richard Hardigan is a journalist, university educator and activist who in 2014 traveled to the West Bank with the International Solidarity Movement to experience firsthand life on the other side of Israel’s infamous “security fence”. The result is his recently released book, ‘The Other Side of the Wall: An Eyewitness Account of the Occupation in Palestine‘.
Richard Hardigan in the first half.
And; four years on from the Western-backed coup and overthrow of the democratically elected government in Ukraine, the war against the eastern regions refusing to cede to the Poroshenko regime is stalemated. The determination of the separatist Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics to forge their own way was reinforced at the November 11th elections that saw record turnouts and overwhelming support for the People’s Councils.
But, the vote was immediately dismissed by America and the European Union as a “sham election“, rigged by Russia and its proxies in eastern Ukraine.
Christopher Black is a Toronto-based criminal lawyer best known for his involvement in a number of high-profile, international war crimes cases. He’s also a poet, essayist, and novelist who’s latest book is, ‘Beneath the Clouds‘. Black’s articles on international law, politics and World events appear at New Eastern Outlook among other places, and his latest, ‘The Donbass Dilemma‘ examines the election and international reaction to it.
Christopher Black in the second half.
And Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour with the Left Coast Events Bulletin of some of the good things to be gotten up to in and around our town in the coming week. But first, Richard Hardigan and looking at the other side of Israel’s wall.
Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/