That much said, local experts such as the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights believe that the recent major attacks on the Gaza Strip will be successfully prosecuted. “They were well-documented, televised and the world was paying attention,” a member of the Gaza City team commented. Their optimism may be somewhat misplaced, however: charges against Ariel Sharon and others in the past did not get past first base. The public exposure of large-scale atrocities, including the alleged use of white phosphorus bombs in enclosed civilian areas and widespread killing of hundreds of children, for which there is ample evidence, will be difficult to defend in theory, but the the founding texts of the International Criminal Court empowers the UN Security Council to suspend its work, so it is doubtful that prosecutions will proceed, unless the Obama administration demonstrates a new form of resolve. According to PCC, implicated Israelis have been warned internally against leaving its boundaries due to fears of arrest. There may be some truth in this: as reported, (Thus passim) Israel has publicly vowed to grant legal aid to indicted soldiers and officials.

French lawyer Gilles Dovers is handling the complaint in Paris calling for the ‘open investigation into war crimes’ committed by Israeli forces during three weeks in Gaza. Dovers said today that 500 complaints are being submitted by Arab, European and Latin American officials. Bolivia and Venezuela are preparing their own cases. Argentine international prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, is deciding whether to go ahead with an investigation. Fifteen specific names are now pending for prosecution in The Hague’s war crimes tribunal. Those listed for prosecution includes Ehud Barak, Amir Peretz, Binyamin Ben Eliezer, Avi Dichter, Carmi Gilon, Dan Halutz, Doron Almog, Ehud Olmert, Eliezer Shkedy, Gabi Ashkenazi, Giora Eiland, Matan Vilani, Moshe Bogi Yaalon, Shaul Mofaz and Tzipi Livni. You can read the allegations on: www.wanted.org.il

Today’s invitation to try at least 15 Israeli officials is being delivered by 30 international lawyers of several nationalities. In parallel, the intention of a group of French lawyers to file a complaint on behalf of French citizens of Palestinian origin to the French courts against Israeli officials is gaining attention in the cities of Paris and eastern France. Co-ordination with other lawyers in Belgium and Spain is underway as similar complaints against the Israeli officials are being made in Brussels and Madrid. Belgium is among the countries who issued charges against Ariel Sharon in the past. Moroccan lawyers also disclosed yesterday practical steps toward filing a lawsuit against “the perpetrators of war crimes” in Gaza. Six lawyers are working with the Minister of Justice of Morocco.

These GBU-39 bunker busters weigh around 2.2 tons each. How many are in the 3000 ton shipment now en route to Israel and is Iran their final destination?

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the US have cancelled plans to ship the 3000 tons of munitions from Greece  to Israel (that it wasn’t sending) ‘due to the Gaza conflict’. This confirms the earlier speculation that the weapons were not requisitioned for the Gaza operation. Before we all breathe a sigh of relief and applaud the new direction of the incoming Obama diplomats, however, the same report also says that the US will find a different way to deliver hundreds of uranium-tipped bunker-busting WMDs for the ‘missile defence system’ in Israel. According to Pentagon spokesman Lt Col Ryder: ”I can confirm that the U.S. munition shipment has been delayed and that EUCOM (U.S. European Command) is developing an appropriate course of action to deliver the items to the U.S. stockpile in Israel.”  (Reuters) For security reasons, he declined to elaborate further, but the fact that its existence is now out in the open means that the Obama administration in waiting is both aware of and has condoned this shipment.

Hilary/Chuckie. No regime change in the White House.

Meanwhile, here is a clue as to what it might be used for. As predicted, Secretary of State designate Hilary Clinton has adopted the mantle, demeanour and even some of the phrases of her highly successful predecessor, Condi ‘Peacemaker’ Rice: “As we focus on Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, we must also actively pursue a strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians,” Clinton said in prepared remarks for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She went on to say that the United States must pursue a foreign policy that “effectively challenges Iran to end its nuclear weapons program and sponsorship of terror and persuades both Iran and Syria to abandon their dangerous behavior and become constructive regional actors.” (No mention of Israel’s ‘dangerous behaviour,’ which includes allegedly dropping white phosphorous onto civilian populations amongst other ‘legitimate acts of warfare’ copied from US ‘operations’ in Fallujah and elsewhere).

She added that the incoming Obama administration would take no options off the table when dealing with Iran over its nuclear ambitions but a policy review was being done over how to tackle Iran. (Reuters). Where have we heard the ominous phrase ‘take no options off the table’ before? Bombing Iran looks more certain as time goes on. Welcome to Armageddon. It’s just down the road from Iraq. Ask one of the horsemen for directions.

John J Kelly

The contents of this article, which can be viewed in full at the link below, are summarised here with no endorsement or comment by Thus Magazine or guarantees as to their accuracy, save that, where indicated, attributed sources or comment in the public domain has been checked.

This piece, which contains some elements of conjecture, alleges that 3000 tons of ‘ammunition’ is destined to sail from Greece to Israel to arrive by 31 January. The US have not denied the existence of this shipment. The size and conjectured nature of the shipment make it highly unlikely that this was or is part of the ongoing Gaza ‘operation.’ This adds weight to the growing fear that the assault on Gaza is a prelude to a larger engagement by Israel on one or more fronts with its neighbours, but particularly with Iran. Given that the armaments possesed by Hamas (and Hizbollah) are of a relatively primitive order, and their defences scarcely merit ‘bunker-buster’ uranium-tipped missiles (especially at this stage of the operation) the article speculates that this ‘unusually large’ consignment of heavy ‘ammunition’ is destined for an Israeli attack on Iran. The US has allegedly refused support for an Israeli attack on Iran, stating as recently as September 2008 that Israel would need to give ‘prior warning’ before attacking Iran and that Israeli warplanes flying through Iraqi airspace en route to Iran would run the risk of being shot down by US forces. However, Iraqi President Nouri Al-Maliki would now make that call, were it deemed necessary to do do, drawing Iraq into conflict with Iran, were one to arise.

The article also claims that in early January 2009, the Pentagon dispatched over 100 military personnel to Israel from US European Command (EUCOM) to assist in setting up a new sophisticated X-band early warning radar system, part of the military aid package to Israel approved by the Pentagon in September 2008, and is designed to track and destroy missiles from Iran. Meanwhile, Russia has recently opened talks to supply its trading partner, Iran, with S-300 surface-to-air missiles, opening up the real prospect of a new cold war should Israel proceed with its actions, which will require US approval, notwithstanding the ‘independent’ status of Iraq since the US controls the missile defence system and is supplying the armaments.

The entire article may be read here: Global Research, January 11, 2009.

To repeat: Thus Magazine takes no responsibility for the accuracy of its content.

Media censorship has a habit of rebounding. For example, even friendly media would struggle to describe the actions of Hamas, (whom I’ve already described in several posts as a bunch of criminal sociopaths originally sponsored by Mossad), but who have been morally strengthened by what can only politely be described as Israel’s ill-advised use of disproportionate force. It is entirely likely that they have been firing rockets out of heavily-populated positions  - Gaza is one of the world’s most densely-populated areas, so it’s hard to see how they could avoid doing so. Thus, they must be aware that in doing so they put the lives of civilians at risk. However, this equally means that the invading Israeli forces must have knowledge that in bombing buildings (and UN compounds) they will kill inncocents. Moreover, as the aforementioned grainy YouTube clips (some dating back to 2007) show, they have sophisticated surveillance techniques which show in minute detail the exact position of Hamas armament and fighters. Knowingly Bombing civilians is a crime against International Law and an indisputable breach of the Geneva Convention. Both Hamas and Israel are guilty and both should be censured. (For that matter, so should Britain and the US, for crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, but that’s another sorry tale altogether).

I am equally certain that Hamas rockets might have done a lot more civilian damage over the past eight years, with a lot more international outrage, had the Southern Israel citizens not organised highly effective early warning systems and educated their children to flee to purpose-built shelters within a minute of hearing a siren. Whether or not the bombs don’t achieve their ‘goal’ of killing people, the effect of constant bombardment, even with toytown rockets, exacts a terrible toll on the hearts and minds of Israeli civilians, up to and including the biblical desire for revenge. Thus, Israel’s efficiency in defending its citizens has possibly and paradoxically contributed to the build-up to the present unequal contest. Allied to the sense of hopelessness in the face of muted international condemnation of Hamas (and Hizbollah), this may have led inexorably to a situation where the military hawks (vicious, opportunistic bullies but never the cleverest or most lateral thinkers) forced their ‘solution’ (bombing civilian populations) to the front of the agenda. 

The (deplorable) default position of the international liberal media is to don the keffiyeh and metaphorically chant Palestinian slogans, in a misplaced parody of 1968 and all that. On the other hand, the (majority) illiberal media, as represented by The Daily Mail and Telegraph in the UK, Fox News and most of the Murdoch gang in the US and elsewhere, are natural Neocon allies of Israel, especially in its current belligerent incarnation. By banning the media (in contravention of international law and in defiance of a ruling of the Israeli Parliament itself) Israel is laying itself open to the charge that it has all but abandoned any semblance of respect for natural human justice. In doing so, it puts itself on the same rogue state level as the criminal sociopaths from whom it so rightly feels the need to defend its citizens. 

Israel has now achieved its domestic objective: the forces of Netanyahu have prevailed and the country needs to dig in for a period of international ostracisation. The US and Britain will veto any Security Council Resolution condemning its actions, so it won’t face international sanctions. Hamas will be deposed and go underground (again), where its hard liners will resort to acts of covert terrorism which will kill many more innocent people. Likewise Hizbollah and other whacko Palestinian militants. The neighbours and relatives of the thousands killed, half-starved and displaced by the bombardments of Lebanon and Gaza will hate Israel even more and aid the terrorists (no change there). There is no other possible outcome at this stage than an increase in the likelihood of Terror – so thanks a lot from the rest of us. On the other hand, Israel will have its Right-Wing coalition and may well try and invade Iran. In which case, welcome to Armageddon (literally). 

Obama has his work cut out, though the composition of his advisors (Rham Emmanuel, Hilary Clinton and her Rubinesque cabal, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Soros et al) make it unlikely that much will change on the policy front. I’m not saying any more about this horrible mess, (even if I told you so) except that I am sorry for all the innocent people killed in the name of political expediency. It was ever thus.

John J Kelly

(Irish, friend of Jews everywhere but not fond of Israel, especially its Neanderthal politicians).

Security, Impunity, Geometry and Terror, John Keane, The Inconvenience of History, 2003

Last night I was privileged to be invited by a friend to sit Shiva at the home of his father, a survivor of both Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald and Ravensbrück, who died, aged 82 in London on Tuesday 28 December. Two fellow survivors, who came to London after the war as part of the ’1945 Group’ spoke simply of his life, his humanity and his devotion to his family, but not about the camps. To survive one camp is special – three is extraordinary. His unpublished and private family memoirs reveal that he used all his strength and willpower to resist the Nazi exterminators without compromising his integrity or his religion. He preserved his family heritage in doing so, and became a successful businessman in England by the practical application of ethics. This was a man.

It is inconceivable that such sensitive and resourceful people as the Jews could possibly countenance the continuing obscenity in Gaza, despite mounting and now widespread international disgust (apart from the US elements which orchestrated the action). I am a Zionist of sorts, in that I respect and admire the Jewish people, who are the treasures of the earth. Please don’t sully the memory of those who died and those who survived to rebuild the Israeli nation with these acts of genocide, perpetrated in the name of politics. It is no better than the Holocaust, which all sane people abhor. Give the people of Gaza a respite, food, water, medicine and warmth. Stop building concentration camps. It is against nature, and an insult to the memory of brave people such as the father of my friend.

John J Kelly

Israel is feeling “no real pressure” from the world to end the operation in the Gaza Strip, and the amount of time the international community will sit relatively quietly on the sidelines depends on how things develop, senior diplomatic officials said Sunday. According to the officials, one errant IDF shell could bring to a dramatic end what has been described as “greater understating than you can imagine” for Israel’s actions.” HERB KEINON, Jerusalem Post, Monday 29 December 2008.

No Arab, No Terror, by John Keane, The Inconvenience of History series, 2003

This article from today’s Jerusalem Post : Jerusalem: No international pressure to end op demonstrates the urgent need to send a clear public signal to Israel that its behaviour makes it a pariah in the international community and a threat to world peace. Dancing around the handbags is not an option. While it is true that the Christmas holidays meant that the liberal media was caught on the hop – The Guardian’s 27 December front page concerned the English High Street sales and the movements in Gaza were relegated to a couple of columns in the international section, for example – the world is now catching up. As the undemocratically-compromised US media shows itself broadly in favour of the genocide, up to and including the ‘food aid’ malarky (Thus passim) Israeli citizens should be made fully aware that the rest of the world won’t be fooled again. The Jerusalem Post article notes (disapprovingly) the disapproval of Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister (Thus passim). It also notes, approvingly, the tepid criticism from the EU and the unco-ordinated early statements from the UN, (now followed, as predicted, by a weak statement from the Security Council). The modus operandi of previous Israeli state terror campaigns has been to seek tacit approval from the US, start bombing and withdraw with no apologies or retribution when ‘objectives’ have been met, to muted protest from the western ‘powers’. There are moderate and balanced voices in the Israeli media prepared to describe this tragedy relatively objectively, such as Amos Harel of Haaretz:

The events along the southern front which commenced at 11:30 on Saturday morning are the closest thing there is to a war between Israel and Hamas. It is difficult to ascertain (geographically) where and for how long the violence will reach before international intervention forces a halt to the hostilities. However, Israel’s opening salvo is not merely another “surgical” operation or pinpoint strike. This is the harshest IDF assault on Gaza since the territory was captured during the Six-Day War in 1967.

“Palestinian sources in Gaza report that 40 targets were destroyed in a span of three to five minutes. This was a massive attack much along the lines of what the Americans termed “shock and awe” during their invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Simultaneous, heavy bombardment of a number of targets on which Israel spent months gathering intelligence. The military “target bank” includes dozens of additional targets linked to Hamas, some of which will certainly come under attack in the coming days.

“Like the U.S. assault on Iraq and the Israeli response to the abduction of IDF reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser at the outset of the Second Lebanon War (the “night of the Fajr missiles,” a reference to the IAF destruction of Hezbollah’s arsenal of medium-range Fajr missiles), little to no weight was apparently devoted to the question of harming innocent civilians. From Israel’s standpoint, Hamas, which persistently fires rockets while using the civilian population as cover, had plenty of opportunities to save face and lower their demands. In stubbornly continuing to launch rockets during the course of recent weeks, it brought this assault on itself. (Read full article here).

The Hamas leadership are incompetent sociopaths who are treating their own constituents as pawns in this deadly game (witness the reports that they are not allowing the wounded access to Egyptian aid).  Sending rockets into civilian complexes, occupied by whoever, is unpardonable, as is suicide bombing and all its derivatives. But, like the US in Fallujah, for example, the ‘contest’ is grotesquely unequal. We expect a degree of compassion and forethought from one of the world’s most civilised and formerly-oppressed peoples. Yet, over the past eight years in particular, this wayward and dysfunctional offspring of Kissinger diplomacy has more or less rampaged as it pleased with a toy box full of the latest weaponry from its doting US parents, the Neocon Nutter family. Indeed, Israeli forces trained and equipped the hapless Georgian clients (2nd largest recipients of US aid after Israel) in their stupid assault on South Ossetia last August, which only now has the spin apparatus managed to turn into a Russian offensive. Nearer to home, Israel has twice trashed the Lebanon, scorched the West Bank, built a grotesque wall reminiscent of Berlin and any number of concentration camps and sewn the seeds of a generation of terrorists by half-starving the disenfranchised people of Gaza, whom it is now indiscriminately bombing prior to re-annexing their miserable territories. The ‘justification’ for all these acts is the ‘War on Terror.’ The reality is that Israel needs land for its immigrant settlers. It is easily the best-equipped military force in the region (with or without nuclear capability, which it has and has threatened to use) and long ago stopped worrying about security.

Except that last year’s land invasion of Lebanon did not go according to plan. A series of blunders and savage resistance from Hizbollah led to a withdrawal, which the incumbent government fears will be met with disapproval at the polls in February’s Israeli elections.

The Jerusalem Post is largely right in its assessment of the level of Western disapproval to date. AIPAC was so sure of its position that its offices were closed until today. But now China and others have joined the howls of protest, and even the UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband has hinted that he is . . . erm . . . less than happy with the slaughter side of things, there is a chance that Israel’s bloodlust can be tempered if enough people are brave enough to say ‘genug ist genug.’

It’s a small thing, but Avaaz have launched a petition, which you can sign here:

Thus will move on now that the regular news sources have come back from their holidays, but silobreaker.com is a good source of aggregated news and opinion for agnostics. The full force of AIPAC will be brought to bear on the world’s media and will intensify as this ‘conflict’ – or turkey shoot – enters its next stage. For light relief, I’ll be reviewing ‘Defiance’ and ‘Waltz with Bashir’ over the next couple of days.

Hopeless in Gaza 2, Nativity 2003, John Keane, the Inconvenience of History, 2003

The US and its ‘allies’ pursued an aggressive ‘war’ counter to the 4th Geneva Convention against Iraq on the spurious justification that Iraq had ignored a UN resolution. Israel is in breach of more than 65 UN Resolutions, but the most significant, Resolution 446, passed in 1979 with abstensions from the UK, Norway and the US, lies at the heart of this current outrage and is key to the continuing Middle East conflict. Notwithstanding that the US has subsequently decided to adhere by UN Resolutions as and when it suits, it should be noted that Professor Richard A Falk and members from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights were detained by Israeli officials for 30 hours at Ben Gurion airport on December 15, 2008 and refused permission to travel to the West Bank and Gaza to document human rights conditions before being deported to Geneva. Professor Falk, an international lawyer and expert on both Nuremberg and the Geneva Convention, had intimated that Israel’s siege of Gaza was counter to international law and had urged prosecution at the ICC in the Hague. He described Israel’s siege of Gaza last year, when it was still not comparable in its severity to the current situation, as follows:

Is it an irresponsible overstatement to associate the treatment of Palestinians with this criminalised Nazi record of collective atrocity? I think not. The recent developments in Gaza are especially disturbing because they express so vividly a deliberate intention on the part of Israel and its allies to subject an entire human community to life-endangering conditions of utmost cruelty. The suggestion that this pattern of conduct is a holocaust-in-the-making represents a rather desperate appeal to the governments of the world and to international public opinion to act urgently to prevent these current genocidal tendencies from culminating in a collective tragedy.

You can read Resolution 446 here:

The Security Council,

Having heard the statement of the Permanent Representative of Jordan and other statements made before the Council,

Stressing the urgent need to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, affirming once more that the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949 1/ is applicable to the Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem:

1. Determines that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East;

2. Strongly deplores the failure of Israel to abide by Security Council resolutions 237 (1967) of 14 June 1967, 252 (1968) of 21 May 1968 and 298 (1971) of 25 September 1971 and the consensus statement by the President of the Security Council on 11 November 1976 2/ and General Assembly resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and 2254 (ES-V) of 4 and 14 July 1967, 32/5 of 28 October 1977 and 33/113 of 18 December 1978;

3. Calls once more upon Israel, as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and, in particular, not to transfer parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab territories;

4. Establishes a Commission consisting of three members of the Security Council, to be appointed by the President of the Council after consultations with the members of the Council, to examine the situation relating to settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem;

5. Requests the Commission to submit its report to the Security Council by 1 July 1979;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Commission with the necessary facilities to enable it to carry out its mission.

7. Decides to keep the situation in the occupied territories under constant and close scrutiny and to reconvene in July 1979 to review the situation in the light of the findings of the Commission.

The siege of Gaza, refusal to accept the opinion of UN officials, followed by sustained bombardment, followed by a ground offensive and occupation is reminiscent of a recent unfortunate and genocidal US military misadventure, based on the pretext of pursuing a war on terror. Can anyone remember which one? I wonder if they are related.

John J Kelly

Moment, by John Keane, from the Inconvenience of History series (2003)

Forget about sending aid – the previous post has unfortunately been rendered redundant by the news that Israel has attacked Hamas-run security compounds in Gaza, killing hundreds of civilians and wounding others – including the almost-obligatory deaths of two small girls allegedly killed by Hamas – in the process. See Gaza attacks. Although rocket attacks have unquestionably increased over the past few weeks, and Israel warned of retaliation after the truce expired last week, this latest disproportionate outrage should be met with the strongest possible condemnation. But we know it won’t, especially by the governments of the US and its European client, the UK, both of whom have characteristically equivocated for fear of upsetting AIPAC and other power brokers. The EU reaction as ever, has been milky in the extreme.

Here’s one reason for the diplomatic cough. In an uncanny parallel with the funding of the USSR irritants, the Afghan Mujaheddin which morphed into the Taliban, Hamas was originally created and supported by Mossad, the Israeli ‘Intelligence’ service, to destabilise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Both Hamas and its grim cousin, Hezbollah, believe they ultimately stand to gain from a petulant and bloody escalation. This horrible (but democratically elected) Golem is unquestionably responsible for stirring up the witches’ brew of tension and hatred which ensures that the Middle East will remain in flames this year, but let’s even up the imbalance and call the whole felafel what it is: the Nazification of Israel by evil puppets of a discredited neocon oligarchy, supported by neo-liberal intellectual midgets. Or is that a trifle rude and undiplomatic?

If Israel begins the promised ground offensive, which Shimon Peres claimed as recently as last Thursday was not an objective, but is now a realistic proposition, then the rest of the free world should commence a complete boycott of Israel, and not cease until these belligerent idiots have been brought to the negotiating table. Hamas (Gaza) and Hezbollah (Lebanon) are terrorist organisations, to be sure, but continued US support for what can only be termed as state terrorism is the oxygen of this genocidal conflict. The word democracy should be bleeped whenever State Department officials pontificate on the news. “Middle East Peace Envoy” Tony Blair and his simian cronies should be forced to pay for and to attend the funerals of every victim. And I’m a reasonable, moderately Zionist sort of guy.

John J Kelly

Give us this day our daily bread - kids in Gaza queuing for basics.

The good news is that it has been reported that Israel is allowing 100 trucks with desperately-needed ‘humanitarian aid‘ into Gaza. The bad news is that is is probably part of a publicity campaign to divert attention from incursions into Gaza by Israeli forces. The worse news is that the right wing (Hatikva-National Union) MK Arieh Eldad has demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Barak be impeached for ‘aiding an enemy’ by allowing the food and supplies through the blockade, including gifts from the wife of the Egyptian President. It has also been intimated from various sources, including the BBC, that Israel is preparing for a massive assault into Gaza ahead of the forthcoming elections, where the hawks hope to install Benjamin Netanyahu on a wave of anxiety that Barack Obama might withdraw support for genocidal policies towards Gaza and a suicidal assault on Iran. The rest of us hope the US might put pressure on both sides to behave reasonably. It would be helpful if the frankly useless EU stopped sitting on the fence too. Nobody underestimates the difficulty, and several, including myself, are sympathetic to the sense of hopelessness felt by Israeli citizens, the majority of whom are appalled by the situation, exacerbated in large part by the lousy leadership of the two warring Gaza factions. But Israel has it in its power to behave as a civilised member of the international community. Disproportionate response has been shown to fail virtually everywhere apart from in totalitarian dictatorships. Israel, as far as I’m aware, doesn’t aspire to this classification, and the US ‘does democracy.’

As a result of the Israeli blockade (of its own people, depending on how you look at it), up to 80 per cent of the people of Gaza rely on aid to survive. This in itself is unsustainable and contributes to the general air of hopelessness. The UN reported early in December that ‘food insecurity‘ caused by Israeli blockade tactics is leading to malnutrition.  Relaxing the (illegal) blockade, which has restricted energy, food and medical supplies to concentration camp levels in many cases, on the alleged pretext that this will lessen the disapproval of the ‘international community’ as and when the assault comes, is heinous in the extreme, if true, and marks a new low in the Nazification of a once-persecuted nation. Israel, which should know better but regularly proves the opposite, is enacting policies of which its mid 20th Century Nazi persecutors would have approved. There has never been a good reason to hurt and blight the futures of innocent people, even in the pursuit of vicious and misguided fanatics. Facsism always has been wrong. Expropriation is a crime against humanity and aggressive warfare is contrary to international law. Israel and its backers should draw back now and try to be human.

Israeli citizens have a right to go about their business without the fear or the reality of mortars, rockets or suicide bombs landing in their midst, but if we have learned anything, it is that the biblical perversion of ‘an eye for an eye’ leads only to the slaughter of innocents. Below is an account and links to photographs from Sameh Akram Habeeb, an aid worker familiar with the situation.

by Sameh Akram Habeeb

All photos in the link below by Sameh A. Habeeb:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb/BakeriesOfGazaOutOfBreadPeopleAreHungry#

Israeli politicians, in the run-up to elections, are promising to deal a severe blow to Gaza as this is how Israeli policy is made. However, every household in Gaza is already under siege. In Gaza you can only find pale, angry and frustrated faces. If you visit my house you won’t find power, while my neighbor is out of gas. Another neighbor seeks potable water as power outages have left him without for four days. A third neighbor desparately looks for milk for his child but does so in vain. Another friend who lives on the corner needs medicine that can’t currently be found in Gaza. 

There is no shortage of such stories in Gaza (though there is a shortage of nearly everything else). Perhaps broadcasting such stories would result in pressure on Israeli leaders to stop the siege. Because what is happening is that the entire Gaza population of 1.5 million — densely packed into a small area — is being punished for crude rockets being fired into Israel by a few.

Shaher Mazen, 25, holds a degree in political science but works as a taxi driver to put bread on the table for his family. I spoke to him while I was on my way to some of the Gaza bakeries to cover some news that was happening there. Shaher was frustrated because of siege and furious towards the two rival Palestinian governments, considering them as weak in the face of Israel.

Mazen said, “We are under an organized Israeli media campaign. We are being starved and victimized by Israel. The world think we are besieging Israel, not the other way around. Israel is playing up the issue of rocket fire to besiege us more and more.”

Al-Shanty bakery in Gaza City is one of the Strip’s largest, supplying tens of thousands with bread. Yesterday, hundreds of people crowded outside the bakery in a very long queue, waiting for a bag of bread. Children, women and men were awaiting the chance to buy some bread, which has become scarce as Israel has not allowed the import of adequate supplies of flour and cooking gas.

“Our bakery is out of bread for days now and what we have will only last for another 24 hours. In fact, we stopped our work yesterday as we ran out of flour. Now, we use animal feed which will finish in a matter of hours,” explained 24-year-old Abed Masod while he busily worked at the bakery.

A woman’s voice arose above the crowd. She started to scream and appealed to God for salvation and relief from Gaza’s dire situation. Forty-five-year-old Om Ali Shoman’s weary face bore the impact of Gaza’s suffering. “This is our destiny,” she said. “It’s a conspiracy designed against us. What did my children do to stay at home with no bread? Did they fire rockets? Did they kill Israelis? Are they holding guns?”

Only about a dozen of Gaza’s 47 bakeries are currently operating as of yesterday, but with rapidly diminishing supplies. The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) had to stop its food aid deliveries because Israel has not allowed it to replenish its stores. This affects 750,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip.

Gazans fear that the worst, however, is yet to come as the Israeli government renews its threats of a major offense against the Gaza Strip, irrespective of the civilian toll an invasion would inevitably incur.

Time is running out in Gaza and mass starvation looms as Gaza’s skies are further darkened with threats of an Israeli military incursion. As a journalist, peace activist, and one of the hundreds of thousands of Gazans who are being collectively punished by Israel, I urge those who read this to appeal their governments to hold Israel accountable to international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, article 33 of which forbids the collective punishment of a civilian population. Though it unilaterally removed its illegal settlement population from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel has remained in control of Gaza’s borders, sea and airspace, as well as its population registry, and remains the occupying power, and as such is obligated to abide by international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.

I urge readers to press their governments to force Israel to respect the countless United Nations resolutions that affirm Palestinian rights, and which Palestinian leaders demand must be immediately implemented.

Please don’t let Gaza’s plight be forgotten, and urge those around you to act as well.