Ma'an – The Gaza government said it would work to "find a formula" that would stop the recent waves of Israeli air strikes that have pummeled Gaza over the past day after a truce offer went unacknowledged.
"Israel has insisted on resuming its crimes against the Palestinians, it is a bid to control" the resistance and the people of Gaza, a statement said, calling on rights organizations to "document crimes" so charges could be laid, and asking Arab states to intervene.
Slamming the recent targeting of ambulance crews, a hospital and the death of at least three civilians in air strikes on Friday, the Gaza government said it was set to host an urgent meeting with the Arab League's council to discuss "appropriate mechanisms" to face the recent escalation.
Since Thursday afternoon, 11 have been killed, including civilians, and dozens others injured. Israel's military said bombings were in response to "heavy rocket and mortar fire," emanating from Gaza Friday afternoon. A later statement said a total of five mortars and eight projectiles had been fired from Gaza on Friday.
On Thursday night, Hamas announced that most armed Palestinian factions in Gaza had signed on to a ceasefire pledge, in a bid to halt a further escalation of violence with Israel. Israeli media said the announcement came at 11 p.m. Air strikes began around midnight.
On Friday afternoon, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees said Friday they could not commit to a ceasefire deal with Israel. The statement was followed by another from the National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which announced that its fighters had launched two projectiles toward Israel.
Spokesman of the group's An-Nasser brigades, Abu Mujahed, told Ma'an that they would "never agree to a ceasefire while Palestinians are being killed by Israel in Gaza."
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Israeli forces demolish the homes of two Palestinian shepherds in West Bank
Ma'an – The homes of two shepherds were demolished on Thursday morning, in the herding hamlet of Khirbet Samra in the northern Jordan Valley.
Shortly before the demolitions, shepherds were handed orders saying the lands were zoned for military use, and that they did not have a license to be present.
The residents were forcibly evacuated before the demolitions, and told Ma'an that they had no notice of the event before it happened.
Shortly before the demolitions, shepherds were handed orders saying the lands were zoned for military use, and that they did not have a license to be present.
The residents were forcibly evacuated before the demolitions, and told Ma'an that they had no notice of the event before it happened.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Israeli Troops Suppress Anti-Wall Protests in the West Bank; Two Injured, Six Arrested
PNN – The Israeli army used tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets on Friday to suppress the weekly anti-wall protests in a number of West Bank villages.
Two were injured and six arrested when Israeli troops attacked the weekly anti-wall and settlements protest in the village of al-Nabi Saleh, in central West Bank. After the midday prayers villagers along with Israeli and international supporters marched to lands owned by local farmers Israel wants to take for the wall and settlements.
Soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at civilians injuring two local youth. Later troops stormed the village and arrested three local men and three Israeli activists.
In Bil’in village also in central West Bank, villagers along with their international and Israeli supporters marched towards the wall built on their lands after the midday prayers.
As soon as protesters reached the gate of the wall separating local farmers form their lands troops stationed their attacked them using tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets.
Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. On Tuesday of this week the army invaded the village of Bil’in and searched homes. Villagers of Bil’in have been protesting the wall for the past six years.
The nearby village of Ni'lin held a similar protest on Friday. Villagers and their supporters marched up to the gate of the wall separating local farmers from their land. Israeli troops used tear gas and sound bombs to force people back. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Also on Friday the villagers of al-Ma’sara, in southern West Bank, and their international and Israeli protesters conducted their weekly anti wall protests. Troops stopped the protest from leaving the village using rifle buts and batons.
Two were injured and six arrested when Israeli troops attacked the weekly anti-wall and settlements protest in the village of al-Nabi Saleh, in central West Bank. After the midday prayers villagers along with Israeli and international supporters marched to lands owned by local farmers Israel wants to take for the wall and settlements.
Soldiers fired rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at civilians injuring two local youth. Later troops stormed the village and arrested three local men and three Israeli activists.
In Bil’in village also in central West Bank, villagers along with their international and Israeli supporters marched towards the wall built on their lands after the midday prayers.
As soon as protesters reached the gate of the wall separating local farmers form their lands troops stationed their attacked them using tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets.
Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. On Tuesday of this week the army invaded the village of Bil’in and searched homes. Villagers of Bil’in have been protesting the wall for the past six years.
The nearby village of Ni'lin held a similar protest on Friday. Villagers and their supporters marched up to the gate of the wall separating local farmers from their land. Israeli troops used tear gas and sound bombs to force people back. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation.
Also on Friday the villagers of al-Ma’sara, in southern West Bank, and their international and Israeli protesters conducted their weekly anti wall protests. Troops stopped the protest from leaving the village using rifle buts and batons.
Israeli Soldiers Stop Farmers From Reaching Their Lands in Beit Omer
PNN – On Friday Israeli troops stopped a group of farmers from reaching their land; they came from the village of Beit Omer near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
A group of farmers along with international supporters were planning to plant olive tree one land owned by local farmers from Beit Omer near the Israeli settlement of Beit Ein.
Israeli soldiers arrived on location and detained the group and did not allow them to reach the land to plant the olive trees. Soldiers also threatened to arrest the Palestinians if they did not leave the area.
Witnesses on location told PNN that the group still insists on reaching the land and refuses to leave.
[On January 28th, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy from the village who participated in non-violent activities was shot in the head by settlers, dying the next day.]
A group of farmers along with international supporters were planning to plant olive tree one land owned by local farmers from Beit Omer near the Israeli settlement of Beit Ein.
Israeli soldiers arrived on location and detained the group and did not allow them to reach the land to plant the olive trees. Soldiers also threatened to arrest the Palestinians if they did not leave the area.
Witnesses on location told PNN that the group still insists on reaching the land and refuses to leave.
[On January 28th, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy from the village who participated in non-violent activities was shot in the head by settlers, dying the next day.]
Corrie lawsuit challenges Israeli impunity
Electronic Intifada, Nora Barrows-Friedman – Several Israeli soldiers testified at the witness stand in the Haifa district court earlier this week, as trial hearings continued in the case of Corrie vs. the State of Israel. As the trial drags on, years after Rachel Corrie's killing, Israel's impunity is being challenged and carefully cross-examined.
Red Cross: Record number of Palestinians made homeless by Israeli demolitions
IRIN – The number of Palestinian homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem demolished by Israeli authorities increased for the third consecutive month in March, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Since January, Israeli authorities have demolished 176 Palestinian buildings, displacing 333 people, including 154 children. “The West Bank is where the future Palestinian state is meant to be situated, and its viability is being reduced with each demolition,” UNRWA spokesperson in Jerusalem Chris Gunness said.
In March, 77 buildings were demolished compared with 29 in January and 70 in February.
Half of the demolished structures were houses, while the rest included stables, which can be just as valuable to a herding community as a house, Gunness said.
The number of Palestinians made homeless by these demolitions also hit a record monthly high, according to UNRWA, with 158 affected in March (including 64 children) compared to 70 in January and 105 in February.
But Capt Amir Koren, spokesperson for the Israeli Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), told IRIN the structures were illegal.
"The Civil Administration is responsible for enforcing laws regarding planning and building in Judea and Samaria… As such, illegal structures built by both Israelis and Palestinians are dismantled as a matter of course, according to a set of priorities which have been brought before the High Court of Justice dozens of times in the past.
“During the first two months of 2011, the Civil Administration carried out 69 orders to dismantle illegal structures built in Area C by Palestinian residents."
Since January, Israeli authorities have demolished 176 Palestinian buildings, displacing 333 people, including 154 children. “The West Bank is where the future Palestinian state is meant to be situated, and its viability is being reduced with each demolition,” UNRWA spokesperson in Jerusalem Chris Gunness said.
In March, 77 buildings were demolished compared with 29 in January and 70 in February.
Half of the demolished structures were houses, while the rest included stables, which can be just as valuable to a herding community as a house, Gunness said.
The number of Palestinians made homeless by these demolitions also hit a record monthly high, according to UNRWA, with 158 affected in March (including 64 children) compared to 70 in January and 105 in February.
But Capt Amir Koren, spokesperson for the Israeli Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), told IRIN the structures were illegal.
"The Civil Administration is responsible for enforcing laws regarding planning and building in Judea and Samaria… As such, illegal structures built by both Israelis and Palestinians are dismantled as a matter of course, according to a set of priorities which have been brought before the High Court of Justice dozens of times in the past.
“During the first two months of 2011, the Civil Administration carried out 69 orders to dismantle illegal structures built in Area C by Palestinian residents."
Gaza gov't files complaint to UN over strikes, reports that Israel may be using phosphorous
Ma'an – Spokesman of the Gaza government Taher An-Nunu said Friday that he had sent an official letter of complaint to the UN "and other involved parties" following the death of five civilians in Gaza during the day.
Israeli air and artillery fire hit the coastal enclave ten times during the day. An Israeli military statement acknowledged the deaths, saying it "regrets that the Hamas terrorist organization chooses to operate from within its civilian population, using it as a 'human shield'."
An-Nunu said Israel was taking the opportunity while the world was "preoccupied with other events," in the near and far east, and said that by "carrying out a series of escalations of attacks."
He added, that Israel had shown that Israel had shown that it does "not respect the state of calm on which all factions had agreed on," referring to a proposed ceasefire deal announced by Hamas officials at 11 p.m. on Thursday night.
After a series of overnight air strikes killed four, Hamas fighters resumed launching projectiles, saying in a statement that six projectiles and three mortars had been launched Friday afternoon toward Israeli military targets near Rafah.
"We will not stand silent," he said of the escalation.
Earlier in the day a Hamas official accused Israel of using white phosphorus weapons during the day, a claim that was later denied by an Israeli military spokesman.
White phosphorus weapons were used on civilian areas by Israeli forces during their 2008-9 offensive, Operation Cast Lead. International conventions say the weapons are prohibited for use in civilian areas. In open-area combat, the phosphorus is used to light up targets.
In Gaza, doctors who noted abnormal burns on patients being admitted during the war alerted officials, prompting an investigation.
Israeli air and artillery fire hit the coastal enclave ten times during the day. An Israeli military statement acknowledged the deaths, saying it "regrets that the Hamas terrorist organization chooses to operate from within its civilian population, using it as a 'human shield'."
An-Nunu said Israel was taking the opportunity while the world was "preoccupied with other events," in the near and far east, and said that by "carrying out a series of escalations of attacks."
He added, that Israel had shown that Israel had shown that it does "not respect the state of calm on which all factions had agreed on," referring to a proposed ceasefire deal announced by Hamas officials at 11 p.m. on Thursday night.
After a series of overnight air strikes killed four, Hamas fighters resumed launching projectiles, saying in a statement that six projectiles and three mortars had been launched Friday afternoon toward Israeli military targets near Rafah.
"We will not stand silent," he said of the escalation.
Earlier in the day a Hamas official accused Israel of using white phosphorus weapons during the day, a claim that was later denied by an Israeli military spokesman.
White phosphorus weapons were used on civilian areas by Israeli forces during their 2008-9 offensive, Operation Cast Lead. International conventions say the weapons are prohibited for use in civilian areas. In open-area combat, the phosphorus is used to light up targets.
In Gaza, doctors who noted abnormal burns on patients being admitted during the war alerted officials, prompting an investigation.
Israeli-centric AP report on Gaza distorts reality
Associated Press Deconstructed –
First, let’s look at what has happened in Gaza in the past week:
- On Friday, April 1, Israeli forces assassinated a 24-year-old member of a Palestinian resistance group in Gaza.
- On Saturday, April 2, the Israeli air force assassinated three members of the group.
- On Tuesday, April 5, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian in northern Gaza, reportedly unarmed and not part of any resistance groups.
- On Wednesday, April 6, at dawn Israeli forces bombarded Gaza in three air strikes, injuring four people, including two women (one of them pregnant) and a child.
- On Wednesday afternoon hundreds of children in Gaza participated in a march asking the international community to protect them against ongoing Israeli raids and attacks.
- On Wednesday night the Israeli Air Force bombarded several areas of Gaza, causing extensive damage; at least one resident was injured.
- On Thursday morning, April 7, the resistance group that had suffered four assassinations fired mortars at a nearby Israeli town, which injured two people on an almost empty school bus, the bus driver and the one student (16) who hadn’t already been dropped off.
- Thursday at noon Israeli forces bombarded Gaza, killing five people and injuring over 40.
- Thusday evening Palestinian resistance forces all agreed to a ceasefire to try to prevent the violence from increasing.
- Israel ignored this and continued its air strikes against Gaza, killing still more Gazans.
- In all, Israeli forces killed 14 people within 24 hours and injured dozens.
- Among those killed were a mother, her young daughter, and an elderly man.... Read more
J Street lauds Goldstone for retracting claims of Israel's Gaza war crimes
Ha'aretz – The Jewish American lobby never took sides regarding the Goldstone report, says it shared South African judge's belief that Israel deserves credit for launching internal probes. Read more
Powerful Israeli rabbi's aide tied to illegal porn sales
Ha'aretz – In early 2005, porn producer and actor Ashley Gasper realized that someone was bootlegging his films. Counterfeit copies of “Jules Jordan’s Flesh Hunter 6” and “Jules Jordan: Feeding Frenzy 2,” among other titles, were showing up among the DVDs being returned to his distributor.
According to a recent decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Gasper soon learned that a Montreal firm was making illicit copies of the movies and selling them to wholesalers. The primary client of the Montreal bootlegger was a New York-based company called Direct Distributors, Inc., run by a young Israeli named Ben Zion Suky.
Suky, now a real estate developer, isn’t just another businessman involved in two litigious industries. He’s also the right-hand man to a powerful Sephardic kabbalist Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto with growing influence among Israel’s political and business elite and in the American Jewish community.
According to a recent decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Gasper soon learned that a Montreal firm was making illicit copies of the movies and selling them to wholesalers. The primary client of the Montreal bootlegger was a New York-based company called Direct Distributors, Inc., run by a young Israeli named Ben Zion Suky.
Suky, now a real estate developer, isn’t just another businessman involved in two litigious industries. He’s also the right-hand man to a powerful Sephardic kabbalist Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto with growing influence among Israel’s political and business elite and in the American Jewish community.
Gideon Levy: Goldstone has paved the path for a second Gaza war
Haaretz, Gideon Levy – Anyone who honored the first Goldstone has to ask him: What exactly do you know today that you didn't know then? Do you know today that criticizing Israel leads to a pressure-and-slander campaign that you can't withstand, you 'self-hating Jew'?
All at once the last doubts have disappeared and the question marks have become exclamation points. Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu Al-Aish wrote a short book in which he invented the killing of his three daughters. The 29 dead from the Al-Simoni family are now vacationing in the Caribbean. The white phosphorus was only the pyrotechnics of a war film. The white-flag wavers who were shot were a mirage in the desert, as were the reports about the killing of hundreds of civilians, including women and children. "Cast lead" has returned to being a phrase in a Hanukkah children's song.
A surprising and unexplained article in The Washington Post by Richard Goldstone caused rejoicing here, a Goldstone party, the likes of which we haven't seen for a long time. In fact, Israeli PR reaped a victory, and for that congratulations are in order. But the questions remain as oppressive as ever, and Goldstone's article didn't answer them - if only it had erased all the fears and suspicions.
Anyone who honored the first Goldstone has to honor him now as well, but still has to ask him: What happened? What exactly do you know today that you didn't know then? Do you know today that criticizing Israel leads to a pressure-and-slander campaign that you can't withstand, you "self-hating Jew"? This you could have known before.
Was it the two reports by Judge Mary McGowan Davis that led to your change of heart? If so, you should read them carefully. In her second report, which was published about a month ago and for some reason received no mention in Israel, the New York judge wrote that nothing indicates that Israel launched an investigation into the people who designed, planned, commanded and supervised Operation Cast Lead. So how do you know which policy lay behind the cases you investigated? And what's this enthusiasm that seized you in light of the investigations by the Israel Defense Forces after your report?
You have to be a particularly sworn lover of Israel, as you say you are, to believe that the IDF, like any other organization, can investigate itself. You have to be a blind lover of Zion to be satisfied with investigations for the sake of investigations that produced no acceptance of responsibility and virtually no trials. Just one soldier is being tried for killing.
But let's put aside the torments and indecision of the no-longer-young Goldstone. Let's also put aside the reports by the human rights organizations. Let's make do with the findings of the IDF itself. According to Military Intelligence, 1,166 Palestinians were killed in the operation, 709 of them terrorists, 162 who may or may not have been armed, 295 bystanders, 80 under the age of 16 and 46 women.
All the other findings described a more serious picture, but let's believe the IDF. Isn't the killing of about 300 civilians, including dozens of women and children, a reason for penetrating national soul-searching? Were all of them killed by mistake? If so, don't 300 different mistakes require conclusions? Is this the behavior of the most moral army in the world? If not, who takes responsibility?
Operation Cast Lead was not a war. The differences in power between the two sides, the science-fiction army versus the barefoot Qassam launchers, doesn't justify things when the blow was so disproportionate. It was a harsh attack against a crowded and helpless civilian population, among which terrorists hid. We can believe that the IDF didn't deliberately kill civilians, we don't have murdering soldiers as in other armies, but neither did the IDF do enough to prevent them from being killed. The fact is, they were killed, and so many of them. Our doctrine of zero casualties has a price.
Goldstone has won again. First he forced the IDF to begin investigating itself and to put together a new ethics code; now he unwittingly has given a green light for Operation Cast Lead 2. Leave him alone. We're talking about our image, not his. Are we pleased with what happened? Are we really proud of Operation Cast Lead?
All at once the last doubts have disappeared and the question marks have become exclamation points. Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu Al-Aish wrote a short book in which he invented the killing of his three daughters. The 29 dead from the Al-Simoni family are now vacationing in the Caribbean. The white phosphorus was only the pyrotechnics of a war film. The white-flag wavers who were shot were a mirage in the desert, as were the reports about the killing of hundreds of civilians, including women and children. "Cast lead" has returned to being a phrase in a Hanukkah children's song.
A surprising and unexplained article in The Washington Post by Richard Goldstone caused rejoicing here, a Goldstone party, the likes of which we haven't seen for a long time. In fact, Israeli PR reaped a victory, and for that congratulations are in order. But the questions remain as oppressive as ever, and Goldstone's article didn't answer them - if only it had erased all the fears and suspicions.
Anyone who honored the first Goldstone has to honor him now as well, but still has to ask him: What happened? What exactly do you know today that you didn't know then? Do you know today that criticizing Israel leads to a pressure-and-slander campaign that you can't withstand, you "self-hating Jew"? This you could have known before.
Was it the two reports by Judge Mary McGowan Davis that led to your change of heart? If so, you should read them carefully. In her second report, which was published about a month ago and for some reason received no mention in Israel, the New York judge wrote that nothing indicates that Israel launched an investigation into the people who designed, planned, commanded and supervised Operation Cast Lead. So how do you know which policy lay behind the cases you investigated? And what's this enthusiasm that seized you in light of the investigations by the Israel Defense Forces after your report?
You have to be a particularly sworn lover of Israel, as you say you are, to believe that the IDF, like any other organization, can investigate itself. You have to be a blind lover of Zion to be satisfied with investigations for the sake of investigations that produced no acceptance of responsibility and virtually no trials. Just one soldier is being tried for killing.
But let's put aside the torments and indecision of the no-longer-young Goldstone. Let's also put aside the reports by the human rights organizations. Let's make do with the findings of the IDF itself. According to Military Intelligence, 1,166 Palestinians were killed in the operation, 709 of them terrorists, 162 who may or may not have been armed, 295 bystanders, 80 under the age of 16 and 46 women.
All the other findings described a more serious picture, but let's believe the IDF. Isn't the killing of about 300 civilians, including dozens of women and children, a reason for penetrating national soul-searching? Were all of them killed by mistake? If so, don't 300 different mistakes require conclusions? Is this the behavior of the most moral army in the world? If not, who takes responsibility?
Operation Cast Lead was not a war. The differences in power between the two sides, the science-fiction army versus the barefoot Qassam launchers, doesn't justify things when the blow was so disproportionate. It was a harsh attack against a crowded and helpless civilian population, among which terrorists hid. We can believe that the IDF didn't deliberately kill civilians, we don't have murdering soldiers as in other armies, but neither did the IDF do enough to prevent them from being killed. The fact is, they were killed, and so many of them. Our doctrine of zero casualties has a price.
Goldstone has won again. First he forced the IDF to begin investigating itself and to put together a new ethics code; now he unwittingly has given a green light for Operation Cast Lead 2. Leave him alone. We're talking about our image, not his. Are we pleased with what happened? Are we really proud of Operation Cast Lead?
Israeli forces kill mother and child and an elderly man, kill 10 total in past 24 hours, injure dozens
Ma'an – For the fourth and fifth times on Friday, Israeli forces hit the Gaza Strip, killing a mother and child, and an elderly man in two separate strikes near Khan Younis. Ten have been killed since Thursday afternoon.
The most recent strike, shortly after 2:00 p.m. hit the Faraheen area east of Khan Younis, killing a mother, her daughter and injuring a third child. A strike half an hour earlier killed an elderly man in the Manara area of the city, medics said.
The bombings were said to have been in retaliation for the launching of a projectile from the Gaza Strip, which hit a school bus in southern Israel, injuring two people on Thursday. The strike was claimed by Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades [which said its strike was in retaliation for Israel's assassination of 3 resistance fighters earlier].
Israel has reported the landing of five more projectiles near Ashkelon since Friday morning. None of the strikes have been claimed.
Thursday afternoon strikes hit a home east of Gaza City, killing one, and late at night four others were killed in strikes across the Strip.
A Thursday move from Hamas to prevent further Israeli strikes appears to have gone unaccepted, after the party said it had gotten most armed Palestinian factions in Gaza to sign on to a ceasefire pledge.
Friday attacks have been reported as follows:
1:45 p.m. Israeli artillery fire hits the Al-Farahin area east of Khan Younis. WAFA reported a mother killed and her two children injured.
Israeli media reported shortly before the strike that five projectiles launched from Gaza landed near Ashkelon, with no injuries.
Medics later confirmed that Najah Kudeih, 45, and her daughter Nidal, 21, were killed, while a second daughter, Nida, 18, was seriously injured.
1:30 p.m. A 55-year-old man was killed by an Israeli air strike which hit in the Manara area east of the city. Medics identified the man as Talal Abu Taha, 55.
9:45 a.m. An airstrike combined with artillery hit the town of Khuza'a, east of Khan Younis, killing two.
Israel's military said in a statement that "forces identified two terrorist squads from the Hamas terrorist organization," adding that air and artillery fire were used and the military "identified hits."
Hamas' military wing, the Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, named those killed as Abdallah Al-Qarra and Muataz Abu Jamea.
8:00 a.m. An Israeli strike hit in an open area east of Rafah, no injuries were reported.
7:00 a.m. Israeli shelling on Rafah airport in southern Gaza injured three, witnesses reported.
Thursday strikes kill five
Air strikes hit what was described by the Israeli military as positions in and around Gaza City where projectiles had been fired from on Thursday, and other raids hit targets in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
The strikes killed four, identified as resistance fighters affiliated with Hamas. A statement from the Al-Qassam Brigades identified those killed as leader Salah Tarabin, 38, Musab al-Sufi, 18, Muhammad Almanmom, 25, and Khaled Aldbari, 23.
Thursday afternoon, Artillery fire also hit the southern Gaza Strip, with witnesses saying artillery fire injured five people, including a small child, and killed Mahmoud Al-Manasra, 50, who died after shells landed near his home in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
In total, more than 40 people were wounded across the Gaza Strip overnight.
The most recent strike, shortly after 2:00 p.m. hit the Faraheen area east of Khan Younis, killing a mother, her daughter and injuring a third child. A strike half an hour earlier killed an elderly man in the Manara area of the city, medics said.
The bombings were said to have been in retaliation for the launching of a projectile from the Gaza Strip, which hit a school bus in southern Israel, injuring two people on Thursday. The strike was claimed by Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades [which said its strike was in retaliation for Israel's assassination of 3 resistance fighters earlier].
Israel has reported the landing of five more projectiles near Ashkelon since Friday morning. None of the strikes have been claimed.
Thursday afternoon strikes hit a home east of Gaza City, killing one, and late at night four others were killed in strikes across the Strip.
A Thursday move from Hamas to prevent further Israeli strikes appears to have gone unaccepted, after the party said it had gotten most armed Palestinian factions in Gaza to sign on to a ceasefire pledge.
Friday attacks have been reported as follows:
1:45 p.m. Israeli artillery fire hits the Al-Farahin area east of Khan Younis. WAFA reported a mother killed and her two children injured.
Israeli media reported shortly before the strike that five projectiles launched from Gaza landed near Ashkelon, with no injuries.
Medics later confirmed that Najah Kudeih, 45, and her daughter Nidal, 21, were killed, while a second daughter, Nida, 18, was seriously injured.
1:30 p.m. A 55-year-old man was killed by an Israeli air strike which hit in the Manara area east of the city. Medics identified the man as Talal Abu Taha, 55.
9:45 a.m. An airstrike combined with artillery hit the town of Khuza'a, east of Khan Younis, killing two.
Israel's military said in a statement that "forces identified two terrorist squads from the Hamas terrorist organization," adding that air and artillery fire were used and the military "identified hits."
Hamas' military wing, the Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, named those killed as Abdallah Al-Qarra and Muataz Abu Jamea.
8:00 a.m. An Israeli strike hit in an open area east of Rafah, no injuries were reported.
7:00 a.m. Israeli shelling on Rafah airport in southern Gaza injured three, witnesses reported.
Thursday strikes kill five
Air strikes hit what was described by the Israeli military as positions in and around Gaza City where projectiles had been fired from on Thursday, and other raids hit targets in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
The strikes killed four, identified as resistance fighters affiliated with Hamas. A statement from the Al-Qassam Brigades identified those killed as leader Salah Tarabin, 38, Musab al-Sufi, 18, Muhammad Almanmom, 25, and Khaled Aldbari, 23.
Thursday afternoon, Artillery fire also hit the southern Gaza Strip, with witnesses saying artillery fire injured five people, including a small child, and killed Mahmoud Al-Manasra, 50, who died after shells landed near his home in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
In total, more than 40 people were wounded across the Gaza Strip overnight.
EU leader Morgantini calls Goldstone statements misleading, says report valid
Ma'an – The former vice president of the European Parliament said Thursday portrayals of Goldstone's recent op-ed as a retraction of his UN report into the war on Gaza were misleading and regrettable.
Luisa Morgantini, who is also spokesperson of the Italian Peace Association, said in a statement: "On the contrary, despite Goldstone´s apparent reconsideration of specific aspects of the report, the overall validity of the document cannot be put in question."
Richard Goldstone, the South African jurist who led the UN investigation into Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, printed an opinion article in the Washington Post on April 2, questioning some of the report's findings in light of subsequent Israeli investigations.
The Israeli government and some media outlets were trying to undermine the report, Morgantini said.
The recommendation of the report that Israeli and Palestinian authorities conduct credible, independent, prompt and effective investigations into alleged war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, had yet to be fulfilled, the statement said.
These recommendations were accepted by the UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, it noted.
On Wednesday, international rights group Amnesty International said in a statement "Recent Israeli government calls for the UN to retract the 2009 report (....) are a cynical attempt to avoid accountability for war crimes and deny both Palestinian and Israeli victims of the 2008-2009 conflict the justice and reparation they deserve."
More than two years after the conflict, "thousands of victims of the conflict have not received any form of justice; not even have they received any reparation for the damages suffered as a consequence of ‘negligent mistakes’, recognized as such by the same Israeli army," Morgantini said.
In a letter to London daily The Guardian Thursday, Palestinian human rights organizations questioned Goldstone's revision based on evidence provided by investigations by the Israeli military, considering that the UN Independent Committee of Experts concluded that Israel had failed to conduct effective investigations into serious allegations of international crimes.
Luisa Morgantini, who is also spokesperson of the Italian Peace Association, said in a statement: "On the contrary, despite Goldstone´s apparent reconsideration of specific aspects of the report, the overall validity of the document cannot be put in question."
Richard Goldstone, the South African jurist who led the UN investigation into Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, printed an opinion article in the Washington Post on April 2, questioning some of the report's findings in light of subsequent Israeli investigations.
The Israeli government and some media outlets were trying to undermine the report, Morgantini said.
The recommendation of the report that Israeli and Palestinian authorities conduct credible, independent, prompt and effective investigations into alleged war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, had yet to be fulfilled, the statement said.
These recommendations were accepted by the UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, it noted.
On Wednesday, international rights group Amnesty International said in a statement "Recent Israeli government calls for the UN to retract the 2009 report (....) are a cynical attempt to avoid accountability for war crimes and deny both Palestinian and Israeli victims of the 2008-2009 conflict the justice and reparation they deserve."
More than two years after the conflict, "thousands of victims of the conflict have not received any form of justice; not even have they received any reparation for the damages suffered as a consequence of ‘negligent mistakes’, recognized as such by the same Israeli army," Morgantini said.
In a letter to London daily The Guardian Thursday, Palestinian human rights organizations questioned Goldstone's revision based on evidence provided by investigations by the Israeli military, considering that the UN Independent Committee of Experts concluded that Israel had failed to conduct effective investigations into serious allegations of international crimes.
Netanyahu: Israel will use all necessary force in Gaza
Ma'an – Israel will use "all necessary force" to stop Gaza fire and harm to Israeli civilians, the country's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Voice of Israel radio station Thursday evening. Read more
Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike to support cancer sufferer
Ma'an – Seven Palestinian detainees in Israeli jail will go on hunger strike on Wednesday in support of imprisoned cancer sufferer Akram Mansour, a detainee center said Friday. [Israel is imprisoning approximately 6,000 Palestinians; Palestinians are imprisoning 1 Israeli.] Read more
Dr. Mustafa Barghouti says Israel escalating Gaza violence to thwart reconciliation efforts and is using Goldstone's "retreat" for new assault
Ma'an – Palestinian MP Dr. Mustafa Barghouti said Thursday that Israel was attempting to escalate violence in Gaza to thwart efforts toward reconciliation and to destroy infrastructure in Gaza.
After Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in Gaza [and injured 40], he condemned "the occupation's crime, which left many dead and wounded including children and women, journalists and medics."
Barghouti added that Israel was using jurist Richard Goldstone's "humiliating retreat" from what he wrote in the report of UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict to prepare the ground for a new war.
After Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in Gaza [and injured 40], he condemned "the occupation's crime, which left many dead and wounded including children and women, journalists and medics."
Barghouti added that Israel was using jurist Richard Goldstone's "humiliating retreat" from what he wrote in the report of UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict to prepare the ground for a new war.
Israeli army claims it will now investigate killing of civilians, but not in Gaza
Ma'an – A statement from Israel's military said Wednesday that a new protocol had been put in place, that would see all Palestinian civilian deaths perpetrated by Israeli forces investigated.
Earlier protocol required a preliminary investigation by field staff, which would be handed over to a higher body when ground staff determined necessary.
In a 2008 position paper, Israeli rights group B'Tselem noted that Israel had "increasingly avoided accountability" for rights violations in part though its "policy not to open criminal investigations in cases of killing or wounding of Palestinians who were not taking part in the hostilities, except in exceptional cases, and in its enactment of legislation denying, almost completely, the right of Palestinians who were harmed as a result of illegal acts by Israeli security forces to sue for compensation for the damages they suffered."
While the organization Thursday welcomed the change in policy, but warned that investigations must be carried out consistently and transparently, and not be "contingent on the security situation."
The new regulations only apply to incidents when non-combatants are killed or injured in the West Bank, and not in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier protocol required a preliminary investigation by field staff, which would be handed over to a higher body when ground staff determined necessary.
In a 2008 position paper, Israeli rights group B'Tselem noted that Israel had "increasingly avoided accountability" for rights violations in part though its "policy not to open criminal investigations in cases of killing or wounding of Palestinians who were not taking part in the hostilities, except in exceptional cases, and in its enactment of legislation denying, almost completely, the right of Palestinians who were harmed as a result of illegal acts by Israeli security forces to sue for compensation for the damages they suffered."
While the organization Thursday welcomed the change in policy, but warned that investigations must be carried out consistently and transparently, and not be "contingent on the security situation."
The new regulations only apply to incidents when non-combatants are killed or injured in the West Bank, and not in the Gaza Strip.
Israel bombards Gaza even after Gaza's resistance forces declare a ceasefire
IMEMC – Despite the fact that the Palestinian factions, including the Hamas movement, in Gaza declared a ceasefire with Israel starting Thursday midnight, the Israeli army bombarded several areas, and carried out a number of aerial attacks in Gaza.
The decision was made following talks between different Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, and talks held by the Hamas-led government in Gaza with a number of Arab and international parties.
The ministry of interior in Gaza said that the decision was made to curb any future Israeli assaults against Gaza.
The Israeli strikes were resumed on Thursday afternoon after a Palestinian shell hit a bus in southern Israel seriously wounding one student.
The Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that it came in retaliation to the assassination of three Qassam leaders identified as Ismail Lubbad, Abdullah Lubbad, and Mohammad Al Dahya.
The three were killed in an Israeli Air Strike in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, the army killed three Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 40 others, including children.
Nabil Abu Rodeina, spokesperson of President Mahmoud Abbas, said that the escalation against Gaza is unjustified and that Abbas contacted several world leaders urging them to intervene. Read more
The decision was made following talks between different Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, and talks held by the Hamas-led government in Gaza with a number of Arab and international parties.
The ministry of interior in Gaza said that the decision was made to curb any future Israeli assaults against Gaza.
The Israeli strikes were resumed on Thursday afternoon after a Palestinian shell hit a bus in southern Israel seriously wounding one student.
The Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that it came in retaliation to the assassination of three Qassam leaders identified as Ismail Lubbad, Abdullah Lubbad, and Mohammad Al Dahya.
The three were killed in an Israeli Air Strike in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, the army killed three Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 40 others, including children.
Nabil Abu Rodeina, spokesperson of President Mahmoud Abbas, said that the escalation against Gaza is unjustified and that Abbas contacted several world leaders urging them to intervene. Read more
Christians demand freedom of access to holy sites during Easter from Israel, which usually restricts this
Ma'an – As Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza await news on permits from Israel to visit holy sites in Jerusalem, local Christians issued a call for the respect of freedom of worship.
"For Christians, Holy Week in Jerusalem has a special spiritual connection," said a statement from the Kairos Palestine group on Wednesday. Holy sites "are equally important to the Palestinian Christians of Gaza and the West bank, who want to join their Jerusalemite Christian brethren in the liturgical events leading to the resurrection, the holiest celebration in Christianity."
Kairos Palestine called for unfettered access to holy sites and an overhaul of Israel's permit system, which the group called an "obvious violation of the [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights], Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants and treaties to which Israel is a signatory."
Each year church leaders submit requests to Israel's Coordination Office for Government Activities in the Territories, with only a fraction of the faithful being granted access.
Since 1991 Gaza residents who want to visit, work, or study in the West Bank or Israel have to apply for a permit from the Israeli military. Since the imposition of a blockade in 2007, only a tiny number of permits have been issued.
In 2010, 300 permits were issued for the estimated 5,000-strong Christian community in Gaza. Many could not go, however, as spouses and children from the same family were denied access.
Passover results in restrictions for Christians
The overlap of the Jewish passover holiday with the Easter celebrations for the Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities has also meant that those who do receive permits cannot use them for all of Easter.
For the past several years, Israel has declared a military closure of the West Bank during Passover, which this year falls from April 19-25, while Easter will extend from April 20-25.
Kairos condemned the privileging of Jewish access to Jerusalem over Christians, adding that "Actions taken against Palestinian Christians, the first and oldest Christian community in the world, attack not only the Palestinian people and their rights in the occupied city of Jerusalem, but in reality, the whole Christianity."
"For Christians, Holy Week in Jerusalem has a special spiritual connection," said a statement from the Kairos Palestine group on Wednesday. Holy sites "are equally important to the Palestinian Christians of Gaza and the West bank, who want to join their Jerusalemite Christian brethren in the liturgical events leading to the resurrection, the holiest celebration in Christianity."
Kairos Palestine called for unfettered access to holy sites and an overhaul of Israel's permit system, which the group called an "obvious violation of the [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights], Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants and treaties to which Israel is a signatory."
Each year church leaders submit requests to Israel's Coordination Office for Government Activities in the Territories, with only a fraction of the faithful being granted access.
Since 1991 Gaza residents who want to visit, work, or study in the West Bank or Israel have to apply for a permit from the Israeli military. Since the imposition of a blockade in 2007, only a tiny number of permits have been issued.
In 2010, 300 permits were issued for the estimated 5,000-strong Christian community in Gaza. Many could not go, however, as spouses and children from the same family were denied access.
Passover results in restrictions for Christians
The overlap of the Jewish passover holiday with the Easter celebrations for the Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities has also meant that those who do receive permits cannot use them for all of Easter.
For the past several years, Israel has declared a military closure of the West Bank during Passover, which this year falls from April 19-25, while Easter will extend from April 20-25.
Kairos condemned the privileging of Jewish access to Jerusalem over Christians, adding that "Actions taken against Palestinian Christians, the first and oldest Christian community in the world, attack not only the Palestinian people and their rights in the occupied city of Jerusalem, but in reality, the whole Christianity."
Israeli forces take 5 Palestinians, including 2 minors, in raid on Bethlehem
Ma'an – Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians from Deheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem overnight Thursday.
Soldiers entered the camp and searched the homes of Mohammad Mahmoud Al-Afandi, 17, Tareq Shahin, 18, Mahmoud Abu Hadeed, 17, and Hamza El-Saffi, age unknown.
An Israeli military statement said that overnight two were detained during raids. They were "wanted for terrorist activity" and were taken for questioning, the army said.
A fifth was said to have been detained overnight, local sources said, after Israeli forces entered Husan village west of Bethlehem.
Mohammad Zu’ul said four Israeli military jeeps entered the village at 2:30 a.m., broke into his home, ransacked its contents during a search, and took his son Baha to an unknown destination.
Soldiers entered the camp and searched the homes of Mohammad Mahmoud Al-Afandi, 17, Tareq Shahin, 18, Mahmoud Abu Hadeed, 17, and Hamza El-Saffi, age unknown.
An Israeli military statement said that overnight two were detained during raids. They were "wanted for terrorist activity" and were taken for questioning, the army said.
A fifth was said to have been detained overnight, local sources said, after Israeli forces entered Husan village west of Bethlehem.
Mohammad Zu’ul said four Israeli military jeeps entered the village at 2:30 a.m., broke into his home, ransacked its contents during a search, and took his son Baha to an unknown destination.
Lawrence Davidson: Goldstone's confidence in Israeli "investigation" misplaced
Ma'an, Lawrence Davidson – .....In a Washington Post op-ed, "Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and War Crimes," published on Friday, Judge Goldstone declared that new information coming from Israeli investigations, allegedly conducted "transparently and in good faith," now indicates (at least to him) that "civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy." (For an analysis of the Israeli inve
Since there was no policy of targeting civilians, all of the non-combatant victims (the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem tells us that of the 1,387 Palestinians killed in the invasion, 773 were civilians, while the Palestinian Center for Human Rights gave the figures at 1,419 dead, of which 1,167 were non-combatants) become mere "collateral damage." ...
But hold on a moment. In a thorough analysis of Judge Goldstone’s new position, Adam Horowitz, writing in Mondoweiss, turns things around once more. Horowitz points out that since the Goldstone report, which was admittedly a preliminary document, there have been other investigations by the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Committee of Independent Experts. These inquires suggest that Goldstone's faith in Israel's investigations is seriously misplaced.
For instance, in his op-ed Goldstone cites a major case where Israeli forces killed 29 members of the Samouni family. This was an important piece of preliminary evidence of a possible war crime cited in the original Goldstone Report. He now tells us that an Israeli investigation has shown that it was all a mistake, "an erroneous interpretation of a drone image."
Further, Goldstone is now "confident that if the officer [who misread the drone image] is found to have been negligent, Israel will respond accordingly." There are, of course, several problems with this position.
1. Israel’s so-called investigations into the Gaza invasion were episodes of the Israeli army investigating the Israeli army. Exactly the same so-called investigative procedure Israel used after its illegal attack on the Mavi Marmara. These "investigations" were not "transparent" because they were not public. Nor did the Israelis share the nature of their evidence with outsiders.
As Horowitz points out this way of conducting business is not episodic, but rather official standard operating procedure. It is a reflection of structural problems, mostly related to obvious conflict of interest issues, that make Israel presently incapable of carrying out an objective investigation of its own actions.
It must be noted that the original Goldstone Report had pointed to these problems. In paragraph 1756 the report stated "The Mission found major structural flaws that in its view make the [Israeli investigatory] system inconsistent with international standards....there is the absence of any effective and impartial investigation mechanism and victims of such alleged violations are deprived of any effective or prompt remedy."
Nothing has changed on this account since the issuance of Goldstone's report except that Judge Goldstone has ceased to see the situation as a problem. This leaves Horowitz, and no doubt many others, puzzled. "Why Judge Goldstone is now ignoring this issue is unclear."
2. The Israeli findings in the specific case mentioned above are contradicted by the investigation of the UN committee. That finding indicates that there is suggestive evidence that a senior Israeli military commander purposely targeted an area in which he knew civilians had congregated. He knew it because he had been informed by his own ground units that they had ordered a number of civilians to that location.
Using the drone photos as justification he went ahead and called in an air attack on the site anyway and then kept ambulances from approaching the scene. Was this just the action of a rogue officer operating in contravention of policy? Almost certainly not. According to Israeli media reports, an Israeli army "special command" investigation of the incident carried out ten months later found that the air attack happened after a "legitimate interpretation of drone photographs" and "there had been nothing out of the ordinary in the strike."
The key words in the Israeli "special command" report is "nothing out of the ordinary." The behavior of the Israeli military during the January 2009 invasion of Gaza cannot be abstracted from the entire history of Israeli aggression against Palestine, its inhabitants and surrounding Arab lands as well. Indeed, that behavior has been remarkably consistent–so consistent that it is virtually impossible to see any particular manifestation of it as accidental.
Was Dair Yasin (1948) an accident? Was Sabra and Shatila (1982) an accident? Was the shelling of west Beirut (1982) an accident? Was Qana (1996) an accident? Is the on-going inhumane and illegal blockade of Gaza an accident? The answer to all these questions is no. They were all done under officially rendered orders. Indeed, a short list of Israeli massacres runs to 57, and those are just the major ones. Almost all of them were neither accidental nor rogue operations. Given such a consistent pathological pattern, what are the odds that the estimated 773 civilians who died in the invasion of Gaza were killed accidentally, just collateral damage?
Shifting the focus to Hamas
While Judge Goldstone praises Israel for its "investigations," he chastises Hamas for its lack of inquiry. Goldstone tells us that "Hamas has done nothing." Well, at least we can say that Hamas has thereby refrained from insulting our intelligence with mock investigations leading to predictable if dubious self-exoneration.
Goldstone approaches the acts of Hamas and those of Israel as if they are on a par. He tells us that "The laws of armed conflict apply no less to non-state actors such as Hamas than they do to national armies." At least in the case of Israel, such an approach denies context. Historically, the violence of the oppressed tends to rise over time to the level of the violence of the oppressor.
That is what has happened in Israel-Palestine. It is not the Palestinians who have set the standards for violence in this conflict. That role has been played by the Israelis. As the list of major massacres cited above suggests, long before their was ever a suicide bombing or an attack with small rockets lacking guidance systems, the Israelis were massacring Palestinians, stealing their land and generally evicting them from their country. In some ideal moral world, Richard Goldstone’s conclusion that the violence of the oppressed must be judged by the same criteria as the violence of the oppressor might make sense. Unfortunately, it does not do so in the real world we have created for ourselves.
Richard Goldstone has always had a deep attachment to Israel. Thus it stands in his favor that throughout most of the time he led the UN investigation into the 2009 Israeli invasion of Gaza he maintained a level of objectivity which made possible a glimpse of just how brutal the Zionist state is.
It is no secret that since the Report’s release Goldstone has come under much pressure to alter his views. He has been accused of everything from "perpetuating a blood libel against Israel" to singlehandedly supplying Israel’s enemies with their most influential document. As suggested at the beginning of this analysis, some of this reaction led to his being ostracized by friends and family.
Now 75 years of age and at the end of his career, it would seem that Judge Goldstone has made the decision that he does not want to be remembered as a important critic of Israel. He wants to come in from the cold and so he has begun to make amends. I am afraid he will find this a difficult task. People in Goldstone’s position, who change directions in this way, tend never to be trusted again–by either side of the struggle at issue. This is so even if the change is justified, which in this case it is not. So Richard Goldstone has dug himself a deep hole at the bottom of which he is likely to dwell alone.
Lawrence Davidson is a professor at West Chester University and the author of several books, including Foreign Policy, Inc: Privatizing America's Foreign Policy, which locates the source of U.S. foreign policy formulation in the activity of powerful lobbies rather than in the White House or State Department.
Related Story on Israeli Investigations: The New York Times and the Flotilla Inquiry
Since there was no policy of targeting civilians, all of the non-combatant victims (the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem tells us that of the 1,387 Palestinians killed in the invasion, 773 were civilians, while the Palestinian Center for Human Rights gave the figures at 1,419 dead, of which 1,167 were non-combatants) become mere "collateral damage." ...
But hold on a moment. In a thorough analysis of Judge Goldstone’s new position, Adam Horowitz, writing in Mondoweiss, turns things around once more. Horowitz points out that since the Goldstone report, which was admittedly a preliminary document, there have been other investigations by the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Committee of Independent Experts. These inquires suggest that Goldstone's faith in Israel's investigations is seriously misplaced.
For instance, in his op-ed Goldstone cites a major case where Israeli forces killed 29 members of the Samouni family. This was an important piece of preliminary evidence of a possible war crime cited in the original Goldstone Report. He now tells us that an Israeli investigation has shown that it was all a mistake, "an erroneous interpretation of a drone image."
Further, Goldstone is now "confident that if the officer [who misread the drone image] is found to have been negligent, Israel will respond accordingly." There are, of course, several problems with this position.
1. Israel’s so-called investigations into the Gaza invasion were episodes of the Israeli army investigating the Israeli army. Exactly the same so-called investigative procedure Israel used after its illegal attack on the Mavi Marmara. These "investigations" were not "transparent" because they were not public. Nor did the Israelis share the nature of their evidence with outsiders.
As Horowitz points out this way of conducting business is not episodic, but rather official standard operating procedure. It is a reflection of structural problems, mostly related to obvious conflict of interest issues, that make Israel presently incapable of carrying out an objective investigation of its own actions.
It must be noted that the original Goldstone Report had pointed to these problems. In paragraph 1756 the report stated "The Mission found major structural flaws that in its view make the [Israeli investigatory] system inconsistent with international standards....there is the absence of any effective and impartial investigation mechanism and victims of such alleged violations are deprived of any effective or prompt remedy."
Nothing has changed on this account since the issuance of Goldstone's report except that Judge Goldstone has ceased to see the situation as a problem. This leaves Horowitz, and no doubt many others, puzzled. "Why Judge Goldstone is now ignoring this issue is unclear."
2. The Israeli findings in the specific case mentioned above are contradicted by the investigation of the UN committee. That finding indicates that there is suggestive evidence that a senior Israeli military commander purposely targeted an area in which he knew civilians had congregated. He knew it because he had been informed by his own ground units that they had ordered a number of civilians to that location.
Using the drone photos as justification he went ahead and called in an air attack on the site anyway and then kept ambulances from approaching the scene. Was this just the action of a rogue officer operating in contravention of policy? Almost certainly not. According to Israeli media reports, an Israeli army "special command" investigation of the incident carried out ten months later found that the air attack happened after a "legitimate interpretation of drone photographs" and "there had been nothing out of the ordinary in the strike."
The key words in the Israeli "special command" report is "nothing out of the ordinary." The behavior of the Israeli military during the January 2009 invasion of Gaza cannot be abstracted from the entire history of Israeli aggression against Palestine, its inhabitants and surrounding Arab lands as well. Indeed, that behavior has been remarkably consistent–so consistent that it is virtually impossible to see any particular manifestation of it as accidental.
Was Dair Yasin (1948) an accident? Was Sabra and Shatila (1982) an accident? Was the shelling of west Beirut (1982) an accident? Was Qana (1996) an accident? Is the on-going inhumane and illegal blockade of Gaza an accident? The answer to all these questions is no. They were all done under officially rendered orders. Indeed, a short list of Israeli massacres runs to 57, and those are just the major ones. Almost all of them were neither accidental nor rogue operations. Given such a consistent pathological pattern, what are the odds that the estimated 773 civilians who died in the invasion of Gaza were killed accidentally, just collateral damage?
Shifting the focus to Hamas
While Judge Goldstone praises Israel for its "investigations," he chastises Hamas for its lack of inquiry. Goldstone tells us that "Hamas has done nothing." Well, at least we can say that Hamas has thereby refrained from insulting our intelligence with mock investigations leading to predictable if dubious self-exoneration.
Goldstone approaches the acts of Hamas and those of Israel as if they are on a par. He tells us that "The laws of armed conflict apply no less to non-state actors such as Hamas than they do to national armies." At least in the case of Israel, such an approach denies context. Historically, the violence of the oppressed tends to rise over time to the level of the violence of the oppressor.
That is what has happened in Israel-Palestine. It is not the Palestinians who have set the standards for violence in this conflict. That role has been played by the Israelis. As the list of major massacres cited above suggests, long before their was ever a suicide bombing or an attack with small rockets lacking guidance systems, the Israelis were massacring Palestinians, stealing their land and generally evicting them from their country. In some ideal moral world, Richard Goldstone’s conclusion that the violence of the oppressed must be judged by the same criteria as the violence of the oppressor might make sense. Unfortunately, it does not do so in the real world we have created for ourselves.
Richard Goldstone has always had a deep attachment to Israel. Thus it stands in his favor that throughout most of the time he led the UN investigation into the 2009 Israeli invasion of Gaza he maintained a level of objectivity which made possible a glimpse of just how brutal the Zionist state is.
It is no secret that since the Report’s release Goldstone has come under much pressure to alter his views. He has been accused of everything from "perpetuating a blood libel against Israel" to singlehandedly supplying Israel’s enemies with their most influential document. As suggested at the beginning of this analysis, some of this reaction led to his being ostracized by friends and family.
Now 75 years of age and at the end of his career, it would seem that Judge Goldstone has made the decision that he does not want to be remembered as a important critic of Israel. He wants to come in from the cold and so he has begun to make amends. I am afraid he will find this a difficult task. People in Goldstone’s position, who change directions in this way, tend never to be trusted again–by either side of the struggle at issue. This is so even if the change is justified, which in this case it is not. So Richard Goldstone has dug himself a deep hole at the bottom of which he is likely to dwell alone.
Lawrence Davidson is a professor at West Chester University and the author of several books, including Foreign Policy, Inc: Privatizing America's Foreign Policy, which locates the source of U.S. foreign policy formulation in the activity of powerful lobbies rather than in the White House or State Department.
Related Story on Israeli Investigations: The New York Times and the Flotilla Inquiry
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Palestinian factions in Gaza declare ceasefire
IMEMC - Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip declared a ceasefire starting at 11 P.M on Thursday. The declaration came following a day of escalation that led to the death of five Palestinians while dozens of residents, including children, were wounded. One student was seriously injured when a Palestinian shell hit a bus in southern Israel.
The Ministry of Interior in Gaza, run by the Hamas-led government, stated that the ceasefire was declared in an attempt to stop the Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas official in Gaza stated that the one-sided ceasefire was declared following meetings with different factions and armed groups in Gaza.
On Thursday, five Palestinians were killed as the army carried a number of air strikes and fired artillery shells into several areas in the coastal region.
Meanwhile, the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas claimed responsibility for firing
the shell that struck the Israeli bus in southern Israel seriously wounding a student.
Official sources in Gaza that the ceasefire was declared after holding talks with several Arab and international officials in an attempt to stop the Israeli military escalation.
On Thursday, president Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to halt the Israeli violations and escalation against the Gaza Strip.
Presidency spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rodeina, denounced the Israeli escalation and said that President Abbas contacted officials in a number of Arab and European countries urging them to intervene to ensure calm.
Abu Rodeina called on the Palestinian factions in Gaza not to give Israel the opportunity to attack Gaza, and to ensure calm. He said that the Israeli occupation does not want the Palestinians to unite and is acting to ensure internal Palestinian divisions remain in place.
Also on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister stated that the army is acting against the attacks and will do whatever it can to ensure they stop.
Israeli army chief of Staff, Benny Gantz, visited the Sufa military base that was hit by Palestinian shells, and toured areas in southern Israel speaking to locals urging them to remain calm.
Gantz added that “the army will do whatever it can to ensure their security, even if this means a military operation against Gaza”.
Read More
The Ministry of Interior in Gaza, run by the Hamas-led government, stated that the ceasefire was declared in an attempt to stop the Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas official in Gaza stated that the one-sided ceasefire was declared following meetings with different factions and armed groups in Gaza.
On Thursday, five Palestinians were killed as the army carried a number of air strikes and fired artillery shells into several areas in the coastal region.
Meanwhile, the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas claimed responsibility for firing
the shell that struck the Israeli bus in southern Israel seriously wounding a student.
Official sources in Gaza that the ceasefire was declared after holding talks with several Arab and international officials in an attempt to stop the Israeli military escalation.
On Thursday, president Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to halt the Israeli violations and escalation against the Gaza Strip.
Presidency spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rodeina, denounced the Israeli escalation and said that President Abbas contacted officials in a number of Arab and European countries urging them to intervene to ensure calm.
Abu Rodeina called on the Palestinian factions in Gaza not to give Israel the opportunity to attack Gaza, and to ensure calm. He said that the Israeli occupation does not want the Palestinians to unite and is acting to ensure internal Palestinian divisions remain in place.
Also on Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister stated that the army is acting against the attacks and will do whatever it can to ensure they stop.
Israeli army chief of Staff, Benny Gantz, visited the Sufa military base that was hit by Palestinian shells, and toured areas in southern Israel speaking to locals urging them to remain calm.
Gantz added that “the army will do whatever it can to ensure their security, even if this means a military operation against Gaza”.
Read More
Israeli fire killed five Palestinians and injured dozens more
Maan News Agency - Israeli fire killed five Palestinians and injured dozens more after a projectile from the Gaza Strip hit a school bus in southern Israel, injuring two people, medical and security officials said.
Late Thursday, in a bid to prevent further Israeli strikes, Hamas said it had got most armed Palestinian factions in Gaza to sign on to a ceasefire.
Four of those killed in the strikes were identified as leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades Salah Tarabin, 38, Musab al-Sufi, 18, Muhammad Almanmom, 25, and Khaled Aldbari, 23.
Witnesses said artillery fire injured five people, including a small child, and killed Mahmoud Al-Manasra, 50, who died after shells landed near his home in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
Air strikes hit two Hamas positions in and around Gaza City, and other raids hit targets in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis, killing another two people and wounding dozens more, eight of whom were injured when shell fragments hit an ambulance, Palestinian medical sources said.
In total, more than 40 people were wounded across the Gaza Strip.
A spokeswoman for the military confirmed troops had launched multiple attacks on targets in Gaza, saying it "fired at places from which mortars are fired at Israel."
The shelling came after militants fired an anti-tank missile which hit a bus in southern Israel, critically wounding a teenager, as well as wounding one other person who was only lightly hurt, Israeli medics said...
Read More
Late Thursday, in a bid to prevent further Israeli strikes, Hamas said it had got most armed Palestinian factions in Gaza to sign on to a ceasefire.
Four of those killed in the strikes were identified as leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades Salah Tarabin, 38, Musab al-Sufi, 18, Muhammad Almanmom, 25, and Khaled Aldbari, 23.
Witnesses said artillery fire injured five people, including a small child, and killed Mahmoud Al-Manasra, 50, who died after shells landed near his home in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
Air strikes hit two Hamas positions in and around Gaza City, and other raids hit targets in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis, killing another two people and wounding dozens more, eight of whom were injured when shell fragments hit an ambulance, Palestinian medical sources said.
In total, more than 40 people were wounded across the Gaza Strip.
A spokeswoman for the military confirmed troops had launched multiple attacks on targets in Gaza, saying it "fired at places from which mortars are fired at Israel."
The shelling came after militants fired an anti-tank missile which hit a bus in southern Israel, critically wounding a teenager, as well as wounding one other person who was only lightly hurt, Israeli medics said...
Read More
Medics: Gaza death toll rises to 3; 40 injured
Maan News Agency - Israeli artillery fire killed three Palestinians and injured 40 others in a major escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, after an anti-take missile struck a school bus in Israel and injured two people, Palestinian and Israeli medical officials said.
Read More
Read More
Israeli troops storm Awarta village in West Bank after midnight, arrest over 100 women
Ma'an – Israeli troops stormed a Palestinian village early Thursday, arresting more than 100 women in what local officials said was part of the ongoing investigation into the murder of five settlers in March.
Hundreds of troops entered Awarta -- the village adjacent to Itamar, an illegal settlement where the murders took place -- shortly after midnight and imposed a curfew after which they began rounding up the women, local council head Tayis Awwad said.
Officials told Ma'an that men and women were taken in the raids, which involved house-to-house searches in the early morning. Some of the women, witnesses said, were in their 60s, and many were taken by force.
Soldiers continued to conduct house-to-house searches through the night, the officials added. Palestinian security sources confirmed the report.
This was the fourth intensive raid of the village where scores were detained, the first coming the day after an unidentified attacker stabbed to death five members of the Fogel family, including two children and an infant.
But Thursday's raid marked the first time they had arrested any women, Awwad said.
In the wake of the murders, Awarta has been the center of a massive manhunt. The village was put under military closure, and a curfew was imposed for five days between March 12 and 16. Some 40 men were detained during the closure, and since then two more mass roundups were reported.
Those detained have been questioned and subjected to DNA testing, officials said last week.
So far no one has been charged, with the military refusing to comment on the operation.
The Detainees’ Center in Nablus condemned the overnight arrest raid.
The mass detentions, a statement from the center said, were illegal and arbitrary and "go against the human rights of the residents."
Awarta was the second village put under closure overnight, with locals in the Tubas area saying the Israeli army, backed by military bulldozers, entered the village of Aqaba where two homes were demolished.
Hundreds of troops entered Awarta -- the village adjacent to Itamar, an illegal settlement where the murders took place -- shortly after midnight and imposed a curfew after which they began rounding up the women, local council head Tayis Awwad said.
Officials told Ma'an that men and women were taken in the raids, which involved house-to-house searches in the early morning. Some of the women, witnesses said, were in their 60s, and many were taken by force.
Soldiers continued to conduct house-to-house searches through the night, the officials added. Palestinian security sources confirmed the report.
This was the fourth intensive raid of the village where scores were detained, the first coming the day after an unidentified attacker stabbed to death five members of the Fogel family, including two children and an infant.
But Thursday's raid marked the first time they had arrested any women, Awwad said.
In the wake of the murders, Awarta has been the center of a massive manhunt. The village was put under military closure, and a curfew was imposed for five days between March 12 and 16. Some 40 men were detained during the closure, and since then two more mass roundups were reported.
Those detained have been questioned and subjected to DNA testing, officials said last week.
So far no one has been charged, with the military refusing to comment on the operation.
The Detainees’ Center in Nablus condemned the overnight arrest raid.
The mass detentions, a statement from the center said, were illegal and arbitrary and "go against the human rights of the residents."
Awarta was the second village put under closure overnight, with locals in the Tubas area saying the Israeli army, backed by military bulldozers, entered the village of Aqaba where two homes were demolished.
Israel demolishes Palestinian homes, roads in a West Bank village
Maan News Agency - Witnesses said six bulldozers and hundreds of soldiers were deployed throughout the Jordan Valley village of Aqrava on Thursday morning, when two homes and road entrances were taken down by Israeli forces.
Sami Sadeq, head of the village council, said two streets leading out of the village were torn up, effectively rendering them useless for travel, forcing residents to take long detours and exit via the main entrance of the village.
Sadeq said some 95 percent of the structures in the village have demolition orders issued on them, including the village's grand mosque, kindergarten and homes.
The bulldozing destroyed electricity poles at the entrance of the village, and the homes of Mohammad Hassen Subieh and Abed An-Naser Ahmad Subieh, the official said.
Israeli daily news site Ynet said the military and Civil Administration "destroyed 3 illegal Palestinian structures and two pathways in Jordan Valley," saying all were in an areas designated as a firing field.
The demolitions come as UN figures show a continued increase in home demolitions hit a record high during the first three months of 2011...
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Sami Sadeq, head of the village council, said two streets leading out of the village were torn up, effectively rendering them useless for travel, forcing residents to take long detours and exit via the main entrance of the village.
Sadeq said some 95 percent of the structures in the village have demolition orders issued on them, including the village's grand mosque, kindergarten and homes.
The bulldozing destroyed electricity poles at the entrance of the village, and the homes of Mohammad Hassen Subieh and Abed An-Naser Ahmad Subieh, the official said.
Israeli daily news site Ynet said the military and Civil Administration "destroyed 3 illegal Palestinian structures and two pathways in Jordan Valley," saying all were in an areas designated as a firing field.
The demolitions come as UN figures show a continued increase in home demolitions hit a record high during the first three months of 2011...
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Israel fires on Gaza, killing one
Maan News Agency - Israeli artillery fire killed an elderly Palestinian man and injured six others after a projectile fired from the Gaza Strip struck a school bus in southern Israel, injuring two people, medical and security officials said.
Witnesses said artillery fire injured four relatives of Mahmoud Al-Manasra, 50, who was killed when shells landed near his home in the Ash-Shuja’ya neighborhood of Gaza City.
Two people were injured after shells struck near the former Yasser Afarat International Airport in Rafah. Another round of shelling struck Khan Younis, but there were no reports of injury in that attack.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that two people were injured, including a teenager, when an anti-take missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck a school bus in the Sdot Negev Regional Council.
There was no claim of responsibility for the projectile.
The strikes follow two sets of overnight air strikes, in which warplanes carried out three bombing missions targeting the southern Gaza Strip, and a forth on an area east of Gaza City, injuring one.
In the south, strikes targeted an area near the Rafah refugee camp, locally known as the Yebna camp, a second strike hit tunnels near the Salah Ad-Din area and a third in the Barazili neighborhood. The third strike saw one man injured by debris from the strike.
Medics said the man was transferred to the Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah for treatment.
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Witnesses said artillery fire injured four relatives of Mahmoud Al-Manasra, 50, who was killed when shells landed near his home in the Ash-Shuja’ya neighborhood of Gaza City.
Two people were injured after shells struck near the former Yasser Afarat International Airport in Rafah. Another round of shelling struck Khan Younis, but there were no reports of injury in that attack.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that two people were injured, including a teenager, when an anti-take missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck a school bus in the Sdot Negev Regional Council.
There was no claim of responsibility for the projectile.
The strikes follow two sets of overnight air strikes, in which warplanes carried out three bombing missions targeting the southern Gaza Strip, and a forth on an area east of Gaza City, injuring one.
In the south, strikes targeted an area near the Rafah refugee camp, locally known as the Yebna camp, a second strike hit tunnels near the Salah Ad-Din area and a third in the Barazili neighborhood. The third strike saw one man injured by debris from the strike.
Medics said the man was transferred to the Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah for treatment.
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Video: Jen Marlow and the Jenin Freedom Theatre commemorate Juliano's Mer-Khamis' death
Dear friends,
Many of you may have already heard about the murder of Juliano Mer-Khamis. The co-founder and director of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp, he was gunned down (five bullets to the head) this afternoon outside the theatre by an unknown assailant.
I first met Juliano in 2006, when I began working with a group of activists in New York to support the Freedom Theatre. I have visited the Freedom Theatre multiple times over the years, watching Juliano teach and direct young acting students. Most recently, I watched Juliano as he coached acting students three months ago, preparing for the much-acclaimed production of "Alice in Wonderland."
I have no words at this moment to describe Juliano, the work of the Freedom Theatre and the scope and scale of this horrific event, both for his family (Juliano leaves behind two children, one still a baby, and a pregnant wife), for the theatre, for the community in Jenin Refugee Camp and for Palestine as a whole.
I can only offer this video, which I made in collaboration with my colleagues in 'Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre'.
Please take a moment to watch Juliano, in his own words, as he talks about his vision for Palestine and how the Freedom Theatre is an integral part of that vision.
And please take a moment to share this video, to post it, to spread it.
Juliano was killed. But he has not been silenced.
With deep sadness,
Jen Marlowe
Humanitarian Interventionism by the Numbers
AntiWar - If there was any doubt about why the United States is involved in an increasingly messy military engagement in Libya, President Barack Obama cleared the air in his speech on March 29th. The US has no vital interest at stake but is involved in a humanitarian mission, to save innocent lives, akin to the Balkan enterprise of the 1990s. Other evidence provided by top administration officials suggests that the ultimate intention is to replace Muammar Gadhafi, in other words regime change, similar to the military action that removed Saddam Hussein from Iraq.
Obama could have made a plausible case for removing Gadhafi based on imminent threat. Gadhafi has been a major state supporter of terrorism, no doubt about it, and he did down both American and French commercial airliners in 1988 and 1989, resulting in major loss of life. He also ordered his agents to bomb a club frequented by American soldiers in Berlin in 1986, killing three, and resulting in a punitive attack by US military aircraft on Tripoli. Though the United States has come to terms with Libya and its regime it is indisputable that Gadhafi is a murderous thug and he is eminently capable of resorting to the terrorism card if he feels his interests demand it. Now that he has been condemned by the UN and attacked by NATO, he almost certainly will again exploit his considerable financial resources to fund terrorism. But President Barack Obama did not cite the danger posed by Gadhafi and instead chose to emphasize the humanitarian aspect of a US military intervention.
Recall for a moment that when Iraq occupied Kuwait in 1991 there were tales of Iraqi soldiers hurling infants out of incubators. Additional atrocities were described tearfully by a young woman who turned out to be the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States. Almost everything being reported about the bloodthirsty Iraqis turned out to be false, deliberately so, to make the case for war. In light of the deliberate deception that has been part and parcel of every American intervention anywhere since the end of the Second World War, how can anyone believe the official narrative? Why should anyone assume that Muammar Gadhafi will decide to slaughter his own people, particularly since he has a major interest in making the rebellion to his rule go away, an unlikely outcome if he engages in wholesale massacres...
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Obama could have made a plausible case for removing Gadhafi based on imminent threat. Gadhafi has been a major state supporter of terrorism, no doubt about it, and he did down both American and French commercial airliners in 1988 and 1989, resulting in major loss of life. He also ordered his agents to bomb a club frequented by American soldiers in Berlin in 1986, killing three, and resulting in a punitive attack by US military aircraft on Tripoli. Though the United States has come to terms with Libya and its regime it is indisputable that Gadhafi is a murderous thug and he is eminently capable of resorting to the terrorism card if he feels his interests demand it. Now that he has been condemned by the UN and attacked by NATO, he almost certainly will again exploit his considerable financial resources to fund terrorism. But President Barack Obama did not cite the danger posed by Gadhafi and instead chose to emphasize the humanitarian aspect of a US military intervention.
Recall for a moment that when Iraq occupied Kuwait in 1991 there were tales of Iraqi soldiers hurling infants out of incubators. Additional atrocities were described tearfully by a young woman who turned out to be the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States. Almost everything being reported about the bloodthirsty Iraqis turned out to be false, deliberately so, to make the case for war. In light of the deliberate deception that has been part and parcel of every American intervention anywhere since the end of the Second World War, how can anyone believe the official narrative? Why should anyone assume that Muammar Gadhafi will decide to slaughter his own people, particularly since he has a major interest in making the rebellion to his rule go away, an unlikely outcome if he engages in wholesale massacres...
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Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Israeli army invades Palestinian village, kidnaps residents, imposes curfew
IMEMC - Israeli soldiers invaded on Wednesday evening Awarta village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, imposed curfew after sealing the village, and kidnapped several residents.
Local sources reported that several armored military jeeps and vehicles invaded the village and stationed themselves in several neighborhoods.
The sources added that dozens of residents, including women, were loaded onto military buses and were moved to the Huwwara military camp, near Nablus. The residents believe that the army will be back to conduct further invasions and arrests.
The army escalated its invasions into the village following the murder of a settler family (the father, mother, and three children) who were stabbed to death as they slept in their home, in Itamar settlement near Nablus.
No Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the attack while media sources reported that Israel apprehended a foreign worker on suspicions of stabbing the family to death.
Later on, the police arrested several workers from Asia following the attack as part of its ongoing investigation as the attack was not ruled out as being criminally motivated although Israeli officials rushed to blame Palestinian armed groups.
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Local sources reported that several armored military jeeps and vehicles invaded the village and stationed themselves in several neighborhoods.
The sources added that dozens of residents, including women, were loaded onto military buses and were moved to the Huwwara military camp, near Nablus. The residents believe that the army will be back to conduct further invasions and arrests.
The army escalated its invasions into the village following the murder of a settler family (the father, mother, and three children) who were stabbed to death as they slept in their home, in Itamar settlement near Nablus.
No Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the attack while media sources reported that Israel apprehended a foreign worker on suspicions of stabbing the family to death.
Later on, the police arrested several workers from Asia following the attack as part of its ongoing investigation as the attack was not ruled out as being criminally motivated although Israeli officials rushed to blame Palestinian armed groups.
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United Nations must reject Israeli campaign to avoid accountability for Gaza war crimes, says Amnesty International
Statements by Leading Israeli Politicians Are Based on “Deliberate Misinterpretation” of Justice Goldstone’s Comments in Newspaper Opinion Article
Amnesty International - Recent Israeli government calls for the United Nations to retract the 2009 report of its Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict are a cynical attempt to avoid accountability for war crimes and deny both Palestinian and Israeli victims of the 2008-2009 conflict the justice and reparations they deserve, Amnesty International said today.
Statements by leading Israeli politicians that Israel’s conduct in the 22-day conflict in Gaza and southern Israel has been vindicated, following the publication of a Washington Post opinion piece by Justice Richard Goldstone on April 1, 2011, are based on a deliberate misinterpretation of Justice Goldstone’s comments. The international community must firmly reject these attempts to escape accountability and act decisively for international justice, as it has done on Libya, Sudan and other situations where war crimes and possible crimes against humanity have been committed.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, composed of Justice Goldstone and three other eminent international jurists, examined violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law committed by all sides during the 2008-2009 conflict. Its September 2009 report echoed the findings documented by Amnesty International, other human rights organizations and independent observers, and called on the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to conduct credible, independent investigations into alleged war crimes and possible crimes against humanity within six months or face potential U.N. Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court.
The report’s recommendations concerning potential international justice mechanisms remain unimplemented more than 18 months later, despite the fact that the Israeli authorities and Hamas de facto administration have both failed to conduct investigations that are prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, and effective, as required by the U.N. General Assembly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and other senior Israeli politicians have seized on Justice Goldstone’s new statement that the Israeli military did not intentionally target civilians during the conflict and has conducted some investigations to call for the entire Fact-Finding Mission’s report to be retracted – or, as Prime Minister Netanyahu put it, “tossed into history’s trash can.” The U.S. State Department has supported this position, with a spokesperson saying that the U.S. government did not see any evidence that the Israeli government had committed any war crimes during the conflict.
As a spokesperson for the Human Rights Council made clear today comments made in an opinion piece do not provide a sufficient legal basis for overturning a U.N. report that has been discussed and endorsed by both the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. Nor are the self-serving calls of Israeli political leaders, some of whom were members of the Israeli war cabinet which made the policy decisions during Operation “Cast Lead,” the 22-day conflict in which some 1,400 Palestinians, including some 300 children, were killed by Israeli forces. Aborting the process towards an international justice solution would also preclude any possibility of justice or reparations for Israeli victims of the conflict, who suffered from hundreds of indiscriminate rockets and mortars launched into southern Israel by Hamas’ military wing and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.
Amnesty International has monitored and critiqued the Israeli military investigations into its actions during Operation “Cast Lead” and has condemned both the continuing failure of the Hamas authorities to investigate alleged violations committed by Palestinian armed groups during the conflict and the ongoing firing of indiscriminate rockets into southern Israel...
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Amnesty International - Recent Israeli government calls for the United Nations to retract the 2009 report of its Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict are a cynical attempt to avoid accountability for war crimes and deny both Palestinian and Israeli victims of the 2008-2009 conflict the justice and reparations they deserve, Amnesty International said today.
Statements by leading Israeli politicians that Israel’s conduct in the 22-day conflict in Gaza and southern Israel has been vindicated, following the publication of a Washington Post opinion piece by Justice Richard Goldstone on April 1, 2011, are based on a deliberate misinterpretation of Justice Goldstone’s comments. The international community must firmly reject these attempts to escape accountability and act decisively for international justice, as it has done on Libya, Sudan and other situations where war crimes and possible crimes against humanity have been committed.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, composed of Justice Goldstone and three other eminent international jurists, examined violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law committed by all sides during the 2008-2009 conflict. Its September 2009 report echoed the findings documented by Amnesty International, other human rights organizations and independent observers, and called on the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to conduct credible, independent investigations into alleged war crimes and possible crimes against humanity within six months or face potential U.N. Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court.
The report’s recommendations concerning potential international justice mechanisms remain unimplemented more than 18 months later, despite the fact that the Israeli authorities and Hamas de facto administration have both failed to conduct investigations that are prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, and effective, as required by the U.N. General Assembly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and other senior Israeli politicians have seized on Justice Goldstone’s new statement that the Israeli military did not intentionally target civilians during the conflict and has conducted some investigations to call for the entire Fact-Finding Mission’s report to be retracted – or, as Prime Minister Netanyahu put it, “tossed into history’s trash can.” The U.S. State Department has supported this position, with a spokesperson saying that the U.S. government did not see any evidence that the Israeli government had committed any war crimes during the conflict.
As a spokesperson for the Human Rights Council made clear today comments made in an opinion piece do not provide a sufficient legal basis for overturning a U.N. report that has been discussed and endorsed by both the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. Nor are the self-serving calls of Israeli political leaders, some of whom were members of the Israeli war cabinet which made the policy decisions during Operation “Cast Lead,” the 22-day conflict in which some 1,400 Palestinians, including some 300 children, were killed by Israeli forces. Aborting the process towards an international justice solution would also preclude any possibility of justice or reparations for Israeli victims of the conflict, who suffered from hundreds of indiscriminate rockets and mortars launched into southern Israel by Hamas’ military wing and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.
Amnesty International has monitored and critiqued the Israeli military investigations into its actions during Operation “Cast Lead” and has condemned both the continuing failure of the Hamas authorities to investigate alleged violations committed by Palestinian armed groups during the conflict and the ongoing firing of indiscriminate rockets into southern Israel...
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Why Did Richard Goldstone throw the Goldstone Report under the bus?
Foreign Policy in Focus - I spoke to Richard Goldstone several times after his eponymous Report came out, and it was obvious that the personal slander and vilification from so many in his own community was wearing him down. He was certainly naive and did not expect the excreta storm that would head his way.
He had always been a person of integrity and his editorial in the Washington Post, allegedly “retracting” the Report named after him is saddening. If it had appeared the day before, one would almost suspect it of being an April Fool’s parody.
Indeed, the wording of the editorial, while confused and evasive, was eloquently indicative of heavy pressure -- not least since only two days before at a debate at Stanford University, he is reported as maintaining that “all the investigations showed that, thus far, the facts were as they were reported.”
One cannot help wondering what happened in the next two days to change his mind. Did his daughter, ex IDF and self-confessed Israeli patriot, pull the family chains? It certainly betokens a personal tragedy, since it will detract from his reputation and integrity in the human rights and international law field, with no chance at all of earning the forgiveness of the rabid and vindictive Zionists who have been hounding him mercilessly for two years.
Indeed, reading the editorial reminded me of Comrade Rubashov in Arthur Koestler’s “Darkness At Noon” -- a true believer doing one last duty for the group he had lived with for so many years. It reads like a “confession” rung out from someone trying to free hostages near and dear to him by giving the kidnappers what they want while trying to hold on to one’s own integrity and dignity. Sadly, of course, those who attacked his morals and probity before, will never, ever forgive him for telling the truth originally -- and like Rubashov, he will be shown no mercy once his confession has served its purpose for the cause...
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He had always been a person of integrity and his editorial in the Washington Post, allegedly “retracting” the Report named after him is saddening. If it had appeared the day before, one would almost suspect it of being an April Fool’s parody.
Indeed, the wording of the editorial, while confused and evasive, was eloquently indicative of heavy pressure -- not least since only two days before at a debate at Stanford University, he is reported as maintaining that “all the investigations showed that, thus far, the facts were as they were reported.”
One cannot help wondering what happened in the next two days to change his mind. Did his daughter, ex IDF and self-confessed Israeli patriot, pull the family chains? It certainly betokens a personal tragedy, since it will detract from his reputation and integrity in the human rights and international law field, with no chance at all of earning the forgiveness of the rabid and vindictive Zionists who have been hounding him mercilessly for two years.
Indeed, reading the editorial reminded me of Comrade Rubashov in Arthur Koestler’s “Darkness At Noon” -- a true believer doing one last duty for the group he had lived with for so many years. It reads like a “confession” rung out from someone trying to free hostages near and dear to him by giving the kidnappers what they want while trying to hold on to one’s own integrity and dignity. Sadly, of course, those who attacked his morals and probity before, will never, ever forgive him for telling the truth originally -- and like Rubashov, he will be shown no mercy once his confession has served its purpose for the cause...
Read More
Goldstone rethinks but human rights groups steady
AntiWar - Israeli leaders have barely hidden their jubilation at an opinion article in last Friday’s Washington Post by the South African jurist Richard Goldstone reconsidering the findings of his United Nations-appointed inquiry into Israel’s attack on Gaza in winter 2008.
For the past 18 months the Goldstone Report had forced Israel on to the defensive by suggesting its army—as well as Hamas, the ruling faction in Gaza—had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s three-week Operation Cast Lead. Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including hundreds of women and children.
Goldstone’s report, Israeli officials worried, might eventually pave the way to war-crimes trials against Israeli soldiers at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
In what appeared to be a partial retraction of some of his findings against Israel, Goldstone argued that he would have written the report differently had Israel cooperated at the time of his inquiry.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, immediately called on the United Nations to shelve the Goldstone Report; Ehud Barak, the defense minister, demanded an apology; and Avigdor Lieberman, the foreign minister, said Israel’s actions in Gaza had been “vindicated.”
Israel would certainly like observers to interpret Goldstone’s latest comments as an exoneration. In reality, however, he offered far less consolation to Israel than its supporters claim...
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For the past 18 months the Goldstone Report had forced Israel on to the defensive by suggesting its army—as well as Hamas, the ruling faction in Gaza—had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s three-week Operation Cast Lead. Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including hundreds of women and children.
Goldstone’s report, Israeli officials worried, might eventually pave the way to war-crimes trials against Israeli soldiers at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
In what appeared to be a partial retraction of some of his findings against Israel, Goldstone argued that he would have written the report differently had Israel cooperated at the time of his inquiry.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, immediately called on the United Nations to shelve the Goldstone Report; Ehud Barak, the defense minister, demanded an apology; and Avigdor Lieberman, the foreign minister, said Israel’s actions in Gaza had been “vindicated.”
Israel would certainly like observers to interpret Goldstone’s latest comments as an exoneration. In reality, however, he offered far less consolation to Israel than its supporters claim...
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Israeli forces raid north Jordan Valley villages
Maan News Agency - The Israeli army and police raided villages in the northern Jordan Valley near Tubas on Wednesday morning, seizing tractors from farmers in the area.
Israeli forces and armored vehicles entered homes in a number of villages in the Tubas district and captured several tractors from residents, a villager whose tractor was seized told Ma'an.
Local witnesses said Israeli soldiers took the tractors to the nearby settlement of Mechola.
A military spokeswomen said, "There was activity by the army and police in the area to track vehicles for licenses and permits, and vehicles are being confiscated by police."
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Israeli forces and armored vehicles entered homes in a number of villages in the Tubas district and captured several tractors from residents, a villager whose tractor was seized told Ma'an.
Local witnesses said Israeli soldiers took the tractors to the nearby settlement of Mechola.
A military spokeswomen said, "There was activity by the army and police in the area to track vehicles for licenses and permits, and vehicles are being confiscated by police."
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Palestinian children demand international protection
IMEMC - Hundreds of children in the Gaza Strip participated in a Tuesday event organized by the Palestinian Ministry of Sports and Education – The General Administration of Children’s Affairs, demanding the international community to provide them with the needed protection against the ongoing Israeli violations.
The children started their procession at the Al Saraya Street in the center of Gaza City, and marched towards the Legislative Council building.
They carried Palestinian flags and posters demanding their rights to a healthy childhood and protection from physical and psychological harm.
Deputy head of the Legislative Council, Dr, Ahmad Bahar, demanded the international community and the United Nations to protect the children in Gaza and to act on halting the Israeli attacks and violations against the coastal region.
Minister of Culture and Sports, Mohammad Al Madhoun, called for providing the children with a secure life, far away from death, fear and destruction.
Al Madhoun said that the ministry put in place several programs and activities that are meant to help the children deal with the stress caused by the Israeli violations.
He said that the international community must stop the Israeli attacks and its usage of internally banned weapons, and slammed that latest Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip.
Several children performed different songs, and asked the world to provide them with protection and security.
They also commemorated the children of Al Hilo family who were killed last month after the army bombarded a playground east of Gaza City.
On Tuesday evening, four Palestinians, including two children and a pregnant woman, were injured after the Israeli army bombarded several areas in Gaza.
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The children started their procession at the Al Saraya Street in the center of Gaza City, and marched towards the Legislative Council building.
They carried Palestinian flags and posters demanding their rights to a healthy childhood and protection from physical and psychological harm.
Deputy head of the Legislative Council, Dr, Ahmad Bahar, demanded the international community and the United Nations to protect the children in Gaza and to act on halting the Israeli attacks and violations against the coastal region.
Minister of Culture and Sports, Mohammad Al Madhoun, called for providing the children with a secure life, far away from death, fear and destruction.
Al Madhoun said that the ministry put in place several programs and activities that are meant to help the children deal with the stress caused by the Israeli violations.
He said that the international community must stop the Israeli attacks and its usage of internally banned weapons, and slammed that latest Israeli escalation against the Gaza Strip.
Several children performed different songs, and asked the world to provide them with protection and security.
They also commemorated the children of Al Hilo family who were killed last month after the army bombarded a playground east of Gaza City.
On Tuesday evening, four Palestinians, including two children and a pregnant woman, were injured after the Israeli army bombarded several areas in Gaza.
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Israeli soldiers abduct three residents from West Bank town
IMEMC - The Israeli military abducted, on Wednesday morning, three Palestinians from the town of Hebron, while a group of Israeli settlers plowed Palestinian lands in the east of Yatta, south of Hebron.
Security sources reported to the Wafa News Agency that the Israeli army abducted three citizens after invading their houses and took them to an unknown destination. The citizens were identified as Mohannad Siyaj, 25 years old, ‘Ala Abu Isbeh,18, and Yahya Shenyour, 17.
The sources added that the Israeli Military searched houses of Palestinian residents and handed them orders to appear at the nearest police station for questioning.
Furthermore, The Israeli army erected military checkpoints at the entrances of towns including Beit ‘Awa, Yatta, Halhoul, Doura, Beit Kahil and al-Fawwar Refugee Camp, stopping vehicles to search the identity of passengers.
A witness reported that a number of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian lands in Khirbat Janba, east of Yatta, under the protection of Israeli military personell and the forces of the Israeli border guards.
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Security sources reported to the Wafa News Agency that the Israeli army abducted three citizens after invading their houses and took them to an unknown destination. The citizens were identified as Mohannad Siyaj, 25 years old, ‘Ala Abu Isbeh,18, and Yahya Shenyour, 17.
The sources added that the Israeli Military searched houses of Palestinian residents and handed them orders to appear at the nearest police station for questioning.
Furthermore, The Israeli army erected military checkpoints at the entrances of towns including Beit ‘Awa, Yatta, Halhoul, Doura, Beit Kahil and al-Fawwar Refugee Camp, stopping vehicles to search the identity of passengers.
A witness reported that a number of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian lands in Khirbat Janba, east of Yatta, under the protection of Israeli military personell and the forces of the Israeli border guards.
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PCHR highlights key issues relating to report of UN fact-finding mission on Gaza conflict (the ‘Goldstone Report)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights - In light of the media debate and confusion triggered by Justice Richard Goldstone’s 1 April opinion piece in the Washington Post, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) wishes to highlight a few key issues regarding the current status of the UN Fact-Finding Mission’s Report, and the search for accountability in the aftermath of Israel’s 27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009 offensive on the Gaza Strip.
PCHR represent 1,046 victims of the offensive, and have submitted 490 criminal complaints to the Israeli authorities on behalf of these individuals.
As noted by Justice Goldstone, the UN Fact-Finding Mission was not a judicial body. Rather, it was a fact-finding mission mandated to conduct initial investigations on the ground, and to make recommendations on this basis. The Mission found sufficient evidence to indicate the widespread commission of war crimes, and possible crimes against humanity. This finding was consistent with the result of investigations conducted by other organisations, including PCHR, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the UN Board of Inquiry, and the Fact-Finding Mission of the Arab League.
Appropriately, and consistent with the requirements of international law, the Fact-Finding Mission recommended that these allegations be investigated. The Mission noted that if domestic authorities failed to conduct effective investigations, the International Criminal Court became the most appropriate forum to investigate these serious charges. Responsibility would thus fall on the Security Council to activate the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, in accordance with Article 13(b) of the Court’s statute. According to the timeline established by the Mission, this referral should have taken place approximately one year ago. The Security Council took such action most recently with respect to the current situation in Libya.
The most serious allegations regarding Israel’s conduct of hostilities during the offensive relate to the direct targeting of civilians, widespread indiscriminate attacks, the choice of targets and methods of combat, and the extensive destruction of public and private infrastructure, including the total or partial (rendered uninhabitable) destruction of 7,872 civilian housing units. A few significant cases in this regard include the attack on UNRWA headquarters, the attack on Fakhoura school, the Abdul Dayem case, the Al-Daia case, the Abu Halima case, and the attack on Arafat Police compound. Policies including those related the conduct of hostilities, the choice of targets, the use of white phosphorous, and the artillery bombardment of civilian areas may also give rise to individual criminal responsibility. None of these cases have been effectively addressed, and have not been ‘reconsidered’ by Justice Goldstone.
International law clearly requires that allegations of international crimes, as detailed in the Fact-Finding Mission’s Report and elsewhere, must be subject to genuine investigation, and if appropriate, those responsible prosecuted...
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PCHR represent 1,046 victims of the offensive, and have submitted 490 criminal complaints to the Israeli authorities on behalf of these individuals.
As noted by Justice Goldstone, the UN Fact-Finding Mission was not a judicial body. Rather, it was a fact-finding mission mandated to conduct initial investigations on the ground, and to make recommendations on this basis. The Mission found sufficient evidence to indicate the widespread commission of war crimes, and possible crimes against humanity. This finding was consistent with the result of investigations conducted by other organisations, including PCHR, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the UN Board of Inquiry, and the Fact-Finding Mission of the Arab League.
Appropriately, and consistent with the requirements of international law, the Fact-Finding Mission recommended that these allegations be investigated. The Mission noted that if domestic authorities failed to conduct effective investigations, the International Criminal Court became the most appropriate forum to investigate these serious charges. Responsibility would thus fall on the Security Council to activate the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, in accordance with Article 13(b) of the Court’s statute. According to the timeline established by the Mission, this referral should have taken place approximately one year ago. The Security Council took such action most recently with respect to the current situation in Libya.
The most serious allegations regarding Israel’s conduct of hostilities during the offensive relate to the direct targeting of civilians, widespread indiscriminate attacks, the choice of targets and methods of combat, and the extensive destruction of public and private infrastructure, including the total or partial (rendered uninhabitable) destruction of 7,872 civilian housing units. A few significant cases in this regard include the attack on UNRWA headquarters, the attack on Fakhoura school, the Abdul Dayem case, the Al-Daia case, the Abu Halima case, and the attack on Arafat Police compound. Policies including those related the conduct of hostilities, the choice of targets, the use of white phosphorous, and the artillery bombardment of civilian areas may also give rise to individual criminal responsibility. None of these cases have been effectively addressed, and have not been ‘reconsidered’ by Justice Goldstone.
International law clearly requires that allegations of international crimes, as detailed in the Fact-Finding Mission’s Report and elsewhere, must be subject to genuine investigation, and if appropriate, those responsible prosecuted...
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Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Israeli-Palestinian peacemaker killed by masked man in Jenin
IMEMC - Juliano Meir-Khamis, a well-known Israeli actor and co-director of the Jenin Freedom Theatre, was shot to death in his car Monday, just outside his theatre in Jenin refugee camp, in the northern part of the West Bank. Meir-Khamis, the son of a Palestinian father and a Jewish-Israeli mother, lived in Jenin with his family for the last seven years.
Meir-Khamis is known for his anti-Occupation and anti-Zionist stance, and has in the past received death threats due to his peace activism and his work in Jenin. After the original Freedom Theatre, founded by his mother, was destroyed by Israeli forces in 2002, Meir-Khamis worked to rebuild the theatre, which re-opened in 2005 under the dual management of Meir-Khamis and Zakariya Zubeidi, a former leader of the al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades in Jenin.
In a 2004 interview, Juliano Meir-Khamis said, “We have a dream to have a theatre...we hope that this theatre will generate the political, artistic movement of artists who want to raise their voice against discrimination of women, discrimination of children, unnecessary violence against civilians.”
He also directed the movie 'Arna's Children' in Israel, which is about the stories of ten children from Jenin who attended the Freedom Theatre that Juliano and his mother founded and operated in Jenin refugee camp. The movie tells the story of the Israeli invasion of Jenin camp in 2002, when Israel leveled hundreds of homes and killed over 100 Palestinians. Some of the children featured in the film grew up to be resistance fighters, and some were killed by Israeli forces in the years since the film's release.
Juliano's father, Salibeh Khamis, was a political leader in the Israeli Communist party and a prominent leftist. His mother, Arna Meir, is a leftist Jewish Israeli who is well-known in Israel for her anti-Zionist political position, and her work against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
The governor of the Jenin district, Qaddoura Mouseh, said that the Palestinian security forces have initiated an investigation into the attack. Mouseh said that it is unlikely that the assailant did not know Juliano, who is a well-known and well-regarded member of the peace movement in Palestine. He added that this assassination is a conspiracy against the peaceful aspirations of the Palestinian people.
In addition, the appointed Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr. Salam Fayyad, strongly condemned the attack, saying, "We cannot stand silent in the face of this ugly crime. It constitutes a grave violation that goes beyond all principles and human values and it contravenes with the customs and ethics of co-existence."
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Meir-Khamis is known for his anti-Occupation and anti-Zionist stance, and has in the past received death threats due to his peace activism and his work in Jenin. After the original Freedom Theatre, founded by his mother, was destroyed by Israeli forces in 2002, Meir-Khamis worked to rebuild the theatre, which re-opened in 2005 under the dual management of Meir-Khamis and Zakariya Zubeidi, a former leader of the al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades in Jenin.
In a 2004 interview, Juliano Meir-Khamis said, “We have a dream to have a theatre...we hope that this theatre will generate the political, artistic movement of artists who want to raise their voice against discrimination of women, discrimination of children, unnecessary violence against civilians.”
He also directed the movie 'Arna's Children' in Israel, which is about the stories of ten children from Jenin who attended the Freedom Theatre that Juliano and his mother founded and operated in Jenin refugee camp. The movie tells the story of the Israeli invasion of Jenin camp in 2002, when Israel leveled hundreds of homes and killed over 100 Palestinians. Some of the children featured in the film grew up to be resistance fighters, and some were killed by Israeli forces in the years since the film's release.
Juliano's father, Salibeh Khamis, was a political leader in the Israeli Communist party and a prominent leftist. His mother, Arna Meir, is a leftist Jewish Israeli who is well-known in Israel for her anti-Zionist political position, and her work against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
The governor of the Jenin district, Qaddoura Mouseh, said that the Palestinian security forces have initiated an investigation into the attack. Mouseh said that it is unlikely that the assailant did not know Juliano, who is a well-known and well-regarded member of the peace movement in Palestine. He added that this assassination is a conspiracy against the peaceful aspirations of the Palestinian people.
In addition, the appointed Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr. Salam Fayyad, strongly condemned the attack, saying, "We cannot stand silent in the face of this ugly crime. It constitutes a grave violation that goes beyond all principles and human values and it contravenes with the customs and ethics of co-existence."
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In memory of our beloved friend Juliano Mer-Khamis
Iyad Burnat, Friends of Justice and Freedom in Bilin - Juliano Mer-Khamis embodied the uncompromising struggle for freedom and for dignity. With his brutal murder the Palestinian struggle has lost a brilliant charismatic and courageous fighter for justice and freedom. Both parts of his life's work were seamlessly joined. His art was inseparable from his political commitment. The dignity and humanity which his art sustained were just as important to Palestinian resilience -sumud as his explicitly political work. His life was tragically cut short but he nevertheless managed to live a life full with purpose and meaning. In his typical way he fully dedicated himself to realizing his principles and gave up the comfort of life in Haifa to move to Jenin.
The Freedom theater which Mer-Khamis founded enriched the lives of countless young participants who all loved Juliano and their audience. It demonstrated the resilience of Palestinians, who transcended the most difficult situations to create a lasting legacy of art and consciousness. The effect of the Freedom theater reached far beyond Jenin and even the West Bank. People throughout the world were inspired to support the work of the theater and Palestinian solidarity in general.
We offer his family our condolences and support. We will always remember and miss him. His legacy will continue to inspire us to struggle for dignity and liberation. We will follow Juliano's example in his work and in his spirit.
the Popular Committees against the wall and israeli occupation.
The Freedom theater which Mer-Khamis founded enriched the lives of countless young participants who all loved Juliano and their audience. It demonstrated the resilience of Palestinians, who transcended the most difficult situations to create a lasting legacy of art and consciousness. The effect of the Freedom theater reached far beyond Jenin and even the West Bank. People throughout the world were inspired to support the work of the theater and Palestinian solidarity in general.
We offer his family our condolences and support. We will always remember and miss him. His legacy will continue to inspire us to struggle for dignity and liberation. We will follow Juliano's example in his work and in his spirit.
the Popular Committees against the wall and israeli occupation.
Another war on Gaza?
Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah - In recent weeks an escalation in violence between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of more than a dozen Palestinians, the youngest of them 10-year-old Mahmoud Jalal al-Hilu.
Does this escalation increase the likelihood of another large-scale assault on Gaza similar to "Operation Cast Lead" in winter 2008-2009 that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians? There are worrying signs Israel -- by its words and deeds -- could be laying the ground for an attack.
The ratchet of violence took another turn in the small hours of 2 April when Israel carried out an air attack on the Gaza Strip killing three members of Hamas' military wing.
Israel did not claim that the three Hamas men were engaged in any hostile activity at the time they were killed (riding in a car), but a statement from the Israeli army alleged that they were "planning to kidnap Israelis over the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover" -- several weeks in the future.
Israel's latest attack constituted an extrajudicial killing, in which Israel, the occupying power, acted as judge, jury and executioner, issuing allegations for which it offered no evidence, after it had already carried out the death sentence. Under international law, this is a war crime.
Global media tend to report these events as Israeli "retaliation" for Palestinian attacks, but a close reading of Israeli media presents a very different picture: deliberate provocation and escalation by Israel.
On 23 March, Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel writing in the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that, "The current tensions began exactly a week ago when Israel launched an air attack on a Hamas base in the ruins of the settlement of Netzarim, killing two Hamas men. That attack came in response to a Qassam [rocket] fired from Gaza that landed in an open area." Palestinians responded with a barrage of 50 projectiles into Israel.
Israel then "launched a series of air attacks in which a number of Hamas militants were wounded." And on 22 March Israeli forces launched the shelling which killed Mahmoud al-Hilu and three other civilians, allegedly in response to mortar fire from an olive grove on the Gaza side ("A small war is starting along Gaza border").
On 24 March, Issacharoff and Harel observed, "Despite the escalation, Hamas does not seem to want large-scale clashes yet. The organization actually has good reasons to believe that Israel is the one heating up the southern front. It began with a bombardment a few weeks ago that disrupted the transfer of a large amount of money from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, continued with the interrogation of engineer and Hamas member Dirar Abu Sisi [whom Israeli agents kidnapped from Ukraine] in Israel, and ended with last week's bombing of a Hamas training base in which two Hamas militants were killed. It is noteworthy that Hamas has not fired at Israel over the past two days, even after four Palestinian civilians were killed by errant IDF [Israeli army] mortar fire on Tuesday [22 March]" ("Hamas not likely behind Jerusalem bombing").
Issacharoff and Harel added in a 25 March analysis that the Israeli attack on the Hamas outpost at Netzarim "is believed to have been authorized by the defense minister and the chief of staff, who should have known there would be people at the outpost during the day and that causing casualties would have different consequences than a routine attack on empty offices. Israel assumed -- mistakenly -- that Hamas would not respond to the bombing. In fact, Hamas responded by firing 50 mortar shells on Saturday morning" ("Escalation approaching").
It is difficult to believe, especially in light of the extrajudicial executions on 2 April, that Israeli leaders did not know that killing Palestinians would prompt further retaliation from the Palestinian side. It seems very likely this was their intention...
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Does this escalation increase the likelihood of another large-scale assault on Gaza similar to "Operation Cast Lead" in winter 2008-2009 that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians? There are worrying signs Israel -- by its words and deeds -- could be laying the ground for an attack.
The ratchet of violence took another turn in the small hours of 2 April when Israel carried out an air attack on the Gaza Strip killing three members of Hamas' military wing.
Israel did not claim that the three Hamas men were engaged in any hostile activity at the time they were killed (riding in a car), but a statement from the Israeli army alleged that they were "planning to kidnap Israelis over the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover" -- several weeks in the future.
Israel's latest attack constituted an extrajudicial killing, in which Israel, the occupying power, acted as judge, jury and executioner, issuing allegations for which it offered no evidence, after it had already carried out the death sentence. Under international law, this is a war crime.
Global media tend to report these events as Israeli "retaliation" for Palestinian attacks, but a close reading of Israeli media presents a very different picture: deliberate provocation and escalation by Israel.
On 23 March, Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel writing in the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that, "The current tensions began exactly a week ago when Israel launched an air attack on a Hamas base in the ruins of the settlement of Netzarim, killing two Hamas men. That attack came in response to a Qassam [rocket] fired from Gaza that landed in an open area." Palestinians responded with a barrage of 50 projectiles into Israel.
Israel then "launched a series of air attacks in which a number of Hamas militants were wounded." And on 22 March Israeli forces launched the shelling which killed Mahmoud al-Hilu and three other civilians, allegedly in response to mortar fire from an olive grove on the Gaza side ("A small war is starting along Gaza border").
On 24 March, Issacharoff and Harel observed, "Despite the escalation, Hamas does not seem to want large-scale clashes yet. The organization actually has good reasons to believe that Israel is the one heating up the southern front. It began with a bombardment a few weeks ago that disrupted the transfer of a large amount of money from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, continued with the interrogation of engineer and Hamas member Dirar Abu Sisi [whom Israeli agents kidnapped from Ukraine] in Israel, and ended with last week's bombing of a Hamas training base in which two Hamas militants were killed. It is noteworthy that Hamas has not fired at Israel over the past two days, even after four Palestinian civilians were killed by errant IDF [Israeli army] mortar fire on Tuesday [22 March]" ("Hamas not likely behind Jerusalem bombing").
Issacharoff and Harel added in a 25 March analysis that the Israeli attack on the Hamas outpost at Netzarim "is believed to have been authorized by the defense minister and the chief of staff, who should have known there would be people at the outpost during the day and that causing casualties would have different consequences than a routine attack on empty offices. Israel assumed -- mistakenly -- that Hamas would not respond to the bombing. In fact, Hamas responded by firing 50 mortar shells on Saturday morning" ("Escalation approaching").
It is difficult to believe, especially in light of the extrajudicial executions on 2 April, that Israeli leaders did not know that killing Palestinians would prompt further retaliation from the Palestinian side. It seems very likely this was their intention...
Read More
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