Israel Plays God: Floods Gaza Strip

The Gaza Valley (Wadi Ghaza) used to host a river with lush banks from Hebron to the Mediterranean. For the past many years it has been transferred into a trickle of sewage after Israeli authorities built a dam and cut the water flow.

Yesterday, the Israelis decided to open the dam, causing the banks of the trickling river to flood the homes of Gaza residents.

The BBC, silencing the perpetrator, turned the incident into an act of nature.

"On Monday seven people were killed in the region when heavy rains caused the worst flash floods seen in a decade."

Human Rights Group Al-Mezan described it differently,

"For the second time in less than ten years the Israeli occupation forces have flooded Palestinian homes, fields and possessions of tens of families in the Gaza Strip."

No deaths means the English-speaking media is uninterested.

This is another case of the Gaza Strip's state of exception. One day Israel has use of water, so damn the Palestinians fields. Two days ago the Israelis had too much water, so damn the Palestinian homes.

A few words on the State of Exception..

Political Theorists Carl Schmitt’s conceptualization of the state of exception mirrors theologian Soren Kierkegaard’s formulation of the suspension of the ethical, whereby any ethical standardization is suspended during an incident of ‘divine intervention’ as that faced by Abraham’s intention of sacrificing his son. It is such logic of exception that Israel utilizes in the ongoing siege on Gaza- breaking all standards of international law- and in the flooding of a few homes in the Gaza valley.

The Palestinians are on the recipient end of this tableau of ethical suspension and in full approval of an on-looking international community, which applies its own “divine” exceptions when deemed fit.

Its fun to play god.

War-Comic-Journalism: Joe Sacco

"[W]hen I was in high school what I saw on TV news and what I read in the newspapers gave me the impression that Palestinians were terrorists.

And later on I began to understand why. Every time the word 'Palestinian' came up on the news it was in relationship to a bombing or a hijacking or something else like that. And that is objective journalism: just reporting what's going on. 'This is a fact' and leave it there. What it meant was that I had no education from the American mainstream media about what was going on there.

I knew nothing about the Palestinians. I didn't know why they were fighting at all or what they were striving for."

Read On

Interview: Elia Suleiman

Ramez... of the Multitude

Last night, during a visit to the Nile delta, I met Ramez. As soon as he saw me- overcome with joy- he threw his arms around me. I was not quite sure why.

This picture explains it a bit.

Many months ago- though he had never met me- Ramez protested for my release. He is a student of law. Ramez has a speech and hearing impairment, so he struggles with his studies. 

This is the multitude, that still brings a ray of hope. 

My Friend Fares... One Year On

In January 2009 Fares Akram's diary described the ordeal of life in Gaza during the Israeli military assault. A year on, he describes how he still mourns his lost father, but keeps going for the sake of a baby born in war.

Read On

This State of Exception

According to a UN official Israel will be paying the UN "around $10.5 million" in compensation for the "damage"- caused during Israel's war last winter against Gaza:

1. of U.N. property (two U.N. schools and a World Food Program warehouse in Gaza City- nevermind the over 40 refugees sheltering there after being told to do so by leaflets dropped by Israeli fighter jets in order to "safety")

2. for the life of the driver of a U.N. truck 

nevermind the over 1,300 other lives, 

nevermind the over 20,000 injured, 

nevermind the over 22,000 buildings destroyed, 

nevermind the ongoing destruction lived by people like you and me in the Gaza Strip today,

and I wonder, how does the people behind this entity called Israel get away with it.

Down With the Wall

Philip Rizk, a blogger and filmmaker, was kidnapped and detained by security forces last February after he organized a march from Cairo to Gaza with local and international activists. “Throughout the interrogation, my biggest crime seemed to be one simple thing: I cared too much for Palestinians and was willing to turn this solidarity into action.”

Read On

International activists coming to Egypt to protest Israeli Siege and Violence on Gaza find themselves facing Egyptian Siege and Violence.

Bored Police one day turn Violent the Next:

Follow on with Sam and Ali.

UN: Mouth Piece of Status Quo/ Occuption

The key to a sustainable solution to the crisis in Gaza is for resolution 1860 to be implemented in full, including an end to the Israeli blockade and the reopening of all legitimate crossings between Gaza and Israel and Gaza and Egypt, as prescribed in the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access.

The Egyptian Puppet State by Sam Husseini

Indeed, it was a powerful action. By the time we got there, the protest was lively, but almost all on the sidewalk in front of the embassy, it had been on the street. A while after we got there, a long line of at least 100 government forces with riot gear appeared across the street. They had helmets and shields and clubs.

They came towards us. But it was not to beat us.

It was I think to keep us confined. Not letting the passing drivers see a vibrant protest.

Read On