Was Israel’s Gaza offensive worth it?: Ha’aretz
By Gideon Levy
Today offers us an ironic conjuncture of commemorations: the fast of the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet and the first anniversary of Operation Cast Lead. On the day of the fast, which commemorates the Babylonian siege on Jerusalem, few Israelis are thinking about Gaza, under Israeli blockade for twice the time ancient Jerusalem was besieged. On the anniversary of the attack on Gaza, few people are doing any real soul-searching.
One way or another, the year since December 27 was a year of shame for Israel, greater shame than any other time. It is shameful to be Israeli today, much more than it was a year ago. In the final tally of the war, which was not a war but a brutal assault, Israel’s international status was dealt a severe blow, in addition to Israeli indifference and public blindness to what happened in Gaza.
Even those who still believe that the attack was justified and necessary, that the firing of Qassam rockets would not have been halted except by such a cruel attack, cannot ignore the political and moral price extracted from Israel because of its violence. Its image in the world, not in the eyes of its citizens, is much uglier than a year ago.
Today it is more shameful to be an Israeli because the world, as opposed to Israelis, saw the scenes. It saw thousands of dead and injured taken in the trunks of cars to something between a clinic and a primitive hospital in an imprisoned and weakened region one hour from flourishing Tel Aviv, a region where the helpless had nowhere to run from Israel’s arsenal. The world saw schools, hospitals, flour mills and small factories mercilessly bombed and blown up. It saw clouds of white-sulphur bombs billowing over population centers, and it saw burned children.
The world refused to accept the excuses and lies of Israel’s propaganda. It was not prepared to compare Sderot’s suffering to Gaza’s suffering; it did not agree that the sulphur mushroom clouds were for self-defense, that the killing of dozens of police on a parade ground was legitimate, that telephoned warnings for people to leave their homes cleared Israel of criminal responsibility for the bombing of those homes.
The world saw the Israeli Goliath strike mercilessly at the Palestinian David. It saw the balance of killing: one Israeli to every 100 Palestinians, and the Israel Defense Forces’ new and terrifying doctrine by which almost everything goes if it prevents casualties on our side. The world knew that in this case a democracy was striking a region that does not enjoy self-determination, whose inhabitants lack basic human rights – refugees and the children of refugees living under siege. So the world responded with justifiable severity toward us; it refused to forgive and be silent.
The world also saw Israel wrap itself in sick apathy despite what was happening. It saw the town squares almost empty of protesters, the cafes in Tel Aviv full of people having a good time. It even saw Israeli families who went to visit the hills around Gaza to show their children the bomb strikes. Later, it also saw that Israel was not even prepared to investigate what it had done, but rather lashed out at all its detractors.
And the world also quickly forgot. A year later, with $4.5 billion collected to rehabilitate Gaza lying in banks’ basement vaults because Israel refuses to open Gaza’s gates to let in supplies, the world is silent, leaving Gaza to its fate, to its ruins. But Gaza has not forgotten its wounds – it cannot forget them. The 325,000 people whose homes were destroyed, 1,300 bereaved families and thousands of injured and disabled, debilitated by anxiety and terror, remain in Gaza. Their suffering has not dissipated.
On the first anniversary of the attack, in the face of such a negative political and moral balance, Israelis must at least ask themselves if all this was worth it. But on the first anniversary, Israel is much busier with the political future of MK Eli Aflalo than its political and moral future. Shame or no shame – what counts is that we feel so good about ourselves.
How many times do we have to tell you, guys? No criticism of Israel is allowed by anybody!
U.S. official’s criticism of Israel ambassador sparks furor: Ha’aretz
A recent remark by the head of the U.S. administration’s Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, Hannah Rosenthal, has sparked a wave of harsh criticism in Jerusalem.
Rosenthal told Haaretz earlier this week that comments made by Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, against the liberal Jewish lobby J Street were “most unfortunate.”
Senior government officials told Haaretz on Friday that “We were surprised at Ms. Rosenthal’s remarks, as reported in Haaretz.” The officials stressed that he comments “don’t reflect the nature of the relations between Israel and the U.S., nor do they reflect the great respect and appreciation of the ambassador and his staff felt both in Jerusalem and in Washington.”
J Street was established a few years ago as a new pro-Israel lobby to counterbalance the strong, veteran group AIPAC, considered to be toeing a more right-wing conservative line. Under the motto “pro-Israel, pro-peace,” J Street began to promote issues like a freeze on settlement construction and a two-state solution.
In the interview, published Thursday, Rosenthal, who once served on J Street’s board of directors, lamented Oren’s rejection of an invitation to take part in a J Street conference earlier this year. While the U.S. administration embraced J Street, which lends its unqualified support to U.S. President Barack Obama, the Israeli government turned a cold shoulder to the group. Obama’s national security adviser, General James Jones, gave the keynote speech at the conference, while Israel sent a low-level official, claiming that J Street works against Israel’s interests.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington requested clarification from the U.S. administration over Rosenthal’s remark. Senior Israeli officials told their American colleagues that it was unacceptable for an administration official to publicly criticize Israel’s ambassador over his relationship with Jewish organizations.
Jewish community leaders and White House officials also demanded clarifications. In the wake of the storm Rosenthal’s remarks stirred, the White House asked the State Department to issue a clarification notice.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, issued a statement distancing himself from Rosenthal’s remarks. Statements were also delivered to the Israeli embassy in Washington stating that Rosenthal’s sentiments do not reflect the position of the U.S. administration.
Feltman told Haaretz on Thursday that the U.S. maintains relations with groups representing the entire political spectrum, and that the fact that so many groups aim to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations is commendable.
He added that the U.S. State Department has developed a close relationship with Michael Oren and the embassy staff.
Alan Solow, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and a confidant of U.S. President Barack Obama issued a condemnation of Rosenthal’s remarks, casting doubt over her ability to fulfill her responsibilities as an opponent of anti-Semitism.
“As an official of the United States government, it is inappropriate for the anti-Semitism envoy to be expressing her personal views on the positions Ambassador Oren has taken as well as on the subject of who needs to be heard from in the Jewish community. Such statements have nothing to do with her responsibilities and, based upon comments I am already receiving, could threaten to limit her effectiveness in the area for which she is actually responsible,” said the statement.
Here is Ali Abunimah writing from Cairo about the Gaza Freedom March, which the Eguptian authorities have turned into something quite awful, by detaining and delaying the marchers, as well as the Viva Palestina convoy:
Egyptian security forces detain and harass Gaza Freedom Marchers GFM
Egyptian security forces detain internationals in el-Arish, break up memorial actions in Cairo
When: Sunday, December 27, noon: the Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 internationals in their hotel in el-Arish and another group of 8 at the bus station. They also broke up a memorial action commemorating the Cast Lead massacre at the Kasr al Nil Bridge
At noon on 27 December, Egyptian security forces detained a group of 30 activists in their hotel in el-Arish as they prepared to leave for Gaza, placing them under house arrest. The delegates, all part of the Gaza Freedom March of 1,300 people, were Spanish, French, British, American, and Japanese. The Egyptian security forces eventually yielded, letting most of the marchers leave the hotel, but did not permit them to leave the town. When two younger delegates, a French and Japanese woman, attempted to leave el-Arish, the Egyptian authorities stopped their taxi and unloaded their luggage.
Another group of eight people, including citizens from American, British, Spanish, Japanese and Greece, were detained at the bus station of Al Arish in the afternoon of December 27. As of 3:30 PM, they were still being held.
Simultaneously, Egyptian security police broke up a commemoration of the Israeli invasion of Gaza organized by the Gaza Freedom March at Kasr al Nil Bridge, one of the main bridges connecting Zamalek Island, in the middle of the Nile, to Cairo. As a nonviolent way of commemorating the more than 1300 Palestinians killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza that began a year ago on December 27, 2008, Gaza Freedom Marchers tied hundreds of strings with notes, poems, art and the names of those killed to the bridge.
“We’re saddened that the Egyptian authorities have blocked our participants’ freedom of movement and interfered with a peaceful commemoration of the dead,” said Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK, one of the March’s organizers.
Benjamin added that the Gaza Freedom March participants are continuing to urge the Egyptian government to allow them to proceed to Gaza. They visited the Arab League asking for support, various foreign embassies and the Presidential Palance to deliver an appeal to President Mubarak. They are calling their supporters around the world to contact Egyptian embassies and urge them to free the marchers and allow them to proceed to Gaza.
One year on, Gaza war violations still unpunished: HRW: IOA
JERUSALEM — Human Rights Watch on Saturday accused Israel and Hamas of failing to take punitive action against members of their own forces accused of atrocities during Israel’s war on Gaza a year ago.
The New York-based rights group also criticised the Israeli blockade which “created massive humanitarian need and prevented the reconstruction of schools and homes” in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.
“Both Israel and Hamas have failed to punish those responsible for serious violations during the fighting,” Fred Abrahams, HRW senior emergencies researcher, said in a statement on the eve of the first anniversary of the Gaza war.
“Some rocket attacks continue and the Israeli blockade of Gaza has prevented basic reconstruction. The only things getting built in Gaza are desperation and despair,” he was quoted as saying.
Human Rights Watch accused Israel of “drone-launched missile attacks that killed 29 civilians, the killing of 11 civilians holding white flags, and the use of white phosphorus munitions in densely populated areas.”
It said the Jewish state’s forces also destroyed many unjustified targets including farms, factories and much of Gaza’s water and sanitation network, with most of it still unrepaired.
The Islamist movement Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups were accused of firing hundreds of rockets into populated areas of Israel, and using the 22-day war as an excuse to kill and torture political rivals.
“Israel has so far punished only one soldier, a sergeant, for wartime abuse, sentencing him to seven and a half months in prison for stealing a credit card,” said the statement.
“Human Rights Watch does not know of any investigations by Hamas authorities in Gaza into laws-of-war or human rights violations during the fighting.”
Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the conflict, which was brought to an end by a January 18 ceasefire.
Last week 16 rights groups including Amnesty International and Oxfam issued a joint statement saying the world has “betrayed” civilians in the Gaza Strip by failing to end the Israeli blockade of the enclave.
Israel and Egypt have allowed only vital humanitarian aid into the territory since Hamas seized power there in June 2007.
B’Tselem: IDF may have executed unarmed Palestinian militants: IOA
An investigation into an overnight Israel Defense Forces operation in the West Bank city of Nablus early Saturday suggests that Israeli soldiers may have executed two of the three Palestinian militants who were killed, the left wing rights group B’Tselem said Saturday.
The rights group urged the IDF to launch an investigation into the allegations, offering to turn over testimonies and other materials in its possession.
In the operation, the IDF killed three Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operatives, whom officials said were responsible for a shooting attack on Thursday which killed 40-year-old father of seven Meir Hai of the settlement of Shavei Shomron. The troops surrounded the homes of the three and called for them to exit, and killed them when they refused to surrender.
According to B’Tselem, in two of the three cases the troops behaved as if they were preparing for an execution, not an arrest. Relatives and eyewitnesses told B’Tselem that the two were unarmed and did not attempt to flee, and that the soldiers weren’t trying to stop them, but rather shot them from close range once their identity was revealed. There were no witnesses to the shooting of the third man.
Meanwhile Saturday, a senior IDF officer rejected claims that the militants had been executed, telling Channel 10 news that “the soldiers called on the terrorist to surrender and turn himself in. He refused and hid in his room and sent his wife out toward us. In cases where there is a threat to our troops and a wanted militant refuses to surrender, IDF forces are permitted to open fire in order to neutralize the threat. I am pleased that none of our fighters were hurt, but the risk factor was very high in this operation.”
Another senior IDF official told Israel Radio that the three militants had not fired at Israeli troops and that two of them were unarmed, but that the Israeli soldiers knew that the terror squad that carried out Thursday’s attack, to which the three belonged, were highly skilled and had access to firearms and therefore posed a threat. He stressed that the operation was carried out in accordance with IDF regulations, and that the soldiers first fired protest dispersal ammunition, then fired at the walls, and only later fired at the militants.
According to Israel Radio, a fourth wanted militant turned himself in to Palestinian authorities.
At last a BBC program, BBC Gloucester radio, is covering in its news bulletins the Viva Palestina Aid Convoy Hunger Strike!
Spencer Evans at BBC Gloucester airs the news of the convoy
Evans talks with Viva Palestina’s Alice Howard on why convoy members are taking a stand with a Hunger Strike and live interview with Gloucester Viva Palestina member Abdur Rahman Motara.
Also see 3min compilation [not BBC] of photos of the UK protests against the Israeli slaughter of Gaza and siege
One year on from Israel’s invasion, MPs demand end to blockade of Gaza
A group of British MPs have called for an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, in an open letter published today.
One year on from Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which left over 1,300 Palestinians dead, the signatories, including leader of the Liberal Democrats Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP and Chair of the Britain Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group Richard Burden MP, call for an to the siege that still prevents reconstruction materials and humanitarian aid from reaching the territory’s shattered infrastructure and population.
Operation Cast Lead, destroyed or damaged 50,000 Palestinian homes, 280 schools and kindergartens as well as numerous hospitals. A total of 352 children lost their lives during the 22-day campaign, whilst tens of thousands more suffer from iron and vitamin deficiencies as a result of the blockade, in place since June 2007.
The letter calls for the British government to apply meaningful pressure upon Israel to fulfil its obligations under international law and end the blockade, asserting that “the confinement and punishment of an entire population is no way to bring about peace for all of the people of the Middle East.”
Richard Burden, Chair of the Britain-Palestine APPG said:
“The people of Gaza are sheltering throughout the winter in inadequate accommodation, living off food aid and wondering why the world has forgotten about them. This intolerable situation is not the result of an act of nature
however, it is the result of a political decision. The suffering could end tomorrow; Israel must abide by UN Security Council Resolution 1860, lift the blockade and allow reconstruction materials and humanitarian aid reach those
that so desperately require it.”
Graham Bambrough, Parliamentary Officer at the Council for Arab British Understanding, welcomed the publication of the letter:
“This letter demonstrates the level of concern that exists within the British parliament for the people of Gaza. I hope that the UK government will apply meaningful pressure upon Israel to fulfil its obligations under international law and end this collective punishment of an entire population.”
Full text of letter and signatories
One year on from Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip the Israeli government continues to imprison 1.5 million Palestinians and prevent the rebuilding of its shattered infrastructure. Israel’s blockade of Gaza, described by the UN
Fact Finding Mission as “collective punishment”, stops reconstruction materials and all the necessary humanitarian aid from reaching those that so desperately require it, whilst the continued lack of access from the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt only adds to the suffering of the population.
Over 1,300 Palestinians, including 352 children, were killed during Operation Cast Lead, which damaged or destroyed 50,000 homes, 280 schools and kindergartens, as well as numerous hospitals.
As a result of the blockade however homes cannot be rebuilt and the civilian population is forced to survive in the most appalling conditions, with many Palestinians, now suffering in the grip of winter, forced to live in temporary shelters or partially destroyed homes. Essential food items and fuel are routinely prevented from entering the territory, with the result that over two thirds of the population currently live in poverty and require United Nations aid merely to survive. Tens of thousands of children meanwhile suffer from iron and vitamin deficiencies.
We call upon all parties to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza and specifically the British government and the international community to apply meaningful pressure upon Israel to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 1860, to end this flagrant abuse of international law and lift the blockade. The confinement and punishment of an entire population is no way to bring about peace for all of the people of the Middle East.
Signed,
Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Richard Burden MP
Chair of the Britain Palestine APPG
Ed Davey MP
Shadow Foreign Secretary, Liberal Democrats
Michael Moore MP
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, Liberal Democrats
Tony Lloyd MP
Dr Brian Iddon MP
Secretary of the Britain Palestine APPG
Christine Russell MP
Treasurer of the Britain Palestine APPG
Martin Linton MP
Chair of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East
Jo Swinson MP
Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Liberal Democrats
Baroness Northover
Spokesperson on International Development, House of Lords, Liberal Democrats
All signatures
John Austin MP, Chair of the Council for Arab British Understanding
Roger Berry MP
Clive Betts MP
Colin Breed MP, Chair of the Council for Arab British Understanding
Peter Bottomley MP
Richard Burden MP, Chair of the Britain Palestine APPG
Alistair Carmichael MP
Nick Clegg MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Michael Connarty MP
Ed Davey MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary
Neil Gerrard MP
David Hamilton MP
Dr Brian Iddon MP, Secretary of the Britain Palestine APPG
David Lepper MP
Tom Levitt MP
Martin Linton MP, Chair of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East
Tony Lloyd MP
Andy Love MP
Bob Marshall Andrews MP
Michael Moore MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
Baroness Northover, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on International Development, House of Lords
Christine Russell MP, Treasurer of the Britain Palestine APPG
Alan Simpson MP
Andrew Slaughter MP
Dr Phyllis Starkey MP
Lord David Steel
Jo Swinson MP
Sarah Teather MP
Derek Wyatt MP
Sir Robert Atkins MEP
Total racism, total war: Al Ahram Weekly
On the first anniversary of Israel’s war on Gaza, shocking revelations are appearing on the methods and reasoning behind the war, writes Saleh Al-Naami
Mahmoud Hussein tries to hold back his tears as he looks at his 30-year-old brother Ahmed who suffers from colon cancer. The family is impatiently waiting for the Gaza border to open so Ahmed can travel abroad for treatment, since in light of the Israeli imposed siege, medical facilities in Gaza cannot treat his condition. Ahmed, who lives in Gabalya, north of Gaza, is not the only Palestinian who developed cancer at a relatively young age.
According to Palestinian medical sources, the number of patients with cancerous tumours residing in areas that the Israeli army targeted during its war on Gaza is on the rise. As the first anniversary of the war on Gaza approaches, the Palestinians are shocked to discover more of its damaging effects. A Palestinian woman whose house in the district of Al-Shaaf, east of Gaza City was targeted with white phosphorous missiles gave birth to a baby with a deformed heart. Doctors reported another pregnant woman in north Gaza, whose home was attacked with the same chemical agent, gave birth to a baby with the same deformity.
The infant’s chances of survival are very low because under siege medical services in Gaza are not equipped to treat such cases. The mother told doctors that during the war she inhaled excessive amounts of white phosphorous smoke because of repeated attacks on her area. White phosphorous is a chemical incendiary agent that is highly combustible when mixed with oxygen. It burns through skin, body tissue and bones; the corpses of white phosphorous victims are usually heavily charred.
In a report marking the first anniversary of the war, the Dameer Centre for Human Rights reported “high levels of deformed births and miscarriages”, and that the use of radioactive and toxic ammunition by the Israeli army on Gaza resulted in significant deterioration in the health of Palestinians. The report was based on a survey that found that health and environmental conditions in the Gaza Strip are worsening by the day as a result of Israel’s aggression and border closure by occupying forces for the third consecutive year.
Meanwhile, Italian researchers revealed that the soil in Gaza now contains carcinogens and toxins as a result of Israel’s use of internationally prohibited weapons during the last war on Gaza. In a news conference in Gaza City, experts said that these toxins and carcinogens are a high risk to unborn children, and called on the Palestinian Health Ministry to test all Palestinians in areas that were bombed during the war. The Italians, who carried out fieldwork in these areas, further warned that many Gazan residents would suffer from chronic gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses.
According to these experts, tests that were carried out inside Gaza indicated that 12 toxins and radioactive materials were released by Israel’s abundant use of internationally prohibited weaponry. Such weapons led to the bodies of many victims being mangled.
More disturbing facts are being disclosed. Adala Human Rights Centre asserted that the Gaza Strip is now home to the highest number of disabled people in the world. Some four per cent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, or 70,000 residents, have some form of disability. Their suffering is compounded further by Israel’s refusal to allow the passage of necessary medication and rehabilitation materials for them. At the same time, Israel prevents any of them from travelling abroad to seek medical help.
As Palestinians mark the first anniversary of the war, Israelis are revealing the reasons behind their army’s savage treatment of Palestinians during the war. An edict by Chief Military Rabbi Brigadier General Avi Ronzki to Israeli troops on the first anniversary of the war called for no mercy or compassion for Palestinians. The edict, quoted in the Israeli media, stated that, “the goal of the recent war on Gaza aimed to destroy and annihilate the enemy, not to take prisoners.” It continued that, “some 80 jets focussed on various targets in Gaza; then the tanks began their assault. We fought the gentiles with all our willpower and force.”
Oren Yiftahel, political science professor at Ben Gurion University in the Negev, described Israel’s atrocities during the war. “It was expected Israeli behaviour and an extension of Zionist policy that believes in the annihilation of the Palestinian people, and erasing their history and existence. It ignores the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, which they are entitled to, and not out of Israeli charity.”
Yiftahel argued in an article in Haaretz newspaper that, “Israel’s invasion of Gaza was not purely a military operation to end missile attacks, or an attempt to restore Israel’s deterrence capability or even an effort to impose order on others and oust the elected Hamas government. The war was a continuation of a long-standing strategy to deny, erase and eliminate any historic reference to the Palestinians and their existence.”
He further accused all Israelis of participating in the hostile plot against the Palestinians, noting that Israeli politicians, artists, the media, university researchers and intellectuals supported this war with enthusiasm. Yiftahel asserted that Israel’s war on Gaza, and Hamas specifically, came in reaction to Hamas’s rise to power that undermined the possibility of reaching a two-state solution. “This solution is ideal for Israel because it would mean Israel could continue its settlement project indefinitely,” he stated.
According to Yiftahel, the appointment of Ismail Haniyeh, who was born to a refugee family, as prime minister of the Hamas government gave Palestinians another reason to insist on the right of return for Palestinian refugees, which Israel believes is an issue that threatens its very existence. “Instead of confronting reality with all its complications, Israel resorted to state terrorism,” wrote Yiftahel. “More bullets, explosives, killing of children and burning down towns will not succeed in silencing history. The time lost to war drums will be restored after they are muted.”
Israeli historian Tom Segev believes that “one of the main goals of the war on Gaza was to exercise a principle rooted in Zionism, namely the necessity to strike against Palestinians to teach them a lesson. This is one of the main bases of the Zionist project since its inception.” Segev explained that the thinking behind this is that “we, the Jews, represent modernisation and civilisation, logic and ethics. The Arabs are primitive savages of irrational violent tendencies, who are ignorant and must be disciplined and educated in the proper ways of thinking with the use of a carrot and stick.”
Segev continued that Israel believed the war would topple Hamas from power, “out of another Zionist belief, namely the need to impose on the Palestinians a moderate leadership which will concede on national aspirations.” Segev described Israel’s reasons and goals of the war on Gaza as “revisiting failed beliefs, but Israel continues to rehash them from one war to the next.”
In fact, Israeli political and military analyst Ofer Shelah was the first to point out that the assault on Gaza marked the birth of “a new defensive doctrine for Israel, namely for Israel to act as a rogue nation in the face of enemies who adopt a strategy of attrition and shelling at a distance.” In other words, “to respond to sources of gunfire with a savage and massive military operation, irrespective of the number of casualties in its ranks.”
These arguments explain the shocking outcome of the war on Gaza. During this war, Israel acted on a clear security principle of settling confrontation with the Palestinian people regardless of losses in civilian ranks.