members of the international community in the ongoing conflict were
reversed? How would Americans and their government respond? by by
Jeremy R. Hammond
Gaza's offensive against Israel continued today, sharply escalating
with a ground incursion that cut off the southern part of Israel from
the north.
The Israeli death toll climbed past 400, at least 60 of whom were
civilians, according to UN estimates. 4 Palestinian civilians have
been killed as a result of Jewish settlers firing rockets into Gaza in
response to the military operation led by Hamas.
Cloud bursts with flaming smoke trails were seen over Israeli cities
as Hamas employed white phosphorus munitions. The use of such
munitions as weapons targeting soldiers or civilians is prohibited by
international law, but Hamas says it is only using the munitions
legally to provide a smokescreen for its ground offensive.
There have been reports of Israelis with chemical burns from the
phosphorus rounds entering hospitals, but the reports could not
independently confirmed since Hamas has refused to allow any foreign
journalists to enter Israel.
The United States led an effort at the United Nations to issue a
resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities, but the effort was
blocked by Russia. The Russian ambassador to the UN said, "We don't
want a one-sided cease-fire that would see Gaza end its operations
only to allow Israel to continue firing rockets into Gaza. We are
seeking a sustainable cease-fire."
Russia has repeatedly reiterated its demand for Israel to recognize
Gaza's right to exist and renounce violence. Russia's foreign minister
said earlier this week, "Israel is responsible for ending the
cease-fire. Gaza has the right to self-defense. No nation would sit by
and just watch as rockets exploded in their towns, hitting homes and
schools, without a response. No country would tolerate that."
Israel's rocket attacks against Gaza sharply escalated after Gaza's
offensive began 9 days ago. Prior to that, no Palestinians had been
killed since the cease-fire began last year on June 19. Israel's Labor
Party led by Ehud Barak agreed to the truce in exchange for an easing
of the siege of Israel by Gaza.
Barak is also the head of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), which Hamas
lists as a terrorist organization.
During the first week of the cease-fire, Hamas soldiers fired upon
Israeli farmers near the border in at least seven separate incidents.
An 82-year old Jewish man was wounded in one of the incidents. The IDF
claimed that this was a violation of the cease-fire, but Hamas
responded by announcing a "special security zone" along the border in
Israel and warned that it would fire upon any Jews that entered the
zone.
At the same time, Hamas also stepped up its operations against the IDF
in the Negev region, stating that the cease-fire only applied to
northern Israel. Two Jewish militants were killed in one targeted
assassination.
Tzipi Livni's Kadima group responded by firing rockets into Gaza City.
The Labor party urged Kadima to observe the cease-fire so that the
siege of Israel would be lifted. Hamas warned Barak that his party
would be held responsible for any rockets fired from Israel into Gaza
by other groups and closed border crossings once again after a brief
respite in which it allowed several of trucks to cross into Israel
delivering humanitarian supplies.
The IDF claimed that Gaza's firing at Jewish civilians and closing of
the borders was a violation of the cease-fire, but held to the truce
until after November 4, when Hamas launched an airstrike into Israel,
killing 4 militants and injuring several others. Hamas said the Jewish
militants were digging a tunnel under the border in order to cross
into Gaza to kidnap a Hamas soldier. Hamas released satellite images
with arrows pointing to what a spokesman said was the location of the
tunnel. Hamas also blamed Barak's IDF for violating the cease-fire by
launching rockets in response to its airstrike.
Human rights organizations have criticized Hamas for its policy of
blockading Israel, which they say had brought the Jewish people to the
brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The present military offensive
has worsened the situation for Israelis, many of whom have no
electricity. Many bakeries in Israel have run out of bread and cannot
make more. Israel's overflowing hospitals are running out of fuel to
run generators, and the blockade has prevented them from receiving
medical supplies which would assist in helping those injured in the
present conflict.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh yesterday rejected the charges, saying
"There is no humanitarian crisis in Israel. The humanitarian situation
in Israel is exactly as it should be."
Haniyeh also dismissed charges that Hamas forces were targeting
civilians in its operations. "Hamas does everything to prevent the
loss of life of civilians," he said. "Israelis were even warned to
leave areas where the terrorists are hiding. We are only targeting
militants. It is Israel that is using human shields in violation of
international law. It is Israel which is responsible for the loss of
innocent lives."
Critics of Hamas argue that Jews have no place to flee since Gaza has
closed the borders and has bombed numerous targets deep within Israeli
territory so that no place is safe.
A top Israeli leader, Binyamin Netanyahu, was killed earlier this week
when Hamas targeted his apartment building. His wife, Sarah, and two
sons, Yair and Avner, were also killed in the bombing.
The UN's estimate of 60 Israeli civilians killed counts only women and
children, and is therefore only a minimum figure. The UN is unable to
estimate the number of men that were combatants versus civilians and
has said this number is therefore likely to be extremely conservative.
Russia's Pravda newspaper reported today that most of the men arriving
at Israeli hospitals appeared to be civilians. Most seemed to be
coming in with their wives and children who were injured along with
the men in Gaza's bombing raids. None were identified as members of
the IDF.
Member states of the European Union criticized Russia's decision to
veto any resolution calling for a cease-fire. Britain's Prime Minister
Gordon Brown said, "We need an end to the violence now. The blame-game
can continue afterward, but the immediate goal should be to stop the
bloodshed."
A spokesman for the Kremlin said Hamas needed more time to root out
"the infrastructure of terror" in Israel and to cripple the IDF's
ability to fire rockets into Gaza towns. "Russia is leading the effort
to achieve peace in the region," he said, by seeking "a sustainable
cease-fire."
Jeremy R. Hammond is the editor of Foreign Policy Journal, a website
dedicated to providing news, critical analysis, and opinion commentary
on U.S. foreign policy from outside of the standard framework offered
by government officials and the mainstream corporate media,
particularly with regard to the "war on terrorism" and events in the
Middle East. He has also written for numerous other online
publications. You can contact him at jeremy@foreignpolicyjournal.com.
------------------------------------------
Top 5 Lies About Israel's Assault on Gaza
January 3, 2009
by Jeremy R. Hammond
Lie #1) Israel is only targeting legitimate military sites and is
seeking to protect innocent lives. Israel never targets civilians.
The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated pieces of property
in the world. The presence of militants within a civilian population
does not, under international law, deprive that population of their
protected status, and hence any assault upon that population under the
guise of targeting militants is, in fact, a war crime.
Moreover, the people Israel claims are legitimate targets are members
of Hamas, which Israel says is a terrorist organization. Hamas has
been responsible for firing rockets into Israel. These rockets are
extremely inaccurate and thus, even if Hamas intended to hit military
targets within Israel, are indiscriminate by nature. When rockets from
Gaza kill Israeli civilians, it is a war crime.
Hamas has a military wing. However, it is not entirely a military
organization, but a political one. Members of Hamas are the
democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people.
Dozens of these elected leaders have been kidnapped and held in
Israeli prisons without charge. Others have been targeted for
assassination, such as Nizar Rayan, a top Hamas official. To kill
Rayan, Israel targeted a residential apartment building. The strike
not only killed Rayan but two of his wives and four of his children,
along with six others. There is no justification for such an attack
under international law. This was a war crime.
Other of Israel's bombardment with protected status under
international law have included a mosque, a prison, police stations,
and a university, in addition to residential buildings.
Moreover, Israel has long held Gaza under siege, allowing only the
most minimal amounts of humanitarian supplies to enter. Israel is
bombing and killing Palestinian civilians. Countless more have been
wounded, and cannot receive medical attention. Hospitals running on
generators have little or no fuel. Doctors have no proper equipment or
medical supplies to treat the injured. These people, too, are the
victims of Israeli policies targeted not at Hamas or legitimate
military targets, but directly designed to punish the civilian
population.
Lie #2) Hamas violated the cease-fire. The Israeli bombardment is a
response to Palestinian rocket fire and is designed to end such rocket
attacks.
Israel never observed the cease-fire to begin with. From the
beginning, it announced a "special security zone" within the Gaza
Strip and announced that Palestinians who enter this zone will be
fired upon. In other words, Israel announced its intention that
Israeli soldiers would shoot at farmers and other individuals
attempting to reach their own land in direct violation of not only the
cease-fire but international law.
Despite shooting incidents, including ones resulting in Palestinians
getting injured, Hamas still held to the cease-fire from the time it
went into effect on June 19 until Israel effectively ended the truce
on November 4 by launching an airstrike into Gaza that killed five and
injured several others.
Israel's violation of the cease-fire predictably resulted in
retaliation from militants in Gaza who fired rockets into Israel in
response. The increased barrage of rocket fire at the end of December
is being used as justification for the continued Israeli bombardment,
but is a direct response by militants to the Israeli attacks.
Israel's actions, including its violation of the cease-fire,
predictably resulted in an escalation of rocket attacks against its
own population.
Lie #3) Hamas is using human shields, a war crime.
There has been no evidence that Hamas has used human shields. The fact
is, as previously noted, Gaza is a small piece of property that is
densely populated. Israel engages in indiscriminate warfare such as
the assassination of Nizar Rayan, in which members of his family were
also murdered. It is victims like his dead children that Israel
defines as "human shields" in its propaganda. There is no legitimacy
for this interpretation under international law. In circumstances such
as these, Hamas is not using human shields, Israel is committing war
crimes in violation of the Geneva Conventions and other applicable
international law.
Lie #4) Arab nations have not condemned Israel's actions because they
understand Israel's justification for its assault.
The populations of those Arab countries are outraged at Israel's
actions and at their own governments for not condemning Israel's
assault and acting to end the violence. Simply stated, the Arab
governments do not represent their respective Arab populations. The
populations of the Arab nations have staged mass protests in
opposition to not only Israel's actions but also the inaction of their
own governments and what they view as either complacency or complicity
in Israel's crimes.
Moreover, the refusal of Arab nations to take action to come to the
aid of the Palestinians is not because they agree with Israel's
actions, but because they are submissive to the will of the US, which
fully supports Israel. Egypt, for instance, which refused to open the
border to allow Palestinians wounded in the attacks to get medical
treatment in Egyptian hospitals, is heavily dependent upon US aid, and
is being widely criticized within the population of the Arab countries
for what is viewed as an absolute betrayal of the Gaza Palestinians.
Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been regarded as a
traitor to his own people for blaming Hamas for the suffering of the
people of Gaza. Palestinians are also well aware of Abbas' past
perceived betrayals in conniving with Israel and the US to sideline
the democratically elected Hamas government, culminating in a
counter-coup by Hamas in which it expelled Fatah (the military wing of
Abbas' Palestine Authority) from the Gaza Strip. While his apparent
goal was to weaken Hamas and strengthen his own position, the
Palestinians and other Arabs in the Middle East are so outraged at
Abbas that it is unlikely he will be able to govern effectively.
Lie #5) Israel is not responsible for civilian deaths because it
warned the Palestinians of Gaza to flee areas that might be targeted.
Israel claims it sent radio and telephone text messages to residents
of Gaza warning them to flee from the coming bombardment. But the
people of Gaza have nowhere to flee to. They are trapped within the
Gaza Strip. It is by Israeli design that they cannot escape across the
border. It is by Israeli design that they have no food, water, or fuel
by which to survive. It is by Israeli design that hospitals in Gaza
have no electricity and few medical supplies with which to treat the
injured and save lives. And Israel has bombed vast areas of Gaza,
targeting civilian infrastructure and other sites with protected
status under international law. No place is safe within the Gaza
Strip.
Jeremy R. Hammond is the editor of Foreign Policy Journal, a website
dedicated to providing news, critical analysis, and opinion commentary
on U.S. foreign policy from outside of the standard framework offered
by government officials and the mainstream corporate media,
particularly with regard to the "war on terrorism" and events in the
Middle East. He has also written for numerous other online
publications. You can contact him at jeremy@foreignpolicyjournal.com.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Above article on the 5 lies was accurately portrayed and much softer
on Israel and the Arabs than I am. Israel wouldn't have the guts to
pull this operation with doing an international checkout and having
the Arabs onside. Even Iran has gone soft. The Iranian President
possibly doesn't want a nuclear conflagration but as well, Israel
claims 14 Hebrew tribes are represented in Iran. One wonders about all
the talk. Israel attacked Iraq's reactors back in the late '80's for
Israel and was rewarded by Iran paying 10 times the value of weapons,
planes, materiel and spares for hundreds of millions of dollars in
arms. On wonders again about all the talk.
An Australian government back in the late 80's when plans such as the
invasion of Iraq, the shift into a new world order assassination mode
for the USA ultimately through Reagan and the requirement of
governments to "privatise" taxpayer funded assets. The South
Australian Government was complicit in Israel's international crimes
was complicit in these illegal transactions as well and Missiles were
being carried illegally and unknown to most of its citizens out of
Australia on domestic flights.
Israel's aggression and covert actions are usually well done and it is
well known by those who bother to find out anything outside the
endless tapes of Israeli propaganda, an assassination machine with no
conscience whatsoever. Germany, supporting Israel's war crimes right
now has forgotten Israel assassinated three of its politicians, one
most horribly and very personally by 5 Mossad killers, one a woman and
videotaped the appalling operation, simply because these people were
"in the way" of Israeli crimes in Germany
People are comparing this year, Israel with Nazi Germany, that's
closer than they think as Israel more accurately termed " the Kingdom
of Zion" was founded through very close and amicable cooperation
between German Zionists and Hitler.
A lot of organising was very well done, a lot of money changed hands
and a lot of money flowed in to the jewish sector of Palestine through
German assistance
Now well-renowned for its treachery and inhumanity Israel also
educated Bush's people on the torturing of New world Order victims.
"New Order was a term used by Stern when referring to the "Old Order"
of jews, who were not wanting to leave Germany in the 1930's which he
didn't give a tinker's cuss about and he said so, and so they died.
These people didn't "taje advantage" of the possibilities of leaving,
and they were jewss attached to their country, not Zionists seeking
control of Palestine. Along with other "undesirables" who preceded
them They were sacrificed, an holocaust was offered for the new world
order to flourish
One of the reasons WW11 was commenced was because of Hitler's fury
with jewish business which had declared economic war on Germany, a
blockade, whilst he was even negotiating transfers to Palestine with
the Zionist. He spoke of his opinion of the control of "International
Jewry" but until recently evidence of the blockade and the effect on
Germany was well hidden other than from some investigative scientists.
This and the Zoionist-Nazi alliance are tow of the most shocking
secrets hidden from us for so long.
Zionists are not "Jews" but a fanatical political force brought into
being very much by de Rothschild's plans in the 18th century for world
domination by Bankers and financiers. A hundred million people might
have lived were it not for that Jewish blockade. A lot of things may
have happened if Hitler was not tipped over the edge.
Much later when some 100,000 or so zionists had left for Palestine the
old order jews were dying on the street and in camps as was well known
to the Allies and USA by late 1942. As later post war the Palestinians
were desperate about the massive illegal zionist immigration . They
had no illusions about the future but they never anticipated the
terrorist invasion and massacres which commenced in June 1947 and
erupted into mass murder and displacement and land grabs in 1948.
Stern the jewish terrorist was organizing, during those WW11 times, a
Zionist complicity with the Nazis to attack Britain in the Middle
East. British politicians generally supported the Balfour concept of
giving away someone else's land to a zionist state and so the zionists
were playing both ends. Once you understand the relationship between
the Nazis and the Zionists this seems quite natural.
Here we are now, right now, with unspeakable crimes against humanity
having been exercised in Iraq by Bush's orders on Israel's bidding (as
revealed and predicted by Ari ben Menashe Profits of War, 1991)
finding that the Israeli lies, some few of which you mention, are
being spouted around the world by Washington and its unwholesome
government allies, Britain and Australia in particular and Europe
under France and German and Polish and Chek conspiracy to disseminate
the Israeli lies, which like Bush's have plenty of rebuttal.
They don't care any more about blatant lies and public mass
murder...we are all under control, we talk and we do nothing. Those
who have the courage of their convictions are labeled traitors and
terrorists and imprisoned and tortured. Great democracy under
Washington, isn't it...? That's the sort of government under which our
children will suffer.
Interestingly the strongest objection has come from el Salvador's
ex-priest in the UN and the Malaysian Prime Minister and some African
States. Most of the rest are mumbling Zionist lies.
By and large apart from Israel's bully boys standing over and
terrorising the "Destiny", in International waters where Israel has no
more rights than a fisherman, from some brave aid workers attempting
to bring supplies to Gaza nothing is happening. Some Zionist
supporters are writing of these people being better drowned and even
pretending they were importing weapons. In any event it was no right
for Israel to start bullying them.
Disgustingly people are talking of "cease fires" as though the
Palestinians were engaging the zionist forces rather than firing some
rockets at cities which zion has destroyed and rebuilt....with
virtually no casualties. The arriving of the little aid vessel would
have stolen Israel's thunder in Israel's theatrical " aid for
humanity" performance.
Nothing to save them is happening as Palestinians are murdered,
children and mothers splattered by guided rockets and killed by
snipers. The Kingdom of Zion is a law unto itself. It ignores every
order of the UN and has done so since inception. No one apart from
real people gives a damn. Bigotry is at an all time high as foul and
ignorant letters to the Jerusalem Post and other bigotry welcoming
news services, show.
By holding Gaza in terror rather than occupying it totally it can more
slowly exterminate them and by deliberately targeting the women and
children, which several killings show it surely does do, encourage
Palestinians to 'transfer" elsewhere and seemingly abandon Gaza to the
"good old" boys in the Kingdom of Zion.
These crafty Zionist manipulators are not acting alone but are a part
of the mosaic of the new world order's four branches, Finance Control,
Deception, Assassination.
Yes they are all liars, yes the Israeli's broke the cease fire
agreement, yes the attack has been planned for a long time, they say 6
months, I say 20 years ago, just brought up to date earlier in the
year to meet the circumstances.
The people being turned into headless, limbless corpses and lamed and
maddened pieces of humanity are suffering because their elected
government is defending them with virtually no weaponry and certainly
nothing of value to resist zion's start of the art technology supplied
free by Washington..
Israel continues its interminable lies, Bush and his storm-troopers
echo them .They are all a part of the same "new order" and while I sit
and write people, subject to all sorts of vile insults about their
courage and "hiding behind children" are being blown to pieces by a
massively overwhelming force which was too gutless to attack the
starving, under-armed HAMAS until 5 days of "softening up" and shock
were performed.
It's easy to be a killer with International impunity isn't it...and
with the victims derided by international conspirators with Israel and
without hospitals schools, police, sewage, water and with few safe
places to hide. Now zion can go in and pretend the dead men women and
children were not killed in air strikes but attacking the "good guys".
We are all to blame for letting Israel get this far without blockading
it and forcing it back to the 1946 boundaries
I have no respect at all anymore, not a shred, for the Kingdom of Zion
and it's liars and its IDF. I have none for George Bush either or
Brown or Rudd or the other gutless politicians, fawning and fore-lock
tugging to the Zionists and Washington. I have to say that whilst I
hope no one dies on either side in my heart I hope Hamas kicks their
backsides right back to Tel Aviv. As far as I am concerned the
international war crimes Tribunal should be trying Bush's gang and
Israel's killers right now.
Palestine is the Victim, Palestine was attacked many times in the land
grabs since 1947. That's the short story of the reality . The only
story holding truth. The Kingdom of Zion is determined to control what
it calls, ridiculously . "our lands". which it hasn't "owned" for more
than 660 years of the last 5000, 10,000 years.
