Death + Casualty Statistics

Dehumanizing the Palestinians

A dark future ahead: Palestinian children hold traditional Ramadan lamps during a march organized by Hamas in Gaza City, September 2007. (Wissam Nassar/MaanImages)

The Israeli cabinet has voted to declare the occupied Gaza Strip a "hostile entity," thus in its own eyes permitting itself to cut off the already meagre supplies of electricity (needed among other things to pump water), fuel and other basic necessities that it allows the Strip's inmates to receive. The decision was quickly given backing by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Israel is the occupying power in the Gaza Strip, despite having removed its settlers in 2005 and transforming the area, home to 1.5 million mostly refugee Palestinians, into the world's largest open-air prison which it besieges and fires into from the perimeter. Under international law Israel is responsible for the well-being of the people whose lives and land it rules.

There have been barely audible bleats of protest from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ("Such a step would be contrary to Israel's obligations towards the civilian population under international humanitarian and human rights law") and the European Union ("The [European] Commission hopes that Israel will not find it necessary to implement the measures for which the [cabinet] decisions set the framework yesterday."

What? It hopes that Israel will not find it necessary to cut off basic necessities to 1.5 million people of whom half are children?

These statements serve only to underline that Israel operates in a context where the "international community" has become inured to a discourse of extermination of the Palestinian people -- political and physical.

Yossi Alpher, for example, a former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University and once a special adviser to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, argued coolly this week that Israel should murder the democratically-elected leaders who won the Palestinian legislative election in January 2006 -- calling for "decapitating the Hamas leadership, both military and 'civilian.'" True, he admitted, there would be a possible downside: "Israel would again undoubtedly pay a price in terms of international condemnation, particularly if innocent civilians were killed," and because "Israel would presumably be targeting legally elected Hamas officials who won a fair election." Nevertheless, such condemnation would be quickly forgotten and, he argued, "this is a mode of retaliation and deterrence whose effectiveness has been proven," and thus, this is "an option worth reconsidering."

Alpher incited the murder of democratically-elected politicians not in a fringe, right-wing journal, but in the European Union-funded online newsletter Bitterlemons, which he co-founded along with former Palestinian Authority minister Ghassan Khatib. What journal would publish a call by a Palestinian -- or anyone else -- to murder the Israeli prime minister? Alpher presumably does not worry that he will be denied visas to travel to conferences in the European Union, or will fail to receive invitations to American universities. History tells us that he can feel confident he will suffer no consequences. Indeed, in the current political climate, any attempt to exclude Alpher might even be cast as an attack on academic freedom!

Declarations that reduce Palestinians to bare biological life that can be extinguished without any moral doubt are not isolated exceptions. In May, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, Israel's former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu issued a religious ruling to the prime minister "that there was absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings" (See "Top Israeli rabbis advocate genocide," The Electronic Intifada, 31 May 2007). I could find no statement by any prominent Israeli figure condemning Eliyahu's ruling.

And, in a September 6 blog posting, an advisor to leading US Republican Presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani argued for "shutting off utilities to the Palestinian Authority as well as a host of other measures, such as permitting no transportation in the PA of people or goods beyond basic necessities, implementing the death penalty against murderers, and razing villages from which attacks are launched." This, the advisor stated, would "impress Palestinians with the Israeli will to survive, and so bring closer their eventual acceptance of the Jewish state." (See: "Giuliani Advisor: Raze Palestinian Villages," by Ken Silverstein, Harper's Magazine, 14 September 2007) Giuliani faced no calls from other candidates to dismiss the advisor for advocating ethno-religiously motivated war crimes. Indeed the presence of such a person in his campaign might even be an electoral asset.

The latest Israeli government declaration comes as Palestinians this week marked the 25th anniversary of the massacres in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut, in which the Israeli occupation army and political leadership were full participants. We can reflect that Israel's dehumanization of Palestinians and other Arabs, its near daily killing of children, destruction of communities and racist apartheid against millions of people has been so normalized that if those massacres occurred today Israel would not need to go through the elaborate exercise of denying its culpability. Indeed, the "international community" might barely notice.

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah is author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse (Metropolitan Books, 2006).

SOURCE: Electronic Intifada

Hamas supporters tortured by West Bank security forces

A Palestinian inspects the damage at An-Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus, following fighting between Hamas and Fatah supporters at the university, July 2007. (Rami Swidan/MaanImages)

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Report, PCHR, Sep 20, 2007

A Bankrupt Ramadan In Gaza

The situation is desperate here in Gaza, the coastal strip that is abundant with nothing except human beings.

Just a couple of hours before Iftaar, the time of day after sunset when Muslims break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims around the globe shop to prepare. Gaza's crowded Khan Younis is no exception.

However, though they may be thronged with people, Gaza's markets are lacking any holiday festivity or commerce. In the middle of Khan Younis' Jalal Street, shopkeeper Ahmad al-Agha idly sat in silence, playing with his mobile phone.

"There is no business at all; people are just buying food and drink only. As you see, few people come to purchase anything in my shop, while the majority of them seem to be biding their time before the Iftaar time is due."

People in the street echoed Ahmad's words, dismayed over their inability to cope with this year's Ramadan as the economic siege on Gaza has resulted in high prices and very low incomes.

"The situation is so miserable. There are many stands, but the prices of goods are so high we cannot buy all we need during Ramadan when there are a lot of things that need to be bought," Sami Abu Taha, a Khan Younis resident, explained.

Jehad Ashour, also from Khan Younis, said, "When my family needs four different things, I can only afford one thing because of my financial situation."

"I do blame President Mahmoud Abbas for his inaction towards improving our living conditions and by letting many others play with our destiny. As local residents, we have nothing to do with politics."

The same reaction was voiced by Qassem al-Astal, from the same city, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the status quo in Gaza. He too points a finger at Abbas.

"I blame the Ramallah government for the failing conditions; President Abbas could do nothing to lift the Israeli siege. You know, I am neither a Hamas nor a Fatah supporter."

In the central Gaza Strip town of al-Nusierat, the scene was no different from that in Khan Younis. Al-Nuseirat is the largest central Gaza Strip area, where trade is relatively large.

Naser Ezzat, owner of a roasted chicken restaurant, was sitting with a few others in front of his shop, while his stove was still full of chickens but his restaurant empty of customers.

Nasser sighed, "Let me tell you that the situation is ****. You see, so far, no single chicken has been sold. I do blame the Abu Mazen's government [President Abbas's government in Ramallah], whose inaction has led us to such a situation."

"The only days I sell my goods are the first two days of the payment of [governmental] salaries, when [money is] flowing into the people's pockets," Nasser added.

Right in the middle of al-Nusierat's market, there is a big sweets shop. Under normal circumstances it would do brisk business during Ramadan, as during the special month people like to enjoy sweets after the Iftaar.

Emad Mattar, the owner of the shop, welcomed his journalist visitors despite his gloomy face. Despite its big plates of tempting sweets, the shop was devoid of customers.

"Believe me, people just browse my shop without buying; they just while away their time before Iftaar. In past Ramadans, we used to sell well, but this year, I can hardly sell 10 kilograms a day. It is a really catastrophic situation."

By the time I left the sweets shop, I was increasingly dismayed over the situation my people are going through; however, in search of a more cheerful story, I entered a grocery in the central Gaza Strip town of Maghazi.

"High prices, shortage of many goods and a lack of customers are features of my shop nowadays. If you compare this Ramadan with other Ramadans, you won't find any relation. It's really miserable."

Dismay, disappointment and despair are defining this year's Ramadan thanks to the measures of collective punishment Israel has imposed on Gaza over the past three months. Under the guise of security, Israel has completely closed commercial and travel crossings following the Hamas-dominated government's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June.

Gaza, which Israel only views through the lens of security rather than that of human dignity, is one of the most densely populated areas in the world with 1.4 million living in 360 square kilometers. With no natural resources and all industries paralyzed by Israel's closures, which has also prevented laborers from accessing jobs in Israel, the population has become increasingly dependant on UN and other foreign agencies' handouts.

The international Quartet, comprised of the US, UN, EU and Russia, has imposed a crippling economic embargo on the Hamas-dominated government since the group took power after the January 2006 parliamentary elections, effectively punishing the West Bank and Gaza's civilian population for their democratic choice.

Source: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article8996.shtml

Wembley Demo - last saturday

SubhanAllaah :)

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"How will I care for my children?"

Rami Almeghari writing from Deir al-Balah, occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, Sep 3, 2007

Halima Abu 'Isa, a 45-year-old widow and mother of two, holding money that she and many others will not be receiving once 103 NGOs in Gaza are shut down, August 2007. (Iyad Albaba)

"May God close the eyes of anyone who attempts to shut down the al-Salah charitable society that provides us our living." So said Halima Abu 'Isa, a 45-year-old widow and mother of two in reaction to the decision of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to close down 103 Palestinian charities.

The monthly allowance of 900 shekels (US $230) that Abu 'Isa receives from al-Salah, an Islamic charity with links to Hamas, is the only thing that stands between her and destitution. She lives in a rented house in the central Gaza Strip town of Deir al-Balah and is the sole caretaker of two children since her husband died eleven years ago in a road accident.

"Why do they want to close down these charities that have provided me and so many others with dignity and spared us from begging," Abu 'Isa asks. "How will I care for my children and repay my debts if, heaven forbid, they cut off my allowance?" She strongly blames those who have taken this decision.

The Palestinian government in Ramallah, appointed by Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas in June, without the approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council, issued a decree last month ordering the closure of 103 Palestinian charities alleging financial improprieties. In a 29 August statement, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights condemned the decision as illegal and called "upon the government in Ramallah to rescind this decision that will cut off humanitarian and emergency aid to thousands of Palestinian families."

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Heritage uprooted

Palestinians harvest olives in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, November 2006. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

Universally regarded as the symbol of peace, the olive tree has become the object of violence. For more than forty years, Israel has uprooted over one million olive trees and hundreds of thousands of fruit trees in Palestine with terrible economic and ecological consequences for the Palestinian people. Their willful destruction has so threatened Palestinian culture, heritage and identity that the olive tree has now become the symbol of Palestinian steadfastness because of its own rootedness and ability to survive in a land where water is perennially scarce.

Throughout the centuries, Palestinians farmers have made their living from olive cultivation and olive oil production; 80 percent of cultivated land in the West Bank and Gaza is planted with olive trees. [1] In the West Bank alone, some 100,000 families are dependent on olive sales. [2] Today, the olive harvest provides Palestinian farmers with anywhere between 25 to 50 percent of their annual income, and as the economic crisis deepens, the harvest provides for many their basic means of survival. [3] But despite the hardships, it is the festivities and traditions that accompany the weeks of harvesting that have held Palestinian communities together and are, in fact, a demonstration of their ownership of the land that no occupation can extinguish except by the annihilation of Palestinian society itself.

And that is precisely what Israel has been doing -- through brute force and far more insidious ways. Under an old law from the Ottoman era, Israel claims as state property, land that has been "abandoned" and left uncultivated for a period of four years and this land is then usually allocated to Israeli settlers. Of course, the land has not been voluntarily abandoned. Because of Israel's closure policy, which imposes the most draconian restrictions on movement, Palestinian farmers cannot reach their agricultural lands to tend and harvest their crops. Not only are permits required to move about in their own homeland, but farmers are forced to use alternative routes which must be negotiated on foot or by donkey because about 70 percent of these alternative routes -- those connected to main or bypass roads -- have been closed by the Israeli army with concrete blocks and ditches. And now a wall is being built for "security reasons" which will permanently separate Palestinian families from their farmlands, except for the gates that allow access at certain times, but more often than not, at the whim of Israeli soldiers who may not even turn up to open them. [4] This makes year-round maintenance of farmers' crops extremely difficult if not impossible. Hence, the "abandonment" of land that Israel uses to justify its land theft.

Since 1967, the Israeli military and illegal settlers have destroyed more than one million olive trees claiming that stone throwers and gunmen hide behind them to attack the settlers. [5] This is a specious argument because these trees grow deep inside Palestinian territory where no Israeli settler or soldier should be in any case. But, Israel is intent on appropriating even the last vestiges of land left to the Palestinians and so turns a blind eye to any methods used by settlers and soldiers alike to terrorize the farmers away from their farms and crops, even if that means razing their land. Farmers are constantly under threat of being beaten and shot at, having their water supplies contaminated (already scarce because 85 percent of renewable water resources go to the settlers and Israel), their olive groves torched and their olive trees uprooted. [6]

On a larger scale, the Israeli military brings in the bulldozers to uproot trees in the way of the "security" wall's route and where they impede the development of infrastructure necessary to service the illegal settlements. Some of these threatened trees are 700 to 1,000 years old and are still producing olives. [7] These precious trees are being replaced by roads, sewerage, electricity, running water and telecommunications networks, Israeli military barracks, training areas, industrial estates and factories leading to massive despoliation of the environment. If Israel has its way, neither the trees nor the Palestinians who have cared for them will survive the barbaric ethnic and environmental cleansing of Palestine.

The irony of it all is that Israel's uprooting of olive trees is contrary to the Jewish halakhic principle whose origin is found in the Torah: "Even if you are at war with a city ... you must not destroy its trees" (Deut 20:19). Under the pretext of "redeeming" the land the Jews claim God gave them and the trees they are supposed to preserve, Israel continues to violently expropriate Palestinian land. With each uprooted tree, another slab of concrete is put in place for the wall and the illegal Jewish settlements -- the landscape sculpted and changed beyond all recognition and no longer the sacrosanct place that has long given Israel its spurious Biblical justification for dispossessing the Palestinians of the land they have nurtured since time immemorial.

The agonizing pain of loss felt by Palestinians for their ravaged land is not expressed in the statistics. Only those who have suffered the same cruel violations or those who seek to protect and preserve the delicate balance of the world's environment can understand what it means for people off the land. International law, although on their side, remains ineffective as no world government, not even the United Nations, is prepared to pressure Israel to stop its illegal collective punishment of the entire Palestinian population. Today, there are campaigns all around the world to end the uprooting of trees in Palestine and to replant those which have already been uprooted. And each year, when the Palestinian olive harvest approaches, international volunteers join Palestinians to provide some human protection from the acts of violence visited on Palestinian farmers by Israeli settlers and soldiers who want to stop the harvesting of crops. These wonderful acts of solidarity help to heal the land, but they cannot heal the pain of those who have to watch the uprooting of age-old olive trees, the desecration of their land and their millennia-old heritage. Such heartbreaking reality has led the Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, to say, "If the olive trees knew the hands that planted them, their oil would have become tears ..."

Sonja Karkar is the founder and president of Women for Palestine in Melbourne, Australia.

READ ENTIRE STORY HERE

Message from Friends of Al Aqsa





We encourage everyone to attend the protest rally outside the England/Israel match on September 8th, in a show of unity with the Palestinians.

While Europe allows Israel to enter its sporting tournaments and turns a blind eye to its human rights abuses, we are in effect giving Israel impunity for its war crimes.

Further details to be circulated soon