Israel: Slain Palestinians were supposed to be arrested
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Israelis on an army operation in the West Bank city of Nablus |
Israeli officials have acknowledged that they had ordered soldiers to arrest the three Palestinians who were shot dead in Nablus last week.
The order for the Duvdevan commando unit clearly stated that the aim of the attack was to capture Adnan Subuh, Raad Sarkaji and Ghassan Abu Sheikh, Israeli sources said.
The Israeli forces received the written order several hours before raiding the occupied West Bank homes of the Palestinian trio.
According to eyewitnesses, the three Palestinian victims were executed on the spot.
Meanwhile, the witnesses also believe that Israeli claims that the victims were involved in the killing of the Rabbi are baseless fabrications.
The victims were members of the Fatah Movement, led by acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas.
Houthi Leader: Yemeni civilians targeted by design
31/12/2009 – Abd Al Malek Badreldin Al Houthi launched an urgent appeal today by audio message to listeners everywhere:
He questions the deafening silence of the world to the savage crimes against humanity now being committed in Yemen by Saudi, Yemeni, and USA warplanes targeting innocent civilians, and killing women and children, as they bombard population centers far away from the battle fields: towns, market places, mosques…
He also warns of the grave humanitarian crisis created by the bombing, and by the siege of North Yemen. No humanitarian assistance whatsoever has been provided by any party to the thousands of refugees and the wider population which is now starving for basic necessities.
This targeting of civilians is by design. Why the silence?
After all military efforts on the ground have failed to break the resolve of the Houthi fighters, bombing civilians has now become an instrument of war, to force the Houthi fighters to capitulate. All these crimes are being systematically documented.
These crimes only increase the resolve of the Houthis to defend themselves, and increase the numbers of fighters joining the battle.
Witnesses: Soldiers assault four workers
30/12/2009 12:48
[Maan Images – Archive]
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers assaulted four Palestinian workers on Tuesday night in the West Bank village of Al-Walajah, near Bethlehem, witnesses told Ma’an.
Residents of the village described how the soldiers broke the legs of three men, and arrested a fourth, taking him to an unknown detention center. Three of the men were dragged to a field in Al-Walajah, the witnesses added.
The reason for the reported assault was unclear.
Residents of Al-Walajah said three of the men were taken to the hospital in the neighboring town of Beit Jala.
One of the men was identified as Anees Kabha, a resident of the northern West Bank.
A military spokesman said he was not aware of any reported incident, and that the area was under the jurisdiction of the border police.
U.S Soldiers against war and racism
If there was no racism soldiers would realize that they have more in common with the Iraqi people than with the billionaires who send us to war.
New West Bank Roadblock Cripples Agriculture
International Solidarity Movement – December 28, 2009
The Israeli army erected a giant earth mound across a crucial agricultural road in the northern West Bank village of Madama this week. The road block severely limits hundreds of farmers’ access to their lands, making transport by vehicle all but impossible. The intentional crippling of the village’s chief economy comes as settler violence continues unabated in the region.
Four Israeli military jeeps and one Caterpillar bulldozer entered the village on Wednesday night to construct the road block. The targeted dirt road cuts directly underneath the speedy settler road leading west from Yitzhar settlement, where a tunnel was constructed to allow the road’s continuation to farmers’ land. The bulldozer quickly moved massive mounds of earth across the road underneath the bridge, entirely blocking it and removing the possibility of access to cars and tractors by village farmers.
ISM activists visited Madama to witness families clambering over the earth mound on foot and herding, with great difficulty, donkeys and flocks of sheep and goats across the blockage. The prevention of tractor access is critical now especially, as Palestine enters its wet season and land must be ploughed to become fertile for the new year. Approximately 500 of Madama’s farmers hold land on the other side of the road block, whose economic livelihood is severely threatened by this senseless impediment.
The road overhead, linking Israeli settlers effortlessly with their homes and work outside the settlements, cuts deeply through Madama’s land, as it has done since it was built 10 years ago. Two homes, belonging to Yasser Taher’s family, are now isolated on the other side of the highway, marking them as prime targets for settler and military harassment, leaving children traumatised and inevitably forcing the majority of the family to move to a safer home within Madama.
Madama resident Abed Al-Aziz Zeiyada became the latest victim in an endless series of settler incursions as he drove his taxi home on Friday night. Settlers of Yitzhar settlement, waiting on the side of the road, hurled rocks at his car and destroyed the windscreen. When Zeiyada reached Huwara, now without a windscreen in his car, he was stopped by Israeli forces at a flying checkpoint. Showing them the unmistakeable damage, Zeiyada was refused assistance by Israeli soldiers. He returned to Madama and paid a 700 shekel bill for the window to be fixed the next day.
Residents of Madama always have one eye fixed on the settlements that loom over the village; Bracha to the north, and Yitzhar to the south. Yitzhar alone is built on 1000 dunums of Madama’s land, including all of its water wells. Villagers are forced to spend vast amounts of their income on water, a 90-litre tank costing a crippling 125 shekels.
“Four Afghan civilians killed in Baghlan air raid”
Haji Farid, a lawmaker from the Kapisa province – “every time an American soldier gets killed, they bomb an entire village. The president should determine to whom this country belongs.”
By Habib Rahman Sherzai |RAWA | December 29, 2009
Four civilians have reportedly been killed and eight others wounded in a fresh air strike by foreign forces in northern Baghlan province, residents alleged on Tuesday.
The overnight attack took place in Kohna Qala area of Baghlan-i-Markazi district, residents told Pajhwok Afghan News. The fresh air raid came about three days after 10 civilians were killed during military operations in eastern Kunar province.
The Saturday air strike in Kunar drew condemnation from the lawmakers on Monday who walked out of the session and later a parliamentary delegation met President Hamid Karzai to show their resentment. Karzai ordered a serious probe into the attack that killed ten people including eight school children in Badeel area in Narang district.
In the last night air raid, the dead included a father and his three sons, who were killed while running to escape the bombardment, a teacher at the Jamiat Aburjaee High School in the area, Karim Safi, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
A student of the school, Karim Javed, said that the air raid also left many people wounded including a student of his school.
Head of the district hospital, Abdul Qahir Qanit, said they had received eight injured people delivered to the hospital with a woman and a child in a critical condition.
However, provincial police chief Kabir Andarabi said the aircrafts targeted Taliban. He claimed the attack killed eight Taliban fighters and injured seven others. The dead bodies of two slain militants were still lying on the ground at the site, he said.
The war in Afghanistan is becoming deadlier, killing 10 percent more civilians during the first 10 months of 2009 compared to the previous period last year, according to UN figures.
UNAMA said that 468 deaths were caused by pro-government forces, including NATO and US-led forces, and 166 by “other actors.
Meanwhile, a gun-battle broke out between police and militants after the latter attacked their checkpost in Shar-i-Qadeem area of the Baghlan-i-Markazi district, police spokesman, Javed Basharat, said.
One fighter was killed and another three injured in the clash that also left three policemen wounded, he added.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the fighters killed eight policemen and wounded as many during the firefight. Acknowledging the killing of their one fighter in the clash, Mujahid said the fighters also abducted one cop.
Hovering American B-52 warplanes cause panic in Pakistan’s tribal areas
2009-12-28 15:00:00
The continuous hovering of America’s heavy bomber aircraft, B-52 – capable of carrying nuclear and conventional weapons – has caused panic among residents of Pakistan’s Tribal Areas.
The Nation quoted sources as saying that B-52 warplanes and US drones have been hovering over Waziristan and Kurram Agency for the last several weeks.
The US Air Combat Command’s B-52 is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions.
Capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000 feet, the B-52 can perform air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations.
During Desert Storm, B-52s delivered 40 per cent of all the weapons dropped by coalition forces.
It is highly effective when used for ocean surveillance. Two B-52s, in two hours, can monitor 364,000 square kilometres of ocean surface.
All B-52s are equipped with an electro-optical viewing system to augment the targeting, battle assessment, flight safety and terrain-avoidance system, thus further improving its combat ability and low-level flight capability. (ANI)
Nigeria resumes massacres
By Rafiu Oriyomi | IslamOnline.net | September 10, 2009
LAGOS — Nigerian police have been accused of indiscriminate arrest and harassment against Muslims across the country since clashes with the militant Boko Haram group killed at least 600 people…
In July, Boko Haram, a militant group opposed to anything modeled after the West, went on rampage in three north-western states attacking police stations and other facilities.
A massive security operation resulted in the killing of hundreds of militants including their leader Mohammed Yusuf and alleged financiers.
There have since been reports of constant police harassment of Muslims on the streets across the country.
“What qualified me for this wicked charge is my beard and attire,” fumed Saleh, 29, who met a number of other Muslims at the police station, arrested on the same charge.
“What this means is that all Muslims are members of the Boko Haram,” he stressed.
“And if that is the case, then there is a danger lurking around because we won’t take this from the government.”
[…]
The harassment is not limited to Borno or Yobe. Earlier this week, at least 11 bearded Muslims were rounded up by policemen at Ijaiye, a suburb of Lagos, on charges that they are members of Boko Haram.
Sulaiman Idris, one of the detainees who police said will be charged on illegal association and terrorism related charges, told IOL he was going to work when arrested.
“I can’t remember doing anything contrary to the law,” a tearful Idris sobbed, alleging torture.
He said others are going through the same ordeal.
“I have known Idris as a peace-loving Muslim who keeps beard and wears short trousers. His arrest is a slap on fundamental human rights,” said Shakirat Adedo, a work colleague.
“I’m told 11 of them were arrested. I think this is getting out of hand.”
When contacted, Lagos Police spokesman Frank Mba denied knowledge of the arrests and pledged to investigate the matter.
Two Muslim journalists working for the Lagos-based Islamic publication Al-Minbar were arrested last week and are still being detained in Yaba.
The arrest is linked to publishing an article entitled “Every Muslim Is A Boko Haram,” in response to police action.
Money for Justice
What adds insult to injury is that Muslims have to buy their freedom from police custody.
Asked how he regained his freedom, Saleh said his relatives “had to pay through their noses to get me released.”
“This means the Nigerian police want to hide under the Boko Haram incidence to feed fat on us,” he charged.
Mallam Zakari Adamu, Chairman of the Movement of Justice in Nigeria (MOJIN) Yobe chapter, confirmed the ugly trend.
“Our great problem is that if your innocent relation is detained for alleged involvement in Boko Haram, if you don’t have money to give him, you then sacrifice him or her to remain in cell,” he told IOL.
“Even when they have finished their interrogation and find him not guilty, you still have to bribe for him to regain his freedom,” contended the rights activist.
“I know of a boy who was shot; he is an innocent businessman. His father told us that he has spent N240,000 yet he could not even see the face of his son, this is unjust.”
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), a countrywide network of Islamic activists, is raising the issue with the government, warning that the clampdown could trigger another bout of violence…
Update – Press TV – December 29, 2009
Thirty-eight members of the Boko Haram extremist group, including their leader, have been killed in clashes with a joint military-police force in the city of Bauchi in northern Nigeria.
Bauchi Police Chief Atikur Kafur told reporters on Monday that one soldier and two innocent people were among the dead in the Zango district of the city. He added that 14 people were also injured.
Twenty suspected militants were arrested, including nine adults and 11 juveniles.
The police chief identified the Boko Haram leader as Malam Badamasi.
‘I will pay the price for this testimony when I return’
December 28, 2009
The Saraya prison and police compound was
bombed the second day of the war [MaanImages]
Bethlehem – Ma’an – An estimated 300 Palestinians were killed in the first 48 hours of Israel’s winter assault on the Gaza Strip, which entered its second day one year ago today.
With an increased focus on Rafah, Israeli warplanes bombarded around 100 more targets on 28 December 2008, leaving about 70 more Palestinians dead, and raising the child death toll to 22 and the civilian toll to 60, including nine women.
Israeli jets struck Islamic University in Gaza City, the offices of de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, and the Saraya prison, ironically killing four members of Hamas’ domestic rival Fatah, as well as three mosques and 11 homes and apartments.
Fires engulfed Rafah after Israeli missiles hit underground fuel pipelines in some 40 sorties on the Strip’s tunnel network. Fleeing the flames, terrified residents of Gaza’s south attempted by the hundreds to escape to Egypt, but were prevented from leaving by Egyptian security forces. A Palestinian and an Egyptian policeman were killed in the ensuring chaos; at least 10 others were hurt.
West Bank protest
Palestinians in the West Bank, horrified by the numbers of dead and more than 1,000 injured, protested against the operation on its second day. Palestinian Authority security forces broke up a demonstration in Ramallah when activists urged support for Hamas, while Israeli forces shot dead three demonstrators nearby.
“There was a significant increase in the use of force by Israeli security forces during demonstrations in the West Bank after the start of the Israeli operations in Gaza,” according to the final report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. “The degree of force used against protests during the previous year had already been high … New tactics and weapons used by the Israeli security forces aimed at suppressing the popular movement have resulted in deaths and injuries.”
In July 2009, two witnesses, Mohamed Srour and Jonathan Pollak, described to the UN investigators in Geneva the fatal shooting of the two young men from the West Bank village of Ni’lin during a demonstration against the Gaza operation. Srour, elected mayor in 2005, was himself shot in the leg during the same protest.
“This demonstration was like any other demonstration. These demonstrations always took place and were peaceful demonstrations,” Srour explained. “And there was the presence of Israeli and foreign supporters and very high-level MPs. So it was very clear that this demonstration was a peaceful one.”
As the protest was winding down, Israeli forces used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. The two young men who died were part of a small group of demonstrators, some of whom had thrown stones at the soldiers. In video footage, four or five soldiers appeared to be casually walking around and not seemingly threatened. Dozens of rounds of live ammunition were fired in the direction of the group of young men, hitting three of them within minutes of each other.
“Unfortunately, I have experienced, and it’s very easy to distinguish between, the shooting of rubber bullets and tear gas and between live ammunition,” recounted Pollak, an Israeli activist. “When I told them that it’s live ammunition, they didn’t believe me. They said, ‘No, it’s just blanks that they’re shooting. And they’re not going to shoot us.'”
Mohamed Khawaja was shot in the forehead; Arafat Khawaja, who had turned to run away, was shot in the back, and Srour was shot in the leg. Subsequently, an ambulance was prevented from reaching the victims, who had to be carried some distance and were eventually put onto a pick-up truck, at which the army fired tear gas.
“There were shouts that another person was shot. People said, ‘Call the medics. There’s another person wounded.’ And we put Mohamed on the ground. Some people stayed with him and I ran back immediately.
“And then I saw Arafat Khawaja being carried. And there weren’t enough people carrying him. His head was slinging back, and I grabbed his head and my hand was covered with his blood. He was shot in the back. … I got to him and I looked back. And I saw Mohamed being shot – I saw Mohamed fall down. And people were shouting that another person was shot.
[…]
“We dropped Arafat on the floor by mistake. And we weren’t far at all from Mohamed. And people grabbing him ran before, like ran and passed up. And I could see that his face was all bloody. And the wound was in the vicinity of his eye. I mean, I would say, at the moment, I thought that the bullet went through is eye. I’m not sure if that’s true. …
“There was no ambulance there because it was prevented from entering the village at the entrance, at the roadblock in the entrance. His blood kept gushing from this back and his legs were a bit higher so it, it dripped, through the back of his head. He was shot in the back, which, I mean, I would tend to say murder because he was with his back to the soldiers and absolutely not endangering anyone. But, I assume, legally it can not be called murder because we can’t prove intent. But in the least, it’s willful killing.”
Added Srour, “There was no care, whatsoever, for human life.”
No reply
According to South African jurist Richard Goldstone’s final report, “The Mission has asked the Government of Israel to explain the increased use of live ammunitions during demonstrations in the West Bank, but has received no reply.”
Both Srour and Pollak said that by the second day of the war, the atmosphere encountered with soldiers and border police had already become markedly different from the situation before the operations in Gaza.
“The atmosphere of the incident, and during and after the start of the war generally, was that all checks and balances had been removed. The soldiers were saying things related to the Gaza war, taunting things like, ‘It’s a shame we’re not in Gaza killing Arabs,'” Pollak said. “They were taunting us. They were cursing at us. They were laughing about what was happening in Gaza at the same time. This was the second day of the war, of the assault. And people were unbelievably angry.”
Israeli forces arrested Srour at the Allenby crossing upon his return to the West Bank on 20 July. He was subsequently released on bail. Israel’s Permanent Representative to Geneva said the arrest was unrelated to his appearance at the public hearing days earlier.
During his testimony, however, Srour had expressed fear Israel would retaliate for his remarks at the UN. “I know full well that I will pay the price for this testimony when I return at Israeli crossing points in my journey of return after this hearing,” he said.
At least 800 Israeli protesters, most of them of Palestinian descent, were arrested during the Gaza war.
Among the UN report’s final recommendations is “that the Government of Israel should cease actions aimed at limiting the expression of criticism by civil society and members of the public concerning Israel’s policies and conduct during the military operations in the Gaza Strip. The Mission also recommends that Israel should set up an independent inquiry to assess whether the treatment by Israeli judicial authorities of Palestinian and Jewish Israelis expressing dissent in connection with the offensive was discriminatory, in terms of both charges and detention pending trial. The results of the inquiry should be made public and, subject to the findings, appropriate remedial action should be taken;
“The Mission recommends that the Government of Israel should refrain from any action of reprisal against Palestinian and Israeli individuals and organizations that have cooperated with the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, in particular individuals who have appeared at the public hearings held by the Mission in Gaza and Geneva and expressed criticism of actions by Israel.”
Stoking the fires of fear and hatred
American Zionist fear monger David Harris campaigns for Iran’s destruction
By Paul J. Balles
26 December 2009
Never let it be said that Zionists can’t run an effective propaganda campaign. They’re at it again, giving all to stimulate fear with clever patterns of deception.
David Harris is spreading his fear-mongering widely. For European audiences, his propaganda is targeting Germany through Der Tagesspiegel and Italy through L‘Opinione.
His article on “Iran policy: what price failure” also spreads the message of fear through the Huffington Post to Americans.
To begin his fear stimulus, Harris writes, “Among today’s many foreign policy challenges, Iran’s nuclear programme may be the most daunting.” What better way to stoke fear than call the object of your attack “daunting”?
His next fear-prodding statement reads, “An Iran capable of producing – and delivering – nuclear weapons would have major global consequences.”
An American voice for Israel, Harris tries to drum up global fear of Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Harris knows full well that Israel has over 200 nuclear warheads and Iran has none.
Harris ignores the fact that Israel has been in attack-mode since its beginnings – ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, invasion and sponsorship of Sabre and Shatilla murders in Lebanon’s refugee camps, slaughter in Gaza, military theft of the Golan Heights from Syria.
On the other hand, Iran’s military history has involved only defence. Harris chooses to ignore this damning fact. Actually, Harris, Director of the American Jewish Committee, started pumping fear of Iran into the heads of his readers some time ago.
Carrying on, Harris claims: “Iran would wield enormous power in the most strategically vital and energy-rich part of the world. And its influence could extend far beyond, including in Latin America, where it has established close ties with Bolivia, Ecuador Nicaragua and Venezuela.”
To strike more fear in the hearts and minds of the Middle East, Harris adds, “Already, some neighbouring states may be exploring their own nuclear options.” It’s amazing how a major Zionist voice in America can churn up fear-producing packages.
“Would Iran share its nuclear and missile technology with others? Very likely. North Korea and Pakistan certainly did.” If you’re not afraid of what Iran might do on its own with nuclear power, just direct your fear to how it might share its nuclear secrets.
Trying to debunk the truth, Harris asks, “Does Iran only want civilian nuclear energy to prepare for a decline in its vast oil and gas reserves?” His response: “Nonsense.”
Then he plays with this: “Intelligence from a variety of countries confirms that Iran’s nuclear programme reflects a clear desire to achieve, at the very least, breakout capacity, allowing it to weaponize in short order.”
The countries aren’t named, but they certainly include Israel. From this line of fear mongering, there’s no way that Iran could be trusted with any nuclear development.
What better way to stoke fear than this claim of uncertainty: “We cannot be certain that the current Iranian regime will act rationally.” One might aver the same uncertainty about Israel, but that’s verboten.
One of the most telling statements by Harris is this: “…countries derive power from merely possessing nuclear weapons, regardless of their possible use.” That could easily refer to Israel, with its cache of nuclear weapons at Dimona.
Harris’s solution is typical of a fear-monger’s: destroy Iran economically, politically and militarily, but make the prescription sound pleasant while referring to a “UN-defying, human-rights-abusing, Holocaust-denying, vote-rigging president?”
Americans, bought and sold by Israeli lobbyists like Harris, will, of course, buy the propaganda and respond to their Harris-made fears.
It’s time to expose the post-9/11 model for fear mongering before propagandists like Harris use it to bring destruction to another country and its people.
Paul J. Balles is a retired American university professor and freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for many years.
Welcome to Gaza’s Killing Fields where Palestinian Children live
By Wahida C. Valiante | December 26, 2009
So much has appeared in the international press and on the Internet that it would seem to be an exercise in redundancy to offer a perspective on the tragedy that befell the people of Gaza last year, especially the Gazan children. A devastating and colossal tragedy it certainly was; the Israeli attacks by sea, air and land were more brutal than anything the inhabitants of Gaza had ever endured previously.
The pictures that flooded television screens around the world showed a gruesome parade of young corpses and wounded children being loaded into and unloaded from the trunks of private cars that transported them to the only hospital in Gaza worthy of being called a hospital. People of conscience all over the world found these images horrifyingly explicit and they brought home to us both the magnitude of the death and destruction unleashed by Israel’s brutal assault against helpless and innocent Gazan children who had nowhere to run or hide. This latest orgy of air strikes and armed incursions by Israeli military forces turned the besieged and starved Strip into an unbearable inferno – literally into the Killing Fields of Gaza.
In November 2000, the Globe and Mail published my article “Who are the victims here?” in which I described the living conditions of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip during my stay in the occupied territories in 1999:
“I recently observed the effects of the ‘peace process’ when I visited the children of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Gaza, Rafah and East Jerusalem. These children know first-hand the effects of military and economic oppression. There is hardly a family that has not experienced torture, imprisonment or economic hardship.
“Most of these children live in refugee camps in houses with corrugated roofs and cramped living spaces. Often, they do not have running water. The children lack adequate schools, health-care facilities, hospitals, social services, public parks, swimming pools, or recreation facilities. In the camps, the streets are their playgrounds, often with open sewers and waste flowing freely. They have seen no other reality.”
It is sad that what seems so obvious to the rest of the world escapes the minds of apologists for Israeli state terror.
Children make up more than half of crowded Gaza’s 1.4 million people and are the most defenseless victims of Israeli siege of Gaza. Israel’s harsh security measures come at an enormous humanitarian cost and the stark reality is that under Israeli occupation, entire generations of Palestinian children and youth have suffered a litany of horrific, traumatizing events for thirty years. In addition to almost-daily home demolitions, they have witnessed intimidation, humiliation, fear, insecurity, poverty, closures, and the menacing presence of armed settlers.
With all their healthy socializing structures destroyed by the Israeli military, these children have never known peace or security, or the freedom to roam the streets and playgrounds. Gaza’s children, like their parents, continuously face hardship in simply going about their lives; they are prevented from living in peace and security, going to school, or doing things that make up the daily fabric of most people’s existence. Their parents have not known peace and freedom either, and cannot even dream about a safe and productive future for their children, and the children to come after them.
Ever since the moribund Oslo peace accord, they have been living in large prison camps. Now, locked up and besieged in Gaza by an Israeli army that happens to be one of the most powerful in the world, these children are under attack in their own land, in their own homes, and are being subjected to economic, psychological, physical and emotional terror from the air, sea and ground. Indeed all of Gaza has become a danger zone where children’s homes have been demolished, bombed, and shelled, killing children inside. Other children have been killed while riding in cars with their parents, while playing in the streets, while walking to school, visiting friends, and even while taking refuge in a UN Shelter.
Imagine the psychological and emotional terror experienced by children who grow up knowing that their parents cannot protect them from helicopter gunships, ground missiles, or snipers’ bullets. These children have no escape routes, no options, because the Israeli army and invading settlers are the ones who determine which child, which family, will be shot; which houses and trees will be bulldozed and uprooted; which street or alleyway will be hit by the sharpshooters. Their basic human rights are being trampled on by deliberate policies of the Israeli government whose obscene actions have denied these innocent children education, safety, health, economic well-being and all the amenities of normal life.
This nightmare of the children of Gaza is best described in the pages of Franz Kafka:
Lawrence Davidson in Counter Punch writes that, “In Kafka’s world, the prevailing theme is uncertainty and unpredictability. There are no set rules for behavior and the orders given by authorities seem arbitrary and even contradictory. You do not know what the laws are. The ‘authorities’ in Kafka’s work sit in their fortresses and periodically intrude upon the lives of the confused and apparently helpless protagonists.”
Similarly, nothing is predictable for Palestinians. Israel’s rules can change from one day to the next without notice or explanation. They live in an arbitrary environment, continuously adapting to circumstances they cannot influence and which increasingly reduce the range of their possibilities. No one really knows how many Palestinian children will continue to re- experience the horrors of conflict psychologically and emotionally throughout their lives.
Yet, as the world witnessed the organized, ruthless killing and maiming of these Palestinian children, there was only deafening silence from our “humane” Canadian government. If Prime Minister Harper so greatly respects the dignity of human life as he stated during his recent visit to China he would have asked Israel long ago to cease its murderous onslaught on the children of Gaza.
During my stay in the occupied territories, I was often asked by Palestinians why the world ignored their sufferings and their right to self-determination. I had no answer then. But today I can tell them that they are not alone; the world is outraged at what it witnessed in Gaza and for the “first time since the establishment of the State of Israel, an international campaign calling for sanctions against Israel for its innumerable violations of International Law has been very successful in drawing huge public attention and initiating a great number of mobilizations and initiatives around the world.” (Michel Warschawski)
No amount of “anti-Semitic” or “self-hating” labels pasted on people of conscience who criticize the Israeli occupation can stifle that debate; it is a debate now spreading throughout the world, focusing unavoidable scrutiny on Israel and its brutal occupation of Palestinian territories.
When the dust settles, history will record that the atrocities repeatedly committed by Israel against defenseless Palestinian children in Gaza was a turning-point in the long ordeal of Palestine’s occupation. Things can never be the same again in Palestine because the world knows more of the truth about Israel’s’ cruel agenda than ever before.
(Mrs. Wahida Valiante is national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress. She is a retired professional family counselor who visited Palestine as part of a fact-finding medical team. While there, the team visited refugee camps, health care clinics, hospitals, orphanages, children’s schools, local and international charities and women’s refugee centers, as well as speaking extensively with social workers and local Palestinian families.)
Related articles
- Wrecking Gaza (alethonews.wordpress.com)
- From Soweto 1976 to Gaza 2012: What we need is People’s Power! (alethonews.wordpress.com)
- Refusing to Acquiesce in Gaza (alethonews.wordpress.com)
Israel returns to Assassinations Policy
December 26th, 2009 | By Ziad Khalil Abu Zayyad
Six Palestinians were killed in two separate incidents by the Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank. Three of the Palestinians were assassinated in Nablus at the West Bank. According to Israeli sources, Ghasan Abu Sharkh, Raed Sarkaji and Anan Suboh took part in the last attack which resulted in killing an Israeli settler in the West Bank.
The Israeli troops entered Nablus while being directed by the Israeli Intelligence Service “Shabak” in order to assassinate the three Palestinians who are known as leaders of Fatah movement in the Palestinian territories. Israel considered this operation a success since it came only 48 hours after the attack on the Israeli’s car in the West Bank. The Palestinian authority considered this operation another act made by the Israeli government in order to destroy the peace process and the efforts made by the United States and the international community in order to renew the negotiations.
In another incident Israel killed three Palestinians in Gaza who were trying to infiltrate through Erez Checkpoint into the Israeli territories. According to Aljazeera correspondent the three Palestinians were Bedwins searching for metal and building material in order to get it back for recycling and use in Gaza.
The Israeli operation in the West Bank is considered a serious development in the area since it may bring more reactions from the Palestinian side and end in a new round of violence between the two sides. Although the Palestinian security forces are applying everything which was asked from them in matters of security, Israel continues to take law in its hands and even implements public executions claiming that this is a legal punishment for those who were involved in terrorist attacks against Israelis.
In Israel’s operation in the West Bank anti tank rockets and heavy weapons were used to target buildings full of civilians. The Israeli forces stormed into Anan Suboh’s house and stayed inside it for several hours before executing him which leaves more questions about the real Israeli intentions for this operation. The mission was not to arrest the Palestinian activists but instead to investigate with them and immediately execute them no matter what. Ghasan Abu Sharkh did not show any kind of resistance and despite this he was shot at his head immediately. Raed Sarkajy’s wife was injured while she was sleeping beside him on their bed. The Israeli forces attacked the room and shot both of them although there wasn’t any kind of resistance from inside the house.
The whole operation sends one message which Israel wants the Palestinians to understand clearly: Israel is ready to execute anyone without a court or a respect for the Palestinian authority’s presence at the West Bank. The Israeli assassinations were criticized by several International organizations for its ruthlessness and illegality. Israel is not only violating the security arrangements and attacking civilian areas but it also starts such operations with a target of killing those who are considered suspects ignoring the part of court of law and justice.
The Israeli army and Intelligence may consider this operation a successful one since it proves that Israel is holding the West Bank as it wants. However, the result of such operations will prove that the Israeli policy will only bring failure and more reactions which may return the area into a new circle of violence.
These six Palestinians were killed in the day when the Palestinians remember the 1,600 victims who died in Israel’s war on Gaza. Since the war and until today Israel continues to depend on its security plans in dealing with its conflict with the Palestinians. The only result which they are bringing on the Israeli people is more anger and hatred within the Palestinians who are suffering until today.
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From the Archives
World War II Didn’t End The Great Depression
Stark Realities with Brian McGlinchey | April 4, 2024
A principal goal of Stark Realities is to “expose fundamental myths across the political spectrum” — and few myths are as universally embraced as the notion that US participation in World War II (1941-1945) lifted the American economy out of the Great Depression.
This myth is dangerous not only because it leads citizens and politicians to see a bright side of war that doesn’t really exist, but also because it helps foster a belief that government spending is essential to countering economic downturns. That belief, in turn, has helped propel us to a point where the national debt now exceeds $34.6 trillion, with interest payments alone on pace to reach $1 trillion a year in 2026, inviting financial catastrophe. … continue
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