Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

More than 70 per cent of Gazans have no drinking water

MEMO | August 6, 2014

Palestinian children store waterHead of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) Shaddad Attili said on Tuesday that the Gaza Strip is suffering a severe shortage of clean drinking water, calling the water situation “disastrous” after heavy Israeli attacks on the network of water pipes.

Speaking to Anadolu news agency, Attili said that 70 percent of the water pipelines have been damaged and that the 1.8 million Gazans are surviving on only 30 percent of the Strip’s capacity.

He went on to say that the water from some of the wells along the Strip was mixed with sewage. In addition 50 per cent of the sewage was pouring into the sea without being filtered because of the damage to the pipelines.

Gaza is one of the world’s most densely populated areas, where around 1.8 million people live in 360km2.

The PWA previously condemned Israeli plans to establish a security area 3km along the Gaza Strip. The PWA said this area, 36 percent of the Gaza strip, includes most of the resources for drinking water.

The PWA called upon the international community to intervene in order to prevent this and to allow chloride, which is used to sterilise drinking water, into the Strip. They also called for fuel to be allowed in to run water wells.

According to the statement, the Gaza Strip is in an urgent need of large tankers to distribute drinking water to urgently fulfil the needs of its residents.

During the war, the Palestinian housing and work ministry said that Israel had destroyed 25 percent of the infrastructure. Executive manager of the Palestinian Telecom Company said that 85 percent of wired and wireless telephone facilities were destroyed.

Israel killed 1,875 Palestinians, including 426 children and 255 women, and wounded 9,893; more than half of them are children and women, according to the ministry of health. 10,606 homes were destroyed, including 1,724 that were completely destroyed. It attacked 132 mosques; 42 of them were completely destroyed. Six universities and 188 schools, as well as 19 banks and exchange offices were directly attacked.

More than 315 factories, 27 public services facilities and 52 fishing boats were also destroyed.

August 6, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Embedded Reporter Says Israel Targeted Guided Missile at UNWRA School, Killing 15 Civilians

By Richard Silverstein | Tikun Olam | August 5, 2014

An Israeli reporter for Maariv, Aviram Zino, has been embedded with an Israeli unit during the current invasion. Noam R writes in his Israeli political blog about Zino’s fawning enthusiastic response to being given the chance of a lifetime to be a reporter in the middle of the “action.” His reporting comes across as cheerleading rather than objective journalism. But in spite of himself, Zino reveals a damning fact that impeaches the Israeli’s credibility regarding its denial of deliberately targeting UN buildings housing Palestinian civilian refugees.

Zino reports that the unit commander, Nadav, ordered the firing of a $100,000 Tamuz (aka Spike) heat-seeking anti-tank missile on a UNWRA school in Beit Hanoun on July 24th:

Nadav tried to clarify what means were available to him.  A survey of the field shows clearly fire coming from an UNWRA school in the center of Gaza. The order is given and a Tammuz missile is fired at the school.  The commanding general, who arrives later for a press conference, says in response: “This is yet another example of Hamas’ cynical use of civilian structures for the purposes of terror.”

It’s a bit aggravating since the unit tried from the beginning of the Operation to do minimal damage, as best as possible, to the “uninvolved” [military jargon for “civilians”].

15 Palestinian civilians died from this missile and 150 were injured.  As Noam R points out in his blog post, this is the first eyewitness, definitive evidence that Israel deliberately ordered a lethal guided-weapon (not indiscriminate artillery fire) to be fired at a civilian building in Gaza knowing there were unarmed non-combatants inside who would be killed.

Two things to point out about this report. Clearly, Zino didn’t see firing from the school. He trusted the unit commander’s word that such fire had been confirmed. But by whom and how is not mentioned. Second, the commander speaking at the press conference only notes the attack by Israel on the school without explaining how it justified killing civilians. Zino, in the closing sentence, admits explicitly that the attack was both disproportional and knowingly attacked civilians. As Sara Lee Whitson says in the paragraph below: that “is a war crime.”

In fact, Human Rights Watch’s Sarah Leah Whitson spoke about Israel’s responsibility to Gaza’s civilian population:

…The…presence of… civilians despite a warning to flee cannot be ignored when attacks are carried out, as Israeli forces have done previously.

“Warning families to flee fighting doesn’t make them fair targets just because they’re unable to do so, and deliberately attacking them is a war crime,” Whitson said.

In other words, you may not attack a civilian target containing unarmed civilians using heavy lethal weapons, even if you believe there are armed fighters engaged in combat operations against you. The safety of civilians trumps any desire to eliminate the armed threat, if there is one. This is reinforced by the fact that the Israel never presents any proof of its claims that armed fighters are firing from such structures and didn’t do so in this particular case.

There is yet another instance of serious Israeli prevarication. Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Lerner told AP 900 Palestinian fighters had been killed during the war. Yet Israel itself only two days before had put that number at 300. When asked why it jumped so much, AP characterized his response:

Lerner said the figure of 900 militants killed was an approximation, based on reporting from individual Israeli units, but provided no further detail.

In other words, “900″ is nothing more than the old Vietcong “body count” released by the U.S. army to persuade the press it was killing gooks and winning the war. The truth turned out to be quite different, as it will be in Gaza as well.

Palestinian and UN reports place the number of dead fighters at 20% of the overall total, which is 1,900. That would mean that 380 militants were killed. My own Israeli source reports more candid Israeli claims that 500 fighters have been killed. Certainly, the final number will be somewhere between 380-500, but nowhere near Lerner’s prevaricating claim of 900.

My Operation Protective Edge debrief yesterday argued that while both sides had gotten bloody noses, Hamas, simply by remaining standing, had gotten the better of Israel. Sheera Frenkel interviewed soldiers leaving Gaza and they uniformly told her they believed both that their objectives hadn’t been clear going into Gaza, and now that the Operation had ended, they hadn’t “gotten the job done.” Meaning, don’t believe the PR-bloviating you’ll hear from Benny Gantz and Bibi Netanyahu saying that Hamas had been dealt a mortal blow, that Israel had achieved all its objectives, etc. None of that happened. … Full article

August 6, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Gaza industrial sector hit hard as 134 factories destroyed

Ma’an – 06/08/2014

GAZA CITY – At least 134 factories were destroyed during Israel’s four-week military offensive in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian industrial union said Wednesday, causing severe damage to an already fragile industrial sector.

The union of Palestinian industries said that most factories stopped operations for over 30 days, with reported losses of at least $70 million.

Over 30,000 workers were made redundant due to the closures.

“The Israeli war machine deliberately destroyed the infrastructure of the Palestinian national economy by targeting factories which posed no security threat to the occupation,” the union said.

The industrial sector had already suffered major damage during previous Israeli military offenses in Gaza in 2012 and 2008.

The ongoing Israeli blockade has also severely limited the productivity of the industrial sector since it was imposed eight years ago, forcing factories to close or fire workers to remain in operation.

“Israel shouldn’t be rewarded for this aggression, and so Israeli products should be boycotted both locally and internationally,” the union added.

Deputy PA economy minister Taysir Amro said the 29-day war had caused total damage of up to $6 billion dollars.

August 6, 2014 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | Leave a comment

US objects Palestinian bid to International Criminal Court

MEMO | August 6, 2014

Spokesperson of the US Department of State Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that her country objects to the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to try Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Commenting at a daily press briefing in Washington on what she called “reports of a push for an ICC investigation”, she said: “Our view is that we continue to strongly oppose unilateral actions that seek to circumvent or prejudge the very outcomes that can only be negotiated.”

She continued: “We’ve been very clear that, while we’ve expressed concerns when we’ve had them, there is – the only realistic path for realising Palestinian aspirations of statehood is through direct negotiations between the parties.”

Earlier on the same day, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki said he is optimistic that the latest ceasefire in Gaza will hold, even as Palestinians renewed efforts to bring Israel before the ICC.

“We expect the ceasefire to expand into another 72 hours and beyond,” Al-Malki told reporters at a press conference at The Hague, where he met the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda.

“We have heard that Israel has really committed itself to withdrawing… but it really depends on Israel and the seriousness of the Israeli side,” Al-Malki said.

He also openly expressed that the Palestinian Authority is planning to bring Israel to the ICC over the massacres carried out in the Gaza Strip during the last four weeks.

August 6, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Progressive Hypocrite, War Crimes | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Eyeless in Gaza

Israeli deceptions revealed in story of ‘kidnapped’ soldier

By Jonathan Cook | Dissident Voice | August 4, 2014

A single incident at the weekend – the reported capture by Hamas on Friday of an Israeli soldier through a tunnel – illustrated in stark fashion the layers of deception Israel has successfully cast over its attack on Gaza.

On Sunday, as the army indicated it would start limited withdrawals, Israel claimed Hadar Goldin was dead, possibly buried in a collapsed tunnel as Israel bombarded the area in which he was seized. His family said he was being left behind.

Israeli officials or media did not view Hamas’ operation dispassionately. Goldin was not “captured” but “kidnapped” – as though he was an innocent seized by opportunistic criminals.

As occurs so often, many western journalists followed Israel’s lead. The London Times’ front page blared: “Kidnapped in Gaza”, while the Boston Globe called him the “abducted Israeli soldier”.

From western reactions, it was also clear the soldier’s capture was considered more significant news than any of the massacres of Palestinian civilians over the past weeks.

Israel’s cynical calculus – that one soldier is more valuable than large numbers of dead Palestinian civilians – was echoed in the diplomatic and editorial corridors of Washington, London and Paris.

Misleading too was the general agreement that, in attacking a group of soldiers in Rafah and seizing Goldin, Hamas had violated the first moments of a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire.

The Washington Post reported on the circumstances as a Hamas suicide bomber emerged from a tunnel to explode his vest, killing two soldiers, and Goldin was pulled into the shaft. “>On Friday morning, Israeli troops were in the southern Gaza Strip preparing to destroy a Hamas tunnel, said Israeli military officials. Suddenly, Palestinian militants emerged from a shaft.”

CBS reporter Charlie D’Agata parroted the same Israeli briefings, also inadvertently exposing the central deceit. The soldier was “suspected of being kidnapped during an operation to clear tunnels – crucially, [officials] say, this happened after the ceasefire was supposed to take place.”

So if a ceasefire was in place, what were Goldin and his comrades doing detonating tunnels, tunnels in which Israel says Hamas is hiding? Were Hamas fighters supposed to simply wait to be entombed in their bunkers during the pause in hostilities? Or was Israel the one violating the ceasefire?

And then there was the explosion of military fury as Israel realised its soldier was missing. Israeli correspondents have admitted that the notorious “Hannibal procedure” was invoked: the use of all means to stop a soldier being taken alive, including killing him. The rationale is to prevent the enemy gaining a psychological advantage in negotiations.

The unleashing of massive firepower appeared designed to ensure Goldin and his captors never made it out of their tunnel, but in the process Israel killed dozens of Palestinians.

It was another illustration of Israel’s absolute disregard for the safety of civilians. At least three-quarters of the more than 1,700 Palestinians killed so far are non-combatants, while almost all Israeli casualties have been soldiers. This has been a pattern in all Israel’s recent confrontations.

Israel’s official justifications for taking the fight into Gaza have been layered with deceit too.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that Israel was dragged into a war of necessity. Barack Obama echoed him: Israel had a right to defend itself from a barrage of rockets fired out of Gaza. Later the pretext became Israel’s need to destroy the “terror tunnels”.

The logic is deeply flawed. Israel is occupying and besieging Gaza, conferring on its inhabitants a right under international law to fight for their freedom. How does the oppressor, the lawbreaker have a right to self-defence? If Israel objects to being scratched and bruised, it should stop choking its victim.

The degree to which Israel’s narrative of “self-defence” has come to dominate news coverage and diplomatic statements was revealed in a CNN interview. Anchor Carol Costello asked a baffled interviewee in all seriousness: “Why doesn’t Hamas just show Israel where these tunnels are?”

Equally significantly, Israel has obscured the truth that it picked this particular round of its ongoing confrontation with Hamas – and did so entirely cynically.

A BBC reporter recently confirmed with an Israeli police spokesman a rumour that had been circulating among military correspondents for weeks. The group behind the abduction in June of three Israeli teens in the West Bank – the trigger for Israel’s campaign against Hamas – was a lone cell, acting on its own.

Claiming precisely the opposite – that he had cast-iron proof Hamas was responsible – Netanyahu gave the army free rein to arrest hundreds of Hamas members and smash the organisation’s institutions in the West Bank.

The crackdown created the necessary provocation: Hamas allowed Gaza’s factions to start firing limited numbers of rockets. Analyst Nathan Thrall noted recently that Hamas had impressed the Israeli army until that point by enforcing the ceasefire agreed with Israel 18 months earlier, even though Israel violated the terms by maintaining Gaza’s siege.

Now the rockets gave Netanyahu an excuse to strike.

So what was his real reason for going into Gaza? What were these many deceptions designed to hide?

It seems Netanyahu wanted to end a strategic threat: not Hamas rockets or tunnels, but the establishment of a unity government between Hamas and its long-time rivals Fatah. Palestinian unity risked reviving pressure on him to negotiate, or face a renewed and more credible Palestinian campaign for statehood at the United Nations.

But Hamas’ unexpectedly impressive martial display against Israel – killing dozens of soldiers, firing long-range rockets into Israel throughout, closing briefly the sole international airport, launching attacks into Israeli territory, and causing a loss to the economy estimated so far at more than $4bn  – may have changed the calculus again.

For the moment, Netanyahu seems to prefer to pull back Israeli soldiers rather than be forced under international pressure to negotiate with Hamas. He knows that its key demand will be that Israel end the siege.

But in the longer term, Netanyahu may need Palestinian unity, at least on his terms, to undermine Hamas’ gains.

As Israel began its attack on Gaza, Netanyahu turned his attention to the West Bank. He warned that there could never be “any agreement in which we relinquish security control” over it for fear that, given the West Bank’s larger size, Israel might “create another 20 Gazas”.

He was ruling out any hope of Palestinian statehood. A “demilitarised” entity, heavily circumscribed and absolutely dependent on Israel and the US, seems to be all that Israel will ever put on the table.

Allowing Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah into Gaza could justify loosening the siege. But only as long as Abbas agrees to remove Hamas’ military infrastructure and export to the coastal enclave the model he has established in the West Bank – of endless accommodation to Israeli and US dictates.

Jonathan Cook, based in Nazareth, Israel is a winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books).

August 5, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spain embargoes arms sales to Israel

MEMO | August 5, 2014

Spain has frozen all arms and technological sales to Israel in protest against its ongoing brutal war against the Gaza Strip and the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians, El Pais newspaper revealed.

The newspaper described this decision as purely “political” and was made last week by a committee consisting of the president, treasury, economy ministry, foreign ministry and defence ministry.

Spain is reported to have sold nearly €5 million in arms sales to Israel last year.

The Spanish decision comes hours after Britain announced it was reviewing licenses to export weapons and military technology to Israel.

A spokeswoman for the British government said yesterday that the UK is reviewing all arms export licenses to Israel because of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “We are currently reviewing all export licenses to Israel to make sure they are appropriate,” she said.

However, ministers said they would not stop licensing military equipment to Israel outright because they believed the country had a “legitimate right to self-defence”.

August 5, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, War Crimes | , | Leave a comment

The UN is useless in preventing genocide and protecting the Palestinians

By Ramona Wadi | MEMO | August 5, 2014

Two Special Advisors to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Adama Dieng and Jennifer Welsh, have added their voices to the insignificant, lamentable chorus of concern. Speaking in relation to the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect respectively, Dieng and Welsh meticulously stressed the necessity of upholding distinctions as stipulated in international law, while retaining a self-imposed right to distortion of facts in order to uphold Israel’s fabricated narrative.

In their statement, Dieng and Welsh relied on the usual conjectures that cast doubt over the atrocities committed by Israel, while issuing an unequivocal condemnation against Palestinian resistance. The paraphrased comments, published as a UN press release, insist that “the high number of civilian casualties, particularly among the Palestinians, could [my emphasis] demonstrate disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by the Israeli Defence Forces. At the same time, the launching of rocket attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups into Israeli residential areas constitutes indiscriminate use of force.” This would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

Furthermore, Dieng and Walsh also diminished the horrendous incitement to violence against Palestinians, including the calls for extermination of the indigenous population through use of language that emphasised the indefinite in favour of Israel. Despite the escalating rhetoric advocating for the murder of Palestinian mothers and elimination of Palestinians in Gaza as a political strategy, the Special Advisors stated that such incitement “could be dehumanising”, instead of insisting that it is an undisputed fact.

It is, perhaps, convenient, that the UN and affiliated organisations’ primary competency is the issuing of reminders. These can be issued to “all parties” while evoking illusions of “impartial investigations” to arrive at the conclusion that protecting the Palestinian population in Gaza is as simple as “an end of hostilities, the creation of a humanitarian corridor and lifting of the blockade of Gaza which has created further suffering.” All of which can be achieved, according to Dieng and Welsh, by “serious negotiations that will end the cycle of violence and achieve a stable, just and durable solution to this longstanding conflict.”

The discourse of “conflict” adds to ambiguities which are necessary to protect the UN’s deceitful existence and propaganda which refuses to demand the dismantling of Israel’s settler-colonial state. This omission is also reflected in the UN’s definition of “civilian population”; it’s applied extensively to include a settler population that participated wilfully in Israel’s colonial project, creating the foundations for colonial violence to flourish. If this distinction is not adequately addressed, it stands to reason that the UN is unwilling to address the actual targeting of civilians, Palestinian civilians, whose lives have been considered repeatedly by the imperialist organisation to be of lesser value as a strategy to encourage a widespread massacre.

Expecting the UN and its advisors to acknowledge the legitimacy of Palestinian armed resistance is pie in the sky. In UN vocabulary, an “impartial investigation” is equivalent to the intended suppression of Palestinian resistance by insisting upon further monologues disguised as “negotiations” intended to consign the liberation of historic Palestine to the dustbin. Decades of increasing subjugation have imparted a decisive stance to the Palestinian population: liberation can never be achieved through compromised international channels. Hence, the issue of legitimacy with regard to Palestinian resistance derived from history and memory, away from the manipulative charters determined by imperialist diktats.

August 5, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular | , , , , | Leave a comment

Annihilate Gaza: Israeli official

374097_Feiglin

Press TV – August 5, 2014

Israeli Knesset’s deputy speaker Moshe Feiglin has called for the “annihilation” of the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip.

Feiglin, who is also a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, wrote about the plans in a post on his Facebook page at the weekend, the British Daily Mail reported on Monday.

The Israeli official also called for “the conquest of the entire Gaza Strip.” He spoke of plans for the destruction of Gaza, which would include expelling residents and shipping them across the world.

Feiglin also wrote about his plans in a letter addressed to Netanyahu, in which he said he wanted the measures to be enforced as soon as possible.

In the letter, Feiglin said he wanted Israeli military forces to find areas on the Sinai border to set up “tent encampments… until relevant emigration destinations are determined.” Furthermore, he wants Gaza’s electricity and water supplies to be disconnected before shelling the besieged area “with maximum fire power.”

The Israeli forces would then “exterminate” resistance centers and Israeli law would be extended to cover the entire Gaza Strip and “the city of Gaza and its suburbs will be rebuilt as true Israeli touristic and commercial cities.”

The Israeli military launched its recent offensive against the Gaza Strip on July 8. At least 1,867 Palestinians, including around 430 children, have so far been killed and over 9,500 others injured during the onslaught. Tel Aviv says 64 Israelis have been killed in the war, while Hamas puts the number at more than 150.

August 5, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Google Play offers ‘Bomb Gaza’ game that lets you kill Muslim women and children

By Tom Boggioni | Raw Story | August 4, 2014

Google Play, the official app store for Android operating systems, is currently offering a side-scrolling game called “Bomb Gaza.”

The description of the game states: “Bomb Gaza – drop bombs and avoid killing civilians. new version uploaded. improved performance. added new israel’s theme music.”

In a screen shot shown on the page (seen below) Israeli jets can be seen flying over a terrain dotted with cartoon Islamic terrorists and women attempting to protect children.

The game currently has a 3.7 star rating among users, with 47 reviewers giving it the highest rating, 5 stars, and 22 giving it a 1 star.

Commenters on the page both praised and condemned the game, with one writing, “Spineless disgusting filth trying to profit from genocide of Palastinians (sic) Trying to profit from the sufferings of others. Scumbag of the worst kind. Would you be doing the same if a member of your family was murdered? Utterly vile filth of a game from a sick twisted individual.”

According to the Google Play Developer Program Policies regarding Hate Speech: ” We don’t allow content advocating against groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity.”

There is no indication whether Google Play would consider the game “hate speech.”

The developer of the game, which was uploaded to Google Play on July 29, is listed as PlayerFTW.

August 4, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Ken Loach slams BBC’s pro-Israel coverage of Gaza war

Press TV – August 4, 2014

Internationally-renowned filmmaker, Ken Loach, has slammed the state-run BBC for its pro-Israel bias in the coverage of the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

Loach, who has participated in an ongoing occupation campaign in front of the BBC headquarters in the British southwestern city of Bristol, slammed BBC policies, saying, “We should note that many at the BBC, including senior staff, are embarrassed by the broadcaster’s coverage that has an obvious pro-Israel bias.”

“They don’t put the views of Palestinians to the Israelis during interviews, while the use of language about Gazans is pejorative and the war crimes being committed against them ignored…. They’re not ‘militants’ or ‘terrorists,’ they’re ‘resistance fighters,’” he said, adding, “It’s the BBC, we own it, so it should be answerable.”

Loach noted that BBC editors will have to be accountable over the public protest against the broadcaster’s coverage of the Gaza war, stressing that BBC should undergo “tactical” transformations in its broadcasting policies.

Palestine campaigners have occupied the front lawn of the BBC headquarters in Bristol since last week despite the broadcaster’s threat to get them evicted from the site.

Other high-profile artists and campaigners, including celebrated comedian Mark Thomas, have also voiced support for the occupy campaign.

“The BBC reporting of the Israeli military assault on Gaza has failed time and time again to contextualize the violence, refusing to explain the occupation of Palestine and the siege of Gaza,” Thomas said.

The pro-Palestine campaigners also joined thousands of protesters against “Israeli genocide” on Saturday. The demonstration was the biggest protest in Bristol in a decade.

The campaigners also plan to present a “damning dossier” to BBC Bristol TV editor Neil Bennett next week, which incorporates evidence of the broadcaster’s biased coverage of the Gaza war.

They have also organized public burning of TV licenses and the occupation’s court summons and plan to resist any action aimed at evicting them from the site.

More than 1,822 people, including 400 children, have been killed and over 9,400 injured since July 8, when Israel began its offensive against the Gaza Strip.

While the Israeli military says 64 soldiers have been killed in the conflict, Palestinian resistance movement Hamas puts the fatalities at more than 150.

August 4, 2014 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Mainstream Media, Warmongering | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Iron Dome blocked just 8 out of 120 rockets: Israeli military

Press TV – August 4, 2014

The Israeli army has admitted that Israel’s Iron Dome missile system intercepted only eight out of nearly 120 rockets that were fired from the Gaza Strip into the occupied Palestinian territories on Sunday.

The military confirmed that around 110 rockets struck the occupied territories.

The development comes as the US Senate on Friday approved an additional USD 225 million in funding for the missile system despite Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip.

Last month, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sent a letter to congressional leadership requesting USD 225 million in additional US funding for the Iron Dome.

The money would be in addition to the USD 351 million that is already under discussion for Israel’s Iron Dome in fiscal 2015. It would bring total funding to USD 576 million, compared with the USD 176 million requested by the Pentagon for the fiscal year that begins on October 1.

On July 28, US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tel Aviv urgently needs more financial aid from Washington for its offensive against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli warplanes have been pounding numerous sites in the Gaza Strip since July 8, demolishing houses and burying families under the rubble. Israeli forces also began a ground offensive against the besieged Palestinian territory on July 17.

According to Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s airstrikes and ground invasion have left at least 1,822 people dead and some 9,400 others injured.

The Israeli military says 64 soldiers have been killed in the conflict, but Palestinian resistance movement Hamas puts the fatalities at more than 150.

Iron Dome is a short-range missile system designed to intercept rockets and artillery shells fired from a range of four to 70 kilometers.

August 4, 2014 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

Clash Of Civilizations

By Gilad Atzmon | August 4, 2014

The Israeli army confirmed today that up to 130 Palestinian civilians were slaughtered in Rafah last Friday following the triggering of the Hannibal protocol – an IDF directive that is designed to thwart the capture of Israeli combatants. Israel unleashed its full firepower and flattened an entire neighbourhood using tanks, artillery and gunships murdering 130 Palestinians just to make sure that one Israeli soldier, Lt. Hadar Goldin didn’t fall into Hamas’ hands alive.

The only interpretation of this massacre is that Israel is a homicidal state completely immune to international conventions and without any respect for civilian lives.

In the light of the actions taken by the Jewish State in the last few days and the overwhelming support for Israel from Jews around the world, it is evident that we are witnessing a clash of civilizations. Humanity is faced with a savage tribe that shows a complete absence of empathy yet for some peculiar reason believes itself to be chosen.

For the sake of world peace, humanity has to use whatever resources it has to dismantle the Jewish State and its lobby.

Enough is enough.

August 4, 2014 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment