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Beholden to the Big Powers: Israel, Gaza and the UN

Action Alert from Media Lens:

On December 27, 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a massive assault on Gaza. 22 days later, around 1,400 Palestinians, including over 300 children, and 13 Israelis were dead; about 5,000 Palestinians were wounded. Israeli forces bombed and shelled schools, medical centres, hospitals, ambulances, United Nations buildings (including UN schools), power plants, sewage plants, roads, bridges and civilian homes. This was described in much of the press as hitting "Hamas targets" (e.g. David Gardner, 'U.S. accused of white phosphorus against Taliban', Daily Mail, May 11, 2009).

Earlier this month, the UN announced the results of an inquiry into attacks on its buildings and personnel in Gaza. It concluded that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) were:

"involved in varying degrees of negligence or recklessness with regard to United Nations premises and to the safety of United Nations staff and other civilians within those premises, with consequent deaths, injuries, and extensive physical damage and loss of property." (Donald Macintyre, 'UN retreats after Israel hits out at Gaza report', Independent, May 6, 2009)

Incidents for which Israel was held responsible by the UN inquiry included:

* The deaths of three young men killed by a single IDF missile strike at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Asma school in Gaza City.

* The firing of heavy mortar rounds into the UNRWA Jabalia school, injuring seven people sheltering in the school, killing up to 40 people in the immediate vicinity and injuring a further 50.

* Aerial bombing of the UNRWA Bureij health centre on the same day, causing the death of a patient, serious injuries to two other patients and injuries to nine of the health centre's employees.

* Artillery firing by the IDF into the UNRWA field office compound in Gaza city, combined with the use of white phosphorus, causing injuries and considerable damage to it and the surrounding buildings, and leading to the disruption of the UN's humanitarian operations in Gaza.

* Artillery firing by the IDF into the UNRWA Beit Lahia school, again with the use of white phosphorus, causing the deaths of two children, aged 5 and 7, and injuries to 13 others.

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2009 05 20 Haitham Sabbah Israel
Palestine
War Crimes
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Int'l study: Israeli control in occupied territories 'is a breach of the prohibition of apartheid'

The following international report concluding that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories "has become a colonial enterprise which implements a system of apartheid" was sent out by journalist Ben White. Another stinging statement from the report: "The Wall and its infrastructure of gates and permanent checkpoints suggest a policy permanently to divide the West Bank into racial cantons." (White's book 'Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner's Guide', will be published this summer. He can be contacted at ben@benwhite.org.uk)

Image by: Carlos Latuff

What follows are some of the highlights of the Executive Summary, but first a few observations. Describing Israel or Israeli policies in terms of apartheid has become more common in recent times, but has also provoked a strong backlash. It is interesting to note, therefore, that this study is a measured assessment written by legal experts on the specific ways in which Israel's policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) can be considered to be 'colonialism' and/or 'apartheid', as defined by international law. It is not, quite clearly and openly, saying Israel=South Africa.

The new report was carried out by the Middle East Project of the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa. The Middle East Project is:

an independent two year project of the HSRC to conduct analysis of Middle East politics relevant to South African foreign policy. Its funding was provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Government of South Africa. The analysis in this report is entirely independent of the views or foreign policy of the Government of South Africa and does not represent an official position of the HSRC. It is intended purely as a scholarly resource for the Department of Foreign Affairs and the concerned international community.

Background

In January 2007, while addressing the UN Human Rights Council in his capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, South African law Professor John Dugard asked the following question:

Israel is clearly in military occupation of the OPT. At the same time, elements of the occupation constitute forms of colonialism and of apartheid, which are contrary to international law. What are the legal consequences of a regime of prolonged occupation with features of colonialism and apartheid for the occupied people, the Occupying Power and third States?

The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa (and specifically, their Middle East Project) "commissioned this study to test the hypothesis" put forward by Dugard. Beginning in February 2008, fifteen months of workshops, drafting, re-drafting and revision finally produced this report for publication.
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2009 05 17 Haitham Sabbah Featured Articles
Human Rights
Israel
Palestine
Racism
The Wall
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Nakba 61: Blog About Palestine Day 2009 [BAPD]

Blog About Palestine Day

On the festive and felicitous occasion of the 61st anniversary of Israel's existence which is being celebrated with much fanfare from Tel Aviv to Washington D.C.; today, on the 61st anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, Gaza is still representing a living "day of the catastrophe" and remains a bleeding wound in our Palestinian body.

Today, the Palestinians are a people without human rights and dignity, without civil rights, without a known fate, and virtually without a future.

There are endless topics which one can talk about on this day, but I still believe that the genocide in Gaza should remain our top headline.

A new report released yesterday reveals the true extent of child killings by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip during its 23-day offensive on Gaza between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009.

The aftermath of Israel's 23-day offensive on the Gaza Strip is not less painful, and the ongoing impact it is having on the civilian population remains hidden in the mainstream media. Yesterday I showed you an example of the catastrophic health system in Gaza, which is a result of the Israeli inhumane siege but that story appears nowhere except on Aljazeera.
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2009 05 15 Haitham Sabbah Blogging
Gaza
Israel
Palestine
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On TV: Israeli siege kills baby aged 2


This is not a Hollywood or Bollywood movie!

This is a real news report from Gaza that shows a sample of the inhuman result on our Palestinian health system caused by the the Zionist-Israeli occupation siege on Gaza, which continued even after the Israeli genocide war there.

But first, here is a description of what you expect to see (the news report is in Arabic):

Another Palestinian child died in a very dramatic scene documented on T.V. A baby aged 2 died today from a heart defect made worse by lack of medical care due to the Israeli imposed siege.

Aljazeera's reporter, Tamer Al meshal, reveals one of the miseries resulting from the Israeli siege on Gaza . Feras As'ad Al Mazlom, an infant aged 2, was the only child of newly married couple As'ad and Amal.

Infant Feras who was born with a heart defect, he had to spend more time in a hospital bed rather than his loving parents' arms. He never played nor enjoyed his innocent life like others.

Like many Palestinians, Feras paid for the siege with his precious life. The hospital and equipment were not able to rescue him nor could his parents move him to Egypt for treatment. However, the hospital managed to coordinate a transfer to an Israeli hospital.

With hope, the father tried obtaining permits for both his wife and son to cross the border, and he finally succeeded. The father moved like crazy to complete the travel documents necessary for Feras to be transferred for treatment.

Unfortunately, as they were on the way to pick their child and head to Erez crossing into Israel, they received an excruciating phone call saying their only was no longer alive and there's no need to take him anywhere.

It was minutes or rather seconds between life and death for Feras. This baby, didn't fight Israelis, never shot at them, nor fired a rocket rather, his only fault was being, "a child born in Gaza".

Thousands of Palestinian like Feras are still on the waiting list of death. Israel is hindering access to their basic right of treatment. Those patients' rights are highly recognized and guaranteed by the 4th Geneva convention and humanitarian law. However, Israel does not respect UN authority or declarations regarding human rights.

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Sources: The Palestine Telegraph and Aljazeera

YouTube: http://bit.ly/hP6H8
Original Video link: http://bit.ly/2EHtnX

2009 05 14 Haitham Sabbah Featured Articles
Gaza
Israel
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HATTLER – Assalamu Alaikum

"Assalamu Alaikum"; a nice song from a live performance by Hellmut Hattler that goes around Israel / Palestine conflict and presents "The Wall" as a sample of this conflict.

Peace!


http://bit.ly/17daok

Lyrics:
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2009 05 12 Haitham Sabbah Israel
Music
Palestine
Peace
Videos Comments (4) Permalink

طرح عطاء لإنشاء دولة فلسطين


إبراهيم جابر- صحيفة الغد

وحدهم الفلسطينيون من دون شعوب الأرض لهم دولتان: فلسطين الشمالية (رام الله) وفلسطين الجنوبية في القطاع !(ربما يكونون مستقبلاً مثل الكوريتين دولة تصنع الغسالات وأخرى تطلق أقماراً صناعية !!).

ولهم فلسطين ثالثة ، أيضا، تلك القديمة الكاملة القوام، والتي يسمونها التاريخية ، ويخصصّونها للخراريف في دور المسنّين، ولاستخدام الشعراء!

لهم حكومتان، واحدة ليبرالية معتدلة، وأخرى تعلن أنها لن تتخلى عن راية الجهاد!!

لديهم ثلاثة بحور: واحد محتل، وآخر "ميت"، وواحد في غزة جرت العادة أن يموت على شاطئه الفقراء في نزهات ساذجة ، بين الحرب والحرب !

لهم أيضاً ، أقصد الفلسطينيين، برلمانان: واحد يسمى "التشريعي" وآخر "الوطني"، ولهم في كل بلد سفارة ومقبرة للشهداء، ولديهم مستودع ضخم من الفصائل من كل الاتجاهات والعقائد والنظريات، ولديهم رعايا بالغو الانتماء والبكاء من مخيم شاتيلا وحتى أضيق شارع في التبت !

لديهم برنامجان للتحرير والاستقلال وبناء الدولة : واحد يدعي العقلانية والحكمة وينتهج "طولة البال" كاستراتيجية بعيدة المدى، وآخر مغرم بصناعة الصواريخ من مواسير المياه ويحلم بعكا !

…ولديهم رؤساء عديدون، كلهم قادة وحكماء، بل إن خبراتهم في القيادة جعلتهم ينشئون دولا صغيرة قبل ذلك في الفاكهاني وفي تونس ووو…. واستطاعوا أن يحكموا باقتدار وصرامة في كل الدول إلا في بلدهم !

في العام الماضي تنافس مرشحان مسيحيان على رئاسة الإكوادور، ونجح أحدهما، كلاهما من أصل فلسطيني !!

لديهم أول قبلة للمسلمين، ومن عندهم خرج السيد المسيح .

يُصدّرون الورد من غزة الى هولندا، والبندورة الى أوروبا، والشعر الحر، والملوخية، والزيتون، وصارت حطّتهم السوداء رمزا للاحتجاج والحرية في كل المظاهرات من مؤيدي شافيز الى مناهضي العولمة في دافوس، إلى الناشطين في مسيرات المبايعة للرئيس عمر حسن البشير !

لديهم وزيران للداخلية ونصف الشعب معتقلون في سجون اسرائيل، ووزيران للصحة وثلاثة أرباع الشعب مرضى، وثلاثة وزراء للخارجية ولا أحد يعترف بهم كدولة كاملة السيادة !!

زيّان رسميان للشرطة ولا أمن ولا أمان ، خمسة أعلام للبلد ولا بلد، تلفزيونان ونشرتان جويتان وفيلمان للسهرة.. ولا بطل ينتصر في آخر الفيلم !!

معبران ولا أحد يعبر، مطاران ولا عصفوراً صغيراً واحداً يستطيع أن يطير، جهازان للمخابرات ولا أحد يعلم إن كانت ستمطر مطراً في الليلة المقبلة أم دماً Ùˆ… قذائف !

لديهم من الثروات والأموال العامة والخاصة ما يكفي لطرح عطاء لإنشاء دولة من خمسة طوابق ، ومن الخبراء ما يكفي لجعلها دولة عظمى ومنتجة، ومن الفاسدين ما يكفي لإفلاسها في خمسة أيام !

دخلوا كتاب غينيس بعدد الشهداء، وعدد العملاء، وعدد الأنبياء، وعدد الشعراء، وبأكبر صحن تبولة أقاموه في رام الله العام الماضي.. رغم الحصار الاقتصادي ورغم شُحّ البرغل والزيت !

لديهم منتخب لكرة القدم يتوزع لاعبوه في أندية أكثر من سبع دول أوروبية، ويحضرون عندما يدعوهم نداء الواجب…. الكرويّ !!

لدى الفلسطينيين ما يكفي لإنشاء دولة ، لديهم كل شيء ، كل شيء ، ربما تنقصهم فقط الإرادة ومنتخب للتنس الأرضي !!

2009 05 10 Guest Post Palestine
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Alan Sabrosky – The Two-State Delusion

The world is once again being treated to yet another round in the Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" charade. The "usual suspects" are posturing, pronouncements are being made, speeches are being given, and hints and rumors about a supposed "toughening" in the US Government's approach to Israel are filtering out from the press. We are supposed to think that something different is about to happen, and that, as the old American folk song had it, "The times, they are a-changing."

Arranging the Stage

It is all nonsense. The whole exercise strikes me as what the old Soviet Army used to call a maskirovka, sort of a complex strategic masquerade on steroids, with rehearsed actors playing their scripted roles before a fully aware and involved audience, and that includes the head of the American NSC and his "leaked" memos. There may be some blunter words said to Netanyahu than he (or other Israeli prime ministers) have heard in a while, but it isn't unprecedented. Former President Reagan was VERY pro-Israeli, but he got so incensed at Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon that he reportedly yelled at then-Israeli Prime Minister Begin and deployed Marines with naval support to block them around Beirut. And regardless of how the intervention ended, there were occasions when US Marines and Israeli troops came right up to the edge of a full-scale fire-fight, and I was assured at the time by several Marine officers who were there that they were fully prepared to slug it out with the IDF if that was required, and the 6th Fleet had standing orders to go to the mat in their support if that happened – a far cry from 1967, when it had stood back in the face of the deliberate Israeli air and naval attack on the USS Liberty that killed or wounded more than 200 American sailors and Marines.

Today that would never happen, of course, or the US Navy & Marine Corps would have punched a hole through the Israeli blockade on Gaza and ended their assault on it a few months ago. They didn't, and President Obama wouldn't have sent them in, either — most of the rest of the world has been outraged by the brutal Israeli action that killed over 1400 Palestinians and wounded thousands more, the majority of them women and children, but all Obama does is talk about America's undying commitment to the security of "our staunch ally Israel," while the US Congress declaims its support of "poor, brave little Israel" and continues to vote billions of dollars in assistance to it.
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2009 05 10 Alan Sabrosky Featured Articles
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US Soldiers in Afghanistan Told to Hunt People for Jesus

… So We Get Them into The Kingdom"

Published on Monday, May 4, 2009 by RebelReports

Military officials at Bagram are caught on tape urging US soldiers to evangelize in the Muslim country.
by Jeremy Scahill

New video evidence has surfaced showing that US military forces in Afghanistan have been instructed by the military's top chaplain in the country to "hunt people for Jesus" as they spread Christianity to the overwhelmingly Muslim population. Soldiers also have imported bibles translated into Pashto and Dari, the two dominant languages of Afghanistan. What's more, the center of this evangelical operation is at the huge US base at Bagram, one of the main sites used by the US military to torture and indefinitely detain prisoners.

In a video obtained by Al Jazeera and broadcast Monday, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, the chief of the US military chaplains in Afghanistan, is seen telling soldiers that as followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a responsibility "to be witnesses for him."

"The special forces guys – they hunt men basically. We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down," he says.

"Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom. That's what we do, that's our business."
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2009 05 06 Guest Post Christianity
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Muslim Demographics Danger

The following video illustrate Islam demographics "DANGER" on the world.

The unsigned/uncredited video spells the fear from Islam indirectly and calls for action to share the gospel with Muslims before Islam overwhelm Christendom within the coming 30-50 years. However, there are no mention of the source or reference for the numbers claimed in the video to confirm its accuracy and credibility. No surprises!

This type of propaganda is the fuel for the ongoing conflict between cultures. I will not be surprised if I discover that the video producer is a Neocon, Christian-Zionist or a Zionist.

No wonder where all this hate for Islam and Muslims comes from!

[Hat tip: kimmy]

2009 05 01 Haitham Sabbah Christianity
Islam
Religion
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Majority of Americans Oppose Israel Building Settlements

A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll finds that three-quarters of Americans think that Israel should not build settlements in the Palestinian territories. This is up 23 points from when this question was last asked in 2002.

One third of Americans show more sympathy for Israel than the Palestinians, substantially more than the 12 percent who express more sympathy for the Palestinians.

However the largest number–51 percent–expresses equal levels of sympathy for each side. The percentage expressing equal levels of sympathy is up 10 points from 2002.

Even those respondents who sympathize more with Israel feel that it should not be building settlements in the West Bank by a clear majority (64%), as do those who sympathize equally with Israel and the Palestinians (80%), and those who sympathize more with the Palestinians (96%).

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2009 05 01 Haitham Sabbah Israel
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Salim Nazzal – The issue of Racism between Zionism and the Apartheid ideology

Dr. Salim Nazzal*

This is a quick and generalized paper, which gives evidences of which might explain why the Zionist regime has been more capable of resisting the pressures of the culture of human rights and self determination while the apartheid regimes have vanished.

Despite the similarities between the white Racist regime, in earlier South Africa and those of the Zionist regime, in terms of the oppressive policy against the natives, there are seven major differences: the first, white Europeans immigrated to Africa without a prior plan to the country and to the natives. Their immigration was rather spontaneous, guided by wide colonial thought rather than of a well theorized racist ideology decided from before. The construction of the racist regime was done through a process in the history of their domination there. Zionists arrived in Palestine from day one armed with comprehensible ideology, unambiguous policy, from which its aims were to transfer Palestinians.

The most dangerous thing was that Zionists linked the Jewish existence in Palestine with murdering Palestinians, thusly creating a Paranoia of Life and death strategy, which is always ready to justify the horror towards Palestinians. This paranoiac thinking has become the melting pot of the Israeli society today, where fear of others has become one of the characteristics of its society. The result of this is that it oppresses any rational thinking in the Israeli society which might emerge with new ideas towards reconciliation with Palestinians. The Israeli officer in the massacre of Kufr Qasim which took place in 1956 was not only proud of what he committed of murder but summarized the Zionist worldview: "In killing of any Arab here (in Palestine) we save the life of an Israeli, and by killing Arabs outside we save Israel"!
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2009 04 28 Guest Post Featured Articles
Israel
Racism
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Elias Akleh – Racist Israel vs Durban Conference

boycott israel

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, who is the Racist of them All
By Dr. Elias Akleh*

It seems that Durban Anti-Racism Review Conference II that started last Monday April 20th in Geneva has concluded with the worthless ineffective declaration with 143 articles calling for the protection of vulnerable minorities, and urging states to combat impunity for crimes of genocide. It also named "neo-Nazi, neo-Fascism, and other violent national ideologies" as dangers that need to be combated. These are routine calls that are not new and are known to every state. More like Durban I there were no solutions, no action plans, no regulations, no laws, and no remedial and preventative measures to racism, discriminations and xenophobia.

A main reason for the ineffectiveness, and some may consider failure, of Durban II is due to the growing number of Western countries blindly joining the US and Israel in boycotting the Conference. This sabotaging boycott started with Durban I conference in 2001 when the US and Israel walked out of the conference after the attempt of the Arab states to define Zionism as a racist ideology.
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2009 04 27 Dr. Elias Akleh Guest Blogger
Human Rights
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James Zogby – Majority in US want Israel to be penalised

Despite claiming continued support for Israel, a majority of US residents want a change in policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A decisive plurality said US aid to Israel is "too much", and a majority want to see Israel penalised for building new settlements on Palestinian land.

These were some of the findings of a Zogby International interactive survey of 4,320 US adults conducted in April for the Doha Debate, a BBC programme based in Qatar. Zogby International is a polling firm headed by my brother John.

Support for Israel remains high, with 71 per cent of US respondents having a favourable attitude towards Israelis and only 21 per cent holding a negative view. Attitudes towards the Palestinian people, on the other hand, are in the inverse, with a favourable rating of 25 per cent and an unfavourable mark of 66 per cent. Even Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is viewed positively by 52 per cent of US residents, while Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is seen favourably by only 19 per cent – with an unfavourable rating of 59 per cent.
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2009 04 19 Guest Post Did you know?
Good News
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Stuart Littlewood – Law and justice first, Mr Mitchell. Peace comes later

Stuart Littlewood* argues that, before talking about peace, President Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, must first get Israel to end its violations of Palestinian human rights, abide by international law and stop its nuclear blackmail of the world.

So they sent you to the Holy Land, Mr Mitchell, for talks. So many before you have gone to talk. They failed because polite talk isn't enough.

What will you say about the subjugation of Palestine's people and Israel's defilement of this once-lovely place? How will you answer charges that your country, the USA, is godfather, bankroller, arms supplier and good buddy to the racist thieves and colonizers that have turned it into a powder-keg?
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2009 04 19 Stuart Littlewood Failures
Human Rights
Israel
Palestine
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Aid Rots Outside Gaza

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of aid intended for the Gaza Strip is piling up in cities across Egypt's North Sinai region, despite recent calls from the United Nations to ease aid flow restrictions to the embattled territory in the wake of Operation Cast Lead.

Food, medicine, blankets, infant food and other supplies for Gaza's 1.5 million people, coming from governments and non-governmental agencies around the world, are being stored in warehouses, parking lots, stadiums and on airport runways across Egypt's North Sinai governorate.

Egypt shares a 14-kilometre border with Gaza that has been closed more or less permanently since the Islamist movement Hamas took control of the territory in June 2007.
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2009 04 17 Haitham Sabbah Bleeding Edge
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