by Dave DeCamp | May 17, 2026 at 2:01 pm ET | Gaza, Israel Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed at least 14 Palestinians over the past three days, according to numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry, as the IDF continues its constant violations of the US-backed Gaza ceasefire deal that was signed in October 2025. The Health Ministry said on Saturday that it recorded the Israeli killing of 12 Palestinians and the injury of 57 over the previous 48-hour period. “A number of victims are still under the rubble and in the streets, as ambulance and civil defense crews have been unable to reach them so far,” the ministry wrote on Telegram.
Well, back from 2 weeks vacation. Oil at $105, market close to highs, Hormuz still closed, no agreement with Iran, useless China visit.
Each week the oil market is not normal now really starts to cause structural problems.
I'll watch what goes on today, but it looks like move is to go long oil and short the market again.
No brainer yet there has been massive manipulation to shore up the market and keep oil prices from soaring (although they have oddly soared at the pumps)
The global oil prices have soared since the US attack on Iran but fluctuating, of course.
It takes weeks/months for an oil tanker to reach its destination, so even if the Strait of Hormuz where to open tomorrow there still would be very high oil prices for quite some time.
what happened to all the doom and gloom about stopping the rianian wells due to no storage and then the wells would never restart?
that was a couple of weeks ago now, so has it happened or was it all just nonsense.
another prolongation of the ceasefire on taco tuesday tomorrow? can trump even sit down having been reamed by Xi?
It was propaganda to begin with. Just like the Russia will run out of ammunition. Iran would have always been capable of just burning out extra gas if they needed and their gas is primarily used (I've heard 96%) domestically so the embargo wouldn't address that.
I have been thankful, that Trump. have been avoiding the escalation trap. But the reality is there is no offramp without essentially surrendering to Iran or escalation. So, they are doing what Trump does best, bluster, lie, bluff, distract and play word games in hope that an offramp somehow appears.
Correct. Israel began as a terrorist attack back in '48 and has been dealing with the consequences ever since: unstinting resistance, and now, international ignominy.
Israel is finished in all but name.
Compare Tel Aviv to Gaza city. Which is finished? But it should be a moot point anyway when the Trump Gaza Riviera and Islands are built, alongside the Elon Musk smart manufacturing zone and the MBS highway. It will become the crown jewel of the Middle East.
Just like the stories about beheading and cooking babies, no concrete evidence of rape on Oct 7 has been adduced. Could rape have occurred? Of course. But it is now highly unlikely that it could have been either widespread or systematic.
But in Israeli jails and prisons, it has been widespread, systematic, officially condoned, and publicly celebrated! This is not surprising, since rape has been an Israeli military tactic dating back to at least the Deir Yassim massacre in 1948.
Your dismissal of what Hamas did is its own form of propaganda. But you like the propaganda of one side. Brutality doesn't have to be "widespread" or "systemic" to be brutality. That was the Hamas attack on Israel. This isn't a competition to decide who is worst at that.
A rabbi who publicly spread false claims about Hamas raping Israeli women on 7 October 2023 has been arrested for sexually abusing a teenage boy. Rabbi Yizhak Meir Sabo, 43, was charged with indecency with a child, court records show. Authorities arrested him on 1 April and set his bail at $100,000. He was placed on leave by the school in which he worked when the reports surfaced on 27 March. Sabo allegedly repeatedly pulled down a male student’s trousers and touched his genitals. The abuse allegedly occurred while the student was in grades 9-12. Sabo also watched the student shower and sent him inappropriate messages. School officials called the reports “shocking and serious” and banned Sabo from campus and all school-related activities. More families have since come forward with additional concerns. Sabo helped spread unverified claims that Hamas fighters committed “mass sexual violence” during the 7 October infiltration in Israel.
Just like the stories about beheading and cooking babies, no concrete evidence of rape on Oct 7 has been adduced. Could rape have occurred? Of course. But it is now highly unlikely that it could have been either widespread or systematic.
But in Israeli jails and prisons, it has been widespread, systematic, officially condoned, and publicly celebrated! This is not surprising, since rape has been an Israeli military tactic dating back to at least the Deir Yassim massacre in 1948.
Your dismissal of what Hamas did is its own form of propaganda. But you like the propaganda of one side. Brutality doesn't have to be "widespread" or "systemic" to be brutality. That was the Hamas attack on Israel. This isn't a competition to decide who is worst at that.
All of your responses on this question have been breathtakingly facile. It's the easiest (and stupidest) move possible to simply "both sides" this issue. But history and proportionality are the essence of the whole conflict. Of course there is animosity on both sides, just as there is animosity between many nations and peoples the world over. But mere animosity does not produce mass death and serial human right abuses. For that to happen it has to be enabled from the outside.
The point here is that one side (Israel) has been licensed and equipped to indulge its animosity (racism, in actuality) to a degree unprecedented since the days of European settler colonialism in Asia and Africa. And it was not the threat of "Arab" destruction of Israel that created this asymmetry-- it was colonial, then Cold War neo-colonial, geo-politics. It not a question of who hates who more; it's a question of who has real power to act on their hatred. And here there is no question-- it's Israel.
Powerful nations that could really not have cared less about Israel nevertheless favored it and indulged its colonial excesses until they became so extreme that a "peace process" had to be concocted in the interests of regional stability, and as a sop to voting and taxpaying publics in the US and Europe. But Israel's first leaders had been clear since their days doing terror bombings in mandate Palestine that they had no intention of sharing the territory with its indigenous Arab inhabitants any longer than absolutely necessary. This is the meaning and essence of the concept "Jewish State". Today's Israeli leaders, with nearly unanimous support from Israeli society, are taking steps to finalize a territorial project envisioned since the 1920s!
But by far the stupidest thing you say is that "Israel is a recognized UN member state" blah, blah, whilst Palestine is, presumably, nothing, making any type of armed resistance to Israel on its part a form of "terrorism". How do you suppose this situation of full statehood on one side and permanent statelessness/occupation came about in the first place? As a result of the inherent superiority of Israeli Jews vs. indigenous Palestinians? Or maybe it was because a decision was made by powerful countries to recognize and support one side and allow it to do to the other what it pleased!?
Two final things:
1. States do not possess rights-- to exist, or otherwise. In international law, only peoples have rights (to e.g. self-determination) and these rights DO NOT include the right to build a state that systemically denies basic rights to others in "self-defense".
2. If you think the proven lies and exaggerations in the Israeli and world press about not just rape and baby-killing on Oct 7, but rape and baby-killing as a systematic weapon of war, shaped the response of Israel to Oct 7 you're either an idiot or a troll (no doubt a little of each considering your average output in this forum). Spend 5mins looking at the Israeli press in fall '23 and winter '24 for the truth. These lies even helped gin up support in the US, when senile Joe Biden himself repeated them.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Here we go again. Trump is saying that the US has called off a "scheduled" attack for tomorrow at the urging of GCC leaders because there are now "serious negotiations" towards a deal. Trump also declared that the deal will include no nuclear weapons for Iran.
The reality? The US has been ferrying by air equipment and arms into the Middle East since the cease fire began. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group is sitting out in the Indian Ocean just outside of Iran's missile range and is ready to join fighting. There were many signals that the US was ready to launch new attacks, including diplomatic sources telling people that new attacks were imminent. So, it may be true that a US attack was imminent.
Are the US and Iran close to a deal? Unless there was a sudden breakthrough, the answer to that is absolutely not. Iran and the US have seen almost no movement in negotiations on nuke enrichment, proxies, releasing frozen funds/reparations and the Strait of Hormuz.
Was this more market manipulation? Could be, but this time nothing moved either way. We may have reached the point where the markets just don't care anymore.
Trump's best and probably only option at this point is to cut a sh#tty deal just to get oil flowing again. Keeping the status quo in place is not sustainable as summer gasoline demand will trigger $5+ gas across the US (if not worse). Attacking Iran again will invariably end up with attacks against Gulf oil infrastructure that could make gas at $5+ look like a bargain. And there is a real prospect that IRGC and the clerics could survive another attack and still have control over the Strait.
Your dismissal of what Hamas did is its own form of propaganda. But you like the propaganda of one side. Brutality doesn't have to be "widespread" or "systemic" to be brutality. That was the Hamas attack on Israel. This isn't a competition to decide who is worst at that.
All of your responses on this question have been breathtakingly facile. It's the easiest (and stupidest) move possible to simply "both sides" this issue. But history and proportionality are the essence of the whole conflict. Of course there is animosity on both sides, just as there is animosity between many nations and peoples the world over. But mere animosity does not produce mass death and serial human right abuses. For that to happen it has to be enabled from the outside.
The point here is that one side (Israel) has been licensed and equipped to indulge its animosity (racism, in actuality) to a degree unprecedented since the days of European settler colonialism in Asia and Africa. And it was not the threat of "Arab" destruction of Israel that created this asymmetry-- it was colonial, then Cold War neo-colonial, geo-politics. It not a question of who hates who more; it's a question of who has real power to act on their hatred. And here there is no question-- it's Israel.
Powerful nations that could really not have cared less about Israel nevertheless favored it and indulged its colonial excesses until they became so extreme that a "peace process" had to be concocted in the interests of regional stability, and as a sop to voting and taxpaying publics in the US and Europe. But Israel's first leaders had been clear since their days doing terror bombings in mandate Palestine that they had no intention of sharing the territory with its indigenous Arab inhabitants any longer than absolutely necessary. This is the meaning and essence of the concept "Jewish State". Today's Israeli leaders, with nearly unanimous support from Israeli society, are taking steps to finalize a territorial project envisioned since the 1920s!
But by far the stupidest thing you say is that "Israel is a recognized UN member state" blah, blah, whilst Palestine is, presumably, nothing, making any type of armed resistance to Israel on its part a form of "terrorism". How do you suppose this situation of full statehood on one side and permanent statelessness/occupation came about in the first place? As a result of the inherent superiority of Israeli Jews vs. indigenous Palestinians? Or maybe it was because a decision was made by powerful countries to recognize and support one side and allow it to do to the other what it pleased!?
Two final things:
1. States do not possess rights-- to exist, or otherwise. In international law, only peoples have rights (to e.g. self-determination) and these rights DO NOT include the right to build a state that systemically denies basic rights to others in "self-defense".
2. If you think the proven lies and exaggerations in the Israeli and world press about not just rape and baby-killing on Oct 7, but rape and baby-killing as a systematic weapon of war, shaped the response of Israel to Oct 7 you're either an idiot or a troll (no doubt a little of each considering your average output in this forum). Spend 5mins looking at the Israeli press in fall '23 and winter '24 for the truth. These lies even helped gin up support in the US, when senile Joe Biden himself repeated them.
Now he's not even waiting until Tuesday to taco, he's announcing that he was planning on attacking on Tuesday but he postponed it because... you guessed it, they are in serious negotiations again... for the 100th time... in his dreams.
President Donald Trump says the U.S. is pausing a planned strike on Iran as “serious negotiations” continue, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insists talks with Washington do not signal the regime’s surrender.
All of your responses on this question have been breathtakingly facile. It's the easiest (and stupidest) move possible to simply "both sides" this issue. But history and proportionality are the essence of the whole conflict. Of course there is animosity on both sides, just as there is animosity between many nations and peoples the world over. But mere animosity does not produce mass death and serial human right abuses. For that to happen it has to be enabled from the outside.
The point here is that one side (Israel) has been licensed and equipped to indulge its animosity (racism, in actuality) to a degree unprecedented since the days of European settler colonialism in Asia and Africa. And it was not the threat of "Arab" destruction of Israel that created this asymmetry-- it was colonial, then Cold War neo-colonial, geo-politics. It not a question of who hates who more; it's a question of who has real power to act on their hatred. And here there is no question-- it's Israel.
Powerful nations that could really not have cared less about Israel nevertheless favored it and indulged its colonial excesses until they became so extreme that a "peace process" had to be concocted in the interests of regional stability, and as a sop to voting and taxpaying publics in the US and Europe. But Israel's first leaders had been clear since their days doing terror bombings in mandate Palestine that they had no intention of sharing the territory with its indigenous Arab inhabitants any longer than absolutely necessary. This is the meaning and essence of the concept "Jewish State". Today's Israeli leaders, with nearly unanimous support from Israeli society, are taking steps to finalize a territorial project envisioned since the 1920s!
But by far the stupidest thing you say is that "Israel is a recognized UN member state" blah, blah, whilst Palestine is, presumably, nothing, making any type of armed resistance to Israel on its part a form of "terrorism". How do you suppose this situation of full statehood on one side and permanent statelessness/occupation came about in the first place? As a result of the inherent superiority of Israeli Jews vs. indigenous Palestinians? Or maybe it was because a decision was made by powerful countries to recognize and support one side and allow it to do to the other what it pleased!?
Two final things:
1. States do not possess rights-- to exist, or otherwise. In international law, only peoples have rights (to e.g. self-determination) and these rights DO NOT include the right to build a state that systemically denies basic rights to others in "self-defense".
2. If you think the proven lies and exaggerations in the Israeli and world press about not just rape and baby-killing on Oct 7, but rape and baby-killing as a systematic weapon of war, shaped the response of Israel to Oct 7 you're either an idiot or a troll (no doubt a little of each considering your average output in this forum). Spend 5mins looking at the Israeli press in fall '23 and winter '24 for the truth. These lies even helped gin up support in the US, when senile Joe Biden himself repeated them.
Your dismissal of what Hamas did is its own form of propaganda. But you like the propaganda of one side. Brutality doesn't have to be "widespread" or "systemic" to be brutality. That was the Hamas attack on Israel. This isn't a competition to decide who is worst at that.
All of your responses on this question have been breathtakingly facile. It's the easiest (and stupidest) move possible to simply "both sides" this issue. But history and proportionality are the essence of the whole conflict. Of course there is animosity on both sides, just as there is animosity between many nations and peoples the world over. But mere animosity does not produce mass death and serial human right abuses. For that to happen it has to be enabled from the outside.
The point here is that one side (Israel) has been licensed and equipped to indulge its animosity (racism, in actuality) to a degree unprecedented since the days of European settler colonialism in Asia and Africa. And it was not the threat of "Arab" destruction of Israel that created this asymmetry-- it was colonial, then Cold War neo-colonial, geo-politics. It not a question of who hates who more; it's a question of who has real power to act on their hatred. And here there is no question-- it's Israel.
Powerful nations that could really not have cared less about Israel nevertheless favored it and indulged its colonial excesses until they became so extreme that a "peace process" had to be concocted in the interests of regional stability, and as a sop to voting and taxpaying publics in the US and Europe. But Israel's first leaders had been clear since their days doing terror bombings in mandate Palestine that they had no intention of sharing the territory with its indigenous Arab inhabitants any longer than absolutely necessary. This is the meaning and essence of the concept "Jewish State". Today's Israeli leaders, with nearly unanimous support from Israeli society, are taking steps to finalize a territorial project envisioned since the 1920s!
But by far the stupidest thing you say is that "Israel is a recognized UN member state" blah, blah, whilst Palestine is, presumably, nothing, making any type of armed resistance to Israel on its part a form of "terrorism". How do you suppose this situation of full statehood on one side and permanent statelessness/occupation came about in the first place? As a result of the inherent superiority of Israeli Jews vs. indigenous Palestinians? Or maybe it was because a decision was made by powerful countries to recognize and support one side and allow it to do to the other what it pleased!?
Two final things:
1. States do not possess rights-- to exist, or otherwise. In international law, only peoples have rights (to e.g. self-determination) and these rights DO NOT include the right to build a state that systemically denies basic rights to others in "self-defense".
2. If you think the proven lies and exaggerations in the Israeli and world press about not just rape and baby-killing on Oct 7, but rape and baby-killing as a systematic weapon of war, shaped the response of Israel to Oct 7 you're either an idiot or a troll (no doubt a little of each considering your average output in this forum). Spend 5mins looking at the Israeli press in fall '23 and winter '24 for the truth. These lies even helped gin up support in the US, when senile Joe Biden himself repeated them.
Donald Trump’s decline in the polls doesn’t seem to be slowing down. His net approval rating is -22 according to The New York Times/Siena, -20 according to AtlasIntel, and -26 according to CBS News/YouGov. And in our average, Trump hit a new second term net approval low of -20.1 on Sunday. Just one week ago, his net approval was -19.1, and one week before that it was -18.6.
On the issues, net approval of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living is down to -41.8. I’ve had to lower the y-axis on our issue approval chart multiple times over the past couple months to compensate for how quickly Trump has lost support on inflation. Even on the economy in general, Trump’s net approval just hit a new second term low of -27.4. -EMD, 5/18/26
Donald Trump’s decline in the polls doesn’t seem to be slowing down. His net approval rating is -22 according to The New York Times/Siena, -20 according to AtlasIntel, and -26 according to CBS News/YouGov. And in our average, Trump hit a new second term net approval low of -20.1 on Sunday. Just one week ago, his net approval was -19.1, and one week before that it was -18.6.
On the issues, net approval of Trump’s handling of inflation and the cost of living is down to -41.8. I’ve had to lower the y-axis on our issue approval chart multiple times over the past couple months to compensate for how quickly Trump has lost support on inflation. Even on the economy in general, Trump’s net approval just hit a new second term low of -27.4. -EMD, 5/18/26
'Handling' of inflation? he doesn't care about it. He caused world wide inflation both with this and tariffs
maybe he has promised Xi the same thing for Cuba so China can take Taiwan. But people forget that Taiwan has promised to turn Shanghai to glass.......
This is so humiliating to Trump and the US. Everyone on the planet can see the desperation of Trump. He wants this war over and wants to declare a historic military victory and get a deal that was better than Obama but there is no road map to do so.
Why the hell would Iran give him what he wants so desperately?
So every week or so we get these insane social media excuses as to why he will not be executing his imminent attack. They aren't even good or half believable lies. But Iran sees the desperate flailing of Trump and it just strengthens their resolve that they have Trump exactly where they want him.
Trump has made Iran way more powerful than they could have ever dreamed of. China too!
Mohammed Shalalda leaned on a cane to walk after a bloody night of Israeli settler violence that shattered his family's sense of safety in their own home. At dawn on Sunday, a group of settlers, numbering in the dozens, attacked the Shalalda family home in the al-Daraja area near the town of Sair, east of Hebron, wounding Mohammed, his elderly mother, his sister, and his brother. Mohammed was sleeping on the roof of his old house when he awoke to the sound of voices around 3am. More than 15 settlers then attacked him, brutally kicking him and beating him with wooden sticks before he had barely opened his eyes. The settlers dragged him to the ground despite his wounds bleeding profusely. “I started screaming to wake the residents and rescue me, but the settlers put a blanket over me and continued beating me violently. I was bleeding, and I didn’t know where the bleeding was coming from; my whole body was their prey,” he told Middle East Eye.
Mohammed Shalalda leaned on a cane to walk after a bloody night of Israeli settler violence that shattered his family's sense of safety in their own home. At dawn on Sunday, a group of settlers, numbering in the dozens, attacked the Shalalda family home in the al-Daraja area near the town of Sair, east of Hebron, wounding Mohammed, his elderly mother, his sister, and his brother. Mohammed was sleeping on the roof of his old house when he awoke to the sound of voices around 3am. More than 15 settlers then attacked him, brutally kicking him and beating him with wooden sticks before he had barely opened his eyes. The settlers dragged him to the ground despite his wounds bleeding profusely. “I started screaming to wake the residents and rescue me, but the settlers put a blanket over me and continued beating me violently. I was bleeding, and I didn’t know where the bleeding was coming from; my whole body was their prey,” he told Middle East Eye.
Neighbours tried to stop the attack, but the number of settlers kept growing, eventually forming five groups of at least 10 each. Suad Shalalda, 60, and her daughter Arwa, 20, were fast asleep in their home when they were woken by the sound of the attack, and Mohammed and Amer's screams. They did not dare go outside, fearing they too would be assaulted. 'The settlers are in control': How the West Bank is being ethnically cleansed Read More » The settlers then stormed the house, ransacking its rooms. At that point, Arwa grabbed her phone, intending to call for help. "They were like madmen, wreaking havoc in the house. I didn't know what to do. One of the settlers approached my daughter and snatched her phone from her hand so she couldn't call for help. I pushed him away, and he attacked me, pushing me with all his might against the wall. My head hit it, and I started bleeding," Suad told MEE. One settler struck Arwa on the head, causing a deep gash. The settlers then sprayed gas in the women's faces, deliberately targeting their eyes. They also smashed all mobile phones they found in the house. On the roof, Mohammed and Amer were covered in blood and still calling out for help. More locals gathered and chased away the settlers, who fled the scene without managing to steal the sheep.
And it now looks like Trump backed off of attack plans because Pentagon advisors told Trump that Iran had reconstituted its missile and drone launch capabilities and was ready to launch hundreds of drones and missiles in response to a new US attack. The Pentagon also told Trump that Iran's air defenses had improved significantly and are now able to better track and target US bombers.
Negotiations between the US and Iran show no signs of any breakthroughs. Iran is still tabling any discussions of its nuclear program until later in the negotiations. Iran is still sticking to its demands that it get war reparations, complete sanctions relief, retains control over Hormuz while the US completely lifts the blockade and all frozen funds are released. US is still demanding that Iran give up nukes, 20 year moratorium on enrichment, no more proxies, and no control over the Strait. The only thing that may have prompted Trump's comment about "serious negotiations" taking place was the US agreeing to suspend oil sanctions on Iran while negotiations took place and was willing to have some flexibility on Iranian civilian nuclear activity. Otherwise, Pakistani mediators told Reuters that both sides keep moving the goal posts and have made progress in negotiations very difficult.
Trump is delusional with the power he has. He has been reported to have been telling people recently that he is more powerful than any US president and should be compared historically to the likes of Alexander the Great and Napoleon. Yet he just cannot seem to pull the trigger on new strikes against Iran. Iran also has kept its powder dry except for an occasional harassing attack on UAE.
If both sides opt for a stalemate and battle of economic attrition, who knows when that will end. US treasuries are spiking and the Fed is going to have no choice but to raise interest rates to prevent a complete rout of the bond market. Higher interest rates will hit consumers hard who are already getting bit by inflation. If oil shortages materialize over the summer, inflation could continue to rise while growth slows or goes negative. The last president to get shown up by Iran while presiding over stagflation was Jimmy Carter.
And it now looks like Trump backed off of attack plans because Pentagon advisors told Trump that Iran had reconstituted its missile and drone launch capabilities and was ready to launch hundreds of drones and missiles in response to a new US attack. The Pentagon also told Trump that Iran's air defenses had improved significantly and are now able to better track and target US bombers.
Negotiations between the US and Iran show no signs of any breakthroughs. Iran is still tabling any discussions of its nuclear program until later in the negotiations. Iran is still sticking to its demands that it get war reparations, complete sanctions relief, retains control over Hormuz while the US completely lifts the blockade and all frozen funds are released. US is still demanding that Iran give up nukes, 20 year moratorium on enrichment, no more proxies, and no control over the Strait. The only thing that may have prompted Trump's comment about "serious negotiations" taking place was the US agreeing to suspend oil sanctions on Iran while negotiations took place and was willing to have some flexibility on Iranian civilian nuclear activity. Otherwise, Pakistani mediators told Reuters that both sides keep moving the goal posts and have made progress in negotiations very difficult.
Trump is delusional with the power he has. He has been reported to have been telling people recently that he is more powerful than any US president and should be compared historically to the likes of Alexander the Great and Napoleon. Yet he just cannot seem to pull the trigger on new strikes against Iran. Iran also has kept its powder dry except for an occasional harassing attack on UAE.
If both sides opt for a stalemate and battle of economic attrition, who knows when that will end. US treasuries are spiking and the Fed is going to have no choice but to raise interest rates to prevent a complete rout of the bond market. Higher interest rates will hit consumers hard who are already getting bit by inflation. If oil shortages materialize over the summer, inflation could continue to rise while growth slows or goes negative. The last president to get shown up by Iran while presiding over stagflation was Jimmy Carter.
No way either side can give in on its demands. Starting up the hot war again would be a disaster for US and its allies. Doing nothing is also a disaster as Iran continued to control Hormuz. The powers that be have managed to prop up the stock market and keep oil stock prices under control (as gas prices at the pumps go crazy). Don't see any good resolution to this. Suspect US will go up the escalation ladder cuz that's what Israel wants and their lobby seems more powerful than the realists on Govt
