I do what I want - You do what you're told

• 8 Palestinians, including a child and a farmer, were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip.

• 5 of the victims, including a child and his uncle, were killed in a series of attacks launched by IOF against the east of Gaza City in less than 5 hours. 

• A Palestinian child was run down to death by an Israeli settler.

• 25 Palestinian, including 5 children, were wounded by IOF in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.   

• IOF conducted 30 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, and 7 ones into the Gaza Strip.

• IOF arrested 65 Palestinian civilians, including 7 children and a girl, in the West Bank and 10 others, including 3 children, in the Gaza Strip.

• IOF razed at least 125 donums[1] of agricultural land.

• IOF damaged a number of civilian facilities in the northeast of Gaza City.

• IOF raided a number of charities and NGOs in Ramallah and al-Bireh.

• IOF raided and searched a number of charities, mosques and shops in Qalqilya, and closed 4 charities.

• IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

• The fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip has escalated.

• 6 Palestinian civilian were arrested by IOF at military checkpoints in the West Bank.

• IOF have continued settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attacks Palestinian civilians and property.

• 2 Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian family near Nablus.

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law seriously escalated in the OPT, especially in the Gaza Strip, during the reporting period (3 – 9 April 2008):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed 8 Palestinians, including a child and a farmer, and wounded 24 others, including 5 children, in the Gaza Strip. They also wounded 2 Palestinian civilians, including a child, in the West Bank.

In the Gaza Strip, on 9 April 2008, IOF killed 4 Palestinian civilian and an activist of the Palestinian resistance in less than 5 hours in a series of attacks against the east of Gaza City, after activists of the Palestinian resistance had killed 2 Israelis near Nahal Ouz crossing, east of Gaza City. Additionally, 11 Palestinians, including 2 children, were wounded. On 3 April 2008, 6 Palestinians, including 5 civilians, were wounded when IOF moved into al-Sraij area in al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. On 5 April 2008, 2 Palestinian children were wounded in al-Qarara village when they played with a shell left by IOF. On the same day, IOF killed a Palestinian farmer and wounded his nephew in Jabalya town. On 4 April 2008, a Palestinian child was wounded by IOF in al-Boreij refugee camp. On 8 and 9 April 2008, IOF killed 2 activists of the Palestinian resistance and wounded 2 others during incursions into al-Qarara village and Jabalya town.  

In the West Bank, on 3 April 2008, IOF wounded a Palestinian civilian in Hebron, claiming that he wanted to seize a gun from an IOF soldier. On 9 April 2008, a Palestinian child was wounded in Beit Reema village, northwest of Ramallah, when IOF fired at a number of children who threw stones at military vehicles. Two Palestinian children also sustained bruises and dozens of civilians suffered from tear gas inhalation when IOF used force to disperse peaceful demonstration organized in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in al-Ma’sara village, south of Bethlehem, and Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah.

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 30 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 65 Palestinian civilians. Thus, the number of Palestinian civilians arrested by IOF in the West Bank since the beginning of 2008 has mounted to 875.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted 7 limited incursions into Palestinian communities. During these incursions, IOF arrested 10, including 3 children, razed at least 125 donums of agricultural land and destroyed some civilian facilities.   

Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

Gaza Strip

IOF have continued to close all border crossings of the Gaza Strip for more than one year and a half. The total siege imposed by IOF on the Gaza Strip has left disastrous impacts on the humanitarian situation and has violated the economic and social rights of the nearly 1.5 million Palestinian civilian population, particularly the rights to appropriate living conditions, health and education. It has also paralyzed most economic sectors. Furthermore, severe restrictions have been imposed on the movement of the Palestinian civilian population. The siege imposed on the Gaza Strip has severely impacted the flow of food, medical supplies and other necessities such as fuel, construction materials and raw materials for various economic sectors. IOF have further tightened the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip, and the living and economic conditions of Palestinian civilians have further deteriorated. In September 2007, the Israeli government declared the Gaza Strip as "a hostile entity," which implies imposing more restrictions and measures of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population. Since then, IOF have sharply decreased food and fuel supplies allowed into the Gaza Strip.  IOF have continued to prevent the entry of raw materials into the Gaza Strip, and subsequently many factories have stopped their industrial activities. Concerning the movement of persons, IOF allow a few Palestinian civilians to pass through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to travel to the West Bank. Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border is the sole outlet for the Gaza Strip to the outside world. IOF have closed Rafah International Crossing Point, even though they do not directly control it. They have prevented European observers working at the crossing point form reaching it. 

The closure of border crossings deprives the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip of their right to freedom of movement, education and health. IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip. Fishermen have been subjected to intensive monitoring by IOF, which use helicopter gunships and gunboats to monitor the fishermen. The Oslo Accords allow Palestinian fishermen to go fishing up to 20 nautical miles away from the Gaza seashore.

West Bank

Contrary to Israeli claims of easing restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians, IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to Jerusalem. IOF have established many checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays to prevent them from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque. IOF often violently beat Palestinian civilians who attempt to bypass checkpoints and enter the city. IOF have also tightened the siege imposed on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF also erected more checkpoints on the main roads and intersections in the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF troops positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 6 Palestinian civilians.

Settlement Activities: IOF have continued settlement activities and Israeli settlers living in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. On Monday evening, 7 April 2008, an Israeli settler driving a bus ran down to death a Palestinian child to the east of Nablus. The child was on a donkey grazing animals crossing the bypass road to the east of Salam village. An Israeli bus coming from the east ran him down to death. His donkey and 8 sheep were also killed. On 9 April 2008, 2 Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian vehicle near Nablus. As a result, 2 women were injured.

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (3 – 9 April 2008)

1.      Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

Thursday, 3 April 2008

·      On Wednesday night, 2 April 2008, IOF moved into al-Mraiha village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a 2-storey house belonging to Ibrahim Mustafa Abu Rmaila, and transformed its roof into a military site. At approximately 21:00 on Friday, IOF forced the family down to the first floor and transformed the second floor also into a military site.

·      At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into Ramallah and al-Bireh. They raided and searched offices of a number of NGOs and charities and a number of houses. According to eyewitnesses, IOF raided and searched offices of the Islamic Charity in al-Bireh, the Chamber of Commerce and the Municiplaity of al-Bireh and confiscated some documents. They also raided and searched a number of houses and apartment buildings and arrested Mousa Tawabsha, 42.

·      At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Jericho. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 2 Palestinian civilians:

1.      Mo’tassem Bajes Khatatba, 18; and

2.      Ziad al-Basha, 16.

·      At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Qiffin village, north of Tulkarm. They besieged a house belonging to Waleed Ahmed al-Sabbah. They fired at the house and forced the family out. IOF troops then searched the house and arrested the owner’s son, Khaled, 24.

·      At approximately 06:00, IOF moved nearly 700 meters into al-Sraij area in al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis. They held at least 15 Palestinian farmers who were working in the area, including a man and his pregnant wife, and a woman and her two sisters. IOF troops used those farmers as human shields during the exchange of fire with activists of the Palestinian resistance. They then took the farmers to the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Later, they released the four women, who were endangered by the exchange fire while on their way back homes. IOF troops again held one of the women, 32-year-old 'Etaf Ahmed al-Najjar, and used her together with a child and a man as human shields. At approximately 10:30, IOF troops fired at a number of Palestinian civilians who searching for their relatives thinking that IOF withdrew from the area. Two civilians were wounded:

1.      Yousef Suleiman Khashan, 28, seriously wounded by 3 gunshots to the pelvis; and

2.      'Arafat Suleiman Khashan, 25, wounded by a gunshot to the right foot.

During this incursion, IOF also wounded another 4 Palestinians, including 3 civilians:

1.      'Aatef 'Aatef Fayad, 19, seriously wounded by to side;

2.      Mahmoud Lutfi Fayad, 21, wounded by a gunshot to the abdomen;

3.      Hammoud Salah Fayad, 20, wounded by a gunshot to the right leg; and

4.      Suhaib Jameel Mtawe’, 20, wounded by a gunshot to the left foot.

Also during this incursion, which continued until 13:00, IOF razed 58 donums of agricultural land planted with olives, wheat, parleys, lentils and vegetables. At approximately 21:00, IOF released the aforementioned detainees after having interrogated them, excluding Yousef Mohammed Fayad, 20.

·      In the evening, Safwat Hassan al-'Ajlouni, 18, was wounded by a gunshot to the knee, when IOF troops fired at him in Jabal Jouhar area in Hebron. IOF claimed that al-'Ajlouni attempted to seize a gun from and IOF soldier.

Friday, 4 April 2008

·      At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into Kufor Qaddoum village, east of Qalqilya. They opened fire at houses and civilian property causing some damages. They also demolished a monument that had been set up to commemorate the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

·      At approximately 01:15, IOF moved into Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 4 Palestinian civilians:

1.      Sa’id Mo’ayad al-Habash, 26;

2.      Eihab Wassef Staitiya, 23;

3.      Fadi 'Omar Kalbouna, 20; and

4.      Firas Kalbouna, 19.

·      At approximately 02:20, IOF moved into Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

·      Also at approximately 02:20, IOF moved into Fahma village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

·      At approximately 14:00, an IOF infantry unit moved nearly 700 meters into the northeast of al-Boreij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. A number of activists of the Palestinian resistance exchanged fire with IOF troops. An activist was wounded. Later, a number of IOF military vehicles moved into the area to support the infantry unit. They fired a shell at a 3-storey house belonging to Hussein Hassan Abu Sa’id. The shell hit the second floor of the house causing extensive damage, but no casualties were reported. IOF also opened fire at the area, wounding 15-year-old Sa’eda Mohammed al-'Awawda with shrapnel to the right shoulder while she was inside her house. Before their withdrawal from the area, IOF troops arrested 3 Palestinian civilians, including 2 children: Saddam Hussein al-'Owaidat, 17; Yousef Maher al-'Owaidat, 12; and Fadi Mohammed al-Nabahin, 21. IOF released the two children in the evening, but kept al-Nabahin in custody.

·      At approximately 15:00, IOF moved nearly 500 meters into al-Ahmar area in the east of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip. Soon, they started to raze areas of Palestinian agricultural land. By the following day evening, IOF had razed at least 40 donums of agricultural land planted with citrus.  

Saturday, 5 April 2008

·      At approximately 10:30, a number of Palestinian children went to al-Sraij area in al-Qarara village, northeast of Khan Yunis, which was invaded by IOF on 3 April, to watch the outcome of that invasion. Two of them found a shell left by IOF troops, and one of those children threw it. The shell exploded and its shrapnel wounded the two children:

1.      Ibrahim Younis Mahanna, 14, seriously wounded by shrapnel to the head; and

2.      'Emad Hussein al-Najjar, 17, wounded by shrapnel to the right leg.

·      At approximately 12:30, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Jabalya, fired an artillery shell and some gunshots at a number of Palestinian civilians in the town. As a result, Ra’fat 'Abdul Rahman Mohammed Mansour, 40, was killed by shrapnel and gunshots throughout the body, and his nephew, 19-year-old 'Omar Mohammed Mansour, was wounded by shrapnel throughout the body, while they were working on their land, nearly 3,000 meters awat from the border. According to eyewitnesses, at approximately 10:00, IOF troops opened fire at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance who fired mortar shells at the border. Soon after, an IOF infantry unit moved nearly 1,500 meters into the area. When the area became quiet and farmers went back to their lands, IOF troops fired an artillery shell and some gunshots at the area.

Sunday, 6 April 2008  

·      At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-Rashaida village, east of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Met’eb Mohammed al-Rashaida, 32, and arrested him.

·      At approximately 11:00, an IOF infantry unit moved nearly 300 meters into al-Boreij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Soon after, IOF military vehicles moved into the area. They fired 6 shells at a house belonging Hussein Hassan Abu Sa’id, the same house which was shelled 2 days earlier. The shells hit and destroyed the second floor, but no casualties were reported.

Monday, 7 April 2008

·      At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Qalqilya. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of 'Othman Shukri Barham, 24, and arrested him.

·      Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into 'Azzoun village, east of Qalqilya. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 2 Palestinian civilians:

1.      Mo’men Hisham 'Edwan, 26; and

2.      Mohammed 'Emad Radwan, 22.

·      At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into al-'Ebayat village, east of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Mousa Khaled Hamdan, 19, and arrested him.

·      At approximately 07:00, IOF moved nearly 600 meters into al-Qubtaniya area in the east of Beit Hanoun town in the northern Gaza Strip. They razed areas of Palestinian agricultural land. By the evening, they had razed 17 donums of agricultural land planted with almonds and citrus.

·      At approximately 12:00, IOF moved into Qiffin village, north of Tulkarm. They raided and searched a house belonging to Waleed Ahmed Sabbah, looking for his son, Ahmed. This house raid was the second of its kind in 3 days.

Tuesday, 8 April 2008

·      At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into al-'Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 2 Palestinians:

1.      Nawaf 'Abdul Latif Jawabra, 45, a member of the Palestinian Preventive Security Services; and

2.      Samer Na’im Jawabra, 22.

·      At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Sa’ir village, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 4 Palestinian civilians:

1.      Yousef Hamed Shalalda, 21;

2.      Faheem Mohammed Shalalda, 23;

3.      Mohammed Yassin Shalalda, 20; and

4.      Yasser Hamdi Shalalda, 22.

·      Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Kharas village, northwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Ahmed Zaidat Ahmed, 29.

·     

Posted on 04/12/2008 2:42 PM Comments (0)

Genocide Announced

Genocide announced
Bombs would fall under other circumstances, but when influential rabbis call for the total annihilation of the Palestinians the world watches without blinking

Saleh Al-Naami, Al-Ahram Weekly

April 10, 2008

"All of the Palestinians must be killed; men, women, infants, and even their beasts." This was the religious opinion issued one week ago by Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, director of the Tsomet Institute, a long-established religious institute attended by students and soldiers in the Israeli settlements of the West Bank. In an article published by numerous religious Israeli newspapers two weeks ago and run by the liberal Haaretz on 26 March, Rosen asserted that there is evidence in the Torah to justify this stand. Rosen, an authority able to issue religious opinions for Jews, wrote that Palestinians are like the nation of Amalekites that attacked the Israelite tribes on their way to Jerusalem after they had fled from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. He wrote that the Lord sent down in the Torah a ruling that allowed the Jews to kill the Amalekites, and that this ruling is known in Jewish jurisprudence.

Rosen's article, which created a lot of noise in Israel, included the text of the ruling in the Torah: "Annihilate the Amalekites from the beginning to the end. Kill them and wrest them from their possessions. Show them no mercy. Kill continuously, one after the other. Leave no child, plant, or tree. Kill their beasts, from camels to donkeys." Rosen adds that the Amalekites are not a particular race or religion, but rather all those who hate the Jews for religious or national motives. Rosen goes as far as saying that the "Amalekites will remain as long as there are Jews. In every age Amalekites will surface from other races to attack the Jews, and thus the war against them must be global." He urges application of the "Amalekites ruling" and says that the Jews must undertake to implement it in all eras because it is a "divine commandment".

Rosen does not hesitate to define the "Amalekites of this age" as the Palestinians. He writes, "those who kill students as they recite the Torah, and fire missiles on the city of Siderot, spread terror in the hearts of men and women. Those who dance over blood are the Amalekites, and we must respond with counter-hatred. We must uproot any trace of humanitarianism in dealing with them so that we emerge victorious."

The true outrage is that most of those authorised to issue Jewish religious opinions support the view of Rabbi Rosen, as confirmed by Haaretz newspaper. At the head of those supporting his opinion is Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, the leading religious authority in Israel's religious national current, and former chief Eastern rabbi for Israel. Rosen's opinion also has the support of Rabbi Dov Lior, president of the Council of Rabbis of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), and Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed and a candidate for the post of chief rabbi of Israel. A number of political leaders in Israel have also shown enthusiasm for the opinion, including Ori Lubiansky, head of the Jerusalem municipality.

There is no dispute among observers in Israel that the shooting in Jerusalem three weeks ago that killed eight Jewish students in a religious school was pivotal for Jewish authorities issuing religious opinions of a racist, hateful nature. The day following the Jerusalem incident, a number of rabbis led by Daniel Satobsky issued a religious opinion calling on Jewish youth and "all those who believe in the Torah" to take revenge on the Palestinians as hastily as possible. A week following the operation, a group of leading rabbis issued an unprecedented religious opinion permitting the Israeli army to bomb Palestinian civilian areas. The opinion is issued by the "Association of Rabbis of the Land of Israel" and states that Jewish religious law permits the bombing of Palestinian civilian residential areas if they are a source of attacks on Jewish residential areas. It reads, "when the residents of cities bordering settlements and Jewish centres fire shells at Jewish settlements with the aim of death and destruction, the Torah permits for shells to be fired on the sources of firing even if civilian residents are present there."

The opinion adds that sometimes it is necessary to respond with shelling to sources of fire immediately, without granting the Palestinian public prior warning. A week ago, Rabbi Eliyahu Kinvinsky, the second most senior authority in the Orthodox religious current, issued a religious opinion prohibiting the employment of Arabs, particularly in religious schools. This religious opinion followed another that had been issued by Rabbi Lior prohibiting the employment of Arabs and the renting of residential apartments to them in Jewish neighbourhoods. In order to provide a climate that allows Jewish extremist organisations to continue attacking Palestinian citizens, Rabbi Israel Ariel, one of the most prominent rabbis in the West Bank settlement complex, recently issued a religious opinion prohibiting religious Jews involved in attacks against Palestinians to appear before Israeli civil courts. According to this opinion, they must instead demand to appear before Torah courts that rule by Jewish religious law.

Haaretz newspaper noted that what Rabbi Ariel was trying to achieve through this religious opinion has in fact already taken place. The first instance of such a court in Kfar Saba ordered the release of a young Jewish woman called Tsevia Teshrael who attacked a Palestinian farmer in the middle of the West Bank. And there are Jewish religious authorities that glorify killing and praise terrorists, such as Rabbi Yitzhaq Ginsburg, a top rabbi in Israel who published a book entitled Baruch the Hero in memoriam of Baruch Goldstein, who committed the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in 1994 when he opened fire and killed 29 Palestinians as they were performing the dawn prayer in Hebron in the southern West Bank. Ginsburg considers his act "honourable and glorious".

The danger of these religious opinions lies in the fact that the religious authorities issuing them have wide respect among religious Jewish youth. And while only 28 per cent of Israel's population is religious, more than 50 per cent of Israelis define themselves as conservative and grant major significance to opinions issued by Jewish religious authorities. According to a study conducted by the Social Sciences Department of Bar Elon University, more than 90 per cent of those who identify as religious believe that if state laws and government orders are incongruous with the content of religious opinions issued by rabbis, they must overlook the former and act in accordance with the latter.

What grants the racist religious opinions a deeper and far-reaching impact is the fact that for the last decade followers of the Zionist religious current, who form nearly 10 per cent of the population, have been seeking to take control of the army and security institutions. They are doing so through volunteering for service in special combat units. The spokesperson's office in the Israeli army says that although the percentage of followers of this current is low in the state's demographic makeup, they form more than 50 per cent of the officers in the Israeli army and more than 60 per cent of its special unit commanders. According to an opinion poll of religious officers and soldiers supervised by the Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya and published last year, more than 95 per cent of religious soldiers and officers say that they will execute orders from the elected government and their leaders in the army only if they are in harmony with the religious opinions issued by leading rabbis and religious authorities.

Wasil Taha, Arab Knesset member from the Tajammu Party led by Azmi Bishara, says that these religious opinions lead to the committal of crimes. He mentions religious opinions issued by a number of rabbis in mid-1995 that led to the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at that time. "If that's what happens when religious opinions urge attacks against Jewish leaders such as Rabin, what will the situation be like when they urge attacks against Palestinian leaders and the Palestinian public?" he asks. "We, as Arab leaders, have begun to feel a lack of security following this flood of religious opinions, and we realise that the matter requires a great deal of caution in our movements as we are certain that there are those who seek to implement these opinions," he told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Taha dismisses those who ask about the role of the government and Israeli political cadre in confronting these extremist religious opinions. "The ministers in the Israeli government and the Knesset members compete to incite against the Palestinian public and don't hesitate to threaten expulsion of the Palestinians who live on their land in Israel and carry Israeli citizenship outside of Israel's borders, just as former deputy premier Avigdor Lieberman and representative Evi Etam did," Taha said. He notes that Palestinian citizens within Israel have begun to take extreme precautionary measures since the issue of these religious opinions, including security measures around mosques and public institutions and informing officials of public demonstrations so that members of Jewish terrorist organisations can be prevented from attacking participants. Taha holds that the sectors of the Palestinian population most likely to be harmed by these religious opinions are those living in the various cities populated by both Jews and Palestinians, such as Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Ramleh and Jerusalem.

Palestinian writer and researcher Abdul-Hakim Mufid, from the city Um Fahem, holds that the religious opinions of rabbis have gained major significance due to the harmony between official rhetoric and that of the rabbis. Mufid notes that official Israeli establishments have not tried to confront the "fascist" rhetoric expressed in these religious opinions even though they are capable of doing so. "Most of the rabbis who issue tyrannical religious opinions are official employees in state institutions and receive salaries from them. And the state has not held these rabbis accountable or sought to prohibit the issue of such opinions," he told the Weekly.

Mufid points out that when the official political institution is in a crisis, the Zionist consensus behind these religious opinions grows more intense, and offers as an example the religious opinions relied upon by Rabbi Meir Kahane in the early 1980s to justify his call to forcefully expel the Palestinians. Mufid adds that Israel in practice encourages all those who kill Palestinians, and points to the way that the Israeli government dealt with the recommendations of the Orr Commission that investigated the Israeli police's killing of 13 Palestinians with Israeli citizenship in October of 2000. The government closed the file even though the commission confirmed that the police had acted aggressively towards the Palestinian citizens. Mufid suggests that what makes the racist rhetoric the rabbis insist upon influential is the silence of leftist and liberal voices, and the lack of any direct mobilisation against it.

© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly

Tags: blockade, gaza, human rights, international law, israel, palestine

Posted on 04/12/2008 2:41 PM Comments (0)

The children of Palestine

This is what Israel is doing to the children of Palestine, America, are you listening?

Robin, Under The Holly Tree

April 9, 2008 On Sunday (April 6th) when I was surfing the net, I came upon an article that stated that the day before, Saturday April 5th, was Palestinian Children's Day. With heart sunk that I had missed the day I "surfed" more, only to find that I could NOT find any celebrations of this day this year, although I did find Annie's post which has this to say " Today we celebrate the Palestinian child, despite there being little cause for celebration…" As a mother my heart sank further. Why hasn't this day been commemorated this year with celebrations, but I knew the answer. How can you celebrate when Palestinian children are living in such misery. Upon "surfing" for this post when googling "Palestinian Children's Day", there is more,: Uruknet: "Israeli Siege Kills Five Palestinian Patients In One Day". Among them: " 16-year-old child called Mahmoud was also among the five siege victims who died today after doctors failed to procure chemical medicines for his cancer disease." IMEMC: "Special Report on World Health Day: Palestinian Detainees Still Facing Slow Death". In this article which reports on the torture, medical neglectand inhumane and ILLEGAL treatment of Palestinian detainees, it also states: " 16. Female detainees are not provided with specialized physicians. Some of the detainees are pregnant or gave birth in prison but are not receiving the needed food and medical attention that the mother and the child need. 17. Several detainees who gave birth in prison were tied to their beds during delivery. Some of the detainees who gave birth in prison were identified as; Manal Ghanim , Khawla Zeitawi, and Samar Sbei On this day, April 9th, it is the anniversary of the massacre of Deir Yassin. From Electronic Intifada one reads: " Fahimi Zidan, a Palestinian child who survived by hiding under his parents' bodies, recalled: "The Jews ordered [us] ... to line up against the wall ... started shooting ... all ... were killed: my father ... mother ... grandfather and grandmother ... uncles and aunts and some of their children ... Halim Eid saw a man shoot a bullet into the neck of my sister ... who was ... pregnant. Then he cut her stomach open with a butcher's knife ... In another house, Naaneh Khalil ... saw a man take a ... sword and slash my neighbor ..." [3] From the April 7th edition of Yemen Times there is "Crushed Childhoods: Cruel Choices". In part this article reads, "Palestinians were once reputed as being among the best educated in the Middle East; today, after years of violence, closure, and poverty, their proud tradition of educational excellence has been shattered. Almost 2,000 children in Gaza have dropped out of school in the last five months. Those that remain must share tattered textbooks and do without crucial resources. The January 2008 semester exams at UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) schools in Gaza found fifty to sixty per cent failure rates in mathematics, and forty per cent failure rate in Arabic – the children’s native language. Despite this, Ayman insists, "I want to be an educated person. I want to be an engineer to build my country." From Palestine Media Center (Apr 7): "Israel Kills More Than 50 Palestinian Children in 2008" Ironically there is a Palestine, Texas also, so when "surfing" "Palestine", I come across articles which strike me always, because what is going on in Palestine, Texas, is a FAR cry from what is going on in Palestine. America's children are not always safe, especially those living in poverty and the inner cities, the "forgotten children" of the "Greatest Nation on Earth". But for those in Palestine ,Texas, this last Saturday, they celebrated "Healthy Kids Day" at their local YMCA. This is the sadness and rage in my heart at all times, my country is ultimately responsible for what is happening in Palestine. Without the massive US aide given to Israel, this would NOT be happening. If my country applied what are SUPPOSEDLY our American values to the Palestinian/Israeli situation, we would NOT be looking the other way when Israel commits these atrocities. America has children. We ADORE our children. Yet we support a country which has NO regard for the precious lives of Palestinian children. This is what Israel is doing to the children of Gaza. America, are you listening?

Tags: childhood, death, gaza, human rights, israel, palestine, war

Posted on 04/12/2008 2:39 PM Comments (0)

Gaza's suffering children

Gaza's suffering children
The Israeli occupation and its relentless attacks destroy the mental health and lives of children of Gaza, writes Saleh Al-Naami

Saleh Al-Naami, Al-Ahram Weekly

March 27, 2008 Every once in a while Ibrahim Hawash, 42, calls his wife Noha from his nightshift job to make sure that she has followed the treatment course prescribed by their family doctor for the involuntary urination of their four children, who are in primary school. The doctor says that the four children lost their ability to control urination due to the fear they underwent when Israeli army jets bombed a home near theirs in the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip during the "Warm Winter" military campaign three weeks ago. The four children still remember the terrifying night when they woke frightened up to the sound of a thundering explosion in the area and found that the glass of their home's windows had fallen onto their bed. Hawash, who works in one of the Palestinian security agencies, says that his children refuse to sleep alone, insisting on sleeping in the same room as their parents because they are scared of the night. He adds that he exerted great efforts to convince two of his children to go back to school, for they were a