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.

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.

Palestine - Still a Dirty Word

It's amazing to think that it is considered a slur on your character if you have too much sympathy with the plight of the Palestinians:

Republicans in south Florida predict a 10% spike for McCain in the Jewish vote over the 24% polled by Bush in 2004. Their campaign line is that if Obama wins he will be the first pro-Palestinian US president since the foundation of the state of Israel. The Democrats hit back with leaflets showing Obama by Jerusalem's Wailing Wall wearing a yarmulka.

The fact that any candidate accused of showing sympathy with the impoverished and dispossessed still feels the need to distance himself from the most needy and align himself with the most powerful tells you all you need to know about the race for the presidency. 

Palestinian Journalist Abused By Israeli Agents

This taken from John Pilger's piece in today's Guardian on the treatment of Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer on his return to Gaza following his acceptance of the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism in London:

Last Thursday, on his return journey, he was met at the Allenby Bridge crossing (to Jordan) by a Dutch official, who waited outside the Israeli building, unaware Mohammed had been seized by Shin Bet, Israel's infamous security organisation. Mohammed was told to turn off his mobile and remove the battery. He asked if he could call his embassy escort and was told forcefully he could not. A man stood over his luggage, picking through his documents. "Where's the money?" he demanded. Mohammed produced some US dollars. "Where is the English pound you have?"

"I realised," said Mohammed, "he was after the award stipend for the Martha Gellhorn prize. I told him I didn't have it with me. 'You are lying', he said. I was now surrounded by eight Shin Bet officers, all armed. The man called Avi ordered me to take off my clothes. I had already been through an x-ray machine. I stripped down to my underwear and was told to take off everything. When I refused, Avi put his hand on his gun. I began to cry: 'Why are you treating me this way? I am a human being.' He said, 'This is nothing compared with what you will see now.' He took his gun out, pressing it to my head and with his full body weight pinning me on my side, he forcibly removed my underwear. He then made me do a concocted sort of dance. Another man, who was laughing, said, 'Why are you bringing perfumes?' I replied, 'They are gifts for the people I love'. He said, 'Oh, do you have love in your culture?'

"As they ridiculed me, they took delight most in mocking letters I had received from readers in England. I had now been without food and water and the toilet for 12 hours, and having been made to stand, my legs buckled. I vomited and passed out. All I remember is one of them gouging, scraping and clawing with his nails at the tender flesh beneath my eyes. He scooped my head and dug his fingers in near the auditory nerves between my head and eardrum. The pain became sharper as he dug in two fingers at a time. Another man had his combat boot on my neck, pressing into the hard floor. I lay there for over an hour. The room became a menagerie of pain, sound and terror."

Almost as revolting is the reaction of the Israeli government:

An Israeli spokesman told the Reuters news agency that Mr Omer received "fair treatment" during his detention at the Allenby Bridge crossing.

He said officials carried out the body search because they suspected the journalist of smuggling.

He says two officers dragged him by his legs, with his head on the floor, in front of other passengers. He says he then vomited and fainted.

The Israeli official said at the end of the search Mr Omer "lost his balance and fell, for some reason unknown to us".

"A team of medics, an ambulance and a paramedic were summoned and he was transferred for treatment to Jericho".

A disgusting example of the utter disregard the Shin Bet have for basic human rights and dignity. As long as both the Shin Bet and Hamas continue this cycle, there will be no hope for Jew or Muslim in the Middle East.

Bulldozer Rampages in Jerusalem - Terrorist Attack??

From the BBC:

A Palestinian man has driven a bulldozer into a bus and several cars in Jerusalem, killing three people, before being shot dead.

Dozens of people were hurt, at least seven critically, in the rampage on Jaffa Road, in the city centre.

A police officer shot the driver of the bulldozer dead after a struggle in the vehicle's cab.

Police said the attacker was a 30-year-old from east Jerusalem, with no known affiliations to militant groups.

The BBC's Tim Franks, who witnessed the attack, said that within a few minutes a stretch of Jerusalem's city centre had been turned into a blood-soaked mess.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the incident a terrorist attack, and condemned it as "an act of senseless murderous violence".

Once the initial shock of such an incident sets in, a few things started to bother me about this incident and the way it has been reported by the media.

1) The report of this as an act of terrorism particularly bothers me. There is no evidence whatsoever that this was a terrorist attack. A horrendous incident no doubt, but an act of terrorism? The official US definition of terrorism is as follows:

The calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.

There is no evidence that the above definition fits this incident. There is no evidence that the perpetrator was linked to any terrorist organisation and there is no evidence that he had planned a terrorist attack, certainly not as yet. Despite the rhetoric of the media and the politicians it is dubious whether this was a terrorist act at all. In fact, an Israeli police chief claimed the following:

"It looks as if it was a spontaneous act."

Spontaneous, not 'calculated' as the definition above sets out. The reports that I have read suggest that he had recently divorced from his Jewish wife and had no links to any terrorist organisations. I would suggest that his actions are the result of a mental breakdown as opposed to an outright terrorist attack. Obviously it is difficult to judge at this stage but, with the limited information in the public domain, it seems a little rash to cry 'terrorism' regarding this incident when even the police claim it was a 'spontaneous act'.

2) There seems to be little comment on the fact that the police entered is cab and shot him dead. Sure, it was a repulsive act that he committed but he could have been 'neutralised' without resorting to cold blooded murder. I see no reason why the driver could not have been incapacitated in some way, arrested, charged and then imprisoned. Surely this was preferable to a man being murdered in the street by the state? The death penalty should be condemned in all its forms, and this is no exception.

Maybe we will discover that this was part of a calculated attempt to incite fear in the populace for political gains. With the information available at this moment in time, it is difficult to make such a case stick.

Two Arrested For Attacks On Settlers On The Susiya Settlement

You may remember seeing these images recently of Palestinians being apparently attacked by Israeli settlers:

The pictures were captured as a result of B'Tselem's 'Shooting Back' scheme that provided video cameras for Palestinians to record the abuses they suffer at the hands of settlers. Amazingly, these pictures were posted on the BBC, amazing because it is very rare for a major media organisation to reproduce such footage. Usually such incidents are portrayed as mythical events in the imagination of so-called anti-Semites and are therefore disregarded.

In this instance, however, it would appear that the Israeli police have actually arrested two settlers that they suspected were responsible for the attack. B'Tselem reports [this link also provides further links to individual testimonies and further videos]:

Today [17 June 2008], the Israeli police arrested two settlers suspected of attacking Palestinians in the Southern Hebron Hills. On 8 June 2008, four masked settlers with clubs attacked three members of the Nawaj’ah family who were grazing their flock on private Palestinian land south of the Susiya settlement. The victims suffered severe injuries and required hospitalization. A fourth member of the family documented the beginning of the assault with a video camera she had received from B'Tselem.

The Nawaj’ah family lives in Khirbet Susiya, a small encampment in the Southern Hebron Hills just south of the Susiya settlement. They live in tents and support themselves by grazing their flock and working their land. As they are the object of frequent attack by settlers, B'Tselem has given the family a video camera as part of its "Shooting Back” project.

On 8 June 2008, ‘Imran a-Nawaj’ah, 32, went with two of his children to graze his flock south of the settlement, on a plot of land belonging to a resident of the nearby Samu’ Village. Although an Israeli court has declared the land a military zone closed to Israelis, two settlers drove up to the shepherds on a tractor and tried to drive them off the land. When a-Nawaj’ah refused and told the settlers he had court permission to be on the land, they threatened him and then drove off toward the settlement. Fearing an attack, A-Nawaj’ah sent his son to the encampment to call for reinforcement. Khalil, 61, Tamam, 60, and Rabiha A-Nawaj’ah, 29, came quickly to the spot along with Muna, 25, who managed to film the settlers leaving the site....

If you want to find out more about the 'Shooting Back' scheme, click here and see what other materials have been captured here. Sadly, most of these incidents will not be replayed on the BBC. Such exposure is clearly an isolated incident to provide 'balance' rather than to broaden understanding of the tensions in the region.

'We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary'

The following is a letter published in today's Guardian regarding the upcoming 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel.

In May, Jewish organisations will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. This is understandable in the context of centuries of persecution culminating in the Holocaust. Nevertheless, we are Jews who will not be celebrating. Surely it is now time to acknowledge the narrative of the other, the price paid by another people for European anti-semitism and Hitler's genocidal policies. As Edward Said emphasised, what the Holocaust is to the Jews, the Naqba is to the Palestinians.

In April 1948, the same month as the infamous massacre at Deir Yassin and the mortar attack on Palestinian civilians in Haifa's market square, Plan Dalet was put into operation. This authorised the destruction of Palestinian villages and the expulsion of the indigenous population outside the borders of the state. We will not be celebrating.

In July 1948, 70,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes in Lydda and Ramleh in the heat of the summer with no food or water. Hundreds died. It was known as the Death March. We will not be celebrating.

In all, 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Some 400 villages were wiped off the map. That did not end the ethnic cleansing. Thousands of Palestinians (Israeli citizens) were expelled from the Galilee in 1956. Many thousands more when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Under international law and sanctioned by UN resolution 194, refugees from war have a right to return or compensation. Israel has never accepted that right. We will not be celebrating.

We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacres and the dispossession of another people from their land. We cannot celebrate the birthday of a state that even now engages in ethnic cleansing, that violates international law, that is inflicting a monstrous collective punishment on the civilian population of Gaza and that continues to deny to Palestinians their human rights and national aspirations.

We will celebrate when Arab and Jew live as equals in a peaceful Middle East.

Seymour Alexander
Ruth Appleton
Steve Arloff
Rica Bird
Jo Bird
Cllr Jonathan Bloch
Ilse Boas
Prof. Haim Bresheeth
Tanya Bronstein
Sheila Colman
Ruth Clark
Sylvia Cohen
Judith Cravitz
Mike Cushman
Angela Dale
Ivor Dembina
Dr. Linda Edmondson
Nancy Elan
Liz Elkind
Pia Feig
Colin Fine
Deborah Fink
Sylvia Finzi
Brian Fisher MBE
Frank Fisher
Bella Freud
Catherine Fried
Uri Fruchtmann
Stephen Fry
David Garfinkel
Carolyn Gelenter
Claire Glasman
Tony Greenstein
Heinz Grunewald
Michael Halpern
Abe Hayeem
Rosamine Hayeem
Anna Hellman
Amy Hordes
Joan Horrocks
Deborah Hyams
Selma James
Riva Joffe
Yael Oren Kahn
Michael Kalmanovitz
Paul Kaufman
Prof. Adah Kay
Yehudit Keshet
Prof. Eleonore Kofman
Rene Krayer
Stevie Krayer
Berry Kreel
Leah Levane
Les Levidow
Peter Levin
Louis Levy
Ros Levy
Prof. Yosefa Loshitzky
Catherine Lyons
Deborah Maccoby
Daniel Machover
Prof. Emeritus Moshe Machover
Miriam Margolyes OBE
Mike Marqusee
Laura Miller
Simon Natas
Hilda Meers
Martine Miel
Laura Miller
Arthur Neslen
Diana Neslen
Orna Neumann
Harold Pinter
Roland Rance
Frances Rivkin
Sheila Robin
Dr. Brian Robinson
Neil Rogall
Prof. Steven Rose
Mike Rosen
Prof. Jonathan Rosenhead
Leon Rosselson
Michael Sackin
Sabby Sagall
Ian Saville
Alexei Sayle
Anna Schuman
Sidney Schuman
Monika Schwartz
Amanda Sebestyen
Sam Semoff
Linda Shampan
Sybil Shine
Prof. Frances Stewart
Inbar Tamari
Ruth Tenne
Martin Toch
Tirza Waisel
Stanley Walinets
Martin White
Ruth Williams
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi
Devra Wiseman
Gerry Wolff
Sherry Yanowitz

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 - Former President Spared Rape Charges

Once again, Israel lives up to it's description as "the most corrupt country in the West". The following is taken from Haaretz:

At least 20,000 protesters, outraged over the plea bargain that spared outgoing president Moshe Katsav rape charges and possible jail time, gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand that he stand trial.

Over the past year, Katsav had been accused of a range of sexual offenses, including rape. Under the plea bargain signed Thursday, the rape charges were dropped and a suspended sentence was agreed by the prosecution. The president will plead guilty to sexual harassment, forcible indecent assault and harassing a witness as part of the deal.

The rally was attended by Education Minister Yuli Tamir, MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz), MK Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) and former MK and member of Tel Aviv's municipal council Yael Dayan.

Dayan said that Katsav's plea deal turns the victims into criminals, and paid tribute to the women who went to the police with their accusations against the president.

"We must not incriminate the bravest of women, who deserve a medal for the courage to complain," she said.

"Now there is no law and no justice," Tamir told the rally. "These people [the protesters] came here out of pain, and out of desire to see a just trial in the State of Israel."

Ah, justice is alive and well in Israel. In other Israeli news:

.....prominent Israeli human rights group on Wednesday criticized an Israel Defense Forces probe that decided not to press charges in an errant artillery attack that killed 21 Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip in November 2006.

The Military Advocate General announced late Tuesday that it was closing the case after its investigation determined the deaths were the result of a "rare and severe" technical malfunction.

In a statement, the human rights group B'Tselem questioned whether the inquiry met proper legal standards: an investigation which is independent, effective, open to review and timely.

The group also called on the IDF to take measures that would prevent similar incidents in the future, and urged it to compensate relatives of the dead.

The shelling was part of a large-scale IDF ground operation in northern Gaza against Palestinian rocket squads, and the civilian deaths provoked the wrath of international groups and human rights organizations. Since then, Israel has rarely used artillery against Gaza.

Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group in Gaza, said the results of the Israeli probe were not surprising.

"This decision is not strange, because every day and every minute dozens of innocent Palestinians are subject to this, either by shelling or by siege or by bullets," he said.

And, from B'Tselem:

Heart patient dies after not being allowed to cross checkpoint

On 14 February 2008, Fawaziyeh a-Dark suffered a heart attack. Soldiers at a flying checkpoint prevented the passage of the ambulance summoned for her. When her husband tried to take her by taxi, soldiers at another checkpoint blocked their passage. He was forced to take her home, by which time she died.

Palestinians 'Creating' Tensions Over East Jerusalem

Remember the news that the Israeli government were preparing to build more settlements in East Jerusalem? Well, the Palestinians quite rightly brought this up during the latest round of peace talks. And the Israelis response? According to one Israeli official:

"We really wanted to see it as a procedural meeting in good spirit. They created a tense atmosphere."

'They' created a tense atmosphere? The arrogance of the Israeli government is, apparently, limitless.

So Much For Peace in the Middle East

After the much trumpeted 'success' that was the meeting in Annapolis, it comes as no surprise to hear that the Israeli government are doing their best to undermine any hopes for peace:

Israel's housing ministry said yesterday it plans to build 307 new homes in a settlement in East Jerusalem, drawing swift condemnation from Palestinian officials.

Tenders were published for housing units in Har Homa, a settlement to the south-east of the city on land captured by Israel in the 1967 war and later annexed. East Jerusalem is now home to around 200,000 Jewish settlers. Most of the international community does not recognise Israel's annexation of the east of the city.

The announcement comes days after the peace conference at Annapolis in the US intended to restart long-stalled negotiations on an agreement to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Palestinian officials said yesterday the tenders were in breach of the US road map for peace, which leaders from both sides agreed at Annapolis would again be the basis of talks.

Israel, however, says the road map does not apply to Jerusalem. Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, said: "Israel will abide by all its obligations under the road map. Its obligations apply to the West Bank, Jerusalem is different. Jerusalem is our capital. It is Israeli sovereign territory."

Of course, it is not recognised as 'their' capital by the international community, but I guess that is a minor detail for a government that has long treated the international community with disdain. In actual fact, Tel Aviv is the recognised capital of Israel. This is clearly an attempt to provoke the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and clearly undermines the whole peace process. Just remember this when the blame for the collapse of the peace process is put at the door of the Palestinian people because if anything in life is certain, it's that the Palestinian people always end up being blamed for any collapse in the peace process.

Israeli Soldiers Beat Women and Children

A shocking story from today's Observer about conditions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A study by a leading Israeli psychologist has found tales of immense brutality on the Palestinians. The study by Nufar Yishai-Karin was based around interviews with 21 Israeli soldiers in which they confessed to frequent, brutal assaults. According to one soldier:

'We were in a weapons carrier when this guy, around 25, passed by in the street and, just like that, for no reason - he didn't throw a stone, did nothing - bang, a bullet in the stomach, he shot him in the stomach and the guy is dying on the pavement and we keep going, apathetic. No one gave him a second look.'

Women weren't spared from this horrific treatment:

'With women I have no problem. With women, one threw a clog at me and I kicked her here [pointing to the crotch], I broke everything there. She can't have children. Next time she won't throw clogs at me. When one of them [a woman] spat at me, I gave her the rifle butt in the face. She doesn't have what to spit with any more.'

Even children are subjected to horrendous abuses:

'After two months in Rafah, a [new] commanding officer arrived... So we do a first patrol with him. It's 6am, Rafah is under curfew, there isn't so much as a dog in the streets. Only a little boy of four playing in the sand. He is building a castle in his yard. He [the officer] suddenly starts running and we all run with him. He was from the combat engineers.

'He grabbed the boy. I am a degenerate if I am not telling you the truth. He broke his hand here at the wrist, broke his leg here. And started to stomp on his stomach, three times, and left. We are all there, jaws dropping, looking at him in shock...

'The next day I go out with him on another patrol, and the soldiers are already starting to do the same thing.'

The revelations have provoked a massive debate within Israeli society about the legitimacy of the actions of the IDF. Israeli society is seriously beginning to question some of the abuses that are conducted in their name. This recent shift in attitudes has been reflected in a massive rise in conscientious objection, as well as widespread draft-dodging. As the Telegraph reported earlier in the year, the figures for draft-dodging in 2006 were the highest in Israeli history. Twenty-five percent of Israelis avoided their military service as a result of growing disquiet about the activities of the Israeli Defence Force.

And yet, the blood thirsty drum beaters still play the same tune. Witness Melanie Phillips' recent defence of the state that can do no wrong:

‘Every time I visit, the situation seems to have worsened,’ he [John Dugard, the UN human rights envoy for the Palestinian Territories] said in a BBC interview. This time, I was very struck by the sense of hopelessness among the Palestinian people.’ Mr Dugard attributed this to ‘the crushing effect of human rights violations’, and in particular Israeli restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement.

Yes, the Palestinians’ situation has worsened. This is principally the result of two things. a) The regime of terror instituted by the Hamas administration for which the Palestinians so unwisely voted and which is progressively making their lives a misery; and b) the restrictions imposed by the Israelis to counter the rockets which the Palestinians are lobbing at Israeli towns from Gaza, and the human bomb attacks they are ceaselessly attempting to perpetrate against Israelis. Strangely, Dugard makes no mention of either.

He said that although Israel did have a threat to its security, ‘its response is very disproportionate’.

Let’s see now: checkpoints to stop its citizens from being murdered? Very disproportionate. Targeted assassinations, to kill terror godfathers while sparing innocent Palestinians as far as possible? Very disproportionate. Sitting on Israeli hands while rockets fired from Gaza slam into southern Israeli towns? Very disproportionate.

Her willful denial of the very facts provided above show just how out of touch with reality she really is. The IDF is guilty of considerable human rights violations. It's treatment of innocent civilians is an utter disgrace. Disproportionate?? I would argue that that would put it very mildly indeed. These offences are off the scale. Beating women and children and failing to differentiate between genuine threats and innocent civilians, is systematic of a brutal, abusive regime. That the Israeli people are realising this is a very welcome development indeed.

Is the BBC Really The Propaganda Arm of Hamas?

It is if you believe what Melanie Phillips has to say in The Spectator:

Since [Alan] Johnston’s release, the BBC seems to have turned itself into a vehicle for Hamas propaganda. Alastair Crooke has been given airtime granted to no other lobbyist, in interviews and one-off programmes giving him unprecedented opportunity to push his views.

Now that same BBC, along with a shadowy intelligence establishment and panicky politicians, is promoting ‘engagement’ with Hamas. But this is a terrorist outfit committed to the destruction of Israel and the Islamisation of the West. The Johnston kidnap represents a turning point in the war to defend the free world. It is not a turn in the direction of victory.

What is most interesting is the timing of this article by Phillips. A recent article by John Pilger in the New Statesman (redeeming itself slightly after the debacle that was the Chavez article), seems to undermine this rather dubious argument put forward by the rights arch-conspiracist. Pilger writes:

One of the leaders of demonstrations in Gaza calling for the release of the BBC reporter Alan Johnston was a Palestinian news cameraman, Imad Ghanem. On 5 July, he was shot by Israeli soldiers as he filmed them invading Gaza. A Reuters video [see clip at end of post]shows bullets hitting his body as he lay on the ground. An ambulance trying to reach him was also attacked. The Israelis described him as a "legitimate target". The International Federation of Journalists called the shooting "a vicious and brutal example of deliberate targeting of a journalist". At the age of 21, he has had both legs amputated.

Dr David Halpin, a British trauma surgeon who works with Palestinian children, emailed the BBC's Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen. "The BBC should report the alleged details about the shooting," he wrote. "It should honour Alan [Johnston] as a journalist by reporting the facts, uncomfortable as they might be to Israel."

He received no reply.

The atrocity was reported in two sentences on the BBC online. Along with 11 Palestinian civilians killed by the Israelis on the same day, Alan Johnston's now legless champion slipped into what George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four called the memory hole. (It was Winston Smith's job at the Ministry of Truth to make disappear all facts embarrassing to Big Brother.) While Alan Johnston was being held, I was asked by the BBC World Service if I would say a few words of support for him. I readily agreed, and suggested I also mention the thousands of Palestinians abducted and held hostage. The answer was a polite no; and all the other hostages remained in the memory hole. Or, as Harold Pinter wrote of such unmentionables: "It never happened. Nothing ever happened . . . It didn't matter. It was of no interest."

Doesn't seem like the BBC are that bothered about acting as the propaganda arm of Hamas, does it? If they were, why would Jeremy Bowen ignore calls to report this story? Why would BBC online devote only two sentences to a story about a journalist being shot by the Israeli military? Why would BBC World Service refuse to allow Pilger to speak out against the treatment of Palestinian prisoners?? If the BBC was working on PR for Hamas, I'm sure they will be fired soon enough. Meanwhile, perhaps Melanie Phillips might like to pay closer attention to facts rather than spurious, ill-founded allegations.

Breaking Down Barriers

The following is taken from Anarchists Against the Wall:

Every one of the hundreds of kilometers of the wall is hated and despised by the people on whose land it is built and who are imprisoned by it.

Today, on the lands of the village of Surif Palestinians internationals and Israelis demonstrated what this resentment means: At any moment any part of the hated wall might be dismantled when an opportunity arises.

Read more

Just a Thought.....

Funny how those on the right who are so quick to condemn the Palestinians, are not exactly sympathetic about the plight of Alan Johnston. They wouldn't be so petty as to refuse to aid someone who works for the BBC, would they?

The Innocence Broken With Lies

Remember I posted about the Palestinians used as human shields by the Israeli army? According to B'Tselem's report that was posted on their website today, the victims include a fifteen-year-old boy and an eleven-year-old girl. The following is an extract from their findings:

According to the testimonies, on the first day of the operation, around five o'clock in the morning, soldiers came to the house of the 'Amirah family, in the Old City , and removed all the occupants from the house and took them to a nearby house, where other Palestinians were also being held. Then the soldiers ordered one of the family, 15-year old 'Amid to accompany them in their search of three other houses. According to 'Amid's testimony, the soldiers pushed him with the barrels of their rifles and forced him to enter rooms of the house in front of them, open cabinets and empty out the contents, and open windows. In one instance, according to the testimony, a soldier shot several shots into the room.

In its letter to the Judge Advocate General, B'Tselem pointed out that this was the fourth time since June 2006 (when "Operation Summer Rains," in Gaza , took place), that the organization had documented Israeli soldiers' use of Palestinian civilians as human shields. As far as B'Tselem knows, in only one of these cases did the JAG order a Military Police investigation. That investigation has not yet been completed. In light of these cases, B'Tselem expressed its concern that the military order prohibiting this practice is not property communicated to soldiers, and that the delay in investigating these incidents conveys a message of lenience in the military's treatment of soldiers who engage in such practices. [emphasis mine]

It goes without saying that it is entirely unacceptable for children to be used in this way. It reflects a wider trend for children to be treated as combatants in war. After all, Israel's biggest backer has children locked up at Guantanamo as 'enemy combatants'. There was a time when the militarisation of children was abhorred by civilised states. Now, it would appear, treating children as a part of the wartime environment is par for the course. It is about time all civilised people came together and called for an end to the growing use of children in the battlefield. Whatever happened to innocence?

Further information: B'Tselem's investigation.
Related: B'Tselem have also released a study on the infringement of the human rights of the tens of thousands of Palestinian workers staying in Israel without a permit. You can read more here.

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.