war crimes

January 22, 2009December 12, 2020

Israel FAIL – The War Crimes Coverups begin

In the Times, there’s a brief outline of the problems associated with bringing Israeli war criminals to justice:

The regulations covering alleged war crimes are complex, carefully worded and restrictive. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague does not appear to have jurisdiction in Gaza because the Israelis are not signatories to the Rome statute that set it up.

However, individuals and nongovernmental organisations from nations that are signed up can make a case to the ICC; and the United Nations Security Council can also pass a resolution calling for a war crimes investigation, as it did over alleged genocide in Darfur. In terms of the ICC statute, the use of white phosphorus could be governed by Article 8(2)(b) under which a war crime is potentially committed if weapons, including projectiles (shells), are launched “to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering or which are inherently indiscriminate in violation of the international law of armed conflict”.

It is up to Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC chief prosecutor, to decide whether the allegations fall into line with the Rome statute definitions. Killing civilians is not a war crime in itself, unless there is an intentional attack directed against noncombatants or an assault is launched on a military objective “in the knowledge that the incidental civilian injuries would be clearly excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage” – this is the principle of proportionality. In the case of allegations against British troops in Iraq, the ICC prosecutor decided the relevant criteria for starting a formal investigation had not been satisfied.

In the case of Darfur, it was alleged that thousands of civilians had been wilfully killed by the Janjawid rebels. Israel has always insisted that its aim was to target Hamas fighters, not Palestinian civilians.

Juan Cole covers the potential for war crimes tribunals and Israel’s flailing attempts to protect their barbarous soldiers from prosecution:

Israeli politicians and military commanders are being urged to consult counsel before they travel in Europe, where some courts assert universal jurisdiction and where war crimes cases are being filed against Israeli leaders. In 1998, a London court ordered the arrest of Chilean dictator Gen. Augustino Pinochet, who had butchered thousands of community activists, asserting universal jurisdiction. Governments have attempted to reduce the prerogative of courts in this regard, but apparently there are loopholes in the current British legislation that would allow an Israeli leader or officer to be arrested if they journey to the UK. Ynet observes, “The Israeli. . . claim that Hamas has been using women and children as human shields never really took, said a source. Whenever it was used the response was the same: If you know that . . . women and children [were] there – hold your fire.”

Defense Minister Ehud Barak is setting up a legal defense of Israeli troops from potential war crimes prosecutions. Barak pledged that Israeli soldiers would not have to worry about prosecution: “The soldiers did not embark on a private operation . . .We will give them out full support.” It is ironic that an Israeli defense minister seems unaware that the Nuremberg trials established the principle that following orders is no defense for a soldier charged with atrocities.

Even as Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni visited Brussels, human rights organizations in Belgium were (wholly unrealistically) petitioning a court to have her arrested. However impractical the legal move, it was a humiliation for Tzipi.

The right-Zionists are always asking why Israel is held to a different standard. It isn’t. it appears to be being held to the same standard as Augusto Pinochet and Slobodan Milosevic. It isn’t very nice company to be in, and many Israelis are deeply ashamed of what was done and demanding Israeli investigations of war crimes.

Disturbingly, Livni seems to have influenced some EU countries to back off on condemning Israel for its attacks on UN schools and other facilities.

Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania are opposed to condemning the shelling of UN Relief and Works Agency infrastructure and do not want the EU to call for an international investigation of alleged war crimes by both Israel and the Hamas governors of Gaza, according to sources close to discussions amongst EU diplomats.

At the other end of the table, a coalition of five member states, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland and Sweden, is demanding that the bloc call for an international investigation in its conclusions to come out of a meeting of EU foreign ministers next week.

Other member states however do not support this position. Despite UK Prime Minister’s earlier strong words condemning Israel’s shelling of the UN headquarters in Gaza as “indefensible”, London is reportedly reluctant to back the five as it could set a dangerous precedent for its own military operations elsewhere.

The five have, however, managed to win language on the need to “respect and comply with obligations under international humanitarian law” into the draft text, which was not in the initial version of the document.

France meanwhile backs accountability for the attacks on the UN, but is working to achieve this “behind the scenes”, rather than through a statement by EU foreign ministers.

Livni exonerates her terrorist state from blame:

“The difference between Israel soldiers and the terrorists in Hamas is that we are acting against terror, trying to avoid any kind of civilian casualties, while these terrorists are looking, aiming and targeting civilians as part of their ideology.”

“I would like to be judged by the international community according to the same values by which the international community is working,” she continued. “There is a huge difference in any legal system … between a murderer and someone who kills by mistake.”

After visiting the ruins of the UNRWA compound in Gaza, UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday (20 January) called for those responsible for bombing UN-run buildings and schools in Gaza to be held accountable.

“There must be a full investigation, a full explanation to make sure it never happens again. There should be accountability through a proper judiciary system,” he said.

Despite Israel’s insistence that the UN buildings were not targeted, UN officials have said that they furnished Tel Aviv with GPS co-ordinates of all their buildings.

Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose nation currently chairs the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, said he trusted the Israeli court system mount a prosecution, rather than the International Criminal Court.

“I have heard the declaration of the UN secretary-general, but to tell you the truth, we consider Israel a democratic state, where the rule of law exists, so of course, in the case of such a criminal act, which can happen in any state, especially during the course of war,” he said, “then the Israeli prosecutor would take the steps that are necessary and then to a court where the case will be decided.”

“The ICC is only a last resort if a country itself doesn’t bring forward a case, [and] we are relying on the Israeli courts and the work of the prosecutor there.”

In view of Obama’s differentiated foreign policy, Livni illustrates she is living in the comfortable black and white Bush past:

She did however warn against opening direct dialogue with the Gaza government, calling on Europe to “continue to delegitimise Hamas.”

Some EU ministers, notably Finnish foreign minister Alexander Stubbs, have said that such dialogue may be necessary.

Ms Livni said: “What is needed is a coalition against terror and not something that ends by an agreement with them.”

White phosphorus links:

Israeli army investigates use of white phosphorus in Gaza

Amnesty International has accused Israel of war crimes over its use of highly incendiary munitions in heavily-populated areas.

“Amnesty International delegates visiting the Gaza Strip found indisputable evidence of widespread use of white phosphorus in densely-populated residential areas in Gaza City and in the north,” the organisation said.

“We saw streets and alleyways littered with evidence of the use of white phosphorus, including still burning wedges and the remnants of the shells and canisters fired by the Israeli army,” said Christopher Cobb-Smith, a weapons expert touring Gaza as part of Amnesty’s four-person fact-finding team.

Child victims in Gaza

Growing concern over Israel’s weapons use

If the investigation which the Israeli military announced this week into the use of white phosphorous is serious, it will have to examine the events at the Abu Kalima house here in this semi-rural suburb of of Beit Lahiya, among many other locations. It’s unlikely to dwell for long on the fact that the war saw the first use of artillery in Gaza since late 2006.

The military ended it after 18 members of one family were killed by shelling on a civilian house in Beit Hanoun in November 2006.

But it will have to take into account that the Amnesty International have no doubt that the shells which killed the Abu Kalima family contained phosphorus. Nafez al Shaban, the Glasgow and US trained head of Shifa Hospital’s Burns Unit is certain that the bone-deep tissue destruction sustained by Mrs Kalima, her critically injured daughter in law and grandaughter, were caused by it. And finally fragments of the brown spongy substance, with its unpleasantly pungent smell, are still lying in the debris outside the Abu Kalima house.

After a week of ceasefire Israel is facing growing questions not only about phosphorus but what other weapons it used. For the many thousands of Gazan civilians seeking to rebuild their ruined lives the hope that a new US president will be more active in the region than his predecessor still seems barely relevant. And this is not only because of an injury total put by the ministry of health in Gaza at 5,300, or worries about long-term psychological damage to their children. They also face a protracted dispute between Israel, the Ramallah based Palestinian Authority, and much of the international community on the one hand, and Hamas on the other before multi-billion dollar task of reconstucrion can even begin. For most Gazans peace is a return to their previous impoverished life under siege —only worse.

Israeli army probes use of phosphorus in Gaza: report

Depleted uranium:

UN to probe claim Israel used depleted uranium bombs in Gaza

United Nations organizations said yesterday that it will investigate complaints that Israel used depleted uranium projectiles in the course of the fighting in Gaza, causing health and environmental damage.

The inquiry will be conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environment Protection Organization, at the request of the Arab states’ UN envoys.

Other illegal weapons:

Israel Admits It Lied Over Missile Raid on Camp

The Israeli military has admitted that it lied about a rocket attack on a Gaza refugee camp, which according to the army led to no casualties, but which the Palestinians have claimed killed 14 civilians.

A leftwing member of the Israeli parliament, Yossi Sarid, forced the confession from the air force chief after he threatened to release evidence that the military had used a weapon more destructive and indiscriminate than it had publicly claimed.

A month ago, the air force launched an assassination strike against a Hamas activist who was driving through Nuseirat refugee camp. The Palestinians claimed that the attack caused a large number of civilian casualties, but the air force commander, Major General Dan Halutz, produced video footage of the car being hit by two missiles that showed no one standing near the wrecked vehicle as the rockets struck.

The military said that Hellfire missiles were used, producing a concentrated explosion over a small area. Gen Halutz likened the effect of the missiles to “two grenades”. The video footage was widely shown on Israeli television.

But the army now admits that it lied in briefings to the Israeli and foreign press, because the second rocket was not a Hellfire missile.

The military refuses to identify the weapon used, on the grounds of “operational security”. But the speculation is that it was an American-made Flechette, which is illegal under international law because it fires thousands of tiny darts over hundreds of meters, causing horrific injuries. Israel has used similar weapons in Gaza in the past.

Indiscrimate disproportionate slaughter:

How IDF legal experts legitimized strikes involving Gaza civilians

War crimes:

War crimes convictions after Gaza?

Israel names justice minister to fight war crime charges

Daniel Friedman will lead an inter-ministerial team to coordinate a legal defence for civilians and the military, the source said.

Israel’s military censor has already banned the publication of the identity of the unit leaders who fought against Hamas Islamists on the Gaza Strip for fear they may face war crimes charges.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon demanded Tuesday that those responsible for bombing UN buildings in the Palestinian territory should be made accountable and accused Israel of using excessive force.

Amnesty International said it was “undeniable” that Israel had used white phosphorus in crowded civilian areas, contrary to international law, charging that this amounted to a war crime.

Eight Israeli human rights groups have called on the Israeli government to investigate given the scale of the casualties, describing the number of dead women and children as “terrifying.”

Richard Falk calls for investigation into systematic Israeli war crimes

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Territories, Richard Falk, said he had little doubt about the “unavoidably inhuman character of a large scale military operation of the sort that Israel has initiated… against an essentially defenceless population.”

Falk told journalists that Israeli military operations in the densely populated territory among a population weakened by an 18 month blockade “raises the spectre of systematic war crimes.”

“Unlawful targets have been selected” during the fighting, he alleged.

“The evidence of breaking of fundamental rules of international humanitarian law is so compelling,” he added, backing calls for an independent, international investigation.

Falk, a legal expert, insisted that the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip was effectively trapped in a war zone and prevented from fleeing, even if they were ill, wounded, or children.

The 47-member UN Human Rights Council voted by a large majority on January 12 to set up a probe into “grave” human rights violations by Israeli forces against Palestinians.

Israel Continues to Break Unilateral Cease Fire

On entering Gaza ABC reporter, Ban Knight said “after three weeks of war the state of Gaza still came as a shock to me.” Ben has reported some grab bytes from Gaza locals:

“I didn’t want to come out until now,” one man said.

“They targeted everything. They shot everywhere. Nowhere was safe.”

I spoke with one man who claimed that since the ceasefire, Hamas officials have been rounding up members of Fatah accused of collaborating with Israel and shooting them in the legs. Hamas denies it.

But this man, a Fatah supporter, believes Hamas will hold onto power here by dividing the people even further.

“Hamas have more support than they did before the war,” he said.

“They’ve convinced the people that Israel invaded with Fatah’s permission.”

Talal Oukal, a Palestinian analyst stresses the need for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.

… everything is linked to a historic reconciliation between the two big rival groups, “and once they agree, I believe that other problems would be marginal and can be resolved through diplomatic ways between Israel and the Palestinians.”

However, he warned that if the two parties fail to achieve reconciliation soon, “I believe that the situation would remain as it is because the Western world led by the United States, including Israel, are not willing to hold direct talks with Hamas which basically rejects to condemn violence or recognize Israel.”

He added that the issues that can be resolved through diplomatic ways, if Fatah and Hamas reunite and agree on a reconciliation, are “the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and the reopening of Gaza Strip crossing points including Gaza-Egypt Rafah border crossing.”

Dr Azzam Tamimi explains the realities of Israel’s occupation of Palestine – Israel could have peace if they removed the occupation and blockade, released prisoners, remove settlers, withdraw to pre 67 borders. As the oppressor, Tamimi insists Israel needs to take the initiative and negotiate with Hamas.

In Haaretz, Gideon Levy admits the obvious – Israel’s ‘war’ was a complete failure.

This war ended in utter failure for Israel.

This goes beyond the profound moral failure, which is a grave matter in itself, but pertains to its inability to reach its stated goals. In other words, the grief is not complemented by failure. We have gained nothing in this war save hundreds of graves, some of them very small, thousands of maimed people, much destruction and the besmirching of Israel’s image.

What seemed like a predestined loss to only a handful of people at the onset of the war will gradually emerge as such to many others, once the victorious trumpeting subsides.

The initial objective of the war was to put an end to the firing of Qassam rockets. This did not cease until the war’s last day. It was only achieved after a cease-fire had already been arranged. Defense officials estimate that Hamas still has 1,000 rockets.

The war’s second objective, the prevention of smuggling, was not met either. The head of the Shin Bet security service has estimated that smuggling will be renewed within two months.

Most of the smuggling that is going on is meant to provide food for a population under siege, and not to obtain weapons. But even if we accept the scare campaign concerning the smuggling with its exaggerations, this war has served to prove that only poor quality, rudimentary weapons passed through the smuggling tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt.

Israel’s ability to achieve its third objective is also dubious. Deterrence, my foot. The deterrence we supposedly achieved in the Second Lebanon War has not had the slightest effect on Hamas, and the one supposedly achieved now isn’t working any better: The sporadic firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip has continued over the past few days.

The fourth objective, which remained undeclared, was not met either. The IDF has not restored its capability. It couldn’t have, not in a quasi-war against a miserable and poorly-equipped organization relying on makeshift weapons, whose combatants barely put up a fight

Hamas has not been weakened, it will be strengthened. Fatah, collaborator with the Occupation on the other hand will be weakened.

Their war has intensified the ethos of resistance and determined endurance. A country which has nursed an entire generation on the ethos of a few versus should know to appreciate that by now. There was no doubt as to who was David and who was Goliath in this war.

Israel’s aggressive and lawless character has now been confirmed to the world.

Israel’s actions have dealt a serious blow to public support for the state. While this does not always translate itself into an immediate diplomatic situation, the shockwaves will arrive one day. The whole world saw the images. They shocked every human being who saw them, even if they left most Israelis cold.

The conclusion is that Israel is a violent and dangerous country, devoid of all restraints and blatantly ignoring the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, while not giving a hoot about international law. The investigations are on their way.

Levy’s assessment of the weakening of the PLO sheds light on its move to negotiate with Israel on terms remarkably similar to those of Hamas – Israel’s withdrawal from land occupied in 1967 and the freezing of all settlement activity. With the advent of Obama’s presidency, now is a good time for Palestinians of whatever faction to drive for a realistic deal which can ensure a viable state. The current bantustans are not workable as a basis for a Palestinian state. If Israel is unwilling to make concessions, then a one state solution becomes the only possible outcome.

The PLO Executive Committee said it was demanding Israel commit to a comprehensive freezing of all settlement activity in and around Arab East Jerusalem and in the occupied West Bank and a commitment to give up its hold on all occupied land captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

“The Palestinian leadership are not ready to return to political negotiations with Israel unless there is a new basis for talks,” the PLO said, without elaborating.

It said it wanted to conduct talks on the basis of the Arab peace initiative of 2002 which offers Israel peace and normal relations with all Arab countries in return for withdrawal from all territory captured in the 1967 war.

Successive Israeli governments have either ignored or rejected the offer, which would require Israel to dismantle settlements which house hundreds of thousands of Jews.

The prospect of the PLO, Fatah and Hamas aligning demands and even worse uniting will send chills down Israeli politicians spines. Expect a renewal of attempts of divide and conquer.

There are signs of this already, with Israel preventing Abbas from bringing much needed cash to Gaza.

The restrictions threatened to undercut the ability of President Mahmoud Abbas’s West Bank-based government to reassert a presence in the Hamas-ruled territory after Israel’s 22-day offensive, said the officials, who asked not to be identified.

The cash restrictions also underscored the wider hurdles facing reconstruction, estimated to cost more than $2 billion, in the Gaza Strip, where 1.5 million Palestinians live.

Israel has told the United Nations and other aid groups planning for the rebuilding they must apply for project-by-project Israeli approval and provide guarantees none of the work will benefit Hamas.

Israel had no immediate comment on why the Palestinian Authority’s post-war cash shipments were being blocked. The restrictions were put in place long before fighting broke out on December 27, with Israel arguing that Gaza had enough cash in circulation and that some of the money could end up with Hamas.

Middle East envoy Tony Blair, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank countered that the restrictions were crippling Gaza’s economy and undermining the Palestinian Authority, which adopted anti-money laundering rules to prevent any of the money from going to Hamas and other groups.

Juan Cole agrees that Fatah and the PLO have been weakened by Israel’s failure in Gaza.

The fundamentalist group Hamas is reasserting itself in Gaza as Israeli troops withdraw, and now has a new pretext to target members of the Fatah group, secular nationalists loyal to Palestine Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. So the Israelis may have actually politically strengthened Hamas and further weakened Fatah, which is already notorious for corruption, political repression, inefficiency, and, increasingly collaboration with Israel.

As Obama rings around the ME leaders expressing his wish for an Arab Israeli peace, he has not yet stated any plans to talk with Hamas leaders, preferring instead

to help consolidate the current Hamas-Israeli cease-fire, and help the Palestinian Authority with a major reconstruction effort in Gaza after three weeks of conflict.

Israel is still only allowing in humanitarian aid, so the reconstruction of Gaza must wait for Israel’s hegemonical leisure. Tipsy Livni insists the blockade will remain as long as Hamas holds Gilad Shalit. No mention is made of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners including children being held, many for years, in Israeli dungeons.

Will Obama do the sensible thing and talk to political groups which have legitimate claims against the regimes who have delegitimised them using Bush’s phony ‘war on terror’ as cover?

In his piece, Obama Should Quit War on Terror, Talk to Hamas and Taliban, Nathan Gardels thinks so.

“Power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please, ” Obama declaimed on the Capitol steps. Instead, “our power grows through its prudent use, our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.”

Israel, take head – humility and restraint have been notably lacking in the case of Israeli aggressions.

Olivier Roy also points out the pragmatic necessity of negotiating with Hamas – the alternatives he points to are undesirable.

Where a political approach has been tried, it has worked. The relative success of the surge in Iraq is based on the implicit rejection of the official doctrine of the “war on terror”: Local armed insurgents were recognized as political actors with more or less a legitimate agenda, thus separating them from the foreign-based global militants who did not give a damn about Iraqi national interests.

Whatever the justification of the Gaza military operations (to punish the inhabitants for supporting Hamas or to free them from the control of Hamas), it will not work. Dismantling Hamas’ military capacity can only buy time, not solve the issue.

Under the logic of the current military scenario, either the PA must be reinstated in Gaza — only to face political and military guerrilla warfare with Hamas — or the Israeli Defense Forces must maintain control, perhaps with the involvement of foreign troops. In either case, the military “solution” will prevent the emergence of a Palestinian state.

Palestine is thus doomed, in the best case, to be either under a permanent Israeli occupation or under some sort of an international mandate. The suggestion that Gaza could be handed over to Egypt and what remains of the West Bank to Jordan will just contribute to extending the conflict. Such an eventuality would nullify the only positive result of the Oslo negotiations, which is to have transformed an Israeli-Arab conflict into an Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Thus, if the Obama administration truly seeks to change the equation in the Middle East and Afghanistan, it must recognize the real motives and aspirations, not imagined ones, that actually drive groups like Hamas and the Taliban. Such a recognition would lead the U.S. to talk to the Taliban in Afghanistan and look for a political instead of military solution that responds to legitimate Pashtu aspirations. It would lead the U.S. to refrain from endorsing the Israeli delusion that it can eliminate Hamas by force while frustrating Palestinian statehood.

Despite Israel’s supposed unilateral cease fire, Israeli gunboats are still firing at civilians in Gaza.

A Palestinian medical official says an Israeli gunboat off the shores of Gaza City has opened fire on Gazans, wounding a man and a girl.

Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said Thursday that a shell fired by the gunboat hit a house in a beachside refugee camp. He said the wounded were passersby in the street, AP reported.

Gunboats off Gaza have been firing for several days despite a cease-fire, which ended a three-week Israeli offensive, being in place.

More civilian killings from gunboats by Israel:

Israel’s navy shelled the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, injuring seven Palestinians, including five fishermen.

Mu’awiyah Hassanain, the director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Palestinian Health Ministry told Ma’an that Israeli gunboats shelled the As-Sudaniya area northwest of Gaza City.

He said the wounded people were taken to Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Hassanain added that rescue teams are still working to recover the corpses, many of them now decomposing, of those killed in Israel’s three-week war on Gaza.

Separately, two Palestinians died in Egyptian hospitals where they were treated for wounds from Israel’s three-week offensive.

Medical officials identified them as: Tamer Omar Al-Louh, 22, from Gaza city and Azzam Mu’awad Ash-Shafe’y, 24, from Rafah.

The death toll from the war is now 1,330, with more than 5,000 injured.

Israel Continues Bombing Gaza In Spite of Ceasefire, Sacramentans Report

Despite the ceasefire, Israel bombed Gaza again yesterday. Reports from Gaza are terrible. Tonight we spoke with a young Gaza man now living in Amman; he told us that seven of his cousins there were killed by the Israeli attacks. We are also getting reports of increased repression against Palestinians in the West Bank as well as Palestinian-Israelis; including killing and arresting demonstrators.

It is imperative that world pressure on Israel continue and increase. Not only to stop the atrocities against Gaza, but to end the occupation and apartheid policies and practices of Israel that have led to these atrocities. Israel must immediately stop the attacks on Gaza and open all borders; it must remove all of its military, apartheid wall, and settlements from the West Bank; it must stop its harassment and unequal treatment of Palestinian-Israelis; and it must adhere to UN resolutions regarding the Palestinian refugees.

January 17, 2009October 11, 2023

The Plank in Western Eyes Courtesy of The Elephant in the Room

Lloyds Bank is the target of protests since it has ceased the ability of Interpal to send aid to Gaza. In Bristol, protesters have forced the bank to close its doors. Suspect Paki has the story, and so does Syd Walker, who chronicles protests aimed at the BBC in England and Israelis in New Zealand.

Syd also comments on Obama’s rumoured appointment of Israel Firster Dennis Ross to ambassadorship in the Middle East.

To begin to restore America’s credibility, Obama and Secretary of State Clinton must appoint a genuine honest broker for negotiations over the Middle East. Someone of independence and integrity. If they prefer to appoint a foreign national, how about Bishop Tutu or Mikhail Gorbachev?

Substituting a Zionist A-Team for the Zionist B-Team is not acceptable, except to Israel. What is acceptable only to Israel is no longer acceptable to the world.

With new evidence of Israel’s criminal use of white phosphorus in civilian areas, the Zionist state is contemplating a unilateral cease fire forestalling any negotiations with the democratically elected Hamas government. Before it does so, according to Reuters Israel is bombing Gaza with renewed ferocity.

Ending a night of sporadic gunfire, the roar of jet aircraft around10 p.m. ET was followed by heavy explosions flashing over points to the south and north of the city of Gaza.

The Israeli army said 50 targets here hit, including 16 tunnels, two mosques from which troops were fired on, three bunkers, eight rocket-launching pads and six mined areas including a booby-trapped building.

A spokeswoman had no immediate comment on a report that two civilians were killed near a school. About 45,000 Gazans are sheltering in U.N.-run schools in the enclave.

Tipsy Livni is in the US organising support for Israeli plans.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, hoping to succeed Olmert when Israel votes on February 11, said on Friday that an end to the war “doesn’t have to be in agreement with Hamas but rather in arrangements against Hamas.”

She was in Washington sealing a pact for U.S. help to ensure Hamas no longer smuggles arms to Gaza via Egypt. She said Hamas still holds kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, a cause celebre in Israel, whom Hamas considers a trump card.

Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Friday called Israel’s ceasefire terms unacceptable. Demanding an end to the punitive Israeli blockade of Gaza, he said Hamas would fight on.

Hamas negotiators, however, were due to meet the Egyptians on Saturday to discuss Israel’s response to their conditions.

Hamas offers a one-year, renewable truce on condition that all Israeli forces withdraw within a week and that all the border crossings with Israel and Egypt are opened.

The Times reports that shells have been found in Gaza with markings identifying them sd white phosphorous shells – shells made in the US.

Remnants of an Israeli white phosphorus shell, identified by the marking on the outer casing — M825A1 — have been found in the village of Sheikh Ajilin in western Gaza.

Witnesses in Gaza said that the shell was fired on January 9 and was taken indoors as evidence. They recalled seeing thick smoke and smelling a strong odour in keeping with the garlic-like smell associated with white phosphorus.

Hebrew writing on the shell casing reads “exploding smoke” — the term the Israeli army uses for white phosphorus. Doctors who examined the shell said that it appeared to include phosphorus residue.

Residents said that they suffered burns on their feet when they walked where the shelling had taken place.

…

A suspected phosphorus victim was taken from Gaza across the border into Egypt yesterday. Abdul Rahman Shaer, 16, was transferred to an Egyptian hospital from Rafah. He was suffering from severe chemical burns to his face and body. Paramedics from Gaza said that doctors at the hospital were sure the chemical agent was phosphorus.

And in the Guardian:

Fresh evidence of the firing of white phosphorus weapons by Israeli forces in Gaza has emerged from witnesses heard by the Guardian and first hand accounts by human rights groups of their use against civilians.

Graphic descriptions of attacks by Israeli forces near the Gaza town of Khan Younis are contained in footage shot by Fida Qishta for the International Solidarity Movement and obtained by the Guardian.

A woman described how on Tuesday Israeli forces “started to fire phosphorus bombs against the people, of course, they are civilians …”

The UN is calling for investigation into this morning’s shelling of a UN school/shelter which killed at least two boys and injured 14 people.

Christopher Gunness, a UNRWA spokesman, said several rounds hit the UN school at about 6:45am. After a short pause, the third floor of the school took a direct hit, killing the two and injuring another 14 people.

Witnesses said four more people were killed when other shells struck nearby as people tried to escape.

About 1,600 civilians had sought refuge from the fighting inside the building, Gunness said.

“The Israeli army knew exactly our GPS co-ordinates and they would have known that hundreds of people had taken shelter there,” he said.

“When you have a direct hit into the third floor of a UN school, there has to be an investigation to see if a war crime has been committed.”

The latest Jewish Voice for Peace newsletter is inspiring.

One bright spot in the midst of this terrible darkness is the explosion of dissent in all corners of the globe.

The profoundly ignorant statement made by Clare Gatehouse in the UN’s Emergency sitting GA/10809 on Jan 16 saddens me – that our government is still blinded by a cloud of hasbara is a fair indication of the control Israel is exerting on Australian foreign policy.

CLARE GATEHOUSE ( Australia) said Australia was deeply disturbed by the violence in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel and strongly supported the call in Council resolution 1860 (2009) for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire. She supported the resolution’s recognition of the need to address arms smuggling and open border crossings and its call for the unimpeded provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance throughout the Gaza Strip.

She welcomed the Egyptian French ceasefire proposal and the important role played by Egypt and others, including Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. A solution had to be found to end Hamas’ rocket attacks against Israel, which had led to the current crisis, and it must also end arms smuggling into Gaza. The crisis had demonstrated the vital need for a two State solution to the Israel Palestine conflict.

Australia was deeply concerned that the conflict had profoundly affected civilians. She condemned any action by Hamas to deliberately endanger civilian lives and called on Israel to do all it could to ensure the safety of United Nations and humanitarian workers. She said Australia had committed $5 million in additional assistance to the people of Gaza on 1 January 2009 to provide emergency food and medical supplies and cash assistance to conflict affected families.

The Australian government has failed to notice that there were no Hamas rockets fired during the truce prior to Israel’s breach of the truce on November 4, 2008. Perhaps Stephen Smith should phone dual Australian Israeli citizen and Olmert spokesperson Mark Regev who confirmed this on Channel 4. Furthermore $5million is a palty amount to offer to Gaza, which has suffered $1.4b in damages at this point.

The President of the General Assembly excoriated Israel for its brutality.

Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, president of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (GA), went on with opening the special session despite Israel’s effort to block it, saying that “it’s ironic that Israel is trying to silence the General Assembly.”

“The relentless assault continues,” the GA president said. “Gaza is ablaze.”

“During this assault, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, one-third of them children. More bodies remain buried under the rubble, out of reach of humanitarian workers because the shelling is too intense — the living would be killed trying to reach the dead,” he said. “If this onslaught in Gaza is indeed a war, it is a war against a helpless, defenseless, imprisoned population.”

“It seems to me ironic that Israel, a state that more than any other owes its very existence to a (1948) General Assembly resolution, should be so disdainful of United Nations resolutions,” the GA president said.

More than 1,150 Palestinians have been killed and 5,100 wounded, many of them civilians since Israel commenced its unprovoked attack on Gaza.

The latest reports from the UN are alarming to say the least.

Mr. Ging said UNRWA, which aids 750,000 Palestinian refugees in Gaza, about half the population, is establishing alternative warehouses and is “up and running again” after Israeli shells destroyed the warehouse in its main compound yesterday, sending hundreds of tons of food and medicine up in flames. The fire continued to burn today. “Massive devastation and destruction” was reported in the area of the compound, he added.

The Agency is getting to most of those in need but there are still areas in the north of the Gaza Strip that are cut off. “It is an issue of major concern to us,” he said.

Describing the situation on the ground, Mr. Ging stressed that it was “really terrible” that patients in hospitals come under fire, adding that innumerable numbers of people are living in shock. UNRWA is preparing to help traumatized children when they return to school.

“People are in mortal danger here in the Gaza Strip, and have been for the last 21 days and nights and the casualty figures bear that out. At the moment there is a glimmer of hope. They are bewildered, shell-shocked and in real fear but they are grasping at this latest round of diplomatic efforts in the hope that this might end,” he said.

“I myself would never have predicted what has happened in full view of the whole world over these past 21 days and nights, but it has happened and continues right now, but I am hopeful, not least because of the efforts of our Secretary-General, which is there for all to see, and I wish others would join him in the degree of commitment and pro-activity that he is bringing to bear.”

Asked what was the most outrageous scene he had witnessed, Mr. Ging replied: “Of course, it’s always the dead children and it’s very traumatic to see that, and it’s equally traumatic to see children who are still alive but whose lives have been ruined, multiple amputees. The most traumatic sight of this conflict is visible in the morgues and in the hospitals.

“And each and every one of those cases is of course for the individuals and their families massively traumatic and life-altering, in most of them because of the horrific nature of the injuries, they’re not just a flesh wound.”

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory Max Gaylard said the situation for hospitals, medical workers and the injured was alarming and deteriorating, stressing that hospitals must be protected and remain neutral areas under any circumstances. In a statement, he noted that 13 health workers had been killed and 22 injured, and 16 health facilities and 16 ambulances damaged or destroyed since the start of the Israeli military operation.

Meanwhile, the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) reported that 69 truckloads of goods were allowed entry into Gaza from Israel today, including 26 trucks for UNRWA with flour, blankets, rice and bread, and one truck of medical supplies for the UN World Health Organization (WHO). At the Rafah crossing with Egypt, nearly 15 truckloads of food and medical and relief supplies passed through and 18 medical cases were evacuated.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that, in addition to its regular caseload of some 250,000 Gazans, it delivered canned meat and high energy biscuits to 13 Gaza hospitals, enough for 6,000 patients and staff for up to one month. WFP is also distributing ready-to-eat food to overcome the scarcity of cooking gas.

And here’s the latest report from the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

FIELD UPDATE ON GAZA FROM THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR

16 January 2009, 1700 hours

“The Red Cross is not managing to coordinate evacuation of wounded people. There are people right next to the Red Crescent hospital bleeding to death. We cannot get to them as the Israelis shoot at us.” (Palestinian medic)

“Today the UN compound in Gaza has been shelled again. I conveyed my strong protest and outrage to the Defense Minister and to the Foreign Minister… The time has come for the violence to stop and for us to change fundamentally the dynamics in Gaza.” (United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon)

January the fifteenth witnessed the most intense fighting to date, with Israeli ground forces advancing deeper into densely populated areas, particularly Gaza City with an estimated population of 500,000 people. Since the morning of 15 January, relentless shelling of the Gaza Strip has struck a number of buildings, among them the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City and three hospitals.

Large numbers of civilians are trapped in their homes while thousands more are seeking refuge with host families and in UNRWA emergency shelters. There are no safe places or bomb shelters within the Gaza Strip and the borders remain closed. Security for medical personnel and access to medical facilities remains extremely difficult.

Following a year and a half of blockade and almost three weeks of intense bombardment by land, sea and air, the Gaza Strip is witnessing a devastating humanitarian crisis. The casualty rate is rapidly rising; extensive damage has been incurred to public infrastructure and homes; and water, sanitation and electricity services are barely functioning. Supplies of essential commodities such as food, cooking gas, water and fuel are diminishing and increasingly hard to obtain. Children, who make up 56 percent of the Gaza population, continue to bear the brunt of the violence and account for a significant proportion of the dead and severely maimed.

PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS

The Israeli army remains present in the north, east and Rafah border areas. Aerial bombardment, artillery shelling and naval firing continued throughout 14 January, in particular in the Zaitoun, Tuffah, eastern Gaza and other suburbs of Gaza City. The Al-Arqam private school in Gaza City was shelled, as was the Sheikh Radwan cemetery, destroying many of the graves.

The fighting intensified in the morning of 15 January, with Israeli forces advancing deeper into Gaza City from all sides. Residential buildings, high rise buildings, three hospitals and the UNRWA compound were among the buildings hit.

As of 14 January, UNRWA was hosting 39,669 displaced Palestinians in 41 emergency shelters in Gaza, most of them in the Gaza Governorate (17 shelters with 13,884 IDPs) and in North Gaza (13 shelters with 16,282 IDPs).

MEDICAL FACILITIES

The Al Wafa Hospital east of Gaza City (the only rehabilitation hospital in the Gaza Strip), Al Fata Hospital west of Gaza City, and Al Quds Hospital were directly hit by the Israeli army. One Al Fata Hospital ambulance and two Al Quds Hospital ambulances were hit.

Around 0530 hours, at least 500 people living in Tel el Hawa sought refuge at the Al Quds Palestinian Red Crescent Society Hospital. From 1030 hours, shelling struck the administrative building and damaged the second floor of the hospital. A fire broke out, putting at risk the patients, staff and displaced persons in the hospital. The fire was eventually extinguished at around 1400 hours. As people were leaving the hospital, one fatality and four injuries were reported due to fighting in the area. At about 1800 hours, the 500 displaced people were evacuated to an UNRWA emergency shelter.

UNRWA Main Compound

At approximately 1000 hours, Israeli shells struck the main UNRWA compound, injuring three persons. The shells caused a fire that destroyed a workshop and the main warehouse which housed hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian supplies, including those due to be distributed today, 15 January. Approximately 700 Palestinians were taking refuge in the compound at the time of the incident; they were eventually evacuated to a nearby emergency shelter.

Media Building

At approximately 0900 hours on 15 January, following intensification of shelling in the neighbourhood, journalists in Gaza City took refuge in the Al Shurouq Tower which houses the main offices and studios of various local and international media outlets. Despite assurances by the Israeli army that the building was not a target, the 13th storey of the building was struck by a shell at approximately 1115 hours. Two journalists from Abu Dhabi TV were injured. The explosion caused a fire which damaged transmission facilities.

Casualties

Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) figures as of 1600 hours 15 January are 1,086 Palestinians dead, of whom 346 are children and 79 are women. The number of injured stands at 4,900, of whom 1,709 are children and 724 are women. The danger to medical staff and the difficulty of extracting the injured from collapsed buildings makes proper evacuation and estimation of casualties difficult, including the determination of the number of Palestinian male civilian casualties.

From 1600 hours on 14 January until 1600 hours on 15 January, a total of 73 Palestinians were killed, of whom 24 were children, and 340 were injured, of whom 109 were children.

Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed since 27 December. Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets and mortars from the Gaza Strip into Israel. According to the Magen David Adom, the national society of the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, Israeli civilian casualties stand at four dead and 78 injured since 27 December.

OCHA’s casualty figures do not include the number of Palestinians or Israelis treated for shock.

Priority Needs

Ceasefire: While any mechanism that facilitates humanitarian assistance is welcome, only an immediate ceasefire will be able to address the severe humanitarian and protection crisis that the population of Gaza is faced with.

Protection of Civilians: Civilians, notably children who form 56 percent of Gaza’s population, are bearing the brunt of the violence. As one of the most densely populated places in the world, more civilians risk being killed or injured if the conflict continues. The parties to conflict must respect the norms of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), in particular the principles of distinction and proportionality.

Access for ambulance and rescue teams: An unknown number of dead, injured and trapped people remain in houses which have been shelled and in areas where hostilities are ongoing. Due to attacks on ambulances, medical staff are fearful of reaching these places. The evacuation of wounded and safe passage of ambulances and health workers are fundamental tenants of IHL, and should be facilitated at all times. This includes the safe passage for evacuation of injured through Rafah crossing.

Speaking of unilateral action, Syria is calling for a full Arab boycott of Israel.

Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, told like-minded leaders meeting in the Gulf state of Qatar that the 2002 Arab peace initiative, backed by the entire 22-member Arab League, was no longer valid. Syria had already announced an end to its own talks with Israel, brokered by Turkey and focusing on the Golan Heights.

The Arab initiative promises recognition of Israel in return for a withdrawal to the 1967 borders and a just settlement of the Palestinian problem. It is widely considered to be the only basis on which a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement could be reached and has already attracted the attention of US president-elect Barack Obama.

Assad’s unilateral announcement does not mean the plan has been formally withdrawn – that would require a full Arab summit. But his statement illustrates just how difficult it will be to rescue hopes for progress towards a wider regional peace once the immediate Gaza crisis is over.

The Syrian demand to cut links with Israel was directed primarily at Egypt and Jordan, both of which have had peace treaties and full diplomatic ties with Israel since 1979 and 1994 respectively.

Protest in the UK amongst academics is continuing to mount with terse letters in major newspapers.

The massacres in Gaza are the latest phase of a war that Israel has been waging against the people of Palestine for more than 60 years. The goal of this war has never changed: to use overwhelming military power to eradicate the Palestinians as a political force, one capable of resisting Israel’s ongoing appropriation of their land and resources. Israel’s war against the Palestinians has turned Gaza and the West Bank into a pair of gigantic political prisons. There is nothing symmetrical about this war in terms of principles, tactics or consequences. Israel is responsible for launching and intensifying it, and for ending the most recent lull in hostilities.

Israel must lose. It is not enough to call for another ceasefire, or more humanitarian assistance. It is not enough to urge the renewal of dialogue and to acknowledge the concerns and suffering of both sides. If we believe in the principle of democratic self-determination, if we affirm the right to resist military aggression and colonial occupation, then we are obliged to take sides… against Israel, and with the people of Gaza and the West Bank.

We must do what we can to stop Israel from winning its war. Israel must accept that its security depends on justice and peaceful coexistence with its neighbours, and not upon the criminal use of force.

We believe Israel should immediately and unconditionally end its assault on Gaza, end the occupation of the West Bank, and abandon all claims to possess or control territory beyond its 1967 borders. We call on the British government and the British people to take all feasible steps to oblige Israel to comply with these demands, starting with a programme of boycott, divestment and sanctions.

Will the TV celebrity of Palestinian doctor Abu al-Aish who lost three daughters to an Israeli tank shell bursting into their home impact upon the self-righteous, hypnotised Israeli public? or is he just another inferior Gazan slave like the rest for them?

“Everyone knew we were home. Suddenly we were bombed. How can we talk to Olmert and (Foreign Minister) Tzipi Livni after this?” Abu al-Aish told television reporters at the border crossing.

“Suddenly, today when there was hope for a cease-fire, on the last day … I was speaking with my children, suddenly they bombed us. The doctor who treats Israeli patients.”

January 16, 2009

The Anatomy of Israel’s Penchant for Mass Murder

January 15, 2009December 13, 2020

Jewish protest against Israel’s atrocities in Gaza

Jewish resistance to Israel’s atrocities is growing – along with refuseniks and the Shvistim, today Jewish protestors closed the Israeli embassy in Los Angeles.

Early this morning, Jewish activists in a historic first in Los Angeles, chained themselves to the entrance of the Israeli Consulate and blocked the driveway to the parking structure, blocking all traffic in and out of the building. “We sent a clear message to the world that LA Jews are part of the global majority in opposition to the Israeli siege of Gaza,” said Lenny Potash a 72-year old protester who was cuffed to eight other activists, blocking the driveway to the consulate. The activists were joined by 50 other supporters and who chanted “LA Jews Say, End the Siege of Gaza” and “Not in Our Name! We Will Not Be Silent!” Protesters also held up signs reading “Israeli Consulate: Closed for War Crimes.”