More than 88o Palestinians dead, over 230 children

Gerald Scarfe in The Times

הזמן האבוד של עזה

הירי לעבר ישראל יופסק רק אם נתחיל לדבר על היסטוריה, גם זו של הפלסטינים, במקום לדבר על טריטוריה אורן יפתחאל מראות ההרג וההרס מעזה מזוויעים, ותושבי הדרום עדיין נמצאים תחת הפגזות שלא פוסקות. המצב ממריד, מעציב, מחניק ומקומם. בזמן סכסוך מדמם, קשה אמנם להביט מעבר לאלימות, אך מבט כזה לדעתי הכרחי כדי להבין מה מתרחש מול עיננו. אחד הסופרים האבורג’ינים באוסטרליה העיר פעם, בזמן המאבק על זכויות הילידים: “היכן שהטריטוריה הלאומית פועלת, הזמן שלנו מת. אבל לזמן שלנו יש גם מנהג לחזור לאחר המוות”. הערה זו יכולה לסייע להבין את המתרחש בעזה

An excellent article in Hebrew by Oren Yiftachel, about one of the most important functions of the Gaza carnage – the erasure of Palestinian space, time and memory, by the Israeli act of death and destruction.

Doctor tells of Unconventional Weapons used in Gaza

new-weapons: Israel uses experimental genotoxic weapon against civilians in Gaza

Just as the Nazi atrocity at Guernica was a testing ground for using new weapons against civilian populations, now Gaza is being used by the Israeli Zionists to test their new weapons of destruction and terror. This new type of weapon is referred to by the acronym DIME which stands for Dense Inert Metal Explosives. Here is an article from 2006 when Israel first used these “genotoxic” weapons against Gaza. DIME bombs produce an unusually powerful blast within a relatively small area, spraying a superheated “micro-shrapnel” of powdered Heavy Metal Tungsten Alloy (HMTA). Scientific studies have found that HMTA is chemically toxic, damages the immune system, rapidly causes cancer, and attacks DNA (genotoxic).

Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME): Globalsecurity.org

In mid-October 2006 a team of investigative journalists at RAI Italian television reported that Israel had been using a new weapon in the Gaza Strip, similar to DIME – dense inert metal explosive. The report was produced by the same journalists who claimed without foundation that the US used White Phosphorus (WP) against civilians during attacks on Fallujah. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the weapon was launched from drones in the summer of 2006, most of them in July, and led to “abnormally serious” physical injuries. Physicians in the Gaza Strip noted the pattern of wounds they were treating were unusual, with severed legs that showed signs of severe heat at the point of amputation but no metal shrapnel. The American version is still in a testing stage and had not been used on the battlefield at that time. It has not been “declared an illegal weapon”, though the weapon was claimed [without described basis] to be “highly carcinogenic and harmful to the environment”.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers calls for boycott: Tadamon.ca

On behalf of the 56,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, I am writing to demand that the Canadian government condemn the military assault on the people of Gaza that the state of Israel commenced on December 26th, 2008. Canada must also call for a cessation of the ongoing Israeli siege of Gaza, which has resulted in the collective punishment of the entire Gaza population. Canada must also address the root cause of the violence: Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Israel’s current actions are totally out of proportion with any notion of self-defense. Israel’s actions are resulting in the massacre of people in Gaza. This understanding is now becoming common across the globe, with more and more people seeing the wisdom in non-violent direct action on this issue!

Rice explains US vote abstention: BBC video clip

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza followed by a full Israeli withdrawal. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington supported the text and explained why the US, which is Israel’s staunchest ally, unexpectedly abstained from the vote. Interestingly, when she explains what she wants to happen, she says the following: “We must insure security for the people of Israel, and a better life for the people of Gaza”. So now we know… security is offered to one side only, the one which already has it.

Miliband: Work must carry on: BBC Video clip

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza followed by a full Israeli withdrawal. Welcoming the outcome of the vote, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said there was more work to be done. Well, he has much time to spare, it seams, before any action will be taken by him and his government. His manner tells all. His father, Ralph Milliband, must be turning in his grave.

Israel to step up assault on Hamas: Observer

Leaflets warn Palestinians not to be ‘close to terrorists’ as hawks push to extend operations into city streets in phase three. The Israeli military appeared to be preparing for a major new ground assault against Gaza City and other towns tonight after dropping leaflets warning residents it was about to “escalate” its offensive against Hamas. The tens of thousands of leaflets, dropped on parts of Gaza City, the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya and the south of the territory, warned residents: “The Israeli Defence Force will soon escalate its operations against tunnels, weapons warehouses, terrorist infrastructure and terrorists all over the Gaza Strip. To keep yourself and your families safe, you are ordered not to be close to terrorists, weapons warehouses and the places where the terrorists operate.”

How Gaza is alienating Britain’s Jews and Muslims: Observer

As a British Jew, growing antisemitism makes me feel that I am no longer safe: Buzzle.com and Commentisfree

I am a secular, liberal, identifying British Jew. My parents would have taken great pleasure if my acting talents had landed me a starring role in the primary school nativity play; on Christmas Day, we gather at home eating smoked salmon bagels and mince pies. There is no conflict whatsoever between my religion and nationality. On the contrary, they have always supported and echoed one another in terms of the values and moral structure they promote. Judaism has taught me to value liberalism, education, tolerance, family and charity. All Jewish religious services and celebrations include a heartfelt toast to the Queen, because Jews in this country have felt safe, well-assimilated and, most of all, grateful. Quite a shameful plea from a ‘secular, liberal, identifying British Jew’ who writes about the scourge of anti-semitism on the rise in the UK as a result of the Gaza carnage by Israel, but finds it impossible to utter a single criticism of Israel’s war crimes; on the contrary – she feels that Israel has been unfairly presented in the media…. This kind of unthinking, insensitive and arrogant view is what is likely to feed the idiocy of antisemitism, this time not based on fictional accounts of blood-hungry Jews and well-poisonings, but on the very real and terrifying war crimes by a state which declared itself Jewish, and pretends to speak for all Jews everywhere. As long as Jews will continue to give it unqualified, and unjustified ethnic support, its crimes will be also counted against them.

U.S. seeks ship to move arms to Israel: By Stefano Ambrogi, LONDON (Reuters)

The U.S. is seeking to hire a merchant ship to deliver hundreds of tons of arms to Israel from Greece later this month, tender documents seen by Reuters show. The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) said the ship was to carry 325 standard 20-foot containers of what is listed as “ammunition” on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos to the Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late January.

Thousands of Gaza houses destroyed and damaged by Israeli strikes: Press release, Al Mezan

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continued its military campaign against the Gaza Strip for the 16th day. The IOF also continue to act in violation of the rules of international law relevant to conflict and belligerent occupation, motivated by the failure of the international community to stand for the principles and rules itself had set. In particular, there is much evidence indicating the perpetration of grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War. With advanced technology for surveillance and sophisticated weapons, the IOF bears the responsibility to distinguish between civilian and non-civilian targets. Facts on the ground show the opposite: guided missiles and bombs have been fired deliberately at civilian targets including homes, civilian shelters and ambulances.

Abettors of war crimes will be held accountable : Adri Nieuwhof and Daniel Machover, The Electronic Intifada

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza is being perpetrated with enormous disregard for civilian life in violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law (IHL). The appallingly high number of civilian deaths and injuries and widespread damage to civilian buildings reflects unlawfully excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force by Israel. Two weeks into the Israeli offensive, many international lawyers are raising their voices to condemn Israeli actions from every perspective, challenging Israeli claims to be acting in lawful self-defense. That is, even before examining the unlawful way Israel has deployed its military might, lawyers assessing the self-defense arguments of Israel have found as many holes as in the Gazan ground: Israeli actions were not taken as a last resort, as a necessary response to attacks. Before using force in self-defense a state must need to do so in response to an armed attack, having found no other realistic method of redress or resistance.

Israel, we support you – but hear our plea: The Observer

To the government of Israel We are writing this letter as profound and passionate supporters of Israel. We look upon the increasing loss of life on both sides of the Gaza conflict with horror. We have no doubt that rocket attacks into southern Israel, by Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups, are war crimes against Israel. No sovereign state should, or would, tolerate continued attacks and the deliberate targeting of civilians. As expected, the best this group can do is NOT to condemn the war crimes, or the berutality of the attacks, but to justify them unreservedly. What is it that worries them: “We are concerned that rather than bringing security to Israel, a continued military offensive could strengthen extremists, destabilise the region and exacerbate tensions inside Israel with its one million Arab citizens. The offensive and the mounting civilian victims – like the Lebanon war in 2006 – also threaten to undermine international support for Israel.” So again, not the peace, life or security of anyone but israel, and the support dtill offered it by the ‘free world’. May their shadenfreude come to haunt them!

Recent key example of the Propaganda machine in operation

A recent example of the lie machine in operation is the now famous case in which, on January 5th, the Israelis have killed 42 refugees hiding in the UN School in northern Gaza. The UN did not take kindly to this, for some reason, and have also decided to face the Israeli lies head on. On January 11th, after a week of lies, the IOF (Israel Occupation Forces) have come with a new lie, to top all the lies they spread before. That this lie does not fit in with the older lies, is neither here nor there. I will be writinga proper analysis of the case when time allows, but please read the item below:

IDF investigation shows errant mortar hit UN building in Gaza: Ha’aretz

A preliminary investigation into the fatal shooting by the Israel Defense Forces into a United Nations building in northern Gaza on Tuesday reveals the Israeli troops firing on the building missed their targets by some 30 meters. Hamas is claiming the mortar fire killed 42 people and left dozens wounded, but senior IDF officers say the figures are dubious and that Hamas is inflating the numbers. The probe, which was conducted by the Paratrooper Brigade whose troops were responsible for the area, found that the army’s location system to pinpoint launch sites indicated that militants had launched a Qassam rocket into Israel from within a yard adjacent to the courtyard of the UN building. This is how the lie machine works: First, they kill the people. Then when it is reported, the IOF (Israel Occupation Forces) tells the world it isa lie – they did not act in this area at all on that date. When the UN proves this to be a lie, they say that fire from combatants has been directed at them from the building. The UN proves this is a lie, and the next phase is this ‘investigation’. All those ‘investigations’ and lies are invented somewhere in the IOF lie machine, and spinned-out like so much confetti. By the time the fourth and fifth iteration of the argument takes place, the debate has gone elsewhere. Israel has continued to deny, and enough idiots believe anything it says, especially in the ‘free world’. Of course, they never admit that they spouted all those lies before; they just ignore the whole thing. This is also interesting when you consider the ‘surgical strikes’ which have already killed almost 1000 people in Gaza.

Lone voice of Congressman Ron Paul: Israel created Hamas: YouTube

Ron Paul, A man who tells it like it is on the floor on Congress. Israel created Hamas. The US created Osama bin Laden. Paul is speaking against the resolution to support Israel. He was allowed 120 seconds to make his points, and he manges well….

Israeli troops fight in Gaza City: BBC

Israeli soldiers have clashed with Palestinian gunmen on the outskirts of Gaza City, as Israel’s cabinet said it would continue its offensive. Overnight Israeli warplanes launched 60 air strikes and militants fired a barrage of rockets at southern Israel. About 850 Gazans and 13 Israelis have reportedly died in 16 days of fighting.Meanwhile, the Israeli army has denied illegally using weapons after claims it deployed white phosphorus bombs on civilians in Gaza.

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is not self-defence – it’s a war crime: Times online

A statement released by a group of leading jurists ISRAEL has sought to justify its military attacks on Gaza by stating that it amounts to an act of “self-defence” as recognised by Article 51, United Nations Charter. We categorically reject this contention. The rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas deplorable as they are, do not, in terms of scale and effect amount to an armed attack entitling Israel to rely on self-defence. Under international law self-defence is an act of last resort and is subject to the customary rules of proportionality and necessity. Read the statement on the link above

A big shudder on the wing: Haaretz Editorial

Around two weeks after the start of fighting in Gaza, there are only vague reports on Israel’s success in damaging Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure. On the other hand, statistics on the harm done to civilians accumulate. More than 800 Palestinians have been killed and around 3,000 have been wounded, an overwhelming majority of them from air strikes. According to UN figures, half of those killed are civilians, and half of the civilians killed are women and children. Alongside reports on the number of dead and injured are reports of doctors being denied entry, the inability of aid groups to reach refugees and give them food, and a serious shortage of medicine and supplies. Blame does not rest with the Israel Defense Forces for all these issues. Hamas and other Palestinian organizations deliberately fired at a food convoy heading to Gaza because it sought to enter the Strip through a different crossing than what Hamas had desired. Hamas also liquidates its adversaries at home and is not ready to adopt the Egyptian cease-fire initiative. But these cannot serve as a pretext for a cruel, all-out war against 1.5 million Palestinian civilians. Yesterday Israel announced, by dropping leaflets into densely populated areas in Gaza, that it plans to escalate its military operation. This stirs concerns that, similar to what occurred during the Second Lebanon War, the reason for going to war has been forgotten and replaced by an unrealistic desire to topple the Hamas regime in the Strip. If a few years ago the public cried out in protest over the bombing of a home in Gaza and the statement by former pilot and chief of staff Dan Halutz, who said he felt a “slight shudder on the wing” when he bombed a house, today it responds indifferently, even satisfactorily, to the harming of Palestinians. The lessons of previous wars, during which the IDF destroyed infrastructure targets and the homes of civilians but did not gain the quiet it had sought, have not been internalized. Israel’s justified rationale in acting against rocket launchers has been increasingly damaged over two weeks. The legitimacy and understanding extended to Israel melt away amid the pictures of killing and ruin. Accusations of war crimes are already being bandied about in Israel. This war needs to move immediately to the diplomatic track and agreements that will end the fantasies and delusions of both sides.

IDF investigation shows errant mortar hit UN building in Gaza: Ha’aretz

A preliminary investigation into the fatal shooting by the Israel Defense Forces into a United Nations building in northern Gaza on Tuesday reveals the Israeli troops firing on the building missed their targets by some 30 meters. Hamas is claiming the mortar fire killed 42 people and left dozens wounded, but senior IDF officers say the figures are dubious and that Hamas is inflating the numbers. The probe, which was conducted by the Paratrooper Brigade whose troops were responsible for the area, found that the army’s location system to pinpoint launch sites indicated that militants had launched a Qassam rocket into Israel from within a yard adjacent to the courtyard of the UN building. This is how the lie machine works: First, they kill the people. Then when it is reported, the IOF (Israel Occupation Forces) tells the world it isa lie – they did not act in this area at all on that date. When the UN proves this to be a lie, they say that fire from combatants has been directed at them from the building. The UN proves this is a lie, and the next phase is this ‘investigation’. All those ‘investigations’ and lies are invented somewhere in the IOF lie machine, and spinned-out like so much confetti. By the time the fourth and fifth iteration of the argument takes place, the debate has gone elsewhere. Israel has continued to deny, and enough idiots believe anything it says, especially in the ‘free world’. Of course, they never admit that they spouted all those lies before; they just ignore the whole thing.

Destruction in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 10 January 2009. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

Gideon Levy / My hero of the Gaza war: Ha’aretz

My war hero likes to eat at Acre’s famed Uri Burri restaurant. He thinks it’s the best fish restaurant in the world, and told me as much yesterday from the porch of the central Gaza City office building from which he has broadcast every day for the past two weeks, noon and night, almost without rest. My war hero is Ayman Mohyeldin, the young correspondent for Al Jazeera English and the only foreign correspondent broadcasting during these awful days in a Gaza Strip closed off to the media. Al Jazeera English is not what you might think. It offers balanced, professional reporting from correspondents both in Sderot and Gaza. And Mohyeldin is the cherry on top of this journalistic cream. I wouldn’t have needed him or his broadcasts if not for the Israeli stations’ blackout of the fighting. Since discovering this wunderkind from America (his mother is from the West Bank city of Tul Karm and his father from Egypt), I have stopped frantically changing TV stations. As usual, an excellent article by Gideon Levy, almost alone (with Amira Hass) in the Israeli media in writing sanely about this atrocity.

Military Intelligence Chief: Hamas hurt in Gaza, but it will fight on: Ha’aretz

Two of Israel’s top defense officials said Sunday that Hamas’ infrastructure and personnel have been badly damaged by Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip, but felt certain the group would fight on.

Thousands attend pro-Israel rallies in London, Manchester: Ha’aretz

Thousands of British Jews turned out on Sunday afternoon for pro-Israel rallies in London and Manchester, held after a series of protests across Europe often condemned Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza in anti-Semitic terms. Interestingly, this item looks like pre-edited, as it was published before the demonstration in the UK took place! Why should we be surprised?

Hamas rocket chief is killed: Times online

THE mastermind of Hamas’s long-range rocket attacks on Israel was killed yesterday in an airstrike, according to Israeli military sources. Amir Mansi, an engineer who commanded cells responsible for firing Grad rockets supplied by Iran, died after coming under attack from a helicopter. The Israeli army said he had been trying to fire mortar shells at their troops when he was targeted. Mansi headed the Hamas military wing’s Gaza Strip rocket division and “played a big role in Grad rocket attacks on Israeli communities”, a military spokesman said. He was killed after a Grad struck the Israeli town of Gedera, near the Tel Nof airbase, where nuclear weapons are believed to be stored.