The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth December 18, 2017 Edition written by Frank DiMora
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Headline: Israel strikes 40 Hamas targets over two weeks in response to rocket fire
Headline: Why aren’t Israelis told that Hamas High Command is behind the persistent rocket fire?
Israeli jets struck six Hamas targets in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday night, after rockets were fired into southern Israel earlier in the evening, one of which slightly damaged a home. Israel Air Force planes struck the targets, including a military compound that served as a training site and other terrorist infrastructures, the IDF Spokesman’s Unit said in a statement. “Hamas is exclusively responsible for the situation in the Gaza Strip. The IDF takes the firing of rockets at Israeli communities very seriously and will not allow any harm or attempt to harm the citizens of the State of Israel,” the statement said. Two rockets launched from the Gaza Strip slammed into the community of Netiv Hashayara in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council area, with shrapnel from the impact slightly damaging a home. A second rocket that landed in open territory caused no damage. Sirens sounded again in the Ashkelon Industrial Zone and nearby communities at 2:30 a.m., but the IDF said the rocket fell inside the Hamas-run enclave.
Dec. 18, 2017
https://www.debka.com/arent-israelis-told-hamas-high-command-behind-persistent-rocket-fire/
Headline: US vetoes UN resolution against Trump’s Jerusalem decision
Headline: Nikki Haley Slams UN for Resolution Denouncing Trump’s Jerusalem Proclamation
The United States on Monday vetoed a resolution supported by the 14 other U.N. Security Council members that would have required President Donald Trump to rescind his declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a vote that showed the depth of global opposition to the U.S. move. The United States was certain to veto the Egyptian-sponsored resolution, but its Arab supporters wanted the vote to demonstrate that countries everywhere and even many U.S. allies such as Britain, France and Japan are against Trump’s action. The Palestinians immediately announced that they will seek a resolution with similar demands in the 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes. But unlike the Security Council, the assembly’s resolutions are not legally binding. Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters after meeting with the General Assembly president that he expects a vote this week. He said he hopes for “overwhelming support” telling the Trump administration that the international community doesn’t accept the U.S. position, which he said violates international law and Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.
Dec. 19, 2017
Headline: U.N. General Assembly meeting set over U.S. veto of Jerusalem resolution
The U.N. General Assembly will meet in an emergency session this week after the United States vetoed a resolution to reject the Trump administration’s new policy of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. A bloc of Arab nations, Turkey and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation requested the meeting of the entire 193-nation U.N. body. The Palestinian Authority is a non-member observer in the United Nations. On Dec. 6, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced plans to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council voted in favor of the resolution by a vote of 14-1. The United States voted against the measure, one of five permanent members with veto power. No nation, though, can veto resolutions in the General Assembly. Miroslav Lajcak, general assembly president, did not say when the meeting will be held. Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said he expected the special session to take place Wednesday or Thursday.
Dec. 19, 2017
Headline: Abbas sends envoys to China, Russia to seek replacement for US in peace process
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday dispatched delegations to China and Russia in the hopes of finding international partners to “replace” the United States as mediator for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Abbas has said he will no longer accept the US as a mediator after US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6. “The two delegations will convey a message from President Abbas to Russia and China, the purpose of which is to find a new international sponsor for the peace process, in the framework of the United Nations, in order to replace the American sponsorship,” said senior PA official Ahmad Majdalani, according to a report in the official PA news site Wafa.
Dec. 19, 2017
Jordan
Headline: Jordan’s Christians throw weight behind King’s pro-Jerusalem push
Headline: Pope and Jordan’s king discuss Jerusalem, Temple Mount
Christian religious and non-clergy figures on Monday hailed and reaffirmed the messages of church leaders conveyed during a meeting attended by His Majesty King Abdullah at the Baptism Site a day earlier. They confirmed that the Christians of Jordan and Palestine, look at the King, the Custodian of Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem, as the protector of these shrines and the rights of Christians in the occupied city and the guarantor of an “unbreakable unity” between Muslims and Christians. The event came amid a campaign led by Jordan to isolate and neutralise any effect of US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and make arrangements to move the US embassy to the occupied city. Speakers stressed their firm stands in support of Jordan’s positions, role and efforts to defend the holy city and safeguard its status quo in the face of unilateral decisions to alter the character of the city. Christian religious figures in Jordan echoed the same messages.
Dec. 19, 2017
https://www.timesofisrael.com/pope-and-jordans-king-discuss-jerusalem-temple-mount/
Saudi Arabia
Headline: Saudis intercept Yemen rebel missile targeting royal palace
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Shiite rebels said it intercepted a missile fired over southern Riyadh on Tuesday, while the rebels said they targeted the royal palace in the kingdom’s capital. It was the second time in as many months that a rebel projectile had reached as far inside the kingdom as Riyadh. The Yemeni rebels said they launched a ballistic missile to target Yamama Palace in Riyadh, where King Salman chairs weekly government meetings and receives dignitaries and heads of state from around the world. The coalition statement, carried by Saudi state TV, said the missile was fired by the rebels known as Houthis. State TV said no damage was caused by the intercepted missile. Residents of Riyadh posted videos on social media showing a small cloud of smoke in the sky after hearing a loud explosion over their homes and while driving. In Yemen, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said the group targeted the Yamama Palace. He tweeted that a ballistic “Volcano H-2” missile was used in the attack.
Dec. 19, 2017
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-saudi-arabia-yemen-missile-20171219-story.html
Egypt
Headline: One killed and two wounded in shelling attack
AN officer has been killed and two others wounded following a shell attack on a military airport near Arish in Egypt’s North Sinai region. The attack is believed to have happened while the Ministers of Defense and Interior were visiting Arish, which is located close to the Gaza Strip. Neither minister is believed to have been injured in the attack. Those wounded in the attack are believed to be an officer and a soldier, according to security sources. A statement from an Egyptian army spokesman said a helicopter had been damaged during the attack, and that security forces had “dealt with the source of fire”.
Dec. 19, 2017
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/894373/egypt-airport-shelling-attack-terror-army-north-sinai
Iraq
Headline: Protests rock Iraqi Kurdistan for second day
Headline: Kurdish protesters set fire to party offices in northern Iraq
Protesters in Iraqi Kurdistan torched a mayor’s office and stormed a ruling party building on Tuesday as anger raged for a second day over the disastrous fallout from an independence vote. The September referendum delivered a resounding “yes” for independence but drew sweeping reprisals from Baghdad, which dealt a heavy blow to the autonomous region’s already flagging economy.
In its second largest city Sulaimaniyah, security forces fired in the air to disperse demonstrators marching on the central Saray Square, an AFP correspondent reported. Roadblocks sprang up across the city on major roads and around the offices of the main political parties. Protests were also held in the Sulaimaniyah province towns of Rania and Kifri, and in Halabja and Koysinjaq in neighboring Irbil province. In Koysinjaq, demonstrators set fire to the mayor’s office, while in Kifri hundreds stormed the offices of Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party after pelting the building with stones, witnesses said.
Dec. 19, 2017
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1211501/middle-east
http://jordantimes.com/news/region/kurdish-protesters-set-fire-party-offices-northern-iraq
Turkey
Headline: Turkey’s leader calls for backing of UN motion on Jerusalem
Turkey’s president is calling on nations to back a non-binding resolution that is expected to be brought to the U.N. General Assembly and seeks the cancellation of President Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the appeal Tuesday during a joint news conference with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, a day after the U.S. vetoed such a resolution in the U.N. Security Council. Fourteen other members of the Security Council supported the resolution — a move Erdogan described as “important and meaningful.” The Turkish leader said: “I invite all U.N. member countries to defend Jerusalem’s historic status (in the 193-member General Assembly).” Erdogan has been among the most vocal critics of Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem.
Dec. 19, 2017
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkeys-leader-calls-backing-motion-jerusalem-51883867
Afghanistan
Headline: 3 militants killed in ISIS attack on Afghanistan’s main spy agency
Gunmen opened fire near a training facility on Monday in Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency in Kabul, leading to a fight with security forces that resulted in three militants being killed, local authorities said. Although details of the attack are still unclear, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry told Reuters that two members of Afghan security forces were wounded but their injuries were not life threatening. The attackers reportedly used rocket-propelled grenades and light weapons. The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack in Afghanistan’s capital. “Initial reports indicate the gunmen are wearing police uniforms,” Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told CBS News.
Dec. 19, 2017
Headline: Clashes as Argentina congress debates pensions
Argentina’s Congress has been debating pension reforms for the second time in a week amid more violent protests in the capital, Buenos Aires. The lower house was due to vote on the bill last Thursday but had to postpone the session because of the disturbances. The government says the reforms will help tackle the large fiscal deficit. But the protesters accuse the government of balancing the books at the expense of the poor. Demonstrators threw stones, bottles, rocks and petrol bombs, while police in riot gear responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. The authorities said 48 people had been arrested and at least 100 injured.
Dec. 19, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42407555
Headline: Dozens die in clash between Ethiopian Somalis and Oromos
At least 61 people have been killed in clashes between different ethnic groups in Ethiopia’s Oromia region since Thursday, officials said. It is not clear what caused the latest violence between ethnic Somalis and Oromos. But it comes after soldiers shot dead 16 ethnic Oromos at a protest on Tuesday, reports Reuters news agency. Oromia government’s spokesperson, Adisu Arega, announced the deaths on his Facebook page. He said 29 ethnic Oromos were killed between 14 and 17 December and 32 ethnic Somali Ethiopians were killed in revenge attacks. He added that the clashes happened in the region’s Hawi Gudina and Daro Lebu districts.
Dec. 18, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42394108
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