BBC & Gaza - Just Not Right-wing Enough

Good work by the chaps at the BBC to prevent aid agencies getting the airtime that is desperately required to help the people of Gaza:

The BBC has refused to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, leaving aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group for 13 aid charities, launched its appeal yesterday saying the devastation in Gaza was "so huge British aid agencies were compelled to act".

But the BBC made a rare breach of an agreement dating to 1963, saying it would not give free airtime to the appeal. Other broadcasters followed suit. Previously, broadcasters had agreed on the video and script to be used with the DEC, to be shown after primetime news bulletins.

The BBC, which has been criticised in the past over alleged bias in its coverage of the Middle East, said it did not want to risk public confidence in its impartiality. A BBC spokesperson said: "The decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of [a] news story."

Impartiality before humanitarian aid? Clearly the BBC is a hotbed of radical leftism.

Gaza Twitter....

Do you have a Twitter account??  If so, ultimatejosh and AliveinGaza are taking questions via Twitter to pass on to their correspondent in Gaza.  If you have any questions, simply send them to their Twitter accounts which I have conveniently hyperlinked above!  One load of submitted questions have already been answered here.

The War on Gaza - The Finest Propaganda Campaign in History

The war on Gaza is not only a humanitarian disaster of massive proportions, it has also witnessed a propaganda campaign on a scale not witnessed before. The amount of mis-information, half-truths and, let's be frank, lies that have emerged over the past few weeks has meant that the casual viewer has been presented with an incomplete picture of the events in Gaza and what led up to them. This is the direct result of an attempt by the Israeli government to win the media battle and convince the international community that their assault on the innocent people of Gaza was entirely justified. It is a media battle that the world's media has been happy to play along with.


Ever since the start of the campaign, Israel has ensured that a spokesperson is free to talk to as many of the networks as possible to put their side of the story across. Barely a day has gone by without either Mark Regev or Major Avital Leibovich bombarding us with their 'truth' about the assault on Gaza. And yet, most of their words have been accepted as fact, without much in the way of interrogation. They have been able to make their accusations and claims entirely unchecked without providing a shred of evidence to support anything they have said. And the reason why they have been able to get away with this is down to the methods that the Israeli government has used to manage their message.


Take the reporting from Gaza. Or rather, the lack of reporting from Gaza. Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, journalists have not been allowed to provide independent verification of the claims of the Israeli government. Every time a claim is made by the Israeli state, there is no way to verify their accuracy. We only have the word of Israeli state officials to go on, and since when has a mouthpiece of the state been trustworthy? Of course, the Israeli government has been extremely pleased with the way the propaganda campaign on the media has been waged. They were said to be delighted with certain aspects of the BBC's coverage. The appearance of a BBC correspondent in a flak jacket in Israel certainly did much to convey the idea that Israel was under siege. Little wonder the Israeli government was so pleased.


One of the greatest fallacies about the war on Gaza has been the accusation that Hamas broke the terms of the ceasefire and have been launching hundreds of rockets into Gaza every day. Whilst it is true that rockets have been launched into Israel on a regular basis, there was a noticeable difference in the number of rockets fired from Gaza before the ceasefire and during. During the ceasefire, the number of rockets launched into Israel dropped dramatically. Hamas largely adhered to the terms of the ceasefire and ensured that their military arm did not fire rockets into Israel. There were, however, various other groups in Gaza who continued to fire rockets across the border, groups that are essentially hostile to Hamas and were keen to provoke Israel into launching an assault in the hope it would weaken Hamas. However, these groups were dealt with and those responsible for the launching of rockets were locked up. Despite the fact that Hamas were observing the ceasefire, on November 4th Israel launched a raid into Gaza and killed six Hamas 'militants'. It was after this point that rocket fire into Israel reached pre-ceasefire levels. And this is the point often neglected by the media. I have observed many BBC correspondents say to Israeli officials that no-one argues that Hamas broke the ceasefire, when it is entirely the case that Israel broke the terms of the ceasefire. But such is the power of the propaganda machine, this has been accepted as fact.

And not only has this been accepted as fact, but various little details seem to have been ignored by much of the media. For example, on 23rd December, Hamas offered to renew the ceasefire but, as Israel had already drawn up their plans to assault Gaza, it was rejected. Not only was that offer ignored, but it is barely mentioned that Ismail Haniyeh offered a ten year ceasefire with Israel. There may well be competing voices within Hamas but, like all political groups, there are a wide range of viewpoints. But, again, such things are barely worthy of mention in the West, particularly given the idea that has been spread around that Fatah and Fatah alone are worthy of our support. Given the West's habit of supporting corrupt and incompetent parties across the globe, this support for Fatah is perhaps unsurprising. Fatah, after all, had done very little for the Palestinian people before their election defeat, a defeat mainly as a consequence of the corruption that ran throughout Fatah.

But this is not the worst of the mis-information put out by the media and the Israeli state. Take the attacks on the UN buildings in Gaza. After the first schools were hit, Israeli representatives went on TV and claimed that the responsibility for these crimes lay with Hamas, not with Israel. Now, it would appear, the victims of the crime are responsible for what happened to them. Compare this with standard right-wing rhetoric that is hostile to what it sees as the perpetrator being the ‘victim’. Remember all the times they have treated that idea with disdain and then wonder how they can claim (straight faced) that the murder of civilians by their bombs, their rockets, their military, is somehow not their fault, but that of Hamas. Strange, no?


Not only did they claim that the fault of their military murdering innocent civilians was not there fault, they also went on to claim that Hamas were using installations such as the schools to launch attacks on Israel. One spokesperson even claimed they 'booby-trapped' a building containing civilians. The spokesmen showed no remorse, no pity. And then what do we discover a few days later, when more than forty innocent people have died? That there were no Hamas fighters there and it was a 'mistake'. Too late for all those brothers who lost sisters, mothers who lost children, children who lost parents. Just a shrug of the shoulders from the Israeli government and then they move on. The dead becoming merely an inconvenient statistic that undermines their rhetoric about not wanting a war with the Palestinian people. What is this if it is not?


Despite their unfounded accusations, it is not as if Israel has abided entirely by international conventions. Whilst largely ignored or dismissed by much of the media, there is growing evidence that war crimes have been committed by the IDF. These crimes include:

• attempting to bulldoze houses with civilians inside;
• killing civilians trying to escape under the protection of white flags;
• the use of indiscriminate force in a civilian area and the firing of white phosphorus shells.
• using powerful shells in civilian areas which the army knew would cause large numbers of innocent casualties;
• holding Palestinian families as human shields;
• attacking medical facilities, including the killing of 12 ambulance men in marked vehicles;
• killing large numbers of police who had no military role.

Even the United Nations’ most senior human rights official suggested that Israel may have to answer for war crimes in the wake of their assault on Zeitoun. Of course, the chances of Israel actually being prosecuted for these war crimes is minute. Especially as the propaganda campaign by the Israeli government has been so successful in pushing out its message. Will there seriously be any support for an independent inquiry into Israeli war crimes? And, if there is an inquiry, what are the chances of Israel being censored as a result? Zero. Because, as always, the United States will ride to the rescue and ensure that the Israeli government are well protected. Besides, by then the assault will be forgotten about by the media and will make little difference for those in Gaza who have suffered at the hands of the IDF. And as for the change of government in America, is there anyone who seriously believes that Obama will launch a radical shift in foreign policy? With a Clinton as Secretary of State? The suffering of the Palestinians will continue and the Israeli propaganda machine will continue unabated.

Israel Using Human Shields

From The Guardian:

Amnesty International says hitting residential streets with shells that send blast and shrapnel over a wide area constitutes "prima facie evidence of war crimes".

"There has been reckless and disproportionate and in some cases indiscriminate use of force," said Donatella Rovera, an Amnesty investigator in Israel. "There has been the use of weaponry that shouldn't be used in densely populated areas because it's known that it will cause civilian fatalities and casualties.

"They have extremely sophisticated missiles that can be guided to a moving car and they choose to use other weapons or decide to drop a bomb on a house knowing that there were women and children inside. These are very, very clear breaches of international law."

Israel's most prominent human rights organisation, B'Tselem, has written to the attorney general in Jerusalem, Meni Mazuz, asking him to investigate suspected crimes including how the military selects its targets and the killing of scores of policemen at a passing out parade.

"Many of the targets seem not to have been legitimate military targets as specified by international humanitarian law," said Sarit Michaeli of B'Tselem.

Rovera has also collected evidence that the Israeli army holds Palestinian families prisoner in their own homes as human shields. "It's standard practice for Israeli soldiers to go into a house, lock up the family in a room on the ground floor and use the rest of the house as a military base, as a sniper's position. That is the absolute textbook case of human shields.

"It has been practised by the Israeli army for many years and they are doing it again in Gaza now," she said.

UN School in Gaza - No Rockets Fired From School

Couldn't find this anywhere other than a small section of The Independent, and even then it wasn't on their website. So I had to resort to scanning the section:

So after all the talk of 'booby-traps' and Hamas rockets, Israel has admitted to the UN that no firing originated from the school.  So what to do about the 43 dead??  Say sorry?

Israel Using White Phosphorus?

That is certainly one accusation doing the rounds:

Israel is believed to be using controversial white phosphorus shells to screen its assault on the heavily populated Gaza Strip yesterday. The weapon, used by British and US forces in Iraq, can cause horrific burns but is not illegal if used as a smokescreen.

As the Israeli army stormed to the edges of Gaza City and the Palestinian death toll topped 500, the tell-tale shells could be seen spreading tentacles of thick white smoke to cover the troops’ advance. “These explosions are fantastic looking, and produce a great deal of smoke that blinds the enemy so that our forces can move in,” said one Israeli security expert. Burning blobs of phosphorus would cause severe injuries to anyone caught beneath them and force would-be snipers or operators of remote-controlled booby traps to take cover. Israel admitted using white phosphorus during its 2006 war with Lebanon.

The use of the weapon in the Gaza Strip, one of the world’s mostly densely population areas, is likely to ignite yet more controversy over Israel’s offensive, in which more than 2,300 Palestinians have been wounded.

The Geneva Treaty of 1980 stipulates that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban under international law on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination. However, Charles Heyman, a military expert and former major in the British Army, said: “If white phosphorus was deliberately fired at a crowd of people someone would end up in The Hague. White phosphorus is also a terror weapon. The descending blobs of phosphorus will burn when in contact with skin.”

Medical Aid For The Palestinian People

Two good shouts from Ten Percent:

1. You can donate money to be used as medical aid for the Palestinians here
2. And a story that has been missed by large sections of the media....is the Israeli action part of an attempt to secure gas supplies?

The War on Palestinians

So, Israeli propaganda dominates the airwaves. Israeli officials are wheeled out to proclaim that their murder of nearly 500 Palestinians and the launch of over 800 strikes is a 'defensive action'. It is barely possible to watch the news as these officials trundle out lie after lie with straight faces, apparently convinced of their own lies. The lie that Israeli action is defensive being just one of a whole pack of lies which the Israeli government know will be almost impossible to disprove. Still, if nothing else, the propaganda offensive has been 'impressive'.

One thing must be kept in mind when watching any news coverage of this murderous attack on Gaza. International journalists are not allowed into Gaza to verify any of the claims of the Israeli government. Even though the Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot ban foreign correspondents, they remain banned. As a result, it makes it impossible to verify the claims of the government, a fact they are all to aware of. Take this morning's attack on a mosque in Gaza. On various networks, officials have been interviews and claimed that the strike was unfortunate, but that munitions are routinely stored in civilian locations across Gaza and, this implies, the strike was justified. One question is never asked: where is the proof? If the mosque contained munitions, why not provide the proof? Why not tell us where exactly these munitions were stored? Why? Because it is part of a blatant attempt to convince the people of the world that this mass murder, this attempt at ethnic cleansing, is in someway justified.

Every civilian death is seen as suspicious. Every civilian death is blamed on the Palestinian people. Oh, they say they blame Hamas, but by claiming that the Palestinians allow munitions to be stored on their properties, they are essentially saying that any Palestinian civilian that is killed is responsible for their own murder. It is ironic, nay perverse, that so often, the very same people who claim that the Palestinians (the victims) are at fault and that the Israelis (the perpetrators) are deserving of our sympathy, are the very same ones that proclaim that individuals should take the responsibility for their actions and not blame external factors. Why are Palestinians not deserving of this? Why, in this case, should the murderers not take responsibility for their actions? Which the victim suffer whilst the perpetrator has excuses made in their favour? It is the great double standard at the heart of much of the rhetoric that emanates from certain sections of the political spectrum.

And why should we believe what the Israeli government says anyway. Their propaganda has already been exposed for what it is only this morning. Footage that was uploaded on YouTube to prove the accuracy of the Israeli assault has now been revealed as a disgraceful piece of propaganda. Instead of missiles being loaded onto the targeted truck (as the Israeli government claimed), oxygen cylinders were being prepared for distribution. As a result of this action, eight Palestinians were killed. And yet, this video clip is being used as an example of how the Israelis are so careful in their targeting. And, given the lack of journalists in Gaza, one wonders how many other examples are waiting to emerge from the woodwork.

Despite the horrors that are being conducted in Gaza, one must remember that these are the actions of a corrupt elite that are in power in Israel. They are not representative of the people of Israel. The Communist Party of Israel and Hadash have been organising demonstrations in Tel Aviv in protest against the assault on Gaza and the continuing siege. There have been reports that over 10,000 people have taken to the streets in protest against Israeli action. And their bravery in expressing their right to free speech is underlined when considering the disgusting language of some of the extreme elements in Israeli political life:

Israel Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman said that "in the same way that the Israeli government knows that it is impossible to stop the operation in Gaza until Hamas is eradicated, [the government] must act against those Israeli citizens who are not loyal to the State of Israel."

"The demonstration in Sakhnin in which ten thousand protesters are participating proves that their loyalty is to Hamas and to those who want to destroy Israel."

Ironically those that really seek to destroy Israel are quite possibly the Israeli government themselves. After all, does anyone seriously believe that these attacks will put a stop to the extremists in Gaza? Does anyone really believe that the children who witness the deaths of their mothers, fathers, brother, sisters at the hands of Israeli rockets, will not turn their hatred on Israel? It would be foolish to think that they wouldn't. Each rocket that lands in Gaza produces another extremist. Another person intent on destroying Israel. Another suicide bomber intent on killing Israeli civilians. Until the Israeli government realises this simple fact, the cycle will continue. Unless, of course, that is what they want. To keep the people of Israel living in fear. Well, they may just get their wish.

Jewish Terrorists Attack Academic

'Self-hating' Jew is often a term applied to those that criticise Israeli policies, so why not also apply it to those ultra-rightist Jews that attack their fellow Jews? Like the nasty characters that carried out this attack:

A well-known Israeli critic of Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, Zeev Sternhell, has been slightly wounded in a bomb attack.

Police suspect ultra-nationalists Israelis were behind the attack.

Professor Sternhall has also strongly opposed the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, describing it as immoral and ineffective.

Earlier this year, Professor Sternhall was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize for political science.

Mr Sternhell suffered minor shrapnel wounds in one leg.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said several assailants were waiting for Mr Sternhell shortly after midnight on Wednesday outside his home in Jerusalem.

Reports say police investigators found posters in Mr Sternhell's neighbourhood offering a reward of $320,000 to anyone who kills a member of Peace Now, an Israeli group that campaigns against settlement building to which the academic belongs.

Israel News Special

Numerous stories from Haaretz worthy of comment today. However, given that I am about to hit the sack, feel free to knock yourself out with comments aplenty (that means both of you). First, Olmert confirms the building of 750 new settlement homes:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has approved the renewed construction of hundreds of an estimated 750 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze'ev near Jerusalem, the Housing Ministry said Sunday.

The project approved for the Agan Ayelot neighborhood of Givat Ze'ev drew criticism from the Palestinian Authority over Israel's commitment to the peace process.

The prime minister's spokesman said the project was in line with the state's current policy on construction in existing settlements.

"The project was approved by previous governments, and Olmert approved its resumption because it meshes with government policy," he said.

"It is consistent with our long-standing position that building within the large settlement blocs, which will stay a part of Israel in any final status agreement, will continue," Regev said. "Construction outside the settlement blocs has been frozen."

News that is sure to calm tensions in the region.

Second, can you hear the faint beating of drums?? Here commenceth a smear campaign as a prelude to further threats against Iran:

Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim has accused the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog of acting as an agent for Iran and of allowing the Islamic Republic to proceed with its uranium enrichment without international intervention.

"When you examine his behaviour you cannot but reach the conclusion that he is a sort of planted agent ... who has served well the interests of Iran," Boim, a member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party said in an interview Sunday with Channel One television.

Boim said ElBaradei had allowed Iran time to develop its nuclear bomb plans and that his decisions had thwarted international efforts to stop the Iranians.

"During his years as head of the agency, he has allowed it to be derelict in its duties and has allowed the Iranians to have probably the most important thing of all - time.

"His decisions, have many times been taken with a form of coordination with the Iranians and he has made it impossible to create a strong coalition which could stop Iran's uranium enrichment program," Boim said.

Did someone say "wacky conspiracy theory"??

Back to the peace process, and some predictable stalling by the Israeli government:

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday told visiting U.S. envoy James Jones that that the creation of a Palestinian state amid the current situation in the Gaza Strip and ongoing attacks on Israelis was not in line with Israel's security demands.

"Israel is obligated to respond to terror, and every process must offer a unilateral response to its security needs," said Livni. "The creation of a Palestinian state is not the required answer to Israel's security needs."

The foreign minister said a future Palestinian state must comprise officials "who want not only to live in peace with Israel, but are also able to fight terror and promise the realization of all of its security needs."

The Palestinians, of course, are not "obligated to respond to terror". Especially when over 100 Palestinians are killed (49 of which were civilians) by state terror tactics.

Finally, celebrity news. Goldie Hawn was at a charity fundraising dinner for the Jewish National Fund. The Jewish National Fund will only sell property to Jews, not Arabs:

Pro-Palestinian activists beating drums and blaring horns have protested a visit by Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn to an Israeli charity's fundraising dinner.

Around 150 demonstrators marched on Glasgow's Hilton hotel, where the actress was speaking to supporters of the Jewish National Fund.

The fund is Israel's main land distributor. But the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which organized the protest, believes it is a racist organization and criticized Hawn for lending her support.

Way to go Goldie.

Gaza - Ethnic Cleansing on the Table?

In my haste to cover the events in South America, I have unforgiveably overlooked events in Gaza. It would appear, according to the reports of various agencies (including Amnesty International) that the people of Gaza are enduring their worst humanitarian disaster since 1967. From the BBC:

Gaza's humanitarian situation is at its worst since Israel occupied the territory in 1967, say UK-based human rights and development groups.

They include Amnesty International, Save the Children, Cafod, Care International and Christian Aid.

They criticise Israel's blockade on Gaza as illegal collective punishment which fails to deliver security.

Israel says its military action and other measures are lawful and needed to stop rocket attacks from Gaza.

Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip in 2005, but retains control over Gaza's airspace and coastline, and over its own border with the territory.

The following is taken from Amnesty International:

This latest cycle of killings and destruction comes at a time when the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza are confronting a humanitarian crisis as a result of the increasingly stringent blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza.

Hospitals and medical facilities, already facing severe difficulties in coping with shortages of electricity, fuel, equipment and spare parts due to the Israeli blockade, are struggling to cope with the new influx of casualties caused by Israeli attacks in the last few days.

With Gaza's borders sealed, many patients in dire need of medical care that is not available in Gaza cannot be transferred to hospitals abroad and risk losing their lives.

In the past two months, Israeli forces have killed more than 230 Palestinians in Gaza, including scores of unarmed civilians, and wounded and maimed many others. During the same period, Palestinian armed groups have continued to fire qassam and other rockets indiscriminately at Israel from the Gaza Strip, mostly towards the town of Sderot but also, last week, the more distant town of Ashkelon.

One Israeli civilian has been killed and several injured by such rockets fired from Gaza into Sderot and other areas by Palestinian armed groups.

Amnesty International has again called on Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to ensure that Palestinian armed groups cease immediately from carrying out indiscriminate attacks against Israel, and for those responsible to be held to account.

"It is high time that the leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) took effective steps to prevent and punish attacks on civilians in Israel," said Malcolm Smart, "but their failure to do so does not make it legitimate for the Israeli authorities to launch reckless air and artillery strikes which wreak such death and destruction among Palestinian civilians.

"At the same time, the Palestinian armed groups who launch frequent rocket attacks from Gaza into nearby Israeli towns not only show a callous disregard for the lives of Israeli civilians but also expose the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip to the danger of Israeli attacks."

Malcolm Smart said that Amnesty International condemned all attacks on civilians, but that "unlawful attacks by one side cannot justify violations by the other."

The question is, how much longer will it be before Gaza is occupied by Israeli forces?

Israel and the West must carry a heavy burden for the unrelenting violence in the region. Their reckless actions are not bringing peace, they are bringing resentment. Every bomb, every incursion, every retaliation breeds more anger and more contempt. They are merely fanning the fires within Gaza instead of 'winning hearts and minds'. And yet, the solution is simple. The West still refuses to negotiate with Hamas, relying instead on the old tactic of divide and conquer. There can be no peace until Hamas are brought into the process, difficult thought that may be for some to accept. They were, after all, the party elected by the people in a democratic election. An election that was hailed by the West before the result, and ignored afterwards.

As time passes, the risk of an even greater humanitarian crisis grows. The collective punishment of an entire people will lead to ever greater numbers of women and children being slaughtered in the name of revenge. Where will it all end? With the ethnic cleansing of the entire region?? With the final humiliation of a people that have lived on the land for centuries before the Balfour declaration? Israeli terrorism played a role in the establishment of the Israeli state. Terrorism seems to be the weapon of choice of the Israeli government.

Israel Prepared to Target Civilian Areas

This from Haaretz:

Defense Minister Ehud Barak will meet Monday with legal experts in the military and government to examine whether the Israel Defense Forces can legally target populated areas from which Qassam rockets are being fired at the western Negev.

Barak asked Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann at Sunday to determine the legality of these attacks. The defense minister will discuss the issue Monday with Friedmann, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, Military Prosecutor Brig.-Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, the Defense Ministry's legal adviser and various elements from within the Foreign Ministry.

During Sunday's cabinet meeting, Vice Premier Haim Ramon asked why the IDF was not directing massive fire at the areas from which Qassams are being launched.

"According to international law, you can do that," he said. "In the Second Lebanon War it was clear that if they shoot from within a village, we can fire on them even if the area is populated."

This comes hot on the heels of the deputy defence minister suggested that continued attacks from Gaza would lead to a "Holocaust". Clearly, Israel intends to step up its attacks on Gaza and consequently there will be a massive rise in civilian casualties. The fact that they are prepared to argue that bombing a civilian area is entirely justified is deeply troubling to say the least. There is no justification for bombing civilian areas, unless one intends on wiping out the civilian population. For the Israeli government, ethnic cleansing appears to be the only viable option. The question is, does the Israeli government really believe that this will calm tensions across the region? Because it most certainly will not. If it is an attempt to provoke Iran and thus bring about the military action that is so dearly desired in Downing Street and the White House, it might well succeed.

The BBC, Palestine and Half a Story

Nabbed the headline from one of the far-right cretins at Biased BBC, seemed appropriate for this little story I found on the BBC's website. In a report on the rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel, the BBC reported the following:

Hamas, which does not recognise Israel and opposes the peace process, ousted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's forces from Gaza in June. Mr Abbas remains in control of Palestinian-administered parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

However, there is no explanation of the circumstances surrounding the 'ousting' of Abbas' forces. Like the fact that Fatah attempted to seize control of Gaza and the West Bank from the democratically elected Hamas government. Or the fact that Abbas' forces had been attempting to assassinate the leader of a democratically government. A more appropriate description of the situation would be that Abbas' forces had attempted a coup against a democratically elected government and failed. But then I guess that wouldn't fit in with the anti-Palestinian rhetoric that is prevalent in the West.

Is Israel Preparing To Invade Gaza?

That would seem to be the message being put out at the moment:

Earlier Wednesday, the IDF said its aircraft struck Qassam rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials said two people were slightly injured in the strikes, near the towns of Beit Hanun and Beit Lahia.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak reiterated Wednesday morning his position that Israel "is approaching a large-scale operation ... in the Gaza Strip due to the continued Qassam rocket fire."

"One must understand that such on operation is not simple in terms of force [size], the length of time for which we will have to stay [in the Strip], and in terms of the operation limits that the soldiers will encounter," Barak told Army Radio. "It is very complicated."

Observer Interviews Leader of Izzidine Qassam Brigades

Fascinating interview in today's Observer, here's a taster:

At the height of the fighting 10 days ago in Gaza City, the commander of the Hamas militants laying siege to the Palestinian Authority compound received a call from his Fatah counterpart inside. 'He asked if we were going to invade and take the building,' said Abu Obieda, the top Hamas military commander for the Gaza Strip. 'He said if we entered his compound, he would kill himself.'

'Abu Obieda begged him not to commit such a sin,' interjected Abu Khalid, one of his lieutenants. 'He promised him that he and all of his men would be protected if they just surrendered. And finally they did. And all of them are still alive and free in their homes.'

Fatah officials in Gaza confirm the story but asked that the commander not be identified for fear of shaming him.

A rare opportunity to hear another side of the story.

B'Tselem to Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip: Bring to Trial Those Responsible for War Crimes

From B'Tselem:

This last week, intense fighting erupted between Hamas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip. According to various estimates, approximately 160 people, including many children and civilians who were not participating in the fighting, were killed in the course of these clashes. This wave of violence ended with a victory for Hamas, who took control of all the bases of power in the Gaza Strip and established a separate leadership there.

During the events of this week, both parties committed severe violations of customary international humanitarian law, acts that constitute war crimes. These included summary execution of people identified with the opposing party, some of whom were civilians not involved in the fighting. In some of the cases serious abuse was reported to have preceded the summary executions.

According to media reports, on June 10, 2007, members of Hamas captured 28-year old Muhammed a-Sawirki, who apparently belonged to the Fatah-affiliated Presidential Guard and threw him to his death from a high-rise building in Gaza City , with his hands and legs bound. In response, armed Fatah men kidnapped Sheikh Muhammed A-Rafati, an imam identified with Hamas, and shot and summarily executed him. In another incident that occurred on June 11, 2007, Hamas members surrounded the home of Jamal Abu al-Jidyan, from the Fatah leadership in the northern Gaza Strip, firing missiles and mortars that injured Abu al-Jidyan .When his neighbors tried to bring him to the nearby hospital, Hamas men captured Abu Jidian and shot and summarily executed him. On June 14, 2007, in an incident that was broadcast on the Hamas television station in Gaza , Samih al-Madhun, a leader of Fatah's military wing, was captured in the a-Nuseirat refugee camp. al-Madhun was then strapped to the hood of a car and the nearby crowd stabbed him in every part of his body until he was died.

Another serious phenomenon that occurred in the course of the fighting was deliberate attacks on hospitals and their use as military targets. For example, on June 10, 2007, Fatah members shot mortars and grenades at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City , where armed Hamas men had barricaded themselves, and the Hamas men fired back from inside the hospital.

International humanitarian law recognizes several fundamental rules that apply to all states, organizations or individuals taking part in fighting, without regard to the nature of the conflict in the framework of which the fighting is taking place (international or internal). Among these rules is the absolute prohibition on summary execution of non-involved civilians, or of combatants who have been captured or laid down their weapons, and the absolute prohibition on committing any act of cruelty toward a member of one of these groups. These rules also grant special protection to hospitals and medical personnel, and forbid attacks on the latter. Acts of this nature are defined as war crimes under international law and impose personal criminal responsibility on those involved in their commission.

B'Tselem calls on the Palestinian leadership of Hamas in the Gaza Strip to investigate each incident that occurred during the fighting with Fatah that raises a suspicion of a war crime having been committed, including those noted above, and to bring the suspects to criminal trial.

In addition, B'Tselem warns against illegal injury to people or institutions affiliated with Hamas in the West Bank , whether through acts of revenge by individuals or groups identified with Fatah, or in the course of arbitrary arrests by the Palestinian Authority. Preliminary signs of such acts have appeared in the last few days, and the security forces of the Palestinian Authority bear the responsibility to use all means at their disposal to prevent such attacks.

B'Tselem also reminds the Israeli government, which has effective control in the West Bank, that it bears overarching responsibility for the human rights of all people in the West Bank, including for acts committed by agencies operating with Israel 's agreement, including the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas 'Does Not Want to Seize Power'

Here is a story from Haaretz that will no doubt be ignored by much of the Western media:

Damascus-based Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal said Friday his group does not want to seize power in the Palestinian Authority, adding that Hamas recognizes Abbas as the Palestinian Authority chairman.

Addressing media in the Syrian capital, Meshal said that Hamas had not wanted to take over the Gaza Strip.

"Hamas does not want to seize power ... We are faithful to the Palestinian people," Meshal said, promising to help rebuild Palestinian homes damaged in the months of bloody infighting.

"What happened in Gaza was a necessary step. The people were suffering from chaos and lack of security and this treatment was needed," Meshal continued. "The lack of security drove the crisis toward explosion."

"Abbas has legitimacy," Meshal said, "There's no one who would question or doubt that, he is an elected president, and we will cooperate with him for the sake of national interest."

It was Meshel who was reported by Reuters as softening his

anti-Israel rhetoric, suggesting that Hamas does not seek the destruction of Israel as written in the group's charter. He said that Israel is a "reality" and "there will remain a state called Israel, this is a matter of fact".

"The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel. The problem is that the Palestinian state does not exist," he said.

And we all know how much notice the Western media paid to those words.

Gaza Descends Into Chaos - Courtesy of the Western Powers

With the ongoing violence in Gaza, the usual suspects have been quick to claim that the current events have nothing to do with the EU and the US. Instead, the blame falls squarely at Hamas' feet. While it is true that both sides are involved in a never ending cycle of violence that must be condemned, the roots of this problem trace right the way back to the West. As usual, the right-wing press take an overly simplistic approach to the situation. The Daily Telegraph (the bastion of British conservatism) took a typical line on events:

The appalling barbarity currently unfolding in Gaza, where gunmen from the militant Palestinian Islamic group Hamas are attempting to eliminate physically their secular Fatah rivals, has led to the inevitable accusations that Israel and its Western allies are ultimately responsible for the bloodshed.

The fact that the latest outburst of violence was started, and is being sustained, by Hamas's attempts to eradicate any hint of opposition to its radical Islamic agenda is conveniently overlooked.

Instead those who claim to have the Palestinians' best interests at heart insist the violence is the result of the refusal of Israel and its supporters - i.e. America - to negotiate with the democratically elected Hamas government on a lasting political settlement of the Palestinian issue.

The word 'simplistic' hardly does the leader justice. And then, what a surprise, we have Melanie Phillips wading in with some typical intellectual bankruptcy:

If Israel kills Palestinians in its attempt to defend its civilians from being blown up in pizza parlours or pulverised by rocket attack, the media descends into an instant frenzy of (unjust and distorted) condemnation. But presented with this orgy of Palestinian violence in Gaza, there is little more than an embarrassed shuffling of feet. The Independent ventures bravely into these treacherous waters by blaming everyone other than the Palestinians for reducing them to economic desperation — this despite the fact that since sanctions were imposed on Hamas, the amount of funding going into Gaza has actually doubled, if not trebled. What it is to be a newspaper of moral principle, eh?

Putting aside her failure to grasp that sometimes, just sometimes, Israel might do something wrong, it is the penultimate point that raises an eyebrow. 'The amount of funding has doubled'? What could this mean?? Before looking any further into the claims that we have nothing to do with this mess, here is what Abu Amr (an independent voice in the Palestinian authority, belonging to neither Fatah or Hamas) has to say on the current situation:

"If you have two brothers, put them in a cage and deprive them of basic and essential needs for life, they will fight," Abu Amr told a news conference in Tokyo. "We need to undo the very problematic situation that mainly others have created."

Abu Amr, an independent in the Palestinian government, blamed the fighting on the deprivations forced upon Palestinians.

"We really live in a cage," he said. "People cannot move in Gaza. They can't travel. There's no work. There's no normal life."

"If Gaza disintegrates, subsequent negotiations with the Israelis would be jeopardized," Abu Amr was quoted as saying by a Foreign Ministry official who briefed reporters afterward. "The situation is extremely grave."

This is a far more realistic representation of what is going on in Gaza, by a man who is independent of both factions. The Palestinian people have been the victim of untold suffering since they chose to elect Hamas. Over 2.4 million Palestinians live under the poverty line as a result of sanctions imposed by the US and the EU in response to their democratic judgement. The region stands on the brink of economic collapse whilst the West pats themselves on the back for the good work they have done. Yes, those in power knew this was going to happen, they planned for it. Rice claimed back in October last year:

the economic boycott on the Hamas-led Palestinian government is effective and the international community will continue to maintain the boycott.

And so it has proved. The economic boycott has led to the desperate situation that Abu Amr refers to. The Palestinian people have been the victim of a concerted effort by the West to undermine any sense of democracy in the region. In desperation, they have turned on each other. And what of this aid that Phillips refers to? Well, as usual, Phillips only tells half the story. Aid has increased quite dramatically over the past 18 months, however Phillips fails to explain just what type of aid increased. The aid has not been humanitarian, rather it has been military in nature. Since last year, the US government has funnelled millions of dollars to Fatah's defence forces, as they predicted a split between Hamas and Fatah. The US has played a very active role in current events. According to a report in The Observer at the time:

US cash is reportedly being used to set up training facilities for Abbas's special guard, Force 17, in the West Bank town of Jericho and in Gaza.

Furthermore, the report claimed that:

Officially the US has put up some $42m to bolster Hamas's political opponents ahead of possible early Palestinian elections, with officials saying the programme is aimed at promoting alternatives to Hamas, which caused a sensation when it won power in January.

Not only have they been providing military funding to Fatah, they have been funding opposition parties as well. Imagine the storm this would create in America if Iran began funding an opposition party. I'm guessing that the hypercritical right would be up in arms about such a development.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the Western powers have played a major part in this conflict. The American government has repeatedly attempted to undermine a democratic government and has refused to even entertain the idea of holding talks with them. It has provided military funding to Fatah, whilst upholding sanctions that hurt the Palestinian people. Is it really any surprise that the two factions would turn against each other in these conditions? Of course not. The American government made its intentions clear right from the start, it would do everything in its power to ensure that the Hamas government collapsed and was replaced with a compliant authority that is willing to become yet another US franchise in the region. While there is no doubt that the murders are at the hands of both Hamas and Fatah, there is also no doubt that the environment for this conflict was created by America and the EU. The failure to acknowledge this simple fact is either dangerously short-sighted or plainly irresponsible.

*According to the BBC, Abbas has dismissed the Hamas led government declaring that:

"I [Abbas] have issued the following decree: the sacking of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya."

This would be the same Haniya who was subject to an assassination attempt by Abbas' Fatah party. I'm guessing a few people will be rubbing their hands with glee at this news. Meanwhile, the suffering continues for the Palestinians.

IDF Prohibits Fishing Off Gaza Coast

From B'Tselem:

B'Tselem's research indicates that, since the abduction of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, on 25 June 2006 , Israel has forbidden boats, including fishing boats, to sail off the Gaza coast. The prohibition has struck a severe blow to the fishing sector, which provides a livelihood for tens of thousands of residents of the Gaza Strip. Lacking other means of employment, and despite the Israeli navy's patrol of the coast and occasional shooting at Palestinian fishermen, some fishermen have risked their lives and violated the prohibition.

Read the full report here.