Tag Archives: United Nations

On the Gaza Invasion

– Dennis Kucinich on House Floor: US Weapons Used To Kill Children Paid For By US Taxpayers

– UN Expert: Compelling Evidence of Israeli War Crimes in Gaza
“UN human rights expert and retired Princeton law professor Richard Falk said today that there is compelling evidence that Israel violated the laws of war by “conducting a large-scale military operation against an essentially defenseless population.” . . .
“This is the first time I know of where a civilian population has been essentially locked into the war zone, not allowed to leave it despite the dense population and the obvious risks that were entailed,” Falk pointed out, “the civilians in Gaza were denied the option of becoming a refugee.”
Professor Falk made international news when, less than two weeks before Israel began the war on the Gaza Strip, he was detained by Israeli officials for over 20 hours at a Tel Aviv airport while trying to enter the country as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories. He was eventually expelled from the country, provoking an angry response from the United Nations and human rights groups.
Unsurprisingly, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Aharon Leshno-Yaar made no attempt to answer the charges, choosing rather to attack Professor Falk’s history of criticism for Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, insisting “Professor Falk’s bias against Israel is well known.” (Read more from antiwar.com)

– War casts pall on Israeli business overseas, tourism (from Haaretz.com)

– Farmers claim UK, Jordan boycotting Israeli fruit (from ynetnews.com)

– Gaza assault spurs calls for boycott (from radionetherlands.nl)

– Turkish group calls for boycott of Israel, backers over Gaza
“Turkish Consumers Association calls on Turkish citizens to boycott Israeli, US and British products.” (Read more from dunyabulteni.net)

– World Protests Gaza Slaughter, Boycott Israel Movement Grows (from tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com)

Headlines from the Occupation

(Most of these headlines pre-date the current invasion of Gaza.)

Settler who shot a Palestinian in al-Khalil released “OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)– Israeli radio reported on Wednesday that an Israeli settler who shot a Palestinian in al-Khalil was set free by a magistrate who rebuked the IOF for not arresting the Palestinians who were throwing stones.” (Read more from atheonews.blogspot.com)

Israeli blockade ‘forces Palestinians to search rubbish dumps for food’ “UN fears irreversible damage is being done in Gaza as new statistics reveal the level of deprivation” (Read more from guardian.co.uk)

Gaza families eat grass as Israel locks border
“AS a convoy of blue-and-white United Nations trucks loaded with food waited last night for Israeli permission to enter Gaza, Jindiya Abu Amra and her 12-year-old daughter went scrounging for the wild grass their family now lives on. “We had one meal today – khobbeizeh,” said Abu Amra, 43, showing the leaves of a plant that grows along the streets of Gaza. “Every day, I wake up and start looking for wood and plastic to burn for fuel and I beg. When I find nothing, we eat this grass.”” (Read more from timesonline.co.uk)

from the Guardian: Having built a wall around Gaza before disengagement [in 2005], Israel then imposed a progressively tighter blockade, by barring Gazan labourers from entering Israel in late 2005, then by banning Gazan commercial trade in 2006 and finally in mid-2007 by squeezing humanitarian aid.” (Read more from guardian.co.uk)

Israel expels UN rights envoy Richard Falk – Dec 17, 08

Hmmm. I wonder if his expulsion had anything to do with the invasion which began shortly thereafter.

Britain steps up fight against West Bank settlements “The British government is stepping up measures against settlements in the West Bank in an effort to stop their further expansion. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently instructed the Foreign Office to issue a warning to British citizens against the purchase of houses and real estate in the settlements.

Other measures recently imposed by London on West Bank settlements include tying the upgrade of relations between the European Union and Israel to the cessation of construction in the settlements in the West Bank and putting special labels on products denoting that they were made in West Bank settlements.” (Read more from Haaretz.com)

Austrian president in W. Bank: Settlement construction must stop “[Austrian President Heinz Fischer] was speaking at a press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah. “We demand that the settlement expansion stop,” he said, adding that settlements distance the opportunities for a just and comprehensive peace.” (Read more from Haaretz.com)

Settlers to Ethiopian troops: Niggers don’t expel Jews “Not only do they serve long and tiring hours in the reserve forces, and not only are they forced to deal with violent clashes with settlers, but now, Border Guard officers of Ethiopian descent are also faced with rising racism. “Niggers don’t expel Jews! This isn’t what we brought you to Israel for!” are just some of the degrading slurs Border Guard officers reported hearing from masked settlers. ” (Read more from ynetnews.com)

Bulldozing Bedouin (Read more from sundayherald.com)

On Gaza

Israel bombs University
“Gaza’s interior ministry and Islamic University were the latest targets.” (Read more from news.bbc.co.uk)

Israel kills scores in Gaza air strikes
“GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli warplanes pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 229 people in one of the bloodiest days for the Palestinians in 60 years of conflict with the Jewish state.” (Read more from reuters.com)

Gaza facing ‘critical emergency’
“The UN has warned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing a serious health and food crisis, as Israeli air strikes continued for a seventh day.” Read more from news.bbc.co.uk

Jewish Organizations Call For End to Gaza Bombings
“As Israeli air strikes continue to pummel the Gaza Strip for a fourth day and crude homemade rockets launched by Palestinian militants land in Israeli towns near the densely populated and besieged Strip, Jewish groups in the U.S. are taking two distinctly differing tacks at addressing the latest Middle East bloodshed.

Some of what are traditionally thought of as pro-Israel groups are undertaking a major public relations campaign to support the bombing runs against Hamas that have claimed more than 370 Palestinian lives – largely parroting the Israeli government line that the attacks are a justified defense of Israelis. . . .

But instead of offering unquestioning support of Israel’s latest military venture in the decades-long conflict, four major Jewish organizations are calling for an immediate end to the bombings, and for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.” (Read more from antiwar.com)

Iranian Jews protest Gaza ‘slaughter’
“Different groups representing Iran’s Jewish community on Tuesday gathered in front of the United Nations office in Teheran in order to protest “Israeli war crimes and the slaughter of the innocent people in Gaza Strip,” the Iranian IRNA news agency reported. The protesters, led by the Jewish representative in Parliament, Siamak Mara-Sedq, carried placards with anti-Israel slogans in both Farsi and Hebrew, the report said. ” (Read more from jpost.com)

Israel mounts PR campaign to blame Hamas for Gaza destruction
“So, while the military marshalled its forces, the foreign ministry honed its message and amassed its staff, ready for Saturday’s attack. Israeli diplomats were recalled from holidays and ordered back to work and in the rocket-bombarded southern Israeli town of Sderot, on Gaza’s northern perimeter, it opened a multilingual media centre to brief foreign journalists. . . .” (Read more from guardian.co.uk)

Israel to mount emergency international PR effort in wake of Gaza campaign
(Read more from Haaretz.com)

White House backs Israel’s attacks on Gaza Strip
(Read more from news.yahoo.com)

Violent protests at Israeli Embassy in London
“Violent confrontations broke out at the Israeli Embassy in London today as up to 1,500 protesters against Israel’s Gaza campaign gathered in a vociferous demonstration. Campaign supporters, Palestinians and British Muslims stood on the pavement of High Street Kensington, west London, and chanted in unison: “Five, six, seven, eight – Israel is a terror state.”” (Read more from timesonline.co.uk)

Protests in NYC
(Pictures at desertpeace.wordpress.com)

Israeli, foreign press more free than America’s on Gaza
“In the usual process, the U.S. government, media here – and most liberal bloggers – are silent or playing down questions about whether Israel overreacted in its massive air strikes on Gaza, while the foreign press, and even Haaretz in Israel, carries more balanced accounts.

Anyone who cares should consult the respected Haaretz site often, if for no other reason than to learn that criticism of Israeli military actions are usually more heated inside that country than in the USA. You may recall the lockstep support (in the U.S.) for Israeli’s invasion of southern Lebanon, which included the use of U.S.-made cluster bombs.” (Read more from huliq.com)

Israeli troops mobilize as Gaza assault widens
“Israel widened its deadliest-ever air offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers Sunday, pounding smuggling tunnels and a central prison, sending more tanks and artillery toward the Gaza border and approving a reserves callup for a possible ground invasion.” (Read more from news.yahoo.com)

Gaza’s desperate hospitals overwhelmed by casualties
“Two of Gaza’s highest-ranking security officials are among the victims of Israeli airstrikes. Medical personnel scramble to treat the wounded in facilities left low on supplies by a blockade.” (Read more from latimes.com)

See Also: Sabbah Blog

Headlines from the Occupation

–Blackouts in Gaza after Israel stops fuel
–Israel breaks Gaza ceasefire, assassinates six
–Ancient Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem will be destroyed to build “Museum of Tolerance”
–Settlers preparing for war, says Shin Bet chief “The scope of the conflict will be much larger than it is today and than it was during the disengagement,” Diskin warned. “Our investigation found a very high willingness among this public to use violence – not just stones, but live weapons – in order to prevent or halt a diplomatic process.” While Diskin did not comment explicitly on the danger of another political assassination, the timing of his warning – just days before the anniversary of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination – was not lost on cabinet members.
–Shin Bet Chief warns of political assassination
–UN to suspend food distribution in Gaza The United Nations will suspend its food distribution to half of Gaza’s 1.5 million people on Thursday after Israel failed to allow emergency supplies into the Palestinian territory, a spokesman said. Israel initially said it would allow 30 trucks to deliver supplies to Gaza on Thursday after it sealed off the Gaza Strip on November 5, but later said mortar fire by Gaza militants made it impossible to do so.
–EU lawmakers: Israel should be punished over Gaza A group of European lawmakers said Tuesday they will petition the European Union to suspend a preferential trade agreement with Israel because of what they described as its “cruel” blockade of Gaza.
–Britain to crack down on exports from Israeli settlements The initiative is the strongest sign yet of deepening official frustration in Whitehall at Israel’s persistent flouting of international exhortations to halt the construction of settlements – which are seen by Britain and most other countries as illegal. Moderate Palestinian leaders say continued settlement building is a major problem.