Rafah to Close

Word on the street is that Egypt is closing Rafah crossing to all journalists and doctors entering or exiting Gaza on Friday.

Does this mean more bloodbaths to come?

Renewed Rafah Breach?

In Sheikh Zweyyid, a town 15km away from the Rafah border Mostafa Singer, teacher and journalist told me that the last two times the border was breached was in coordination between Hamas and the Egyptian authorities.

38 days prior to the incident in January 2008 the journalist received word from Fatah officers being housed in Egyptian military camps that the border would be toppled. Despite this prior information the governorate of Northern Sinai was far from prepared for the flow of people following the border opening.

“When the border was breached in 2007 Rafah, Sheikh Zweyyid and Arish ran out of water and prices tripled… many Palestinians were sleeping in the streets,” Singer said, “in [Egyptian] Rafah Hamas members were guiding traffic in the streets” in order to restore some order.

According to Singer four days before Israel’s latest military attacks the governor of Northern Sinai met with local leaders, heads of schools, youth organizations and hospitals to prepare for mobilization. At a monthly meeting on January 20th the governor furthermore coordinated efforts for emigration of Palestinian refugees to the region.

Near the hospital in Rafah the Egyptian army set up a camp of tents soon after the Israeli military onslaught began. I received reports that other such camps existed within closed off Egyptian military compounds. Egyptian authorities have given no official explanation as to why the tents are there.

Khalil Alniss, head of Justice for Gaza, an NGO that coordinates humanitarian assistance into Gaza, is based in the area. Alniss believes the tents may be used to house fleeing Palestinian refugees. In the Egyptian town of Rafah Om Muhammed said, “if they open the border they are welcome, if they need to come then let them come.”

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

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

Egyptian Shame

AP- Egyptian police have confiscated whole herds of sheep and cattle set to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip ahead of a major Islamic holiday through the tunnels running underneath border, a security official said Saturday.

The official said that 17 sheep were confiscated on Saturday just as smugglers began to introduce them into the tunnel in an area just north of the divided border city of Rafah.

Letter from Rafah

I received this message from my dear friend in Rafah today..

hey every body

The situation is very bad at the moment here in Rafah/ Gaza Strip , today in the morning Hamas Forces Attacked Karm Abusalem's Crossing and they hurt 6 Israeli Soldiers and 3 Palestinian were killed during this Confrontation , 7 hours later , the Israeli forces attacked a palestinian car in Rafah , they killed one Palestinian and 4 were injuries by the attack ,

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the google add at the bottom of my page read this:

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Going green? See the top 12 foods to eat organic.

Zoo Break

The metal wall that stood between Gaza and Egypt is folded over like a piece of paper.

Yesterday a group of women massed at the Rafah terminal crossing that has been sealed shut with only two exceptions of a few hours since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.

At 2am the border was stormed and from that time on the population across the entire Gaza Strip has been thinning out as people young and old head to the border.

Why?

To get a breath of fresh air, to see something different, to take their sick to the hospital and buy food and household goods.

Two nights ago Nusseirat camp where I was visiting was out of candles and electricity had been out since the night before.

It is hard to find public transportation as taxis and buses are all heading South, just to get out.

For now electricity is back for hours at a time. Israel allowed in enough gas to restart Gaza City’s main power plant and hospitals but none for gas stations. They remain closed.

Despite the shortage, vehicles are running. Today prices to Rafah are double for a space on the back of a truck what they were for a seat in a taxi yesterday.

Escaping from this cage of boredom is being done at any price.

The increased siege over the past week finally caused an explosion.

Cigarettes are down from 20 shekels to 7.

The bakeries have flour to make bread.


image 1: AP

Gaza Zoo closed

This Broke me Today

Written by my dear friend Yassmine in Rafah. Read more on her blog.

Five-month’s old Eyad is one of the happiest babies I’ve ever met. Barley touch his cheeks and he smiles, tickle his little belly and he bursts out in laughter, kicking his feet in the air. He’s also really quiet when he’s alone. He just lies there, and quiets plays with his hands and feet. He doesn’t cry like other babies. But get anywhere near him, and he sees you, he starts to laugh and kick his feet up in the air with excitement so you can play with him. His mother, Jamalat, says his laughter is a blessing from God as it takes away some of her sorrow and fills her heart instead with joy.

Eyad has never met his father, and his father has never seen him. Jamalat was 5-weeks pregnant with Eyad when his father, my cousin, was killed by an Israeli sniper during an incursion in Sufa. He had just told Jamalat to prepare some tea and took his then two-year old daughter, Malak and sat in front of his house. The sniper had every intention of killing him, not injure or disable him, for he didn’t shot him once or twice or in the leg or arm but he shot him three times; in his stomach, his chest and his neck. He would have died from his stomach wound, but was shot again in his chest. He fell to the ground and laid there, half alive, but mostly dead, hanging between life and death as he looked at his daughter. And then came the final shot to his neck, which eliminated any ounce of life left in him. Jamlat was used to the sound of gunshots, so she didn’t think to check on where or whom had been shot, until Malak ran over to her crying with her father’s blood all over her face and clothes.

Ironically, he was shot from his uncle’s house, just 50 meters away. The house was raided the night before, and transformed into a military site. The sniper was on the roof when he shot my cousin. This is how Israel legally and quietly harasses Gazans. They come in quietly from the border, whether its Sufa or Biet Hanoun or Khan Younis, and raid a house. They cut off all the phone lines and the electricity and lock the house residents into a room, declaring the house a military site. For the next day or so, they assess the area, and quietly plan. No one else in the neighborhood knows that the IDF has taken over that house, and it could be days before they leave. They come to arrest or kill so called militants, and raze trees and demolish homes of so called militant supporters. They then leave quietly, pulling back their tanks and bulldozers from Gaza, and sit at the Israeli-Gaza border until they decide on the next incursion.

Jamalat says God has taken away her husband away from her, only to give Eyad the same face. Eyad is an exact image of his father. He was also given his name.

It’s hard to laugh with Eyad laugh without having your heart-broken. He has no idea the world he will grow up in. He’ll grow up with only stories and pictures of his father. He’ll see his mother struggle to feed him and siblings. He’ll be told he’s refugee, and get used to waiting in line with his mom for their food packages. He’ll learn to sleep with the sounds of Israeli planes over his head. He’ll recognize the sounds of tanks coming into his neighborhood and that’ll be his que to run home. Anger will fill his heart when he sees Israeli’ bulldozers raze and break his father’s olive trees. And he’ll live under Israeli occupation, in an unjust world, where he will think its normal to live in such conditions, and there is no other alternative.

He’ll never know or see the face of the Israeli solider that killed his father, or receive reparations for the life he will live. And the Israeli solider will never realize what he has done or who he has hurt. He never thought for a second before he shot those three shots that the man he was shooting was someone’s father, and was loved by his wife and had just invited his neighbors for tea to celebrate Jamalat’s pregnancy before sitting in front of his door to greet them.

At Rafah: Hamas- Al-Quaeda trade

According to Palestinian news service Ma'an reported the following incident Sunday.

"A secret deal was struck between Hamas and the Egyptian intelligence to allow 85 people stranded for 4 months on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to enter the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources told Ma'an on Monday.

The majority of those who crossed the border under the deal were Hamas political and military leaders, according to the sources.

Under the deal an Al-Qaeda leader hiding in Gaza, who was accused of being involved in attacks on tourists in the southern Egyptian city of Assiut, was handed over to the Egyptians."

This is a significant incident that communicates in action rather than merely in word the clear distinction that exist between Hamas and Al-Quaeda. The exchange also points to the careful relationship Egypt's governing regime is walking in regards their relationship with Hamas. Although their security representatives left the Gaza Strip in mid-June, dialogue remains ongoing.

A Haaretz Report added these details,

"Egypt's Interior Ministry confirmed that they had agreed with Hamas to transport the people across the border. It gave no explanation.

Israel, which opposed the return of some of the Palestinians, said it was unaware of an Egypt-Hamas agreement. Egypt told Israel that about 28 Palestinians, including senior Hamas figures, broke through the Egypt-Gaza fence, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said.

But the crossing appeared to be organized with Egyptian cooperation, witnesses said. The Palestinians were transported to the Egyptian side of the border in Egyptian buses, allowed across by Hamas security and then met at a Hamas security in included a prominent Hamas lawmaker, Mushir al-Masri, and Hamas loyalists sent for training in Muslim countries before the militant Islamic group's Gaza takeover, witnesses said.

They did not speak to journalists at the scene. During the crossing, Hamas security officials tried to keep the operation a secret, confiscating film from photographers and cameramen alerted to the scene."

Remembering Rachel Corrie

Rachel Corrie was killed on March 16, 2003 by a 60-ton caterpillar bulldozer as she tried to prevent a Palestinian home from being demolished. Today Rachel's parents are reopening the court case against the company which has been unwilling to end its sales to the Israeli government knowing full well what the vehicles are used for, the destruction of family homes all across Gaza and the West Bank. Last week six family homes were destroyed in Gaza's Maghazi refugee camp.

During the court case the Corrie's lawyer asked the judge to consider the hypothetical case of a U.S. oven manufacturer during World War II: "If the company continued selling ovens to Germany, knowing they were being used to kill Jews, would there be legal grounds to go after the company?"

Such court cases are often too easily misunderstood. The company is not being boycotted merely because of the fact that their products are being used for purposes that are harming to or end human life and commit human rights abuses. Boycott has been threatened by well-organized campaigns after the case been made very clear to the executive decision makers at Caterpillar. Their decision in the end is whether to continue playing a role in such crimes or to take the financial loss. So far, Caterpillar has opted for the first option, thus perpetuating the existence of Rachel's blood on their hands.

Rachel stood up for the rights of a voiceless people. I am challenged by her life.

Here, the rest of the report.

Israeli Historian Ilan Pappe makes the case for boycotting his own country.

More background on boycott, divestment and sanctions.

Visiting The Dead in Gaza

Jamal’s car was sounding more and more rickety I noticed as we drove to his house for lunch. He was late since he had spent the entire day at the Rafah border with some neighbors who were trying to cross to Egypt for medical care. They had gotten there at the crack of dawn only to turn back in the late afternoon without success. Of the thousands gathered a select few had made it across, but they were not among the lucky few. I have to be honest, I have no idea what the hell must be like crossing that border because I have never had the privilege or bad fortune to attempt to do so. When it is actually open, only Palestinians are permitted to cross.

The Rafah border is operated by Palestinians on one side, by Egyptians on the other and has a European mission monitoring the process on the Palestinian side. One of the more positive things to come of the Israeli disengagement is that they no longer man this border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and yet Israel still controls it from a distance. On a daily basis the European mission is prepared to travel from their headquarters in the Israeli city of Ashqalon 45 minutes away to the Southern most tip of the Gaza Strip to allow passage for Gaza’s inhabitants to the rest of the world. All it takes for the trip and thus the operation of the border to be canceled is Israel’s discouragement from doing so… like the rest of Israeli decision making, for reasons of security precautions of course. Yesterday the border was open after almost two weeks of closure, whereas the agreement that was established between Israel, Palestine and the Egyptians was for its daily opening. In a report written one year after the signing of the agreement, the border had been closed during the final six months phase for 86% of the time. Jamal was exhausted and after a short lunch took a nap in the corner of one of the two rooms in his house.
Jamal’s oldest daughter had just finished her final exams, Hamza, Jamal’s favorite had completed kindergarten and was about to tear up his graduation certificate when I got hold of it. The others had just a few more days to go before the summer break. I asked them what they would do during the summer, “stay home” Maysa told me, “and visit my grandmother,” Om Daher’s mother lived a few houses away. Jamal had drawn a tarp across the open air sitting space in his courtyard to spare us a little from the sun. The boys were running around and his wife Om Daher would order them out of the room every time they got too rowdy. I couldn’t imagine the entire summer going by like this with none of them involved in any activity but being home.
Meanwhile the Israeli surveillance balloon was not far away and the rockets flew overhead at night. I wondered what effect this was having on these kids. Jamal explained that during the past week Daher, his oldest son and him had been standing at the door of their house when they saw a guided missile heading into their neighborhood, “Daher was scared,” he laughed. He described the missile as weaving around homes until reaching its destination, a Hamas facility not too far from their home. Jamal said he had not slept much the night before because of the sound of the missiles overhead and Om Daher complained they could not watch TV, one of the rare distractions and forms of entertainment here, because of the static caused by the movement in the air. I learned that the large picture hanging on the wall was of Jamal’s recently deceased mother. For the past year he had not been to visit her because the cemetery she was buried in was located too close to the border with Israel. I knew Israel controlled water, airspace and borders, but in Gaza, even the dead were off-limits to visit.

*first photo is by my friend Wessam Nassar

Israeli attack on Rafah Hamas headquarters

This report from AP just minutes ago..

"GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli aircraft fired missiles at the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Wednesday, Palestinian officials and the Israeli army said, and Hamas confirmed that one of its security buildings was hit in the strike.

Palestinian rescue officials said several people were buried under rubble after the strike but that their condition was not immediately known. A photographer at the scene said there appeared to be dead.

The Israeli army confirmed its aircraft had fired on southern Gaza, but did not give details. Palestinian security officials said at least three missiles were fired from an Israeli helicopter."

Is Israel choosing sides and sending in reinforcements to cover Fatah? Is Israel trying to spread to chaos from Gaza City to the rest of the Gaza Strip where there has been relative quiet?

First reports coming out now are saying that at least five are left dead and many severely injured.