Just Gaza
(First published here)
22 November marked the first anniversary of the 2012 Israeli Operation Pillar of Cloud offensive against Gaza. It would be good to be able to say that it marked the END of that offensive, but as events over past days have clearly shown, it did not. Why not?
Maybe if we look to the body charged with ensuring international peace – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) – it might hold some clues.
Assassinations
The Operation Pillar of Cloud offensive began on 14 November 2012 with the assassination of Ahmed Al-Jabari, head of Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. What did the UNSC have to say about this extra-judicial killing?
Nothing. The assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari by the state of Israel did not attract a single statement, let alone a UNSC Resolution condemning it – unlike the assassination by Zionist terrorists on 17 September 1948 of the UN Mediator in Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, which was denounced in UNSC Resolution 57 the very next day, or even the assassination in Tunisia on 16 April 1988 of the founder of Fatah, Khalil Al-Wazir, denounced over a week later in UNSC Res. 611.
Both of these gentlemen’s murders were roundly condemned by the international community, yet the UNSC remained as silent on the political assassination of Al-Jabiri as it did on the assassinations of at least another 24 Palestinian political leaders killed by Israel between 1972 and 2012. (See appendix)
However, in 2011 the UNSC managed to condemn the assassination of Chairman of the Afghanistan High Peace Council and former president Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani in Afghanistan, in the 2000’s it condemned all targeted assassinations of Lebanese leaders, and in the 1990’s it condemned the assassination of officials of the legitimate Government in Haiti and the attempted assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubrak in Ethiopia.
The only straw Palestinians have to clutch at is that in the 1980’s the UNSC did manage to condemn the attempted assassinations of the mayors of Nablus, Ramallah and Al Bireh.
That was when Jimmy Carter was president of the United States. No US president since has had the courage or moral fibre to not only apprise themselves of the ‘facts on the ground’, but also to publicly disseminate them, as Carter has belatedly done.
On the contrary, every US president since has used their power of veto in the UNSC to block almost every resolution condemning Israeli actions against Palestinian interests.
Civilian Targets and Excessive Force
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported that during Operation Pillar of Cloud, over 100 of the 171 Palestinians killed were civilians, including 20 elderly people, and 35 children. 625 of the 648 wounded were civilians, including 214 children, 93 women, and 16 people with disabilities.
Entire families were wiped out by direct targeting of residential properties by missiles with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms – the al-Dalu and Hijazi family homes, and Bassel al-Shawa’s apartment between them accounting for 19 deaths including seven children, and 32 injured.
196 residential units housing 1,229 people were destroyed, and another 243 were severely damaged. 233 public facilities, including religious, educational, health, sports, industrial, commercial and agricultural facilities, four media institutions and four banks were also struck.
Deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian targets and use of excessive force constitute war crimes, and breach a number of UN instruments, particularly the Geneva Convention. What did the UNSC do? Held an emergency meeting on 14-15 November 2012, and came to no decision.
In the 1970’s the UNSC strongly condemned Portugal for the invasion of Guinea territory, and grieved at the loss of life and extensive damage caused by Portugal’s invasion, and in the years since has managed to make similar statements defending the self-determination and territorial integrity of Namibia, East Timor, and several other countries under threat – but seemingly cannot muster the same moral fibre when it comes to Gaza.
Would another UNSC Resolution have made any difference? After all, since 1955 the UNSC has made 43 Resolutions condemning, deploring, noting concern, calling on or making demands of Israel in relation to Palestinian rights – sometimes merely just to comply with prior UN decisions – but all to no avail.
Israel apparently enjoys total impunity, routinely thumbing its nose at the international community – and at the UN itself.
Add the US power of veto in the UNSC and the situation is even more daunting. As Stephen Lendman noted in 2006, over the last 50 years the US has used its Security Council veto dozens of times to prevent resolutions condemning Israel for its abusive or hostile actions.
“By its actions and with 6% of the world’s population, the US has thus arrogantly ignored the will of nearly all the other 94% to support its client state even when Israel had committed war crimes or crimes against humanity the rest of the world demanded it be held to account for,” he wrote.
Ceasefire
In the first three months after the so-called Pillar of Cloud ceasefire agreement, there were over 800 violations of the truce by Israel and just two by Palestinians, according to data collected by the United Nations, the Israeli Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement (GISHA), the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, and Israeli and Palestinian media outlets.
Who has investigated these breaches? Enforced this agreement? The answer is obvious – no-one, least of all the UNSC.
When has Israel ever kept its word, which ceasefire agreement has it ever observed? What agreement has it ever honoured? Oslo? Camp David?
Without minimising the situation in the rest of Palestine, where territorial integrity and rights are trampled by occupation, settlements, excessive use of force, deportations, house demolitions, arbitrary detention, extra-judicial killings and particularly gross abuses of the rights of children, the current situation in Gaza a year after the so-called truce is dire.
Even such Geneva Convention basics as ensuring the living conditions of the civilian population following hostilities by the maintenance of essential public utility services, for example water and sanitation, electricity supply, are patently absent in Gaza one year after Operation Pillar of Cloud.
Not content with destroying housing and infrastructure, Israel in collusion with post-coup Egypt, now prevents all building materials from entering the Gaza Strip, meaning that essential reconstruction of buildings and services destroyed or damaged in the offensive cannot proceed.
Israeli Blockade
The UN reports the humanitarian situation in Gaza today is at crisis point, with sewage flowing in the streets and power cuts of 16 hours a day, while other humanitarian organisations report lack of essential medicines, water, employment and other necessities of life.
Even the UN’s own agencies are not immune from the Israeli/Egyptian stranglehold. UNRWA chief Filippo Grandi told donor representatives last week that 19 of its 20 construction projects in Gaza had ground to a halt because since March the agency had not had any construction projects cleared by the Israeli government, and for the past month, has been unable to import building materials.
“First and foremost, the Israeli blockade – which is illegal – must be lifted,” he said.
Based on the failed notion of trying to subdue an entire people by famine in all its forms, the Israeli blockade of Gaza is clearly an act which violates international law, contradicts the aims and principles of the United Nations Charter, and is a transgression of the right to peace, development, self-determination and safety.
Not only UNRWA’s Grandi, but also the UN Goldstone Report, the UN Human Rights Council’s Independent Experts, and other UN agencies all hold that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is illegal.
So who will force Israel to lift it?
Is the international community, particularly its peace-making and peace-keeping instrument the veto-encumbered UNSC, up to the task?
UNSC
We have seen that when it wants to, the UNSC IS capable of condemning the type of political assassinations that launched Operation Pillar of Cloud, we have seen it IS capable of condemning war crimes and crimes against humanity similar to those perpetrated against Gaza during that Israeli offensive, and we have seen it IS capable of demanding and achieving access to the types of public utilities and humanitarian aid currently denied Gaza.
So why is it ignoring Gaza’s plight? Because they are ‘just Palestinians’?
Yes, they are just Palestinians – they are JUST Palestinians. And like every world citizen, they deserve justice.
Is it not time that the UNSC acted not only in accord with its own agencies, but also with the principles of the UN Charter, and delivered justice to Gaza?
Is it not possible that maybe, just maybe, the US will have another principled Carter-moment, and support a UNSC resolution in the interests of justice, not Israel, that resolves to lift the illegal blockade of Gaza, as a first step towards Palestinian peace?
Wouldn’t that be a change Obama could be remembered by!
The alternative is certain death for thousands more Palestinians.
APPENDIX
This is not an exhaustive list of all assassinations of Palestinians by Israel, merely of many Palestinian political leaders. Nor does it include the assassination of Yasser Arafat, as this has yet to be investigated to determine who was responsible.
In addition to actual killings, there have been several unsuccessful assassination attempts, most notably those of September 1997 on Khaled Meshaal, chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, in Amman, Jordan, and of August 2001 on senior Fatah member Marwan Bargouthi in the West Bank.
In the former, Israeli agents attempted to kill Meshaal by injecting poison into his ear. The latter saw Israeli forces launch at least two missiles at a convoy of cars carrying Bargouthi, which missed his vehicle.
Although Israel denies responsibility for some of the above killings, it does, however, admit to more than 200 targeted assassinations since 1956.
Assassinations of Palestinian political leaders by Israel 1972 – 2012
1970’s
8 July 8 1972 – Ghassan Kanafani, member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Palestinian author, major international literary figure and intellectual, killed in Beirut by a Mossad car bomb.
16 October 1972 – Wael Zwaiter, Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) representative to Italy, renowned Palestinian intellectual and pacifist, shot and killed by Israeli agents in Rome.
28 March 1978 – Wadie Haddad, senior member of the PFLP, dies in East Germany from slow-acting poison ingested several months earlier. It is later revealed that Israeli agents were behind his murder.
1980’s
21 August 1983 – Mamoun Meraish, senior PLO official and top aid to Yasser Arafat, is shot and killed by Israeli agents in Athens, Greece. According to later Israeli press reports, future Foreign Minister (currently Minister of Justice) Tzipi Livni is involved in Meraish’s killing.
9 June 1986 – Khalid Nazzal, Secretary of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), is shot dead by Israeli agents in Athens, Greece.
October 1986 – Munzer Abu Ghazala, member of the PLO’s Supreme Military Council, killed by an Israeli car bomb in Athens, Greece
16 April 1988 – Khalil al-Wazir, military chief of the PLO, and founder of Fatah, shot dead in Tunisia. The US State Department condemns the murder as an “act of political assassination.”
1990’s
26 October 1995 – Fathi Shiqaqi, a founder of Islamic Jihad, shot by Mossad agents in Malta, as he leaves his hotel.
5 January 1996 – Yahya Ayash, Hamas military commander, killed in Gaza by an Israeli explosive device planted in his cell phone.
2000’s
25 July 2001 – Salah Darwazeh, senior Hamas activist, killed by Israeli ground-to-ground anti-tank missiles fired at his car in the West Bank.
29 July 2001 – Jamal Mansour, a senior member of Hamas’ political wing, killed in an Israeli helicopter strike on his workplace.
5 August 2001 – Amer Mansour Habiri, member of Hamas, killed by Israeli helicopter strike on his car in Tulkarem.
15 August 2001 – Emad Abu Sneineh, a member of the Fatah Tanzim militia, killed in Hebron by undercover Israeli agents.
27 August 2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, secretary general of the PFLP, killed by Israel using US-made Apache helicopter gunships to attack his office in Ramallah.
23 November 2001 – Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, senior Hamas military leader, killed by Israeli helicopter strike on his car near Nablus.
14 January 2002 – Raed Karmi, a leader in Fatah’s Al Aqsa Brigades, killed by an Israeli bomb planted outside his Tulkaram home following a ceasefire agreement
23 July 2002 – Salah Shehada, Hamas leader, killed when Israel bombed his Gaza apartment building, also killing 14 others including 9 children, and scuttling a ceasefire agreement.
8 March 2003 – Ibrahim Maqadma, one of the founders and top military commanders of Hamas, killed by four missiles from two Israeli helicopters fired at his car in Gaza.
22 March 2004 – Sheik Ahmed Yassin, 67-year-old wheelchair-bound spiritual leader and co-founder of Hamas, killed by Israeli rockets as he left morning prayers at a Gaza City mosque. Nine bystanders were also killed.
17 April 2004 – Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a co-founder of Hamas and its leader since the assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, killed by an Israeli helicopter strike on his car
8 June 2006 – Jamal Abu Samhadana, founder of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and Interior Minister of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government, killed by Israeli rocket attack in Rafah.
1 January 2009 – Nizar Rayan, senior Hamas leader, killed in Israeli rocket attack on his home, which also killed 15 of his family members, including 11 children
15 January 2009 – Said Seyam, prominent Hamas leader and Interior Minister of the elected government of Ismail Haneyya, killed in an Israeli airstrike on his brother’s central Gaza City house. Seven others were also killed.
2010’s
19 January 2010 – Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, senior Hamas leader, killed by Israeli agents in Dubai
9 March 2012 – Zuhair al-Qaisi, head of the Gaza-based PRC, killed in an Israeli rocket attack on his car in Gaza City. His aide, Mohammed Hannani, was also killed.
14 November 2012 – Ahmed al-Jabari, head of Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, killed in an Israeli rocket attack on his car in Gaza City.
Gaza’s new Justice Minister hits the ground running
Gaza City
13 February 2013
Building new prisons is a leading priority of Dt Attallah Abu Elsebah, newly-appointed Minister for Justice in Gaza.
In an interview last week, Dr Abu Elsebah highlighted the problems facing his Ministry, including a lack of buildings, a lack of judges, lack of capacity to cope with more prisoners, and the obstacles to addressing these difficulties presented by the ongoing siege of Gaza.
“Unfortunately because of Israeli attacks on correctional facilities, such as last November on the Saraya complex which held a lot of prisoners, we have little capacity for additional prisoners, and we cannot build because of the crippling siege, and because there are few funds for this type of project, so we are facing a huge problem,” he said.
Later in the week, he was tragically proved correct. Mahrous Fathi Nassar, 37, who was being held in a Gaza police detention centre, died of meningitis on 08 February after being transferred to Al Shifa hospital.
Overcrowded living conditions is a factor that puts people at higher risk of developing meningococcal disease, as it is spread by coughing and sneezing and requires close and continued contact. Such are the conditions Gaza prisoners increasingly find themselves in – and it is not the fault of the government.
Ongoing Israeli offensives targeting Gaza security facilities, and the Israeli siege which prevents the entry of building materials to reconstruct damaged and destroyed correctional facilities in Gaza, contribute directly to creating the conditions responsible for deaths such as that of Mahrous Fathi Nassar.
The Gaza government is not sitting on its hands.
“With all of the support and prayers from Arab countries and from Islamic communities around the world, for sure Gaza will rise again – we will undertake an extensive building programme which will include these projects, under the supervision of the justice and police departments,” the new Minister of Justice concluded.
Some facts about meningitis
• Up to 15 percent of people carry the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease in their nose and throat without being sick. It is not yet fully understood why in some people these bacteria go on to cause disease.
• Sufferers often exhibit flu-like symptoms, such as headache, fever, joint pain, drowsiness or confusion. Additional symptoms that are suggestive of meningococcal infection are light sensitivity or a dislike of bright lights, stiff neck, vomiting, and the appearance of a rash.
• People infected with the bacteria can deteriorate very rapidly. For example, a 12-year-old girl died in New Zealand last September only two hours after breaking out in a rash. In 2011 13 people in NZ died from meningococcal disease.
Watch the interview here:
MOH final report on Gaza deaths, wounded 01-30 November 2012
In its November Monthly Report dated 02 December 2012 on Israeli aggressions against the Gaza Strip covering the period 01 – 30 November 2012, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported the following:
Total number of officially registered victims: 1683 (191 martyrs and 1492 wounded)
Martyrs:
The total number of martyrs 191 ( 167 male , 24 female )
DATE_________________________________DAILY TOTAL_________________CUMULATIVE TOTAL
1-13/11/2012______________________________9____________________________9
14/11_____________________________________8___________________________17
15/11____________________________________11___________________________28
16/11____________________________________12___________________________40
17/11____________________________________16___________________________56
18/11____________________________________24___________________________80
19/11____________________________________37__________________________117
20/11____________________________________29__________________________146
21-30/11_________________________________45*_________________________191
___________________________TOTAL______191
Note:
* Six martyrs died due to previous wounds, and four martyrs died from direct attacks after the ceasefire was declared on 21st of November.
Wounded:
Total number of wounded: 1492 ( 1076 male , 416 female )
DATE_________________________________DAILY TOTAL_________________CUMULATIVE TOTAL
1-13/11/2012_____________________________54_____________________________54
14/11___________________________________125____________________________179
15/11___________________________________118____________________________297
16/11____________________________________74____________________________371
17/11___________________________________188____________________________559
18/11___________________________________167____________________________726
19/11___________________________________220____________________________946
20/11___________________________________240___________________________1186
21-30/11________________________________306**_________________________1492
___________________________Total_______1492
Note:
**Fifty-four (54) civilians were wounded after the ceasefire.
Numbers of martyrs by special categories
Children – 48
Females aged 18+ – 12
Elderly – 20
Children aged less than 5 years – 16
Numbers of wounded by special categories
Children – 504
Females aged 18+ – 254
Elderly – 103
Children aged less than 5 years – 195
Distribution of martyrs by governorate
North Gaza – 16%
Gaza – 42%
Middle – 24%
Khan Younis – 7%
Rafah – 11%
Distribution of wounded by governorate
North Gaza – 29%
Gaza – 46%
Middle – 9%
Khan Younis – 9%
Rafah – 7%
Gaza: Truce or False?
30 November 2012
Since the Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire agreement between Gaza and Israel came into effect on 21 November 2012, Israeli military attacks on Gaza were supposed to end. Truce or false? See for yourself:
FISHERMEN
1. On Monday, 26 November 2012, Israeli gunboats intercepted a fishing boat while it sailed at 8 nautical miles out of the Gaza city shore. According to fisherman Amjad Ismail Ahmed al-Sherafi (38) from Gaza, at approximately 09:30, he and his brother Mohammad (34) sailed their in the Gaza waters when an Israeli gunboat intercepted him and forced him to stop at gunpoint and sail back without pulling his fishing nets out of the sea.
2. At approximately 10:00 on Wednesday, 28 November 2012, Israeli forces chased a fishing boat belonging to Murad Rajab al-Hessi, from Gaza, at nearly 6 nautical miles off the shore from Deir al-Balah. Mohammad Murad al-Hessi (39), Ahmed Murad al-Hessi (32), Murad Mohammad al-Hessi (18) and Rajab Rashad al-Hessi (36) were on board of the boat. 4 Israeli gunboats opened intensive fire at the boat, which caused damage to the boat. The Israeli soldiers then ordered the fishermen to jump into the water and swim towards the gunboat. They were all arrested and interrogated at gunpoint. 3 hours later, 4 of them were released. However, Mohammad Murad al-Hessi remains in detention. In addition, the boat still remains confiscated.
3. At approximately 08:00 on Wednesday, 28 November 2012, Israeli gunboats opened intense and direct fire at a Palestinian fishing boat, belonging to Khader Jamal Baker (20), from Gaza, while he sailed at 3.5 nautical miles. As a result, the fishing boat was destroyed. Baker was arrested by Israeli soldiers who interrogated with him at gunpoint for 3 hours before releasing him.
4. At approximately 11:00 on Wednesday, 28 November 2012, Israeli gunboats opened intense fire at a Palestinian fishing boat with 3 fishermen on board, belonging to Wafdi Suheil Baker (24), from Gaza, while sailing at 5 nautical miles off the Gaza shore. As a result of the shooting, the engine of the boat was damaged. The soldiers subsequently arrested the three fishermen, who were identified as: Wafdi Suheil Baker (24), Khaled Suheil Baker (20) and Mohammad Suheil Baker (18), all from Gaza.
5. At approximately 12:00 on Wednesday, 28 November 2012, Israeli gunboats opened fire directly and intensively at two Palestinian fishing boats belonging to Mohammad Najib Baker (60) and Tal’at Kamel Baker (22), both from Gaza, while they sailed at 3 nautical miles off the Gaza shore. As a result of the shooting, both boats were damaged.
6. At approximately 10:15 on Thursday, 29 November 2012, Israeli naval forces stationed off the Beit Lahia shore intercepted a fishing boat with 6 fishermen on board, belonging to Fahed Ziad Baker (38), from Gaza, while sailing at approximately 5 nautical miles off the Beit Lahia shore, in the northern Gaza Strip. The soldiers arrested the fishermen and investigated with them aboard the Israeli gunboat at gunpoint. Until now the fishermen remain in detention. The arrested fishermen were identified as: Fahed Ziad Baker (38), Ihab Jawad Baker (36), Mohammad Ziad Baker (32), Nai’m Fahed Baker (16), Ziad Faged Baker (18) and Ali Alaa Baker (18).
FARMS
1. On 22 November 2012, 6 Palestinians were wounded when the Israeli Forces at the border fence, east of al-Faraheen area in the southern Gaza Strip opened fire at dozens of Palestinians who headed to the fence.
2. On 22 November 2012, 2 Palestinians were wounded when the Israeli Forces opened fire at dozens of Palestinians who headed to the border area in the east of al-Shouka village, east of Rafah. Their wounds were described as moderate.
3. On 23 November 2012, 1 Palestinian was killed and 19 wounded when the Israeli Forces opened fire at a group of citizens gathered to perform Friday prayers on their land east of Khan Yunis. The dead man was identified as Anwar Abdul Hadi Qudaih (20).
4. On 25 November 2012, a Palestinian child was wounded when the Israeli Forces at the border fence, east of Khan Yunis , opened fire at a group of children who approached the fence in the east of Abassan, east of Khan Yunis.
5. On 26 November 2012, the Israeli Forces positioned at the border fence in the east of Khan Yunis fired at a group of children, who approached the border fence in the east of Abassan village. As a result, a child sustained minor injury.
6. On 26 November 2012, 2 Palestinians were wounded when the Israeli Forces positioned at the border fence in the east of Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip, opened fire at a group of civilians and famers, who were present near the border fence to challenge the Israeli decision to impose a buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
7. On 27 November 2012, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when the Israeli Forces stationed at the border fence in the east of Abu Safiya gate, east of Jabalya, fired bullets and tear gas canisters at a number of civilians and farmers near the border fence.
8. On 27 November 2012, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when the Israeli Forces positioned at the border fence to the east of al-Shouka village, east of Rafah, opened fire at dozens of Palestinians near the border area.
9. On 28 November 2012, a Palestinian civilian was wounded when the Israeli Forces at the border fence in the east of Beit Hanoun opened fire at a group of Palestinian civilians and farmers near the area.
10. On 28 November 2012, 8 civilians, including 3 children, were wounded when the Israeli Forces fired at dozens of Palestinians who headed to the border fence in the east of al-Bureij and al-Maghazi refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip.
(Data from Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Palestinian Ministry of Health)
Ismail Haniyeh honours martyred, wounded journalists
26 November 2012
At an event in Gaza City today organised by the Government Media Office to honour the journalists killed and wounded by Israel during the so-called Operation Pillar of Defence, Imad Al Franji, head of al-Quds TV, spoke on behalf of all of the shelled media offices in Gaza.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh presenting posthumous awards to the families of martyred journalists
Al Franji said they will renew their demand that the International Federation of Journalists cancels Israel’s membership, and that IFJ send a delegation to Gaza to investigate Israeli crimes against the media during the recent offensive.
“Do not kill Palestinian journalists twice, once by Israeli rockets, and the second time by international silence about these crimes leaving Israel unaccountable for them,” he pleaded.
Yasser Abul Heen, President of the Palestinian Journalists’ Union, celebrated today’s resignation of Ehud Barak as a potent symbol of Palestinian victory.
Abu Heen advised that a delegation of journalists from 40 unions in the Arab Jounalists Union will arrive in Gaza on Thursday to see the Israeli crimes with their own eyes, and assist in holding Israel to account for them.
The father of martyred journalist Hossam Salama broke down in tears as he asked the international media how they could stand by and watch as women and children were killed, and his son was burning.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh expressed his appreciation for the great work done by journalists during the eights days of Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Haniyeh said that the Palestinian media conquered the Israeli media, in the same way that the Palestinian Resistance conquered the Israeli armed forces.
“Dear journalists and media persons, you are heroes,” he said. “You moved around under fire and the sound of drones and F-16s to find and expose the truth.”
The Prime Minister announced a one-year exemption from licence fees for television and radio stations, in recognition of their valuable contribution to the Palestinian victory.
Translation: Fatma Al Hasham
Gaza media professionals pay tribute to dead, wounded journalists
24 November 2012
In two separate press conferences in Gaza City today members of the media, the Journalists Union, and the Ministry of Information paid tribute to the three Gazan journalists killed, and the seventeen wounded during the 8-day Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.
They noted that media offices were targeted because they were revealing the crimes of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) and the lies of the Israeli media. The three dead were Mahmoud Al-Komi and Hossam Salama, photographers for Al Aqsa Channel, and Mohammad Abu Aisha, Manager of Education Al Quds Radio Station.
Mohammad Abu Aisha tribute outside Karmel Building, Gaza City
The offices of three media agencies were damaged – Al Quds TV, Al Aqsa Visual, and Al Jil Al-Kadim, while 24 media offices were partially damaged when the buildings in which they are housed were targeted. The buildings were Shawa Al-Hosari, Al-Shrouk, and Neama Building and some of the agencies affected were Al Jazeera, Sky News Arabia, German TV station ARD, Arab TV stations MBC and Abu Dhabi TV, Al-Arabiya, Reuters, Russia Today and the Ma’an news agency.
Radio stations and channels like Al Quds, Al Aqsa, and Palestine Today were hacked, and electronic attacks were also carried out on Safa, Sama, Palestine Today and The Independent newspaper.
At a wake at the home of Hassam Salama Director of the Government Media Office Ihab al-Ghussein praised the work of the media during the recent offensive, condemned the crimes against them and expressed his hope that those killed will rest in peace, and that their work will be continued by those left behind.
Yasser Abu Heen, Head of Gaza Journalists Union called on the International Journalists Federation and Reporters Without Borders to intervene immediately to fulfill their obligations towards Palestinian journalists and to take legal action against the head of the IOF to hold them accountable.
They also called upon the Federation of Journalists to send a delegation to see with their own eyes what has occurred in Gaza, and on Arabic and Islamic journalists’ associations to fund-raise for specialised training courses such as working safely in a time of war.
They concluded with a call for the Palestinain Government, particularly the Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, to provide help and support for local Palestinian media agencies who performed so well during the time of war.
At an event outside the Karmel Building, co-workers paid tribute to Mohammad Abu Aisha, who died when his house was bombed. “Killing the journalists of Gaza will not stop the media covering the crimes of the IOF,” they said, adding that they promise to honour Mohammad by completing his duty and doing his job as if he is still among them.
Translation: Fatma Al Hasham
Ceasefire and shocking defeat for the enemy
22 November 2012
Al-Ray Online
by Ismail Thawabta
Firstly, I would like to send warm condolences to families of the Palestinian martyrs and to the wounded. Nearly 160 Palestinian were killed including 42 children, 11 women and 18 elderly persons, and 1222 others were wounded including 431 children, 207 women and 88 elderly.
These statistics indicate that the occupation was brutal and ferocious, and its military intelligence was so deficient they didn’t know what to do. As a result they did whatever they could to inflict the maximum pain on the people of the Gaza Strip through the killing of women, children, and the elderly, journalists and other civilians.
Praise to our heroic people who presented a great example of survival, generosity and sacrifice.
Now, we are going to discuss something else.
In previous years, the Palestinian resistance was not capable of winning battles with the Israeli enemy in the manner we have witnessed today. The united Palestinian resistance have succeeded in achieving, to a considerable extent, a balance of power and deterrence that we never expected at all. Better still, the occupation forces, with all their military might including aircraft, tanks and warships failed to subdue the will of the resistance.
Today the enemy backed off, and announced that Israel is ready to implement a ceasefire in accordance with the conditions laid down by the valiant Palestinian Resistance. This time is different. Netanyahu and his ministers have raised the white flag and surrendered to the valiant Resistance. Israel contacted more than 10 regional states and Europe in order to intervene with Hamas, who convinced them to accept the truce.
Israel is asking for calm, and the Resistance is imposing the conditions in an advanced step sccoring more points in their favor. On the other hand, the Israeli Interior front is deteriorating.
The enemy (Israel) led by Netanyahu fell to its knees and bowed its head in front of the greatness and might of the Palestinian Resistance, which crossed what were considered Israel’s red lines.
This Israeli retreat establishes the methodology that Hamas seeks in the next battle of liberation.
Journalists and media professionals in this battle demonstrated heroism of the highest order. Their role in exposing the crimes of the occupation is well-known. This is what lead Israel to deliberately target and bomb media institutions, journalists and media workers. Journalists risked their lives for the truth. We highly appreciate and respect their dedication, and they deserve the highest accolades for all their work.
There is an equation that never leaves our minds, nor the minds of the Israeli occupation. This equation can be translated as follows:
1. The resistance succeeded in targeting cities in the 1948-occupied Palestine such as Tel Aviv and Occupied Jerusalem.
2. The resistance dared to cross a red line that was never reported by the occupation, namely, targeting war-planes and successfully destroying more than one type of aircraft.
3. The resistance used mortar rockets, which form a severe blow to the Zionist military intelligence.
4. The resistance also targeted the navy and hit Israeli warships in the sea, forcing them to retreat from the coast.
5. The resistance succeeded in targeting jeeps and tanks more than three times, using Kornet and other types of missiles.
6. The resistance reported bombing cities in 1948-occupied Palestine using Fajr-5 model, resulting in confusion in occupation reporting.
7. The resistance struck a blow to the occupation when announced it was using M75 missile. M for Maqadmah, a Hamas leader who was assassinated by Israel, and 75 for the distance 75 Km.
8. The resistance repeatedly launched Grad rockets, which caused panic among the occupation and the settlers. As a result, they left their homes to live in underground shelters.
9. The resistance used missiles of the type 107, which raised the ire of the occupation, and turned the streets of Israel into ghost towns.
10. The final straw from the resistance on the last day, was a rearguard action, the bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv.
In addition to this, Israeli occupation forces failed once again to achieve the goals set by Israeli leader before the aggression on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli operation aims against the Gaza Strip were as follows:
1. to stop all types of rockets from the Gaza Strip. The Occupation failed and, on the contrary, they increased, surprising occupation forces.
2. to assassinate Hamas leaders, to overthrow its government, and to assassinate leaders of the resistance. Doomed to failure.
3. to eliminate weapons stores. The occupation forces failed, and rockets continued rain on them until the last minute.
4. to secure the buffer zone. Failure. The resistance continued to target border patrols using Kornet missiles.
Again, all praise to our proud steadfast Palestinian people. We wish the highest reward for our heroes and martyrs. We wish a speedy recovery for the brave wounded Palestinians. We pray to God to give strength our people.
ends
Translation: Mohammed Mustafa
Revision: Julie Webb-Pullman
Every picture tells a story
22 November 2012
A victory lap of Gaza City the day after the ceasefire.
Gaza Victory Celebrations
Gazans took to the streets in their thousands today to celebrate their victory. These three videos show just a little of their joy and defiance as all factions united, their flags all flying together above the crowds, as they danced, sang, and chanted in one voice for Palestine.
Gaza hospitals and health workers victims of crimes against humanity
21 November 2012
Israeli war crimes now extend from civilians and journalists to the health sector.
At least three Gaza hospitals have been targeted in Israeli attacks, resulting in the Jordan Field Hospital in Gaza City being damaged beyond repair and rendered completely unusable, the Emergency Department of the European Gazan Hospital in Khan Younis being severely damaged, and the Beit Hanoun Hospital suffering damage to stairways and wards from two shells fired from tanks.
In addition, the Hijazi Clinic in Northern Gaza sustained damage.
Health workers have also been victims of the Israeli attacks – Hussam Abdijawad, an administration worker in Al Rimal Clinic was killed by a rocket while walking home from work. Dr Fadel Juda, the Medical Director of Al Awda Hospital who was walking with him, was injured.
A pharmacist and another four medical staff were also injured while performing their duties, including ambulance worker Wael Awda, Ziyad Almasri, Ramadan Al Housu, and Osama Al Hessi.
The targeting of hospitals, clinics, and medical workers are blatant war crimes, and must not go unpunished.
Gaza Update: 140 deaths, 1000 injured, 28 transfers to Egypt
21 November 2012
Overnight the toll in Gaza has risen to:
140 deaths
1000 injured
28 cases have been transferred to Egypt, which has opened the border 24/7 to receive the injured.
Al Shifa hospital reports that the Egyptian assistance is enabling them to cope, and they still have a few Intensive Care Unit beds available.
Gaza Update: Deaths and Injuries
Updated 7:00 pm
Martyrs – 69 (20 children, 8 women, and 9 elderly persons)
Injured – 660 (224 children, 113 women and 50 elderly persons)
Spot the Difference: Gaza Council of Ministers
Look at the video filmed yesterday outside the Council of Ministers.
Now look at the photograph taken from a few metres further back today. Can you spot the differences? (Clue: the stairs Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh descended in the video are the same as the ones in the photo.
Gaza Council of Ministers today
Gaza Update: Deaths and Injuries
Dr. Ashraf Al-Qedra, from Al-Shifa Hospital advised the following in a Press release:
“The latest death toll is 39 Deaths (5 are children under the age of 2 years) and 340 injuries, 80% of them are civilians.
Palestinian hospitals are now suffering from a lack of medicine and medical supplies.
Gazans are asked to donate blood, and to volunteer to help with nursing.
Israel is using chemical and perhaps biological weapons in Gaza, we saw shrapnel with toxic properties in the bodies of injured and dead children and there are strange smells in the air.”
Israeli tactic to foment fear, even in the media
Nothing is off-limits to the Zionist war machine – babies, families, homes of anyone from Cabinet Ministers to farmers – not even journalists.
Roaming the skies like a pack of rabid dogs, US-funded drones, F-16s and Apaches strike fear into the hearts of Gazans, whether or not they are firing rockets – their mere presence signifies that possibility.
Percussion bombs, whose sole purpose is to terrify, are a constant companion.
Israel’s psy-war now extends to telephoning and texting individuals with death threats, particularly journalists.
Palestinian journalist Sameh Habeeb on Thursday received a phone call from an Israeli soldier threatening to bomb his family home, and kill him and his family.
I also received such a call. At around 09:15 am on Thursday while drones swarmed the skies and rockets pounded the city around me, I answered the phone to a person with an American accent, who asked if it was Julie. When I answered “yes” they proceeded to call me an “Islamic-Jihad-supporting piece of shit” and told me that an Israeli drone was on its way to kill me. They asked repeatedly if I could hear it (given the situation, there was little else to hear, apart from their psychotic rantings…), and continued their vitriolic abuse and threats. I hung up, and the phone immediately rang again, this time with no number displayed. Two more calls followed that day.
Such tactics show that despite their nuclear arsenal and US-funded military might, Israel’s hardware is no match for the power of the word, or the power of truth.
That it must stoop to intimidation of the media, especially with death threats under such conditions as currently prevail in Gaza, indicates both the paucity of its justifications for its criminal offensive, and also the depths of moral depravity to which it has sunk – and correspondingly, that even Israel itself realises that despite its big guns, it cannot win the war of hearts and minds.
Like its merciless attacks on and terrorising of the citizenry of Gaza, these attacks on the media will not succeed – they only make us stronger, and even more determined to ensure that truth and justice prevail.
And like every Palestinian with a true heart and an independent mind, I will not be deterred by Zionist threats, and will continue to resist.
Venceremos.
Attack on Saleh house in Jabalia: 5 still under the rubble
In another crime against humanity, Israel targeted a civilian house in Jabalia refugee camp, and five people are reported to still be under the rubble.
More than 25 injuries from the Jabalia attacks, mostly children, have just arrived at Kamal-Odwan hospital.
Children arriving at Kamal-Odwan hospital
Gaza Update: Gaza Health Ministry reports 293 victims of Israeli aggression
The Gaza Health Ministry reports that the total of the Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip has now reached 293 victims, including 23 dead and 270 wounded.
One of Gaza’s dead children
In a press statement released to Al-Ray Online the Ministry informed that the number of martyrs reached 23, pointing out that on the first day of the aggression (Wednesday) there were 8 martyrs,on the next day there were 10, and on Friday another 5.
The Ministry advised that 19 of the fatalities are males, and four are female. There have been 8 children killed, and 15 adults including three elderly persons.
The Ministry said that the number of wounded has reached 270, with 174 males and 96 females, while the total number of children affected is 101, of whom 34 are less than 5 years. Adults numbered 169, including 21 men over 50 years of age.
Gaza Update: 7.30pm 15 November – 7.30 am 16 November
Israel
Air-strikes – 99
Missiles – 198
Palestinian Deaths – 3
Palestinian Injuries – 42+
Gaza
Home Made Rockets – 34
Grad-style rockets – 42
Israeli Deaths – 0
Israeli Injuries – 0
The cumulative total for Palestinian deaths is 19, with 235 injured.
The cumulative total for Israeli deaths is 3, with ‘several’ wounded.
WHO IS THE AGGRESSOR, NETANYAHU? OBAMA? CAMERON? Can you count?
WHY IS ISRAEL PERMITTED TO DEFEND ITS SECURITY, BUT GAZA IS NOT? Can you end the hypocrisy?
Tunisia sends Gaza a message of solidarity
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh today received a phone call from Tunisian President Mohamed Moncef Al-Marzouki, who affirmed his country’s solidarity and steadfastness with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip in the face of the treacherous Israeli aggression.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh with President Marzouki
Sinai Hospitals to receive Gaza patients
Arabic press has reported that Sinai Hospitals are now in a state of high alert, to receive Gaza injuries.
Today In Gaza 