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CRY FREEDOM.net
formerly known as
Women's Liberation Front
MORE INSIGHT MORE LIFE
Welcome to cryfreedom.net,
formerly known as Womens
Liberation Front.
A website
that hopes to draw and keeps your attention for both the global 21th. century 3rd. feminist revolution as well
as especially for the Zan, Zendegi, Azadi uprising in Iran and the
struggles of our sisters in other parts of the Middle East. This online magazine
that started December 2019 will
be published every week. Thank you for your time and interest.
Gino d'Artali
indept investigative
journalist
radical feminist and women's rights activist
'WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM'
You are now at the section on what is happening in the rest of the Middle
east
(Updates
Sept. 7, 2024)
Click here for the
Iran 'Woman, Life, Freedom' section Updated
Sept
3, 2024
For the 'Women's Arab Spring 1.2' Revolt
news
click here
Updated Sept. 2, 2024
CLICK HERE ON HOW TO READ
ALL ON THIS PAGE
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SPECIAL
REPORTS
Sept wk2 --
Sept wk1 P3 -- Sept
wk1 P2 --
Sept wk1 --
August wk4 P3 -- August
wk4 P2 -- August
wk 4 -- August
wk3 P3 -- August
wk3 bis2 -- August
wk3bis -- Click here for an overview by week in 2024
|
September 6 - 4, 2024
Fadwa Tuqan
"A Call of the Land that
reflects the Palestinian spirit
I ask nothing more than
to die in my country,
to dissolve and merge with the grass,
to give life to a flower
that a child of my country will pick.
All I ask is to remain in the bosom of my country,
as soil,
grass,
a flower."
and more actual news in more-facts words |
Sept 4 - 2, 2024
Food for thought:
One really has to ask what the
children/students
in the West will learn about this genocidal war
knowing that the irael-allies are providing all
the arms and more to make it happen.
Gino d'Artali
Click here to go throughout
September
and earler, 2024 |
Additional
stories of utmost interest:
August 28, 2024:
<<Creating hope for Gaza's student
doctors amid Israeli bombardment...
August 20, 2024:
<<Palestinians are being
dehumanised to justify occupation and genocide...
and
August 18, 2024
<<Solidarity with Palestine must
be about decolonisation, not just ceasefire...
|
When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi
figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da
qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so
called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.
Al Jazeera - Sept 6, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<UK doctor: '80% of Gaza victims I treated were children'
This UK doctor has just returned from Gaza and says she was shocked by
the number of children she operated on.>>
MORE FROM THE SAME SHOW:
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/9/6/uk-doctor-80-of-gaza-victims-i-treated-were
Al Jazeera - Sept 6, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<How Israel's war on Gaza is destroying Palestinian education
With 80 percent of schools destroyed, students in Gaza have lost a year
of education and are on the brink of losing another.>>
Read more and view video here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-stream/2024/9/6/how-israels-war-on-gaza-is-destroying-palestinian-education
France 24 - Sept 6, 2024 - by By: NEWS WIRES
<<Israeli soldiers shoot Turkish-American woman dead during West Bank
protest
Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Turkish-American woman taking part in
an anti-settlement protest in the West Bank on Friday, another protester
who witnessed the shooting told The Associated Press. US State
Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed the death of Aysenur
Ezgi Eygi, 26, but did not say whether she had been shot by Israeli
troops. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said that Turkey
would exert "all effort to ensure that those who killed our citizen is
brought to justice", while the White House called on Israel to
investigate the incident.
Israeli soldiers killed an American woman participating in an
anti-settlement protest in the West Bank on Friday, another protester
who witnessed the shooting told The Associated Press. Two doctors said
she was shot in the head. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew
Miller confirmed the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old woman
born in Turkey, but did not say whether she had been shot by Israeli
troops. The White House said in a statement it was "deeply disturbed" by
the killing of a U.S. citizen, and it called on Israel to investigate
what happened. Eygi was also a Turkish citizen, Turkish Foreign Ministry
spokesman Oncu Keceli said, adding that the country would exert "all
effort to ensure that those who killed our citizen is brought to justice."
The Israeli military said it was looking into reports that troops had
killed a foreign national while firing at an "instigator of violent
activity" in the area of the protest. The woman who was fatally shot was
attending a weekly demonstration against settlement expansion, protests
that have grown violent in the past: A month ago, American citizen Amado
Sison was shot in the leg by Israeli forces, he said, as he tried to
flee tear gas and live fire. Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli who was also
participating in the protest, said the shooting occurred shortly after
dozens of Palestinians and international activists held a communal
prayer on a hillside outside the northern West Bank town of Beita
overlooking the Israeli settlement of Evyatar. Soldiers surrounded the
prayer, and clashes soon broke out, with Palestinians throwing stones
and troops firing tear gas and live ammunition, Pollak said. The
protesters and activists, including Pollak and the woman, retreated from
the hill and the clashes subdued, he said. He then watched as two
soldiers standing on the roof of a nearby home trained a gun in the
group’s direction and shot at them. He saw the flares leave the nozzle
of the gun when the shots rang out. He said the woman was about 10 or 15
meters (yards) behind him when the shots were fired. He then saw her "lying
on the ground, next to an olive tree, bleeding to death," he said. Two
doctors said she had been shot in the head - Dr. Ward Basalat, who
administered first aid at the scene and Dr. Fouad Naffa, director of
Rafidia Hospital in the nearby city of Nablus where she was taken. "We
tried to save the American citizen, we tried to revive the heart for
several stages, but unfortunately, we did not succeed in restoring the
heart to function," Naffa told The AP, adding that she had severe bone
fragmentation and damage to brain tissue. At least three activists from
the International Solidarity Movement have been killed since 2000. ISM
activists often place themselves between Israeli forces and Palestinians
to try to stop the Israeli military from carrying out operations. Two
ISM activists - American Rachel Corrie and British photography student
Tom Hurndall - were killed in Gaza in 2003. Corrie was crushed to death
in March 2003 as she tried to block an Israeli military bulldozer from
demolishing a Palestinian home in the southern Gaza town of Rafah near
the Egyptian border. Hurndall was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier
in April. It's also one of a handful of cases in which apparent Israeli
fire killed Americans inside the West Bank since the start of the
Israel-Hamas war. Neither American nor Israeli authorities have released
findings into investigations into the twin killings of two
Palestinian-American teens, Mohammad Khdour and Tawfic Abdel Jabbar,
shot in the span of a month while driving down dirt roads close to their
villages in the northern West Bank. In a written statement shared on X,
the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it condemned "this murder carried out
by the Netanyahu government." Palestinian officials said the killing
reflected how Israel has intensified its repression of Palestinian
protests in the territory since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli forces rarely use live ammunition to put down protests inside
Israel. But in the West Bank, Palestinian demonstrations are frequently
met with live fire.
Hussein Al-Sheikh, the secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation
Organization, wrote on X that the killing marked "another crime added to
the series of crimes committed daily by the occupation forces."
Settlements are overwhelmingly viewed by the international community as
illegal under international law. The settlement of Evyatar was initially
an outpost unrecognized under Israeli law but was legalized by the
Israeli cabinet in July, in a move the far-right Finance Minister
Bezalel Smotrich said was in response to recognition of Palestinian
statehood by a number of countries.
Israeli fire has killed over 690 Palestinians in the West Bank since the
start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, Palestinian health officials
say. In that time, attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis in the
territory have also increased.
(AP)>>
Source:
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20240906-israeli-soldiers-shoot-turkish-american-woman-dead-during-west-bank-protest
Jinha - Womens News Agency - Sept 6 , 2024
<<Israel forces withdraw from Jenin, leaving behind huge devastation
Israeli forces have withdrawn from Jenin in the occupied West Bank
following a siege that lasted 10 days, leaving behind a huge devastation.
News Center- Death toll in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since
October 7, 2023 has kept rising. Israeli forces have withdrawn from
Jenin in the occupied West Bank following a siege that lasted 10 days,
leaving behind a huge devastation. At least 21 people were killed in
Jenin city and the refugee camp, the Gaza's health ministry said in a
statement on Friday. "Residents have expressed concerns over the
possibility of a return by Israeli occupation forces, who have
previously re-stormed the city and the refugee camp after similar
withdrawals. Military checkpoints surrounding Jenin remain active,
heightening fears of further incursion," the Palestinian news agency
WAFA said on Friday. In a post on Facebook, the Palestinian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs accused Israel of transferring to the West Bank its
brutal destruction and devastation in the Gaza Strip, as evidenced by
the situation in Jenin and Tulkarem, and the refugee camps there. On
August 28, Israel launched <Operation Summer Camps,> the largest
military invasion witnessed in the northern West Bank in over two
decades. "The past week was the deadliest for Palestinian civilians in
the West Bank since November last year," United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a post on
social media platform X. "As the war rages in Gaza, violence and
destruction in the West Bank increase by the hour. Many people were
killed, including 7 children. This is unacceptable. It must stop now."
>>
Source:
https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/israel-forces-withdraw-from-jenin-leaving-behind-huge-devastation-35638
Al Jazeera - Sept 6, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<In Pictures
Israel-Palestine conflict
Aftermath of Israeli assault as military withdraws from West Bank's
Jenin. Israeli forces have withdrawn from Jenin in the occupied West
Bank following a siege that lasted 10 days, leaving behind a trail of
devastation. At least 21 people were killed in Jenin city and the
refugee camp, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on
Friday. In a statement on Facebook, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs accused Israel of transferring to the West Bank its brutal
destruction and devastation in the Gaza Strip, as evidenced by the
situation in Jenin and Tulkarem, and the refugee camps there. Israeli
armoured personnel carriers were seen leaving the Jenin camp overnight
from a checkpoint set up on one of the main roads. A journalist with The
Associated Press news agency inside the camp saw no evidence of any
remaining troops inside as dawn broke on Friday.
The was no immediate comment from Israel's military, which said it would
issue a statement later in the day. It was not clear whether the
apparent withdrawal was only a temporary measure to regroup forces.
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been involved for more than a week in
what has been their deadliest operation in the West Bank since Israel's
war on Gaza began in October, employing what the United Nations called
"lethal war-like tactics". The offensive has had a devastating effect on
Palestinian civilians living in Jenin. Water and electricity services
have been cut, families have been confined to their homes and ambulances
evacuating the wounded have been slowed on their way to nearby hospitals.
In the quiet morning on Friday, Jenin residents took advantage of the
lull to rummage through the rubble of destroyed buildings and take stock
of the damage.>>
View photos here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/9/6/aftermath-of-israeli-military-withdrawal-from-jenin-in-occupied-west-bank
Hidaya Hassanein
Jinha - Womens News Agency - Sept 6 , 2024 - by RAFIF ESLEEM
<<Displaced Palestinian woman: We are dying slowly
"We are dying slowly," said Hidaya Hassanein, a displaced Palestinian
woman taking refuge in a tent, southern Gaza. "We are 16 people living
in a tent for seven people."
Gaza- Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have entered their 11th months,
killing more than 40,000 Palestinians, injuring thousands and displacing
millions. Tens of thousands of people displaced from the north have
already sought refuge there in schools and tents in southern Gaza,
facing difficult living conditions. Displaced Palestinian women and
children struggle to survive without basic needs.
'Living in tents is like dying slowly'
Hidaya Hassanein, a displaced Palestinian woman, describes the life in
tents as "Dying slowly". "We have been living in a tent for seven months.
In summer, our suffering increases. Maybe winter will be better, we do
not know. Living in tents is like dying slowly. Only those who live in
tents can understand what I mean. Before the war, we had a big house and
everyone had a room. The tents only have a few beds, pillows and boxes
with essential items."
'There is no privacy for women'
Thousands of women and children have been killed in bombardments for
months, Hidaya Hassanein told NuJINHA. "No one knows how women cook,
wash their clothes and the dishes in tents. In addition, there is no
privacy for women in tents; women have no privacy spaces. There is chaos
in the camp and women face difficulties especially during their
menstruation. The tents are made of pieces of fabric and nylon and do
not protect us from cold and hot weather. Women and children suffer from
skin diseases due to the lack of water and hygiene."
16 people live in a tent for seven people
Due to the lack of a sewage system, the displaced people also suffer
from insects, snakes and scorpions. "Women and children cannot sleep at
night for fear of scorpions and snakes. Going to the toilet also becomes
a nightmare for us. We are 16 people living in a tent for seven people.
I cannot stand living like this anymore." >>
Source incl. video here:
https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/displaced-palestinian-woman-we-are-dying-slowly-35634
Al Jazeera - Sept 5, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<Netanyahu's border proposal threatens Gaza ceasefire talks
Hamas calls for pressure on Netanyahu to stick to agreed ceasefire plan,
accuses the Israeli leader of using the Philadelphi Corridor to thwart
deal.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military must retain
open-ended control over Gaza’s southern border area with Egypt - known
as the Philadelphi Corridor - digging in on a position that threatens to
derail ceasefire efforts. Netanyahu's stance on the corridor - which was
seized by Israeli forces in May - has become the key obstacle to
reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza as pressure mounts on the Israeli
leader amid mass protests domestically demanding that a deal be reached
that brings captives home and international outrage as the number of
Palestinians confirmed killed by Israel's military in Gaza nears 41,000.
<Gaza must be demilitarised, and this can only happen if the Philadelphi
Corridor remains under firm control,> Netanyahu told foreign journalists
on Wednesday. Netanyahu said Israel must maintain control of the
corridor to prevent weapons being smuggled into Gaza and that Israel
would only consider withdrawing from the strategic location when
presented with an alternative plan to police the area.
<Bring me anyone who will actually show us ... that they can actually
prevent the recurrence> of smuggling, he said. <I don't see that
happening right now. And until that happens, we're there.> When asked by
journalists for a timeline for Israel ending its war on Gaza, Netanyahu
refused to give one. <How long can we do this? As long as it takes to
achieve this victory. And I think we're getting a lot closer,> he said.
Netanyahu has faced searing criticism from many in Israel for his
position on the Philadelphi Corridor, including from within his own
military and security establishment who believe Israeli troops do not
need to be permanently based in Gaza and could, instead, launch targeted
raids if required to stop arms smuggling.
Egypt, a mediator in the ceasefire talks along with the US and Qatar,
has also demanded a concrete timeline for Israel's withdrawal from the
corridor which runs along its border. The United Arab Emirates, which
established formal ties with Israel in the 2020 Abraham Accords -
designed to normalise Arab-Israeli relations - has also criticised
Israel's decision to control the corridor on Wednesday. In a statement
released on Thursday, Hamas blamed Netanyahu for the ongoing impasse in
ceasefire talks and accused the Israeli leader of wanting to prolong the
war on Gaza. "Netanyahu's decision not to withdraw from the Salah al-Din
[Philadelphi Corridor] axis aims to thwart reaching an agreement," Hamas
said in the statement. "We warn against falling into Netanyahu's trap
and tricks, as he uses negotiations to prolong the aggression against
our people," Hamas said, adding that Israel must be held to a deal that
was agreed earlier this year. "We do not need new proposals. What is
required now is to pressure Netanyahu and his government and oblige them
to what has been agreed upon," the statement reads. During his address
to reporters on Wednesday, Netanyahu also incorrectly claimed that
Israel's ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza in May forced the
first release of Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza. That negotiated
release, in fact, took place months earlier in November under a weeklong
ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas.
The Israel-Hamas truce began on November 24 and was renewed twice.
Under the agreement, fighting was paused and humanitarian aid was
allowed to enter Gaza as Hamas released captives in exchange for Israel
releasing Palestinian prisoners. By the end of the six-day truce on
November 30, 105 captives had been released by Hamas and 240 Palestinian
prisoners had been freed by Israel.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/5/netanyahu-doubles-down-on-military-control-over-gazas-philadelphi-corridor
Al Jazeera - Sept 4, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<'From the river to the sea' doesn't violate Meta rules: Oversight
panel
Panel says phrase, often used in solidarity with Palestinians, does not
violate platform's hate speech rules.
Meta's independent oversight board has ruled that the phrase "from the
river to the sea", often used in solidarity with Palestinians, does not
in and of itself violate the company's current policies. The decision on
Wednesday from the panel, which makes final determinations on the
platform's content moderation decisions, followed a review of three
posts. It comes amid a wider debate over the phrase, which has been
prominently used by protesters in solidarity with Palestinians and
against Israel's nearly 11-month war on Gaza. It refers to the
geographical area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea,
which encompasses Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. "In
upholding Meta's decisions to keep up the content, the majority of the
board notes the phrase has multiple meanings and is used by people in
various ways and with different intentions," the panel said. "Specifically,
the three pieces of content contain contextual signs of solidarity with
Palestinians - but no language calling for violence or exclusion," it
added. The decision was made as the death toll of Palestinians in the
war rose to 40,861. The United Nations has said more than 90 percent of
the population has been displaced, leading to a humanitarian and health
crisis. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel in the Hamas-led
attacks on October 7. Israeli officials and pro-Israel groups have
charged that the phrase is a veiled call for violence and have framed it
as an <anti-Semitic> call for Jewish erasure. Nevertheless, some Israeli
officials have themselves used versions of the phrase's geographical
reference to call for full Israeli control over the occupied Palestinian
territory. Meta's oversight board said a minority of board members felt
that after the start of the war, the phrase's use in a post should be
presumed to constitute glorification of Hamas - the Palestinian group
that led the October 7 attack on southern Israel - and violence "unless
there are clear signals to the contrary".
Palestinians and their supporters have framed the phrase as a call for
self-determination and freedom from decades of Israeli occupation and
rights for Palestinians living across historic Palestine, a land that is
now divided between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory
following the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, which resulted in the
displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the
creation of Israel. Speaking to Al Jazeera in November, Nimer Sultany, a
lecturer in law at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London,
explained that much of the debate has hinged on the word "free". He
described the adjective as expressing "the need for equality for all
inhabitants of historic Palestine. "Those who support apartheid and
Jewish supremacy will find the egalitarian chant objectionable," Sultany,
a Palestinian citizen of Israel, told Al Jazeera.
"This continues to be the crux of the problem: the ongoing denial of
Palestinians to live in equality, freedom and dignity like everyone else,"
Sultany said.
In a statement, Meta said: "We welcome the board's review of our
guidance on this matter."
"While all of our policies are developed with safety in mind, we know
they come with global challenges and we regularly seek input from
experts outside Meta, including the Oversight Board," the company said.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES>>
Source:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/4/from-the-river-to-the-sea-doesnt-violate-meta-rules-oversight-panel
Al Jazeera - Sept 4, 2024 - By Ghada Ageel - Professor of political
science
<<In Gaza, Israel aims to destroy civil order, but it is failing
As the Israeli army tries to wipe out civilian institutions and
services, Palestinian solidarity steps in.
As the head of Gaza's ambulance services, Hani al-Jaafarawi had one of
the toughest jobs amid Israel’s genocidal war on the strip. Even before
October 7, his staff were stretched thin, overworked and under constant
threat. After the start of the war, al-Jaafarawi was hands-on in the
medical response. Hospitals, clinics and all health facilities were
under extreme threat, and every day al-Jaafarawi's life hung in the
balance. But on June 23, the balance tipped away from him when Israeli
forces attacked Daraj Health Clinic in Gaza City, killing him and four
other civilians. His only crime was his dedication to the civil defence
of Gaza’s beleaguered population. According to the Palestinian Ministry
of Health, he was the 500th health worker killed in Gaza. The murder of
al-Jaafarawi was part of Israel’s systematic campaign to destroy civil
services provision in Gaza. It has purposefully targeted and killed
medical personnel, Palestinian Civil Defence workers, ambulance drivers,
rescue teams, police forces, civil engineers, utility workers, aid
convoy drivers and civil society leaders with the aim to create chaos
and lawlessness in Gaza and to demoralise the population. The official
justification used by the Israeli Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) for
the targeted killings of these professionals is that they are affiliated
with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) by virtue of
working for government institutions in Gaza. This rationale is spurious.
Working under a government does not infer support for its political
agenda or membership in the political party that leads it. We cannot
assume that every Israeli employed by the Israeli state supports the war
crimes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, so why should we assume
anything about Palestinian public employees and their political
sympathies? International law makes a clear distinction between
combatants and civilians, and the political views of the latter make no
difference. That, of course, is yet another aspect of the international
legal regime that Israel wilfully ignores.
Two days before al-Jaafarawi's murder, an Israeli air strike killed four
municipal employees and one passer-by in the centre of Gaza City. The
workers were preparing to repair water pipes to help restore water
supplies. The water infrastructure has been a frequent target of the IOF,
as the deprivation of this basic service has led to mass suffering and
the spread of disease among Palestinians, which, of course, helps
Israel's genocidal designs.
Efforts by engineers and communications workers to break the
Israeli-imposed internet blackout on Gaza have also repeatedly resulted
in deaths. In January, an Israeli tank attacked a team sent to repair a
switchboard generator in Khan Younis, killing two of them. This was
despite the fact that they had coordinated their movements and the task
they were sent to carry out with the IOF. The Israeli military has also
repeatedly targeted health facilities and workers, killing or kidnapping
some of Gaza's best medical specialists and top hospital administrators.
According to the United Nations, by August, 885 medical workers had been
killed in Gaza. Some were targeted in their homes and some in the
hospitals where they had stayed behind to take care of patients as
Israeli forces carried out raids. Others were tortured to death like Dr
Adnan al-Bursh, a senior orthopaedic surgeon at al-Shifa Hospital, and
Dr Iyad al-Rantisi, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at Kamal Adwan
Hospital. The decimation of Gaza's health sector and the mass killing of
doctors and other medical professionals mean that Palestinians do not
have access to proper healthcare whether they are chronically ill, newly
infected with a disease or injured by Israel’s incessant bombardments.
This again helps Israel's genocide. As many videos of the aftermath of
air strikes show, the wounded are usually brought to severely
underresourced and dysfunctional medical facilities where they are
placed on the ground in a pool of blood as the few medical workers
available scramble to do emergency care. Many who would normally be
saved die. Israel's wholesale destruction of every public service that
sustains life in Gaza has brought the Palestinian population to the
brink. A neighbour from Khan Younis refugee camp recently wrote to me:
"[The Israelis] have not left a sewage pipe, a water pipe, a water
desalination unit, bakeries, communication towers, or homes. They ran
over the greenhouses and trees, they bombed the mosques and schools.
They bombed anything and everything. Total destruction. We are all
targets and no one is safe. No doctor, no university professor, no child,
no woman, no lawyer, no journalist and no place or facility - UN or
otherwise - is safe. They tell us that we have to leave Gaza if we want
to stay alive." Israel's aim in wiping out any semblance of civil order
and service provision is, of course, to sow despair among Palestinians
and subdue any impulse they may have to resist occupation, subjugation
and dispossession. But this strategy is doomed to fail for two reasons:
because it is violating international law and because it is ineffective.
Israel has long ignored and violated the international legal regime. But
what it is doing in Gaza right now even its staunchest supporters are
having trouble defending. In January, the International Court of Justice
issued a preliminary ruling in which it called Israel's actions in Gaza
"plausibly" genocidal. In May, International Criminal Court Prosecutor
Karim Khan called on the court to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu
and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes committed in Gaza.
In June, an independent UN investigation concluded that Israel had
committed crimes against humanity during the war. The UN Commission of
Inquiry, which conducted the investigation, stated in its report: "The
immense numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza and widespread
destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure were the inevitable
result of a strategy undertaken with intent to cause maximum damage,
disregarding the principles of distinction, proportionality, and
adequate precautions." While Israel is committing war crimes by wiping
out Gaza's civilian infrastructure and services and killing the people
who maintain them, these actions will not fulfil the long-term goal: to
force Palestinians to capitulate and renounce their claim to their
homeland. For 11 months now, the strongest army in the region and one of
the most advanced in the world has been unable to attain a military
victory against an armed resistance group - unless one considers the
mass killing of civilians, mostly women and children, and the total
destruction of their livelihood as a measure of success. In a June
article in Foreign Affairs magazine, political scientist Robert A Pape
argued that Israel in many ways has "made its enemy stronger" than it
was before the October 7 attacks because it has made it more popular and
in this way more effective in recruiting. In a subsequent interview,
Pape argued that Israel’s strategy of overwhelming airpower is failing
just as such approaches failed in Vietnam and Iraq. Overwhelming
firepower tends to bring civilian populations together in mutual
solidarity against the enemy. This is what is happening in Gaza right
now. Israel has been indiscriminately bombing to make Gaza ultimately
unliveable and to force the Palestinians into a mass exodus at the
threat of mass death. That has taken an unbelievable toll on the people
of Gaza. But Israel's attempts to destroy the social fabric of
Palestinian society, erase its institutions and crush its spirit are
ultimately failing. That is because the people of Gaza, supported by
their global allies, are responding to this erasure through collective
acts of defiance, striving with every effort to maintain utilities,
health and education services, and their community life. The recent
reopening of a small emergency unit at al-Shifa Hospital is emblematic
of this enduring resilience. Such efforts not only demonstrate the
courage of Palestinian public employees but also the global network of
support and the immense mobilisation of the Palestinian diaspora and
allies worldwide.
This defiance to policies and acts of erasure is deeply rooted in the
history of Palestinian resistance, expressed both in words and actions.
When I last spoke with my niece, Amal, shortly after she had turned 18,
I asked her what she wished for on her birthday. She responded by
reciting an excerpt from the great Palestinian poet Fadwa Tuqan's
"A Call of the Land that reflects the Palestinian spirit
I ask nothing more than
to die in my country,
to dissolve and merge with the grass,
to give life to a flower
that a child of my country will pick.
All I ask is to remain in the bosom of my country,
as soil,
grass,
a flower."
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not
necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.>>
Source:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/9/4/in-gaza-israel-aims-to-destroy-civil-order-but-it-is-failing
BBC - Sept 4, 2024 - By Robert Greenall
<<Family of aid worker killed in Gaza call for inquiry
The family of a British aid worker killed in Gaza in April has urged the
government to launch an independent legal inquiry into his death.
James Kirby was one of three Britons killed in Israeli drone strikes on
an aid convoy run by the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.
Ahead of a memorial service for Mr Kirby at Bristol Cathedral on
Wednesday, the family also criticised the government for not being in
touch since his death and expressed their "surprise" at not receiving
any contact or condolence from Israel's ambassador to the UK or any
Israeli official since the attack. In a statement to the BBC, a
spokesperson for Israel's embassy in London called the incident <a
tragic mistake> and expressed their <deepest sorrow> to James's family,
adding that the IDF dismissed two people following an investigation into
the incident. Speaking on behalf of the family, James's cousin, Louise
Kirby, said: "There must be a proper, independent inquiry into this
attack on innocent aid workers, and for the evidence to be assessed, if
appropriate, in a relevant court of law. However, unfortunately,
families have had no contact from the UK Government since James and his
colleagues' deaths, nor have we received any information as to whether a
credible, independent investigation is taking place; or of the results
of any investigation if it has taken place." She added: "I very much
hope the prime minister will take our concerns seriously and instigate
an appropriate, independent or legal inquiry - not only so we can have
transparency and accountability, but so that other British citizens and
their families know that their government will act for them, if a
foreign state unlawfully kills their loved ones." James Kirby, 47, a
former serviceman, was one of seven killed in the air strikes on an aid
convoy run by WCK on 1 April. Two other Britons - John Chapman, 57, and
James Henderson, 33 - were also killed. They were providing security for
the convoy moving food to a warehouse in Gaza. The IDF has said a drone
operator mistakenly targeted the convoy after thinking it had been taken
over by Hamas gunmen. Three missiles were fired in three locations over
five minutes. The first missile hit a car and some passengers escaped to
another vehicle. That was then hit by a second missile. Some survivors
tried to flee in a third car which was also struck. Everyone in the
convoy was killed. After an internal investigation, the IDF sacked two
officers and formally reprimanded two senior commanders. The evidence
from the investigation was passed to the military advocate general - the
Israeli army's top legal authority - to determine if there had been any
criminal conduct. A spokesperson for Israel's embassy in London said: <This
incident was a tragic mistake and we express our deepest sorrow to James
Kirby's family, the other bereaved families, including those of John
Chapman and James Henderson, and the entire World Central Kitchen team,
who were doing such vital work in extremely challenging circumstances.
As outlined by the IDF's Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism (FFAM) in
the in-depth independent investigation, conducted following the
incident, a serious failure was made due to a mistaken identification as
well as errors in decision-making. In light of this, a brigade fire
support commander and brigade chief of staff were dismissed. Once again,
we express our deepest condolences and sorrow to the families of the
bereaved and the WCK team." In the wake of the attack, the then-Prime
Minister, Rishi Sunak, called for a "thorough and transparent
independent investigation" into what had happened.
In the statement, Louise Kirby thanked friends and supporters -
including WCK - for their support. She said the family had been touched
to receive personal letters of condolence from the King and Queen and
the former Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron. But she said "the murder” of
James and his fellow aid workers was “a diabolical tragedy" and the
family were "still struggling to find answers and accountability for
what happened". She said that, given Israel had said the strikes were an
accident, the family had been surprised not to have had any contact or
message of condolence from Israel's ambassador to the UK, nor from any
Israeli official. "Any family of a loved one who has been killed needs
closure. We need to understand how this disaster could have happened,"
she said. "But this is not just about us. This is about how Britain
looks after its own citizens and their families, when a British citizen
has been unlawfully killed by another state." Ms Kirby added: "We
appreciate the compassion and respect we have been shown, but we must
also have transparency and accountability. How did this happen? Who is
responsible? What accountability did they face?
"Just saying ‘sorry it was an accident’ is not enough. We need to know,
and we need to know there has been accountability at all levels, so it
never happens again." A government spokesman said the bereaved families
were being supported by police liaison support officers who were "regular
contact" with the Foreign Office. "The death of James and his fellow aid
workers was horrific and our thoughts remain with their families," the
spokesperson said. "Attacks on aid workers are never justified and we
remain fully committed to their protection as they support some of the
most vulnerable people in the world. There must be an immediate
ceasefire to protect civilians and aid workers, secure the release of
all hostages and ensure much more aid gets into Gaza. Israel must
guarantee the protection of aid workers and ensure a tragedy like this
cannot happen again."
The spokesperson did not address the families' demand for an independent
inquiry.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's
unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October during which about
1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according
to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.>>
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y8zp8zdpzo
Al Jazeera - Sept 4, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<Israeli forces using 'war-like' tactics in occupied West Bank: UN
UN's humanitarian agency says dozens of people have been killed over the
past week in Israeli attacks including air strikes. Israeli forces are
using "lethal war-like tactics" in the occupied West Bank, according to
the UN's humanitarian agency. The Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement on Wednesday that
Israeli attacks have killed more than two dozen people over the past
week or so, including children. The continuing raids, mostly
concentrated on the Tulkarem and Jenin refugee camps, constitute
Israel's largest assault on the occupied territory since the second
Intifada in the early 2000s. The raids have seen significant violence
and numerous arrests, while roads and other infrastructure have been
destroyed by Israeli military bulldozers. OCHA said it had mobilised
organisations from the UN and beyond to assess the damage and
humanitarian needs on the ground. Visiting Tulkarem on Saturday, the
teams confirmed the displacement of 120 people, including more than 40
children, whose homes were destroyed, the statement said. "At the time
of the assessment, 13,000 people in Nur Shams refugee camp experienced
water cut-offs, attributed to damages caused to the water network, and
sewage overflow was observed. The teams also noted that the population
was traumatized and in need of psychosocial support," OCHA said. A
similar assessment team was denied access to Jenin by the Israeli
authorities on Wednesday. "OCHA warns that access impediments are
impacting the ability to provide meaningful humanitarian response. The
movement of ambulances and medical teams has been impeded and delayed
since the onset of the now-week-long operation. Humanitarian access must
always be facilitated," the statement said. Israeli military's latest
assault in Jenin is in its eighth day, and the third day in Tulkarem,
where Israeli forces are inflicting "widespread destruction", according
to the Wafa news agency. Citing its correspondents on the ground, the
agency said Israeli forces dropped bombs on the refugee camp, sparking
fires in al-Shamaliya neighbourhood. Israeli snipers were stationed on
tall buildings, while spy drones flew and bulldozers damaged
infrastructure, with "no street or alley left without destruction", Wafa
reported. A siege of al-Israa and Thabet schools was also continuing, it
added. Al Jazeera's team on the ground also reported an ongoing Israeli
raid in the Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah. Sources said that
dozens of Palestinians have been detained and questioned in local
community centres.
At least 20 Palestinians have also been rounded up from Beit Surik. Most
returned after they were interrogated.
Other raids were reported in Qalqilya, Nablus with a focus on Balata and
Askar refugee camps, as well as al-Khader town south of Bethlehem and
al-Azza refugee camp north of the city. Israeli security forces have
besieged Hebron for a fourth day running and more checkpoints and gates
have been erected.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES>>
Source:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/4/israeli-forces-using-war-like-tactics-in-occupied-west-bank-ocha
BBC - Sept 4, 2024 - By Robert Greenall
<<Girl 'killed inside home' as Israeli West Bank operation continues
Lujain Musleh was buried in Kafr Dan on Wednesday, a day after she was
shot dead during an Israeli raid
A funeral has been held for a 16-year-old Palestinian girl reportedly
killed by Israeli forces in the north of the occupied West Bank on the
seventh day of a wide-scale Israeli operation. Lujain Musleh's father
said she was shot in the head as she looked out of a window of her home
in Kafr Dan, just outside Jenin, after soldiers surrounded a
neighbouring house on Tuesday. The Israeli military said armed fighters
fired at the soldiers and that they "fired back at a suspect who
observed" them. The Palestinian health ministry says 30 Palestinians
have been killed since Israel launched what it called an operation to
dismantle <terrorist cells>. Most of the dead have been claimed by armed
groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as members, but several
children are also among them, according to the ministry. The Israeli
military has said that one Israeli soldier has been killed.
There has been a spike in violence in the West Bank since Hamas’s deadly
attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing war in Gaza. Defence for
Children Palestine (DCIP), a rights group, said Israeli soldiers entered
Kafr Dan around 11:30 (09:30 BST) on Tuesday, prompting clashes with
armed Palestinians. "Israeli soldiers surrounded and besieged the home
of a wanted Palestinian man, firing live ammunition and shells at the
house," it said. "Around 14:10, 16-year-old Loujain was inside her
family's home ... when an Israeli sniper shot her in the head through a
window.”
During a funeral procession for Loujain on Wednesday, her father, Osama,
told reporters: "She didn't go to the roof, she didn't hurl a stone, and
she wasn't carrying a weapon. The only thing she did is look from the
window and the soldier saw her and shot her." The Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) said soldiers surrounded two civilian structures in Kafr Dan where
they believed armed fighters were sheltering, and that they <called for
civilians to evacuate from both structures prior to the exchange of fire
that took place. During the encircling of the structures, the terrorists
opened fire at IDF soldiers in the area, and in response the soldiers
fired back at a suspect who observed the forces in the area, in order to
remove a threat,> it added.
<The IDF is aware of the report regarding a 16-year-old Palestinian girl
who was killed during the exchange of fire. The details of the incident
are under review.> Israel's defence minister told its military to
operate <with full strength> in the West Bank. DCIP also cited
documentation it had collected which said a 14-year-old boy, Mohammed
Kanaan, was shot dead by an Israeli sniper on Tuesday morning at an
entrance to the Tulkarm refugee camp, in Tulkarm city. The IDF said it
was looking into that report. When asked by the BBC on Tuesday to
comment on the reports of civilian deaths, the IDF said its forces
operated in strict accordance with international law. <The IDF has never,
and will never, deliberately target civilians,> it added. <Given the
ongoing exchanges of fire, remaining in an active combat zone has
inherent risks. The IDF will continue to counter threats while
persisting to mitigate harm to civilians.> The IDF said its soldiers had
killed two armed fighters during an exchange of fire in Tulkarm on
Tuesday, and also located an explosive device in a baby stroller. On
Monday evening, it announced that 14 <terrorists> had been killed in
Jenin since the start of the operation and that 25 suspects had been
detained. <Every terrorist must be eliminated, and if they surrender,
they must be arrested. There is no other option, use all the forces,
everyone who is needed, with full strength,> Israeli Defence Minister
Yoav Gallant told IDF officers on Wednesday. Palestinian Authority Prime
Minister Mohammed Mustafa said on Tuesday that the losses caused by the
raids, especially of infrastructure, might be the most extensive in two
decades. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees expressed
particular concern about Jenin, saying it had been "ravaged by violence
and destruction". Jenin's streets have been so damaged that cars cannot
pass some roads. Israeli bulldozers have destroyed many shops in the
city centre, although those on the periphery were still open. The local
municipality said the IDF had bulldozed more than 70% of streets, cut
off water to 80% of the city, and damaged 20km (12 miles) of water,
sewage, communications and electricity networks. The IDF said: <The
terrorists in [the West Bank] exploit the civilian population and use
them as human shields for murderous purposes, establishing terrorist
infrastructures and planting explosives underneath traffic routes to
harm the IDF troops in their attempts to thwart threats to the lives of
Israeli citizens.> It also said it would work quickly to enable local
authorities to repair damaged infrastructure and ensure the
functionality of essential services. Hospital director Dr Wisam Baker
told the BBC on Monday that no-one could come in and out, including
doctors like him travelling home, except in ambulances. Troops searched
the vehicles and checked the IDs of those inside, he added. Ambulance
drivers are "afraid" to bring wounded to the hospital or are delayed
from entering because of searches, he said, adding the delay could put
lives at risk.
The hospital has been running on a generator, and 10 tanks of water are
brought in each day, Dr Baker said. Ambulances have also been delivering
food. Asked about the presence of troops outside the hospital, the IDF
alleged that armed groups were exploiting medical and other facilities
that were protected under international law. "The hospitals continue to
operate as usual. In appropriate cases, inspections are conducted on
those arriving at the hospital, provided that this does not prevent
their treatment or endanger their health," it said. The Palestinian Red
Crescent said its teams were "tirelessly providing humanitarian and
emergency services to the besieged citizens in the Jenin camp, despite
continuous obstructions by Israeli occupation forces, who are hindering
[their] work." On Monday, it said many Jenin residents were in urgent
need of medicine, baby formula or food supplies, and that two paramedics
and a volunteer doctor had been injured while on duty.>>
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpdl3veg1l4o
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