[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Occupation, Intervention, and Law and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the O.I.L. Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each biweekly roundup to OIL@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every other week.]
"US Admits Drones Killed Four Americans," Al Jazeera English
Video report and text from Al Jazeera detailing a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder confirming the deaths of four American civilians at the hands of drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan.
"David Cameron to Chair Cobra Meeting after Woolwich Attack," Vikram Dodd, Shiv Malik and Ben Quinn
The Guardian provides an overview of both the recent murder of a man in London at the hands of two men with a machete near the Royal Artillery in Woolwich and the British Government's response to the crime.
"Syria Rebels: US Envoy Holds Border Talks with Opposition," AFP Beirut
Al-Arabiya discusses US Ambassador Robert Ford's recent visit to northern Syria to meet opposition leadership.
"Stephen Hawking Boycotts Major Israel Conference," BBC News
The BBC reports on cosmologist Stephen Hawking's withdrawal from an Israeli conference in solidarity with an academic boycott and upon advice from Palestinian academics.
"At Benghazi Hearing, State Dept. Officials Challenge Administration Review of Attacks," Ernesto Londoño and Karen DeYoung
The Washington Post provides an overview of the testimony of three Foreign Service officers regarding the 11 September 2012 assault on a diplomatic facility in Benghazi.
"U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Those Aiding Iran," Rick Gladstone
Gladstone reviews a new round of sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran, including four Iranian companies and an individual suspected of aiding the country's nuclear efforts.
"Iran Unveils Indigenous Stealth Reconnaissance, Combat Drone," Press TV
Iranian news discusses Iran's revelation that it has built a reconnaissance and combat drone, nicknamed Hamaseh.
"Guantanamo Camp Burns Through $900,000 a year per inmate," David Alexander
Reuters discusses the large costs of housing detainees in Guantanamo Bay's detention facility relative to federal prisoners, and the possibility that these high costs may figure in a political battle over the future of the detention facility.
"Donors Pledge About $4.22 Billion Towards Mali Recovery," Ethan Bilby and Adrian Croft
Bilby and Croft report on the United States, the European Union, and the Islamic Development Bank pledging a recovery package towards the Mali's development in the wake of the recent armed conflict in the country.
Blogs
"Could the ICC Investigate Israel's Attack on the Mavi Marmara?," Kevin Jon Heller
On Opinio Juris, Heller explores the question of whether the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction to investigate Israel's flotilla attack on the MV Mavi Marmara. Heller concludes that while the Court does indeed have the authority and jurisdiction, their prosecutors remain unlikely to open up such an investigation.
"Pakistan: A New Beginning?," Ahmed Rashid
Writing on the New York Review of Books' Blog, Rashid discusses Nawaz Sharif's recent victory in Pakistan's parliamentary elections and the implications of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League coming to power for Pakistan's relationship with the United States military presence in its region.
"The Last of the Semites," Joseph Massad
Asa Winstanley, coordinating with Electronic Intifada, shares Massad's recent column arguing for a kind of inherent anti-Semitism to Israel's claim that it represents and speaks for all Jews--an article initially published but since removed from Al-Jazeera English's opinion page.
Commentary
"Was the London Killing of a British Soldier 'Terrorism'?," Glenn Greenwald
Greenwald, in response to media outlets and politicians labeling the Woolwich murder "terrorism," points out that any definition of terrorism that includes the murder also must include acts of the governments of both the United States and United Kingdom.
"Trauma Begins at Home," Alice Rothchild
Rothchild discusses Israeli politicization of trauma care in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings in the context of a visit by six Israeli trauma experts to assist with recovery.
"Five Myths About Benghazi," Michael Hirsch
Hirsch refutes five common talking points regarding the 11 September 2012 assault on a diplomatic facility in Benghazi, including the allegation that the attack could not have been predicted and that Ambassador Susan Rice gave a purposely misleading account of the event.
"Freedom of Religion in Palestine: Converting Religion," Ibrahim Fares
Fares writes for Jurist on the issue international human rights law in the context of religious conversions from Islam to Christianity or vice versa in Palestine.
"Don't Expand the War on Terror," Jennifer Daskal and Stephen I. Vladeck
Daskal and Vladeck argue against the expansion of the post-9/11 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) to include groups beyond the Taliban and al-Qaeda, arguing there is no justifiable reason to allow the prospect of the White House using the AUMF to attack groups far beyond the aegis of al-Qaeda.
Reports
"Testimony from May 16 Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on the AUMF," Raffaela Wakeman
Lawfare provides a complete collation of video and transcripts of the 16 May 2013 hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the post-9/11 Authorization for the Use of Military Force
Conferences
"Forced Population Transfer -- Elements and Responsibilities"; 4 June 2013; Palestinian Red Crescent Society, al-Bireh Ramallah
"Creation of International Law: Exploring the International Law Components of Peace"; 4-5 April, 2014; University of Wisconsin Law School; call for papers here.
On Jadaliyya
"From al-Araqib to Susiya: Forced Displacement of Palestinians on Both Sides of the Green Line," Adalah
"Jadaliyya's Occupation, Intervention, and Law Page Resonates," O.l.L. Editors
"ما هي النكبة؟," Anaheed al-Hardan
"Buckling to Bigotry: The Newseum Dishonors Murdered Palestinian Journalists," Nima Shirazi
"مقطع من رواية أطفال الندى," Muhammad al-Asaad
"كتب: أطفال الندى," Arabic Editors
"On the American Association of University Professors' Opposition to Academic Boycotts," David Lloyd
"The Palestinian Museum: An Agent Of Empowerment And Integration For Palestinians," O.I.L. Editors
"An Ongoing Displacement: The Forced Exile of the Palestinians," Visualizing Palestine
"The Ongoing Nakba: The Forcible Displacement of the Palestinian People," Amjad Alqasis
"Nakba 2013: The Palestinian Youth Movement Commemorates 65 Years of Al Nakba (Introduction)," Jennifer Moghannam and Palestinian Youth Movement
"النكبة، هنا، الآن," Arabic Editors
"حول استبعاد النكبة الفلسطينية من دراسات الصدمة," Rosemary Sayigh
"الفردوس الذي اجتاحه الأشرار وتنازل عنه السماسرة," Arabic Editors
"الفردوس الذي اجتاحه الأشرار وتنازل عنه السماسرة," Hanan Toukan
"النكبة الفلسطينيّة ليست غزوة أحد," Mahmood Omar
"وين كنتوا قبل؟," Amal Kawaash
"The Least of All Possible Evils: Humanitarian Violence from Arendt to Gaza," Lisa Hajjar
"The Palestinian Economy in East Jerusalem: Enduring Annexation, Isolation, and Disintegration," Jadaliyya Reports
"Why There Is No Military Solution to the Syrian Conflict," Asli Ü Bâli and Aziz Rana
"The Process in Turkey," Sebahat Tuncel
"إشكاليّات الدّيمقراطيّة الانتخابيّة في فلسطين," Mouin Rabbani
"Expanding the Legal Paradigm for Palestine: An International Law Conference at Birzeit University," Allegra Pacheco