Over the pat weeks the world has witnessed a scattered, complicit and futile reaction by a majority of Arab leaders to Israel’s ongoing slaughtering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Arab League continued in its history of inconsequential emergency meetings while leading Arab nations bickered about Turkey’s role in the Middle East while doing nothing themselves. The fragmentation so vividly embodied in the Palestinian experience- today primarily between Hamas and Fatah- are reflected elsewhere in the Arab world; it is the added trial of occupation that bloats ideological differences in the Palestinian case.
Thursday January 1st Israel bombed the house of Nizar Rayyan, along with his four wives and nine children. Rayyan, a prominent Hamas leader had earlier in the day made statements that he and his family would not desert their home despite Israel’s warning to bomb it. Hours later, the entire family of 14 was extra-judicially executed. When Israel began its ground incursions January 3rd it dropped leaflets in neighborhoods in Northern Gaza commanding the civilian population to flee their homes. The Mahmoud family decided if they were going to die, they preferred to die in their home, rather than while they were fleeing in the streets. Four days later on Wednesday January 7th Israel bombed a UN school, just meters away from the Mahmouds home that was being used for shelter by the very civilians that Israel had told to hide for shelter from the Israeli ground incursions. 42 died instantly, scores injured. Raed Mahmoud- father of the family and a harsh Hamas critics- had been walking near the school when Israel carried out the massacre. He stated, “Hamas fired nothing from the area, it is all lies.” Dr Attallah Tarazi, a Christian doctor in the Shifaa hospital in Gaza City disclosed January 6th that every single one of the cases he had tended to that day had been civilians, mostly women and children. Such blatant assault on human beings has brought about outrage across all spectrums of Palestinian society.
In light of Israel’s vast military capabilities, Rayyan’s death as the first and last Hamas leader killed five days into the start of Israel’s military onslaught, revealed Israel’s indiscriminate killing spree in the Gaza Strip. There are reports coming from Gaza of unified Palestinian humanitarian efforts, in this time of death political distinctions are fading away. In recent days pictures have revealed unified Hamas-Fatah funerals in Gaza. Moreover, during the last weeks the world has witnessed unprecedented joint political protests staged in the West Bank- a first in a long time including MPs of all political factions including Fatah and Hamas. The high death toll, injuries and destruction of an entire society is simultaneously a solidifying factor in the Palestinian national narrative that has potential to unify a deeply divided community. In recent days even the West Bank leadership- so deeply opposed to Hamas- has been forced to condemn Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including those carried out against Hamas. Throughout history war and death have been necessary dimensions in the formation of national identities. As Israel attempts to solidify its national narrative, it is unintentionally- its underlying goal remains divide and conquer- uniting Palestinians under its undiscriminating military onslaught on Gaza.
In a recent press conference Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moalim declared that the situation needed to “return to normal” in Gaza. Yet, what is “normal” in Gaza? Was the situation “normal” prior to this latest vicious military invasion? Is 85% of Palestinians reliant on humanitarian aid to survive “normal”? Are sealed borders surrounding a population of 1.5 million “normal”? The world must call for Gaza to live again, to have its borders opened, its leaders recognized. Meanwhile Palestinians need to overcome their political divisions. Maybe the same poison that has so deeply divided Palestinians- Israel- will also inadvertently unite them again. One single source is often the poison that kills as well as the remedy that heals.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Popular Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Friday's Popular Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People's convoy to Rafah,
Two buses of 100 activists left Cairo Friday morning with the aim of reaching Rafah to call on the Egyptian government to open the Rafah border for doctors and aid waiting there to enter as well as to allow injured Palestinians needing medical attention out.
The group was able to push through four checkpoints by stopping traffic and protesting at each point. Approximately 50km before the Gaza border we were forced back by ~300 state security police who blocked the road and started to storm our buses.
More to come.
Attached images by Per Bjorklund
http://flickr.com/photos/perbjorklund
Two buses of 100 activists left Cairo Friday morning with the aim of reaching Rafah to call on the Egyptian government to open the Rafah border for doctors and aid waiting there to enter as well as to allow injured Palestinians needing medical attention out.
The group was able to push through four checkpoints by stopping traffic and protesting at each point. Approximately 50km before the Gaza border we were forced back by ~300 state security police who blocked the road and started to storm our buses.
More to come.
Attached images by Per Bjorklund
http://flickr.com/photos/perbjorklund
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Notes From Phone Conversation w/ Dr Attalah Tarazi Jan 6, 23:30
The numbers of death and injured reported in the media are far below reality as the media is not able to cover incidents as they unfold. I know of cases where homes were surrounded by the Israeli army and people inside gave themselves up and were shot anyway when they exited.
What is taking place is a massacre, more than a massacre
Almost all the cases I saw today at the hospital were civilians, many women and children. This is not an attack on Hamas, it is on the most innocent of people in Gaza
6 ambulance staff members have been killed. Two ambulances were hit. Nothing is safe, nowhere is safe. No moving vehicle is safe. We are afraid for our lives. There is no differentiation between Hamas and Fatah or anyone else
We have witnessed weapons we have never seen before in our lives. Some explode in the sky and scatter bombs all over. Sporadically. I have smelt smells from some of the burns and wounds that I have never before witnessed
We get the feeling no one is asking about us, the world is not even
noticing this is going on, no one cares
When bakeries open there are thousands lining up to get their share of bread
A clinic near my hospital was hit by an Israeli missile earlier todayWhat is taking place is a massacre, more than a massacre
6 ambulance staff members have been killed. Two ambulances were hit. Nothing is safe, nowhere is safe. No moving vehicle is safe. We are afraid for our lives. There is no differentiation between Hamas and Fatah or anyone else
We have witnessed weapons we have never seen before in our lives. Some explode in the sky and scatter bombs all over. Sporadically. I have smelt smells from some of the burns and wounds that I have never before witnessed
Thousands have fled their homes and gathered in UN schools for shelter. one such school was hit earlier today. 45 people were killed
People gathering in these schools fleeing their homes are without food, without blankets, without clothes
May god protect us, may god have mercy on us
The Israeli military is attacking us from air, land and sea. we have no where to go
The Israeli army often hits a building 2 or 3 times. when an F 16 hits a target all the buildings around it are targeted
noticing this is going on, no one cares
My last two messages from S. in Northern Gaza
"The Israelis are here till now, they have not reaches ys yet but they are killing people at random. Many people are lying dead in the street. Death is coming towards us."
- January 5, 12:30
"I am in the house, The army is very close. The situation is very bad. We are going to lose cell phone coverage now."
- January 5, 15:42
- January 5, 12:30
"I am in the house, The army is very close. The situation is very bad. We are going to lose cell phone coverage now."
- January 5, 15:42
A Doctor at the Egyptian Side of Rafah Border
I am still in arrish. Day two waiting to enter into the humanitarian now disaster area of Gaza. As far as I understand the reason (if you can call it that) for 50+ doctors mostly Egyptian as well as three Quatari donated new ambulances (first refused as not medical equipment??) is basically an Israeli refusal obeyed by Egypt. This is from the Qatari charity chairman. And despite an obvious need and request from MOH Gaza. Many Palestinians often say ‘enshalla this is the worst it will get – during the intifadas, the shelling then in west bank, when losing land today with the wall etc etc’. Although like when an abused person says ‘where was God when I was being abused” it is difficult to see where ‘God’ is in here except in each and every person working to bind the wounds in whatever way they can any which way.
Just how bad can it get before the effete UN actually makes a statement or the silence of the west changes. There is no army in Palestine, there maybe more guns than there used be all over, but many civilians in US at least have guns for so-called protection and what do we expect if no-one else is giving protection of any kind here? Would you let your backyard and then your house be taken over with your children in it without a struggle. Those of us who try to live non-violently mostly do not know what we would do when faced with such reality. We hope we would be non-violent but…. Picturing Amritsar parallels, fireworks vs gunships, boys on burning decks which are still in my mind as parallels with many similarities I am emailing from a parallel universe so to speak as found internet at smart hotel, sitting outside looking at the beach. Knowing that this could have been a Gaza resort given different circumstances but in Gaza the death tolls has reached 600+, 4000 wounded is one figure and there is no way anyone involved is unscarred by this atrocity. Medics are trying to cope not just with horrific wounds but coping with very few supplies. I was asked on one interview-what do I expect to do when I get in…? with little to no anaesthetics, sutures, bandages, antiseptic solution …I do not know but at least we show that they are not alone. We can show our humanity in what is becoming a more and more inhumane act. Where you are sitting reading this is also far removed from the gazan reality but that does not mean that the actions taken here will not impact into your sitting room oneday. These actions by state terror machine will not produce anyone’s security in today’s global world. It is not the time to take the luxury of academic discussion around these matters. There must be a cessation of F16 followed by the fireworks with the border being opened for free access medical care and humanitarian workers and aid. Stop the war, stop the siege, stop the occupation. One way to stop the machine of war is economic –stop the fuel-stop the dollars everyone is sending to support this particularly massacre. Until we do we are all complicit in these events. We cannot claim we did not know. We may not fully understand but one dead is one too many. What is 600+?.
Let them not die in vain. Stop this massacre.
sonia
Just how bad can it get before the effete UN actually makes a statement or the silence of the west changes. There is no army in Palestine, there maybe more guns than there used be all over, but many civilians in US at least have guns for so-called protection and what do we expect if no-one else is giving protection of any kind here? Would you let your backyard and then your house be taken over with your children in it without a struggle. Those of us who try to live non-violently mostly do not know what we would do when faced with such reality. We hope we would be non-violent but…. Picturing Amritsar parallels, fireworks vs gunships, boys on burning decks which are still in my mind as parallels with many similarities I am emailing from a parallel universe so to speak as found internet at smart hotel, sitting outside looking at the beach. Knowing that this could have been a Gaza resort given different circumstances but in Gaza the death tolls has reached 600+, 4000 wounded is one figure and there is no way anyone involved is unscarred by this atrocity. Medics are trying to cope not just with horrific wounds but coping with very few supplies. I was asked on one interview-what do I expect to do when I get in…? with little to no anaesthetics, sutures, bandages, antiseptic solution …I do not know but at least we show that they are not alone. We can show our humanity in what is becoming a more and more inhumane act. Where you are sitting reading this is also far removed from the gazan reality but that does not mean that the actions taken here will not impact into your sitting room oneday. These actions by state terror machine will not produce anyone’s security in today’s global world. It is not the time to take the luxury of academic discussion around these matters. There must be a cessation of F16 followed by the fireworks with the border being opened for free access medical care and humanitarian workers and aid. Stop the war, stop the siege, stop the occupation. One way to stop the machine of war is economic –stop the fuel-stop the dollars everyone is sending to support this particularly massacre. Until we do we are all complicit in these events. We cannot claim we did not know. We may not fully understand but one dead is one too many. What is 600+?.
Let them not die in vain. Stop this massacre.
sonia
Sunday, January 4, 2009
SMS Message from Gaza Jan 3
At 7:49pm:
"I have decided not leave our house even if I die. All the people have decided this, we won't resettle again."
At 8:50pm:
"The ground incursion on us started now."
S. is a refugee from near Beer Sebea 80km from his current home on the border between two refugee camps in the Northern Gaza Strip.
"I have decided not leave our house even if I die. All the people have decided this, we won't resettle again."
At 8:50pm:
"The ground incursion on us started now."
S. is a refugee from near Beer Sebea 80km from his current home on the border between two refugee camps in the Northern Gaza Strip.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Arab Complicity, Israel's Duplicity
At 11:30am on December 27th the Israeli air force bombed Palestinian government headquarters and civilian buildings all across the Gaza Strip. Four consecutive days of attacks resulted in over 350 dead and thousands injured. In the densely populated Gaza Strip the attacks caused the death of scores of civilians.1 The UN reported seven school children attending UN schools dead when Israeli rockets hit a school,2 over a dozen traffic police officers in training were killed while Israel’s onslaught hit a prison burying inmates beneath the rubble.3 The hospitals are overcrowded with the dead and injured. Behind the images filling media outlets is a deeper story that needs to be realized.
Since early November Israel has made it increasingly difficult for journalists, NGO workers, a UN rapporteur,4 and diplomats5 to enter the Gaza Strip. On November 18th the New York Times reported that Foreign Ministry spokesman Schlomo Dror justified Israel's closure by considering "much of their [journalists in sum] previous coverage from Gaza unfair," and therefore would not be "shedding tears" about preventing their access.6 Since that time the Erez crossing- the only entry and exit for foreigners to Gaza- has opened only for very brief periods and has continued to be extremely restrictive as to who gets in and out. This has severely decreased travel to the Gaza Strip where even journalists who do make it in are not guaranteed exit- at times for weeks. As much of the world relies on English coverage of the news in places like Gaza the images and stories have severely declined due to Israeli limitations of access to journalists. This has resulted in a veiling of the day-to-day catastrophe taking place in Gaza for so many months.
In Gaza the recent deaths and injuries are an added tragedy to the ongoing hardship. The Gaza Strip has not been under siege since June 2007, when Hamas took control of the small strip of land... it has been under siege for years. 18 months ago that siege was only increased to unprecedented levels. Former Israeli Prime Minister's aide Dov Weisglass claimed Palestinians would not be starved subsequent to Hamas' election victory but put "on a diet."7 Israel determined to only permit items into Gaza that they deemed "essential," hundreds have since died due to a shortage of medical supplies, and not being provided with permits to reach other destinations with better medical provision.
Israel's aerial bombardment has brought to a head the urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza. As has been the case for months Gazans are short on blankets, cooking gas and candles, among other essential items. For the past months food is increasingly being cooked over open fires- when wood can be found- because cooking gas is now a commodity of the rich who can afford exorbitant black market prices.8 Many areas experience consistent electricity outages most of the day. Gaza has also run out of glass so that windows blown out by the ongoing air strikes cannot be replaced. While babies are going without diapers and children are going to sleep cold without blankets, bakeries are running out of flour to provide bread to the queuing masses. Gaza has long since run out of concrete and graves remain unmarked because wood, a viable alternative is also scarce. The reality of the so-called truce between Hamas and Israel that ran out weeks ago is that it never really existed: Israel has been increasingly turning Gaza into a concentration camp- not for Hamas- but for all Palestinians residing there, Muslims and Christians, Fatah, Hamas and politically nonaligned citizens alike. In the midst of all the political jargon many forget that Palestinians too are people, not just a collective entity called "Hamas." When Israel began bombing tunnels along the strip's Southern border Sunday, it closed a dire alternative channel- due to closed borders during the siege- for food, clothing and petrol.9
The complicity of select neighboring Arab governments in the latest US-applauded Israeli attacks is a further factor that merits reflection. In the week preceding the Israeli onslaught Israel's Foreign Minister traveled the region to garner support for the planned attack on Gaza. On December 26th, the day before the Israeli offensive, Egyptian newspapers carried front page images of Foreign
Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit clasping the hand of his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni as if in agreement of what was to come.10 On December 28th Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas warmed the very seat that Livni had occupied just days earlier when she had met with Egyptian president Husni Mubarak at which time Israeli plans had already been solidified to attack Gaza.11 The complicity of neighboring Arab governments has never been so obvious. London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Tuesday that Livni had shared plans regarding the attack with Egypt's security chief Omar Soleiman prior to the attacks.12 For the past few days Egyptian state security has listened to the chants of protesters yelling, "all of us are Hamas" – given the Palestinian Islamic movement's roots within Egypt's own Muslim Brotherhood which opposes the Egyptian regime in power- tacit Egyptian support for a deadly blow in Gaza comes as no surprise.
On a legal dimension there are some considerations to keep in mind. On Monday Israel declared it was carrying out an "all-out war" on Hamas.13 In a state of war between two states retaliation is a justified act and yet in this "war" Hamas is endlessly labeled a "terrorist" organization thus without any justification for the use of violence over and against Israel's justified use thereof. Israel's logic only mirrors that of the USA's stated "war on terror," which is a war on an unidentifiable, unseen enemy. Rules of international law regarding war have historically applied to nation-states at war with each other. The USA has utilized the ambiguity in the law to legitimize its unlimited use of force, detention and torture against stateless "enemies" in their campaign on the "war on terror."
The complication in Israel's case is the fact that Hamas very legitimately won Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006- with Jimmy Carter's seal of approval- and by Palestinian and international law is a legitimate and representative governing body for Palestinians. Yet two conditions follow: first, Palestinians have not been granted statehood and thus Israel can continue to treat the Palestinian pseudo-government as a "non-state" actor and still be in line with international law. This means any act of violence by Israel- an internationally recognized state- on "Hamas" is legitimized in the eyes of the West's public as Hamas is continually confirmed as a non-state, "terrorist" entity. The second matter at stake is that Hamas' election victory was not recognized by Israel, the so-called international community nor by the losing party in the elections, Fatah, who have in turn been pampered by Hamas' opponents as a legitimate representative of Palestinians despite their defeat. Following Hamas' election win Fatah neglected to hand over control of all security apparatus while preparing for a US-sponsored coup against Hamas.14 After Hamas took its legitimately gained power by force the Fatah president Mahmoud Abbas- illegally according to Palestinian law-15 deposed the Hamas government bringing about an unprecedented state of division within Palestinian society.
Internal division is the ultimate aim of Israel and its international supporters; the weakening of Islamist factions the aim of complicit Arab governments like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon. All this has left Israel with legitimacy in the eyes of the so-called "international community" to carry out not an attack on Hamas but a full-fledged aggression on the population of the Gaza Strip, with the aim of deepening the divide among Palestinians. This illegal act is another successful step towards destroying the Palestinian cause and entrenching Israel's aspirations of expanding their control over Palestinian land and deepening their legitimacy in doing so in the eyes of a global community drunk on an Israeli-concocted legal ploy, backed by a tremendous media machine.
1- http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html
2- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/2008122821341625964.html
3- http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html
4- http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10055.shtml
5- http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/17/days_after_calling_israeli_blockade_of
6- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/world/middleeast/19gaza.html
7- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/apr/16/israel
8- http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6352135
9- http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gvz_gdJXlxgB-vle7CnoV2L0YHdgD95C26D01; http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2008/09/2008999272950161.html
10- http://www.elbadeel.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40485&Itemid=120
11- http://www.ahram.org.eg/Index.asp?CurFN=fron1.htm&DID=9811; http://www.ahram.org.eg/archive/Index.asp?CurFN=fron1.htm&DID=9808
12 - http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=latest%5Cdata%5C2008-12-27-14-29-47.htm&storytitle=%E3%D5%C7%CF%D1:%20%E1%ED%DD%E4%ED%20%C7%C8%E1%DB%CA%20%DA%E3%D1%E6%20%D3%E1%ED%E3%C7%E4%20%C8%DA%E3%E1%ED%C9%20%E3%CD%CF%E6%CF%C9%20%C8%C7%E1%DE%D8%C7%DA&storytitleb=%CA%E4%CF%ED%CF%20%C8%C7%E1%D5%E3%CA%20%C7%E1%DA%D1%C8%ED%20%E6%C7%CA%E5%C7%E3%20%E1%E3%D5%D1%20%C8%C7%E1%CA%DB%D1%ED%D1%20%C8%CD%D1%DF%C9%20%CD%E3%C7%D3&storytitlec=
13- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/2008122994140674153.html
14- http://tonykaron.com/2007/05/15/palestinian-pinochet-making-his-move/
15- www.carnegieendowment.org/files/abumazinupdatejune1507.pdf
Since early November Israel has made it increasingly difficult for journalists, NGO workers, a UN rapporteur,4 and diplomats5 to enter the Gaza Strip. On November 18th the New York Times reported that Foreign Ministry spokesman Schlomo Dror justified Israel's closure by considering "much of their [journalists in sum] previous coverage from Gaza unfair," and therefore would not be "shedding tears" about preventing their access.6 Since that time the Erez crossing- the only entry and exit for foreigners to Gaza- has opened only for very brief periods and has continued to be extremely restrictive as to who gets in and out. This has severely decreased travel to the Gaza Strip where even journalists who do make it in are not guaranteed exit- at times for weeks. As much of the world relies on English coverage of the news in places like Gaza the images and stories have severely declined due to Israeli limitations of access to journalists. This has resulted in a veiling of the day-to-day catastrophe taking place in Gaza for so many months.
In Gaza the recent deaths and injuries are an added tragedy to the ongoing hardship. The Gaza Strip has not been under siege since June 2007, when Hamas took control of the small strip of land... it has been under siege for years. 18 months ago that siege was only increased to unprecedented levels. Former Israeli Prime Minister's aide Dov Weisglass claimed Palestinians would not be starved subsequent to Hamas' election victory but put "on a diet."7 Israel determined to only permit items into Gaza that they deemed "essential," hundreds have since died due to a shortage of medical supplies, and not being provided with permits to reach other destinations with better medical provision.
Israel's aerial bombardment has brought to a head the urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza. As has been the case for months Gazans are short on blankets, cooking gas and candles, among other essential items. For the past months food is increasingly being cooked over open fires- when wood can be found- because cooking gas is now a commodity of the rich who can afford exorbitant black market prices.8 Many areas experience consistent electricity outages most of the day. Gaza has also run out of glass so that windows blown out by the ongoing air strikes cannot be replaced. While babies are going without diapers and children are going to sleep cold without blankets, bakeries are running out of flour to provide bread to the queuing masses. Gaza has long since run out of concrete and graves remain unmarked because wood, a viable alternative is also scarce. The reality of the so-called truce between Hamas and Israel that ran out weeks ago is that it never really existed: Israel has been increasingly turning Gaza into a concentration camp- not for Hamas- but for all Palestinians residing there, Muslims and Christians, Fatah, Hamas and politically nonaligned citizens alike. In the midst of all the political jargon many forget that Palestinians too are people, not just a collective entity called "Hamas." When Israel began bombing tunnels along the strip's Southern border Sunday, it closed a dire alternative channel- due to closed borders during the siege- for food, clothing and petrol.9
The complicity of select neighboring Arab governments in the latest US-applauded Israeli attacks is a further factor that merits reflection. In the week preceding the Israeli onslaught Israel's Foreign Minister traveled the region to garner support for the planned attack on Gaza. On December 26th, the day before the Israeli offensive, Egyptian newspapers carried front page images of Foreign
Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit clasping the hand of his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni as if in agreement of what was to come.10 On December 28th Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas warmed the very seat that Livni had occupied just days earlier when she had met with Egyptian president Husni Mubarak at which time Israeli plans had already been solidified to attack Gaza.11 The complicity of neighboring Arab governments has never been so obvious. London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Tuesday that Livni had shared plans regarding the attack with Egypt's security chief Omar Soleiman prior to the attacks.12 For the past few days Egyptian state security has listened to the chants of protesters yelling, "all of us are Hamas" – given the Palestinian Islamic movement's roots within Egypt's own Muslim Brotherhood which opposes the Egyptian regime in power- tacit Egyptian support for a deadly blow in Gaza comes as no surprise.
On a legal dimension there are some considerations to keep in mind. On Monday Israel declared it was carrying out an "all-out war" on Hamas.13 In a state of war between two states retaliation is a justified act and yet in this "war" Hamas is endlessly labeled a "terrorist" organization thus without any justification for the use of violence over and against Israel's justified use thereof. Israel's logic only mirrors that of the USA's stated "war on terror," which is a war on an unidentifiable, unseen enemy. Rules of international law regarding war have historically applied to nation-states at war with each other. The USA has utilized the ambiguity in the law to legitimize its unlimited use of force, detention and torture against stateless "enemies" in their campaign on the "war on terror."
The complication in Israel's case is the fact that Hamas very legitimately won Palestinian parliamentary elections in January 2006- with Jimmy Carter's seal of approval- and by Palestinian and international law is a legitimate and representative governing body for Palestinians. Yet two conditions follow: first, Palestinians have not been granted statehood and thus Israel can continue to treat the Palestinian pseudo-government as a "non-state" actor and still be in line with international law. This means any act of violence by Israel- an internationally recognized state- on "Hamas" is legitimized in the eyes of the West's public as Hamas is continually confirmed as a non-state, "terrorist" entity. The second matter at stake is that Hamas' election victory was not recognized by Israel, the so-called international community nor by the losing party in the elections, Fatah, who have in turn been pampered by Hamas' opponents as a legitimate representative of Palestinians despite their defeat. Following Hamas' election win Fatah neglected to hand over control of all security apparatus while preparing for a US-sponsored coup against Hamas.14 After Hamas took its legitimately gained power by force the Fatah president Mahmoud Abbas- illegally according to Palestinian law-15 deposed the Hamas government bringing about an unprecedented state of division within Palestinian society.
Internal division is the ultimate aim of Israel and its international supporters; the weakening of Islamist factions the aim of complicit Arab governments like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon. All this has left Israel with legitimacy in the eyes of the so-called "international community" to carry out not an attack on Hamas but a full-fledged aggression on the population of the Gaza Strip, with the aim of deepening the divide among Palestinians. This illegal act is another successful step towards destroying the Palestinian cause and entrenching Israel's aspirations of expanding their control over Palestinian land and deepening their legitimacy in doing so in the eyes of a global community drunk on an Israeli-concocted legal ploy, backed by a tremendous media machine.
1- http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html
2- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/2008122821341625964.html
3- http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html
4- http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10055.shtml
5- http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/17/days_after_calling_israeli_blockade_of
6- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/world/middleeast/19gaza.html
7- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/apr/16/israel
8- http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6352135
9- http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gvz_gdJXlxgB-vle7CnoV2L0YHdgD95C26D01; http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2008/09/2008999272950161.html
10- http://www.elbadeel.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40485&Itemid=120
11- http://www.ahram.org.eg/Index.asp?CurFN=fron1.htm&DID=9811; http://www.ahram.org.eg/archive/Index.asp?CurFN=fron1.htm&DID=9808
12 - http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=latest%5Cdata%5C2008-12-27-14-29-47.htm&storytitle=%E3%D5%C7%CF%D1:%20%E1%ED%DD%E4%ED%20%C7%C8%E1%DB%CA%20%DA%E3%D1%E6%20%D3%E1%ED%E3%C7%E4%20%C8%DA%E3%E1%ED%C9%20%E3%CD%CF%E6%CF%C9%20%C8%C7%E1%DE%D8%C7%DA&storytitleb=%CA%E4%CF%ED%CF%20%C8%C7%E1%D5%E3%CA%20%C7%E1%DA%D1%C8%ED%20%E6%C7%CA%E5%C7%E3%20%E1%E3%D5%D1%20%C8%C7%E1%CA%DB%D1%ED%D1%20%C8%CD%D1%DF%C9%20%CD%E3%C7%D3&storytitlec=
13- http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/2008122994140674153.html
14- http://tonykaron.com/2007/05/15/palestinian-pinochet-making-his-move/
15- www.carnegieendowment.org/files/abumazinupdatejune1507.pdf
"All Around Us is Death": Type-up of a Skype call to Gaza
All around us is death, death, no one is driving, in my life I have never seen anything lie this. I could not have imagined anything like this
The media can only cover 10 or 15 locations, but its everywhere, while you are sleeping the ground is shaking like in an earthquake.
everything has finished in the country..we have enough flour for 4 or 5 days.. others don't have any
you can wait 8 or 9 hours to get one bag of bread at the bakery.. when they do open
Gaza doesnt have anything in it, only death, that is the only thing that is left, any moment you await death, they started calling people , if they target your neighbors, a car passes by you, you are gone, its a war.
last time I left the house was last wednesday
sleep? no, sleep is impossible, my siblings stay awake to ask what happened. at times
some houses nearby have been hit, but none in our neighborhood yet.
the youngest brother (5) says he is not afraid... his sister says this is just a show.. he hasn't been sleeping at night or during day.
i hear attacks in the background
half of our neighborhood is funerals
we have forgotten what cooking gas is in ghaza, now we use kerosene to make tea and for lighting.
a bag of flour is 220NIS ($50), my brother waited 3-4 hours to get one bag of bread from the bakery; shops are closed
we had flour for 10 days when attacks happened, so we don't starve, can buy a few kilos of rice,
on radio Israeli army chief Ashkenazi said what happened the past days was nothing, what is coming is much harder
Israelis said Barak should enter gaza and not leave a stone on top of another.
death will reach everyone, you won't find a house where death has not entered in gaza
till now they have not killed hamas leaders, or military,
maybe this is the last time we talk, you may find us dead next time, it is likely in 5 minutes the electricity will cut.
The media can only cover 10 or 15 locations, but its everywhere, while you are sleeping the ground is shaking like in an earthquake.
everything has finished in the country..we have enough flour for 4 or 5 days.. others don't have any
you can wait 8 or 9 hours to get one bag of bread at the bakery.. when they do open
Gaza doesnt have anything in it, only death, that is the only thing that is left, any moment you await death, they started calling people , if they target your neighbors, a car passes by you, you are gone, its a war.
last time I left the house was last wednesday
sleep? no, sleep is impossible, my siblings stay awake to ask what happened. at times
some houses nearby have been hit, but none in our neighborhood yet.
the youngest brother (5) says he is not afraid... his sister says this is just a show.. he hasn't been sleeping at night or during day.
i hear attacks in the background
half of our neighborhood is funerals
we have forgotten what cooking gas is in ghaza, now we use kerosene to make tea and for lighting.
a bag of flour is 220NIS ($50), my brother waited 3-4 hours to get one bag of bread from the bakery; shops are closed
we had flour for 10 days when attacks happened, so we don't starve, can buy a few kilos of rice,
on radio Israeli army chief Ashkenazi said what happened the past days was nothing, what is coming is much harder
Israelis said Barak should enter gaza and not leave a stone on top of another.
death will reach everyone, you won't find a house where death has not entered in gaza
till now they have not killed hamas leaders, or military,
maybe this is the last time we talk, you may find us dead next time, it is likely in 5 minutes the electricity will cut.
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