© Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
A boy, whose face is painted in the colors of the Syrian flag, shouts during a demonstration against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's rule
A boy, whose face is painted in the colors of the Syrian flag, shouts during a demonstration against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's rule
Syria suffered through another agonizing day of bloodshed Friday as security forces fired on antigovernment protesters after weekly prayers in several cities across the country.
Human rights activists said at least 24 unarmed people were killed in the violence.
Amateur video showed security forces in military vehicles shooting at children in the southern town of Dail, where activists say a 13-year-old boy was killed and a 16-year-old was critically wounded.
Another clip showed panicking protesters dashing for cover as gunfire erupted in the streets of Homs. Weeping men could be seen carrying the limp body of a man who had apparently been shot in the face.
Syria's three-month uprising has become the greatest challenge ever to the longtime authoritarian rule of President Bashar Assad and his family. The regime has responded with a brutal military crackdown laden with sectarian overtones.
The developments have sent shock waves across the region and beyond.
Comment: But that's exactly what Netanyahu wants, and having negotiations or compromising with the Palestinians was never part of the plan. Why waste energy on mock negotiations, when the goal is to stage a major confrontation that will result in total annihilation of "these pesky and filthy Arabs". At least, that's the idea. There were times, perhaps, when smiling to the camera or shaking hands could gain a move or two on a psychopathic chess board, but these times are gone, and Netanyahu has a bloody schedule to meet.
The mask of sanity is slipping. The truth is, it could never hide Netanyahu's real nature, but even now, his motivations are completely lost on most of Israelis. When psychopaths are in charge and their control and "ideology" becomes overt, it forces a confrontation with one's essence and how you respond says a lot about you. And what does it say about Israeli society and its own mask of sanity, when Israelis are willing to revolt against the rising prices of cottage cheese but turn their eyes away when rightful owners of Palestine endure daily torture and humiliation?