The Silence is Deafening. Where is the condemnation?

9 Comments

1. 

   Oui on December 28, 2008 at 4:44 pm

   .

   UN GA president slams Israeli air strikes on Gaza  

   The UN General Assembly president Miguel D’Escoto listed Israeli violations in the statement:

   Collective punishment: the entire 1.5 million people who live in the crowded Gaza Strip are being punished for the actions of a few militants.

   Targeting civilians: the air strikes were aimed at civilian areas in one of the most crowded stretches of land in the world, certainly the most densely populated area of the Middle East.

   Disproportionate military response: the air strikes have not only destroyed every police and security office of Gaza’s elected government, but have killed and injured hundreds of civilians; at least one strike reportedly hit groups of students attempting to find transportation home from the university.

   “I remind all member states of the United Nations that the UN continues to be bound to an independent obligation to protect any civilian population facing massive violations of international humanitarian law — regardless of what country may be responsible for those violations,” the president said in the statement.  

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

   • 

     Oui on December 28, 2008 at 4:45 pm

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     US urges Hamas to cease rocket attacks on Israel

     “The United States strongly condemns the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and holds Hamas responsible for breaking the cease-fire and for the renewal of violence in Gaza.”

     "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

     • 

       Salunga on December 28, 2008 at 5:06 pm

       Its like a broken record. Same blame the victim craziness over and over.

       • 

         Hurria on December 28, 2008 at 5:15 pm

         As I wrote in another thread:

         United States commands the Palestinians to shut up, stop complaining, and walk quietly into the gas chambers.

         And requests that they clean up after themselves after the gas has killed them.

         • 

           idredit on December 29, 2008 at 2:15 pm

           As Ehud Barak promises to fight to the bitter end, he should be careful of his agenda. He’ll live to regret this December 2008 war to obliterate Hamas. The world, having watched Israel’s gift to Gazans -the humanitarian crisis of starvation – it may just be  machine.

           FWIW – two guest posts at Steve Clemons

           View From a Palestinian Leader: Palestine’s Guernica and the Myths of Israeli Victimhood

           Palestine’s Guernica and the Myths of Israeli Victimhood

           The Israeli campaign of ‘death from above’ began around 11 am, on Saturday morning, the 27th of December, and stretched straight through the night into this morning. The massacre continues Sunday as I write these words.

           The bloodiest single day in Palestine since the War of 1967 is far from over following on Israel’s promised that this is ‘only the beginning’ of their campaign of state terror. At least 290 people have been murdered thus far, but the body count continues to rise at a dramatic pace as more mutilated bodies are pulled from the rubble, previous victims succumb to their wounds and new casualties are created by the minute.

           What has and is occurring is nothing short of a war crime, yet the Israeli public relations machine is in full-swing, churning out lies by the minute.

           Once and for all it is time to expose the myths that they have created.

           1. Israelis have claimed to have ended the occupation of the Gaza Strip in 2005.

           While Israel has indeed removed the settlements from the tiny coastal Strip, they have in no way ended the occupation. They remained in control of the borders, the airspace and the waterways of Gaza, and have carried out frequent raids and targeted assassinations since the disengagement.

            Furthermore, since 2006 Israel has imposed a comprehensive siege on the Strip. For over two years, Gazans have lived on the edge of starvation and without the most basic necessities of human life, such as cooking or heating oil and basic medications. This siege has already caused a humanitarian catastrophe which has only been exacerbated by the dramatic increase in Israeli military aggression.

           2. Israel claims that Hamas violated the cease-fire and pulled out of it unilaterally.

           Hamas indeed respected their side of the ceasefire, except on those occasions early on when Israel carried out major offensives in the West Bank. In the last two months, the ceasefire broke down with Israelis killing several Palestinians and resulting in the response of Hamas. In other words, Hamas has not carried out an unprovoked attack throughout the period of the cease-fire.

           Israel, however, did not live up to any of its obligations of ending the siege and allowing vital humanitarian aid to resume in Gaza. Rather than the average of 450 trucks per day being allowed across the border, on the best days, only eighty have been allowed in – with the border remaining hermetically sealed 70% of the time. Throughout the supposed ‘cease-fire’ Gazans have been forced to live like animals, with a total of 262 dying due to the inaccessibility of proper medical care.

           Now after hundreds dead and counting, it is Israel who refuses to re-enter talks over a cease-fire. They are not intent on securing peace as they claim; it is more and more clear that they are seeking regime change – whatever the cost.

           3. Israel claims to be pursuing peace with ‘peaceful Palestinians’.

           More

           ~~~~~~~

           Daniel Levy: What Next on Israel/Gaza? Why Should Americans Care?

           [.]And why on earth would America want to be involved?

           Here’s the bad news folks – America is involved, up to its eyeballs actually. Today, after Israeli air-strikes that killed over 200 Palestinians in Gaza, the Middle East is again seething with rage.

           Recruiters to the most radical of causes are again cashing in. If Osama Bin Laden is indeed a cave-dweller these days then U.S. intel should be listening out for a booming echo of laughter. Demonstrations across the Arab world and contributors to the ever-proliferating Arabic language news media and blogosphere hold the U.S., and not just Israel, responsible for what happened today (and that is a position taken, for good reasons, by sensible folk, not hard-liners).

           America’s allies in the region are again running for cover. America’s standing, its interests and security are all deeply affected. The U.S.-Israel relationship per se is not to blame (that is something I support), the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict is – and thankfully we can do something about that.

           [.]

           So, what needs to happen next?

           Sadly it is too late for preventive action but there is an urgent need for a de-escalation that can lead to a new ceasefire – and that will not be easy.

           Useful lessons can be drawn from some very recent, and ugly, Middle East history – though it seems that to its dying day the Bush Administration is refusing to learn (today the White House called on Israel only to avoid civilian casualties as it attacks Hamas – not to cease the strikes, Secretary Rice was more measured).

           In the summer of 2006 an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah led to a Lebanon war whose echoes still reverberate around the region. There were well over one thousand civilian casualties (1,035 Lebanese according to AP, 43 Israelis), thousands more injured, and other fatalities including the Israeli government which never recovered its poise, what little American credibility remained in the region (Secretary Rice was literally forced to return to Foggy Bottom as allied Arab capitals were too embarrassed to receive her) and much Lebanese infrastructure. That time it took 33 days for diplomacy to move and for a U.N. Security Council Resolution (1701) to deliver an end to fighting. The U.S. actively blocked diplomacy, Rice famously called this conflict “the birth pangs of a new Middle East” – it was no such thing, and the Middle East itself did not know whether to laugh or cry (the latter prevailed).

           Just as in 2006, Israel needs the international community to be its exit strategy – and there is no time to waste. Even what appears as a short-term Israeli success is likely to prove self-defeating over a longer time horizon and that effect will intensify as the fighting continues. Over time, immense pressure will also grow on the PA in Ramallah, on Jordan, Egypt and others to act and their governments will be increasingly uneasy.

           [.]

           If the U.S. is indifferent or still under the neocon ideological spell then Europe, the rest of the Quartet, Arab States and other internationals must act – with a variety of players using leverage with Israel and Hamas to de-escalate. Escalation poses dangers at a humanitarian and regional-political level. International leaders should head to the region before the new year, even if the warring parties discourage it, and for some of them Gaza must be on the itinerary, the boycott (anyway unwise) is a secondary matter now. High-level visits in themselves can create a de-escalatory dynamic.

           that “We’ll fight to the bitter end is just despictable.

     • 

       idredit on December 28, 2008 at 5:07 pm

       I bet 12 donuts, it’s not about the rockets. It has to do with one trillion cubic feet of gas, the equivalent of 150 million barrels of oil, equivalent to a large North Sea field. As long as Hamas’ hold remains on Gaza, this deal is blocked, remains in limbo:

       BG Group at centre of $4bn deal to supply Gaza gas to Israel
       The British energy firm is set to agree terms of a $4bn, 15-year deal over gas discovered off the Gaza coast

       May 23, 2007

       BG Group is poised to agree the terms of an historic $4 billion (£2 billion) deal to supply Palestinian gas to Israel from a discovery off the Gaza coastline, The Times has learnt.

       Representatives from the British energy company are scheduled next week to meet a team of negotiators chosen by the Israeli Cabinet to thrash out a 15-year contract. Despite the violence in Gaza, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has insisted that it wants to conclude a deal “as soon as possible”.

       It would enable BG Group, the former owner of British Gas, to begin to develop an offshore field that is the Palestine Authority’s only natural resource. The move would mark an unprecedented milestone in Middle East relations. There would be enough gas to provide 10 per cent of Israel’s annual energy requirement, and the Palestinians would receive total royalties of $1 billion. Sources in the Middle East note that the sensitive talks could be derailed at any time by the acute political tension that surrounds the deal.

       However, Nigel Shaw, the BG Group vice-president in the region, said: “We are making progress. There are commercial issues to be completed and we also require bilateral agreement between the two governments to get this project across the line. [.]

       The signing of heads of terms would mark an amazing turnaround, given the political and legal disputes that have dogged the project since BG Group discovered the Gaza Marine field in 2000. It holds one trillion cubic feet of gas, the equivalent of 150 million barrels of oil, equivalent to a large North Sea field.

       Six years ago Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, vowed that Israel would never buy gas from its neighbour. The project also was held up by a legal challenge in the Israeli Supreme Court to establish whether the Palestinians had any right to the discovery.

       Last year BG Group was close to signing a deal to pump the gas to Egypt before Tony Blair intervened and asked the company to give Israel a second chance.

       [.]

       Under what international law can Israel sign contracts to develop Palestine’s natural resource?

       See why it’s not in Israel’s interest to advance the peace process..leaving them the liberty to steal resources and land?

2. 

   Hurria on December 28, 2008 at 4:48 pm

   “This is more of the insane foreign policy under Bush and Cheney.“

   Not only under Bush and Cheney. When has an American administration done anything but support Israel’s bloodthirsty and murderous activities?

3. 

   idredit on December 28, 2008 at 6:32 pm

   Violent protests at Israeli Embassy in London

   Violent confrontations broke out at the Israeli Embassy in London today as up to 1,500 protesters against Israel’s Gaza campaign gathered in a vociferous demonstration.

   [.]The protesters waved Palestinian flags and held up placards, including some which read: “Holocaust in Gaza” and “no peace, no justice.”

   ~~~~~~~

   Britain hardens position on Israel, as world calls for end to violence

   Britain has hardened its position towards Israel, calling for an “immediate halt to all violence” in Gaza.

   As the airstrikes by Israel continued into their second day, Gordon Brown telephoned his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Olmert, to urge Israel to respect its humanitarian obligations.

   David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, revealed that Britain had shifted its position overnight, issuing a statement today demanding an immediate ceasefire, following similar calls from the UN Security Council and EU.

   Yesterday, Mr Brown issued a statement urging the Israelis to “show restraint” but which pointedly did not call for Tel Aviv to stop the assault.

   Mr Brown’s willingness to shift position is significant since Tony Blair’s refusal to adopt immediate calls for a ceasefire in 2006 over the war in the Lebanon sparked outrage amongst his MPs and weakened his position.

   ~~~~~

   Israel bombs Islamic university in Gaza – Hamas

   ~~~~~

   Prof. Juan Cole notes:

    Israel blames Hamas for primitive homemade rocket attacks on the nearby Israeli city of Sederot. In 2001-2008, these rockets killed about 15 Israelis and injured 433, and they have damaged property. In the same period, Gazan mortar attacks on Israel have killed 8 Israelis.

   Since the Second Intifada broke out in 2000, Israelis have killed nearly 5000 Palestinians, nearly a thousand of them minors. Since fall of 2007, Israel has kept the 1.5 million Gazans under a blockade, interdicting food, fuel and medical supplies to one degree or another. Wreaking collective punishment on civilian populations such as hospital patients denied needed electricity is a crime of war.

   The Israelis on Saturday killed 5% of all the Palestinians they have killed since the beginning of 2001! 230 people were slaughtered in a day, over 70 of them innocent civilians. In contrast, from the ceasefire Hamas announced in June, 2008 until Saturday, no Israelis had been killed by Hamas. The infliction of this sort of death toll is known in the law of war as a disproportionate response, and it is a war crime.

4. 

   Mattes on December 31, 2008 at 12:41 pm

   http://www.911missinglinks.com/