Egypt 1st-Hand: "Do I Now Regret Voting for Morsi? No."

Montage of protests against President Morsi on Friday and Saturday

---

I voted for Morsi last June, not because I liked him, but because I did not want [former Prime Minister Ahmed] Shafiq to win. Now, after Morsi’s decisions yesterday --- which I am suspicious about and do not really support --- and what is going on in Tahrir right now, do I regret voting for him? Well, no, I don’t regret my vote. Why? Because if Shafiq won in June, it would have been worse. No one would have been allowed to demonstrate in Tahrir or in any other place in Egypt. And Shafiq would have grabbed power with the help of the SCAF [Supreme Council of the Armed Froces]. And the terrible train crash of last Saturday would have occurred anyway, but Amr Adeeb, the famous news commentator, would have not dared to say that President Shafiq is a failure like he said about Morsi.

At least, under Morsi, the January 25 movement still has power.

Click to read more ...

Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Morsi Faces a Protest of Judges and Tents

Insurgents celebrated with a captured BMP armoured vehicle following Saturday's takeover of the Marj al Sultan helicopter base

See also Bahrain Propaganda 101: The Regime Turns Britain's Criticism Into Praise
Saturday's Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Morsi v. The Protests

---

2146 GMT: Syria. Activists, including the Local Coordination Committees, are reporting the death of 10 children today when a regime shell hit a playground in the Damascus suburb of Deir Assafer. Video (Warning: Graphic Images) has been posted of the casualties.

2106 GMT: Gaza. Israeli security forces have shot a Gazan near the border fence east of Khan Younis.

Israeli military sources said "Palestinians gathered at the fence, and a military force shot rubber bullets in the air", adding that they were not aware of injuries.

Hamas had deployed police to prevent clashes after Israeli troops killed one Gazan and wounded 19 in the "no-go" area on Friday (see 1659).

Click to read more ...

Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Morsi v. The Protests

Supporters and opponents of Egypt's President Morsi clash in front of the Judges Club, where the judiciary condemned Morsi's decrees, on Saturday (Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Daily News Egypt)

See also Syria 1st-Hand: Visiting the "Deadly Stalemate" in Aleppo
Friday's Egypt, Gaza, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Morsi, the New Pharaoh?

---

2113 GMT: Syria. James Miller reports, from several opposition sources, about rumours that a major helicopter base east of Damascus, Marj al Sultan (map), has fallen to the Free Syrian Army.

Blogs and microbloggers have posted claimed video of the FSA attacking the base at night, with tanks:

#Syria #Damascus Rebels stormed Marj Sultan military airport with a tankyoutube.com/watch?v=m_3b7T…

— Mark (@markito0171) November 24, 2012

Another blog suggests that the FSA destroyed 2 helicopters, at least one of which appears to be on fire in this video:

A statement by the Al Habib Mustafa brigade, which is reportedly responsible for the raid, claims:

• 1 T72 tank captured.
• 1 BMP armored troop transport captured.
• 2 regime tanks were damaged.
• 2 armored personnel carriers were damaged.
• 50 prisoners were taken.
• 10s of Assad soldiers were killed or injured.
• The FSA controls a nearby early warning radar (which Markito suggests is north of the base), part of the air base, and the FSA is taking the fight to the other half of the base.

If true, this would be another significant victory for the FSA, just 15 kilometres outside the capital. It would indicate that, if the regime has been sacrificing bases in the rest of the country to focus on Damascus, the strategy is not working.

Click to read more ...

Egypt, Gaza, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Morsi, the New Pharaoh?

2109 GMT: Israel-Palestine. This may be the strangest thing we've seen all week (and that is saying something). This video, entitled "Holidays 2012: A Dinner for Peace," was released by the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. Cartoons with cut-out heads (a la South Park's Saddam Hussein) representing many prominent world leaders are gathered around a table, apparently for some sort of holiday feast. They all look bored as they wait for President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. suddenly, the phone rings and Abbas says, "I am on my way to the UN. I am not coming to the table," in a creepy voice, while he drives a bus full of civilians, including children. This is an apparent reference to Abbas's pursuit of UN recognition for Palestine at the United Nations.

What does the bus represent? Why the weird voice over? Is this really the best way to represent this argument? Does this conveniently dismiss inaction by most of the other parties that are pictured sitting at "the table"? We'll just let the viewers decide the answers to these questions themselves.

2100 GMT: Syria. According to the LCC, the death toll has grown to 70:

26 in Damascus and suburbs including 7 were field executed in Qadam, 17 in Aleppo, 6 in Daraa, 4 in each Deir Ezzor, Latakia and Hama, 3 in Idlib, 2 in Homs and a martyr in each Banyas and Qunaitra...

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Pressure Builds On Assad

Aftermath of the shelling of the Al-Shifa hospital in Aleppo in Syria on Wednesday --- at least 15 people were killed and 20 wounded (see 1009 GMT)

See also Gaza Live Coverage: A Ceasefire is Declared --- Now What?
Wednesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Damascus Shakes as Assad Regime Wobbles

---

1735 GMT: Egypt. Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei is not happy about President Morsi's orders:

Morsi today usurped all state powers & appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh. A major blow to the revolution that cld have dire consequences

— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) November 22, 2012

1650 GMT: Egypt. President Morsi has issued a series of wide-ranging orders on the political and legal fronts.

Morsi has commanded the retrials of all executives and politicians of the Mubarak regime accused of "committing crimes against the Revolution". He has extended the deadline by two months for drafting of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly, plagued by divisions. He has ruled that the Assembly and the Shura Council cannot be dissolved by a court, and he has replaced the Prosector General.

Morsi also declared that his decrees cannot be reversed by a court.

Journalist Ahmed Aboul Enein summarises critically:

#BreakingNews: President #Morsy issues constitutional decree; declares himself god. #Egypt

— Ahmed Aboul Enein (@aaboulenein) November 22, 2012

Click to read more ...

Gaza Live Coverage: A Ceasefire is Declared --- Now What?

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Pressure Builds On Assad
Wednesday's Gaza Live Coverage: Israel Rejects Ceasefire and Maintains Assault

---

1605 GMT: The Israeli Prime Minister's spokesman summarises Benjamin Netanyahu's statement of victory/defiance/warning this afternoon:

PM Netanyahu: Many terrorist leaders were killed. We eliminated thousands of missiles. Things that were built over the years were demolished

— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) November 22, 2012

PM Netanyahu: We are ready to act should the quiet be violated. we will decide when and how to act, and against whom.

— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) November 22, 2012

PM Netanyahu: Now we are giving the ceasefire a chance, but we are also prepared for the possibility that the ceasefire will not be upheld

— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) November 22, 2012

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (19 November): "Empathy and Cooperation Will Defeat Sanctions"

See also The Latest from Iran (18 November): A Move on Syria

---

2115 GMT: Gaza Watch. According to journalist Thomas Erdbrink, a representative of Gaza's Islamic Jihad has confirmed that Iran gave them rockets --- he said "thank you" on the Islamic Republic's Arabic-language TV channel Al Alam.

2025 GMT: Gaza Watch. Entekhab reports that Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has refused permission for Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border.

Click to read more ...

Israel-Palestine Live Coverage: Talk of Ceasefire Fades as Israel Pounds Gaza

Journalists run from an Israeli airstrike this morning (Photo: Mohammad Abed/AFP)

See also Gaza Feature: The Names of the 52 People Who Have Been Killed...So Far
Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Take a Military Airport in the North
Saturday's Israel-Palestine Live Coverage: Air Assault on Gaza Expands --- Ground War Next?

---

2043 GMT: The Committee to Protect Journalists has said it is "alarmed" by the Israeli attacks on media centres overnight. Deputy Director Robert Mahoney said:

Journalists are civilians and are protected under international law in military conflict. Israel knows this and should cease targeting facilities housing media organizations and journalists immediately.

2035 GMT: Today, Israel bombed a home in the Gaza Strip it said belonged to Hamas official Yehiya Rabiah. At least 12 people were killed by the attack, including 4 children and 5 women, all from the same family. Haaretz reports that the intended target of Israel's "surgical" strike may not have been struck at all:

Earlier reports by the IDF Spokesman to the effect that Israel assassinated the head of Hamas' rocket-launching unit Yehiya Rabiah today in an aerial bombing in northern Gaza appear to have been inaccurate. Apparently, the IAF mistakenly bombed the home of one of his neighbors, Mohammed a-Dallo, killing 10 members of his family and two of his neighbors. Rabiah seems to have survived the attack.

2032 GMT: Up to 500 Egyptian activists have reportedly crossed into Gaza in solidarity with the Palestinian people. They are also bringing with them medical supplies. AP quotes one activist, Adam Mubarak, as saying:

We are telling the Palestinians that we are on their side. Our visit is a message to Israel that we will not abandon the Palestinians in Gaza.

2021 GMT: Another Palestinian has been killed following an airstrike in Jabalia. The death toll now stands at 72.

2020 GMT: After reports of an airstrike in south Gaza killing two more Palestinians, Al-Jazeera English updates on the death toll, now at 71:

Children: 20

Women: 8

Elderly: 9

Adults: 34

Click to read more ...

Israel-Palestine Live Coverage: Air Assault on Gaza Expands --- Ground War Next?

Israeli soldiers on the border look down on the Gaza Strip (Photo: Ronen Zvulon/Reuters)

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Change the Situation on the Ground
Friday's Israel-Palestine Live Coverage: The Conflict Escalates from Gaza to Tel Aviv

---

2144 GMT: The Israeli Prime Minister's Office has denied reports that a Government representative was sent to Cairo to conduct ceasefire talks.

2107 GMT: At a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has said, "There are some indications that there could be a ceasefire soon." However, he added that there are "no guarantees" of a halt to fighting.

A Haaretz journalist downplays the possibility:

Israeli government sources tell various media outlets no envoy on way to Cairo for ceasefire agreement

— Chemi Shalev (@ChemiShalev) November 17, 2012

Click to read more ...

Israel-Palestine Live Coverage: Day 2 of Operation Pillar of Cloud

2239 GMT: It's been hard to balance the reports of intense bombing and explosions in Gaza with the similar reports from Israel. The clearest reason for this is that most rockets fired from Gaza do not appear to have landed near residences. Contrast this with the explosions in Gaza which are happening in the center of heavily populated areas.

One need look no further than Israel's own IDF Spokesperson Twitter account to see this play out. Below is their latest summary:

Since start of the operation: 300 terrorist sites targeted in #Gaza. +300 rockets struck #Israel. +130 missiles intercepted by Iron Dome

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 15, 2012

If this is true, then the number of rockets that have been launched from Gaza are equal to the amount of sites in Gaza that Israel says it has hit. However, the IDF has barely produced any pictures or video of the damage on the groun in Israel. Instead, they have focused on how effective their own airstrikes have been:

Video: IDF targeting rocket launching sites in #Gaza youtu.be/nlWiZeR0OoI #Hamas

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 15, 2012

We've contacted IDF's spokesperson and asked them to post more videos from inside Israel. So far we have received no response.

Click to read more ...