Category: Palestine

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White phosphorus shells being used by Israel?

To cover the advances of its illegal, barbaric incursion into Gaza, is Israel is deploying white phosphorus shells?

Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet, and the use of white phosphorus (Willy Pete) in civilian areas is forbidden. Israel, which is a serial violator of international conventions in ‘defence’ of its apartheid, racist state, used white phosphorus in its attack on Lebanon in 2006.

The Geneva Treaty of 1980 stipulates that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban under international law on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination. Charles Heyman, a military expert and former major in the British Army, said: “If white phosphorus was deliberately fired at a crowd of people someone would end up in The Hague. White phosphorus is also a terror weapon. The descending blobs of phosphorus will burn when in contact with skin.”

Israel continues to refuse a cease fire which would allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and medical supplies are running dangerously low.

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Israel Destroys Medical Infrastructure in Palestine

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel documents contraventions to the Geneva Conventions and human rights violations as Israel attacks beleaguered, impoverished Gaza on false pretexts. In fact Israel breached the cease fire with Hamas on November 4 in several instances.

Israeli propaganda site Israel Politik, run by the Israeli Consulate in New York, has still failed to publish our refutation of their lies that Hamas breached the cease fire.

Yoram Cohen, till recently Deputy Directory of the Shin Bet confirmed Israel breached the cease fire. He wrote:

a similar account for the Washington Institute.

“Last week, Israeli forces entered Gaza, destroyed an underground border tunnel, and battled Hamas fighters, leaving several militants dead. In response, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired around eighty rockets into southern Israel, including the Israeli city of Ashkelon,” he wrote

“On June 19, 2008, Israel and Hamas began observing an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire, which was intended to last six months with an option to extend. In general, Hamas has observed the ceasefire; the number of attacks and rocket launches has decreased significantly, and Hamas has prevented other Gaza militant organizations from striking Israel,” wrote Cohen.

CNN confirms Israel broke the truce in the video below:

On Jan 2, PHR-Israel said:

Since fighting began in the Gaza Strip, PHR-Israel has received 6 reports of Israeli Air Force attacks on medical insfrustructure and personnel.

On Jan 4, the UN alerted the world to further Israeli attacks on medical infrastructure.

This morning, an ambulance of Al Awda hospital in the north was shelled, seriously injuring 4 medical staff. Palestine Square in central.

In addition:

It is essential that patients and ambulances are able to reach hospitals, that agencies are able to access warehouses in order to conduct distributions. Currently movement within the Strip is severely challenged.

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Statistics on Casualties in Palestine 2000 – 2008

Bt’Selem

Defence for Children International Children killed as a result of Israel military and settlers 2000 – 2008

In addition, from the UN 4/1/09:

As of this evening, the MoH reports casualty figures since the beginning of the Israeli military operation on 27 December of 491 dead and approximately 2,400 injured, out of which figures, at least 20 percent of the fatalities and 40 percent of the injuries are women and children.

List of UN releases relevant to Palestine

Excellent chronology of the occupation by Israel and resistance to it.

As the occupying power, under the Geneva Conventions Israel has the responsibility for caring for the occupied. Despite its claims of having left Gaza in 2005, Israel still occupies it under international law.

UN Office for the Coordindation of Humanitarian Affairs latest updates.

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UN Humanitarian report from Gaza 4/1/08

The latest information on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza can be downloaded from the UN Office of Coordination of Human Afairs.

The situation is extremely bleak – Israel, with the unrelenting support of its accomplice, the US Bush administration, continues to violate human rights and Geneva Conventions. A hospital ambulance has been shelled and food distribution has been stopped except in southern Gaza. Hospital generators are about to collapse.

Some quotes from the 4th January report:

“Israeli forces are now deployed in several areas of the Gaza Strip with clashes taking place between Israeli forces and militants. Damage and destruction of roads, infrastructure and buildings has been reported, including to a large gas storage facility. The military incursion compounds the humanitarian crisis following more than a week of shelling and an 18-month long blockade of the territory. There is an increased threat to civilians due to combat in densely populated urban areas. Hospitals continue to be overstretched because of the large number of casualties that have accumulated since the beginning of Israeli attacks, and ambulances and medical personnel face dificulties in accessing casualties. Electricity and telecommunications are down over much of the Strip.

Food distributions have been suspended and all crossing points remain closed.”

This morning, an ambulance of Al Awda hospital in the north was shelled, seriously injuring 4 medical staff. Palestine Square in central Gaza City was also hit, reportedly killing 5 civilians and injuring another 40 persons. Prior to the ground incursion, 15 Palestinians were killed and more than 25 injured when the Israeli Air Force bombarded the Ibrahim Al Makadima Mosque in Beit Lahiya.

There is an almost total blackout in the governorates of Gaza, North Gaza, Middle Area, and Khan Yunis. Most of the telephone network (both land lines and cell phones) in Gaza is also not functioning since it
now depends on back-up generators with dwindling fuel stocks.

All of Gaza City hospitals have been without mains electricity for 48 consecutive hours, depending entirely on back-up generators. The hospitals warn that the generators are close to collapse. At the Shifa hospital, collapse would have immediate consequences for 70 intensive care unit (ICU) patients including 30 in the neonatal care who are connected to machines. ICUs throughout the Gaza Strip are overloaded. The
security situation is also preventing medical staff from reaching hospitals.Ambulances are experiencing dificulty in reaching the injured because of continuous ire. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society continues to work around the clock in order to assist the population. From Friday to Saturday midday, its ambulances transported 78 wounded to hospitals. Fifteen fatalities were also transported.

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United Stupids fomented civil war in Gaza in 2007

Here’s a flashback to January 2007 which alone should get Bush and his incompetent warmongering thugs imprisoned for life:

After failing to anticipate Hamas’s victory over Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, the author reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever.

Bush had encouraged democratic elections for the Palestinian people – when he didn’t like their choice, he acted like the petty meddling tyrant he is to this day.

These over-powerful idiots – how will they learn not to misbehave if the people who vote them in don’t keep them in their place – in a cell for their wanton crimes against humanity.