Gaza‏ Jan 16/09

Resolution 1860: fig leaf to Arab failure
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10185.shtml
For Washington, and others ... including Arab states, Israel was entitled to have the time it needed to teach Hamas the lesson it deserved. Despite Musa's rumblings, and those of other Arab officials, prominent members of the Arab delegation were close to this narrative. The Egyptian president, whose foreign minister's role was key in New York, was quoted as informing the European delegation in Cairo earlier that Hamas should not be allowed to win. It is no surprise therefore that the general trend among the Arab ministers (with exceptions of course) was, on the one hand, to pretend that they were striving to bring the aggression to an end, while on the other signaling that they did not want any such accomplishment to benefit Hamas.

Egypt's Gaza truce plan is mostly bad for Hamas
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055543.html
עופרת יצוקה | בתום 19 ימי לחימה החמאס מראה סימנים שבירה שממעותיים
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1055739.html
The Egyptian proposal is mostly bad for Hamas. It doesn't let the organization bring the Palestinian public any political achievement that would justify the blood that has been spilled, and even forces on it the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, in the form of its renewed presence at the Rafah crossing (as a condition for its reopening).

The inconvenient truth about Gaza
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/929/op10.htm
The foot dragging of Palestinian diplomats in the face of Israel's Gaza onslaught suggests that for some ending Hamas is more important than ending the violence.

Thousand deaths do not put off EU
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10190.shtml
Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, the European Commission's envoy in Jerusalem, claimed that a proposed "upgrading" in relations with Israel cannot "proceed business as usual." Yet his statement was soon contradicted by Karel Schwarzenberg, foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU's rotating presidency. Schwarzenberg noted that EU governments agreed in June last year to intensify efforts to build a stronger alliance with Israel. This decision could only be revised by those governments, he said, adding: "It can't be changed at the word of a very respected representative of the European Union in Jerusalem."

Amira Hass: Gazans doing their best to avoid becoming death statistics
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054551.html
The military is steadily forcing the areas known as "population concentrations" to move inward, "clearing" areas on the periphery - first the agricultural land, and now the neighborhoods bordering them - and pushing people into an increasingly smaller territory.

All eyes on Rafah
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/929/eg12.htm
Egypt is under pressure to open the only exit from Gaza not under Israeli control. Amira Howeidy examines the legalities and symbolism of the Rafah border crossing.

Obama's pro-Israel congressional welcome
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?categ_id=5&article_id=98991
The House of Representatives voted last Friday by 390-5 for a resolution that backed Israel in its Gaza onslaught, affirming "Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza." A day earlier, the Senate overwhelmingly supported Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorism.

War on Hamas Saps Palestinian Leaders
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/world/middleeast/15fatah.html
Israel hoped that the war in Gaza would not only cripple Hamas, but eventually strengthen its secular rival, the Palestinian Authority, and even allow it to claw its way back into Gaza. But with each day, the authority, its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, and its leading party, Fatah, seem increasingly beleaguered and marginalized, even in the Palestinian cities of the West Bank, which they control. Protesters accuse Mr. Abbas of not doing enough to stop the carnage in Gaza — indeed, his own police officers have used clubs and tear gas against those same protesters. ... Israel is proposing, with the tacit agreement of Egypt and the United States, to place the Palestinian Authority at the heart of an ambitious program to rebuild Gaza, administering reconstruction aid and securing Gaza’s borders. But that plan is already drawing skepticism. [“Independent Palestinian analyst” Ghassan] Khatib, for example, called the idea of any Palestinian Authority role in postwar Gaza “silly” and “naïve.”

Israel Foreign Ministry preparing for 'day after' IDF leaves Gaza
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055553.html

משרד החוץ הקים צוות "היום שאחרי" במטרה למנוע שיקום עזה ע"י איראן
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1055740.html
The Foreign Ministry has created a special task force to prepare for the aftermath of the Israel Defense Forces' Gaza operation. The team will submit proposals for two of the army's main concerns - Iran and Hamas taking control of Gaza's postwar reconstruction, and the harm the offensive might cause to Israel's image abroad. The ministry hopes to avoid a situation similar to the one in southern Lebanon after the 2006 Second Lebanon War. There, Iran sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah to transfer to families whose homes had been destroyed, burnishing the militant group's reputation among the population. The goal is to allow the Palestinian Authority, as well as Arab and international entities, to lead reconstruction efforts and funding, taking credit for Gaza's rehabilitation in place of Hamas or Iran.

Gideon Levy: Compared to previous wars, Gaza op is child's play
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055574.html
גדעון לוי | משחק ילדים
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1055708.html
The fighting in Gaza is "war deluxe." Compared with previous wars, it is child's play - pilots bombing unimpeded as if on practice runs, tank and artillery soldiers shelling houses and civilians from their armored vehicles, combat engineering troops destroying entire streets in their ominous protected vehicles without facing serious opposition. A large, broad army is fighting against a helpless population and a weak, ragged organization that has fled the conflict zones and is barely putting up a fight. ... This war is also child's play because of its victims. About a third of those killed in Gaza have been children - 311, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 270 according to the B'Tselem human rights group - out of the 1,000 total killed as of Wednesday. Around 1,550 of the 4,500 wounded have also been children according to figures from the UN, which says the number of children killed has tripled since the ground operation began.

Israeli Forces Shell UN Office in Gaza
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/15/world/AP-ML-Israel-Palestinians.html

Gaza hospitals and UN warehouse hit
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/01/2009116089728759.html
Around 700 Palestinians were sheltering in the UN complex at the time of the strikes which left two civilians and three staff members injured. Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), said fires were still raging hours after the attack and "tens of millions of dollars worth of aid" had been destroyed. John Ging, the director of Unrwa operations in the Strip, also accused the Israelis of using phosphorus shells. ... Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for Unrwa, robustly denied that Palestinian fighters were among refugees sheltering there. "At no stage during the fighting today did any Israeli official pick up the phone and tell us there were militants in our compound. We always take action against militants ... there were no militants in our compound and now they [the Israelis] are changing their story, saying militants were 'in the vicinity'," he said.

In the US, Gaza is a different war
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/war_on_gaza/2009/01/2009116089728759.html
Major US television channels also adopted the equal time approach, despite the reality that Palestinian casualties exceeded Israeli ones by a hundred fold. However, such comparisons were rare because the scripts read by American correspondents often excluded the overall Palestinian death count. By stripping the context, American viewers may have easily assumed a level playing field, rather than a case of disproportionate force. Take the opening lines of a report filed by NBC's Martin Fletcher on December 30: "In Gaza two little girls were taking out the rubbish and killed by an Israeli rocket - while in Israel, a woman had been driving home and was killed by a Hamas rocket. No let up today on either side on the fourth day of this battle." ... Unlike the correspondents from ABC and NBC, who have filed their reports exclusively from Israeli cities, Arab crews are inside Gaza, with many correspondents native Gazans themselves.

Saudi silence on Gaza linked to 'US nuclear gift'
http://www5.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=305303&IdLanguage=3
What was ignored in the past three weeks by the western and even regional media was signing an agreement on nuclear cooperation between the US and Saudi Arabia.

Rabbi Cohen slams Zionism for Gaza misery
http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=299601&IdLanguage=3
The European Spokesman of Authentic Orthodox Jewish Opposition to Zionism has lambasted the international community for ignoring history of Palestine and the Zionism movement which is currently spreading terror and coercion in Gaza.

Israel surrounds Iran's aid ship in Gaza
http://www5.irna.ir/En/View/FullStory/?NewsId=305152&IdLanguage=3
Warships of the Zionist regime surrounded the Iranian ship "Shahed" carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip, an Iranian official told IRNA Thursday. ... The consignment, which has been prepared under supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross, contains Iran's humanitarian aid and food supplies for the oppressed people in Gaza.

Israeli leaders called ‘mass murderers’ in British parliament
http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=301246&IdLanguage=3
In an official statement, Miliband claimed that both he and the Prime Minister Gordon Brown had called for an immediate ceasefire since the beginning of Israel’s attacks 17 days ago, but insisted that there can be “no equivalence” between the two sides. “Hamas have shown themselves over a number of years to be murderous in word and deed. Their motif is resistance and their method includes terrorism. Israel is meanwhile a thriving democratic state with independent judiciary,” he said.

Gaza op may be squeezing Hamas, but it's destroying Israel's soul
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055968.html
Shelling a United Nations facility is something not to be done at any time, but doing it on the day when the UN secretary general is visiting Jerusalem is beyond lunacy.

Gideon Levy: Someone has to stop Israel's rampant madness in Gaza
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055969.html

Michael Warschawski: Barak and all Israeli Leaders—To the Hague
http://www.alternativenews.org/content/view/1541/389/

>NewsClots<

Birmingham Gaza Demo - Sat 17 Jan 12pm

From the rivers to the sea - Gaza will be free!

South Asian Alliance Calls on all its members and supporters to mobilise and turnout for this Saturday's Demonstration in Birmingham.

Stop the massacre in Gaza! In our hundreds, in our millions - we are all Palestinians! From the rivers to the sea - Gaza will be free!

March and Rally Saturday 17th January 2009 Assemble 12 noon Victoria Square Outside Council House New Street Birmingham

South Asian Alliance members to march behind Palestine Solidarity Campaign banner Bring drums, Palestinian flags, megaphones.

Stewards meeting Thursday 15th January 6pm Muslim Association of Britain Centre Near Balsall Heath Swiming pool Moseley Road Balsall Heath, Birmingham

Further details ring Naeem: 07721427690

CMKP Digest 1729

'Gaza: Ceasefire Now' Petition at 430,000 signatures and rising

Gaza is dying -- the battle is moving into its cities, jam-packed with 1.5 million civilians lacking food, medicine or water. President Bush undermined Thursday's United Nations ceasefire resolution, and almost 1000 people are now dead. The borders remain closed -- journalists can't get in, and desperate civilians can't get out.

But the global movement to end this war is building -- our petition is at 430,000 signatures and rising, it has been delivered to top leaders at the EU, UN and Arab League, our US members are flooding their representatives with phone calls, and Avaaz members worldwide have donated over $120,000 to an ad campaign in key newspapers.

The pressure is working -- so we're ratcheting it up with hard-hitting US ads pressing Barack Obama personally for an immediate change of tack, face-to-face petition deliveries to European leaders this week to get them to act, and working with Palestinians and Israelis to plan bold actions on the ground. But every one of these actions becomes stronger as more of us join the campaign. We need to reach 1 million signatures this week -- sign the petition now and let's forward this email to all our friends and family: http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace

Voices for a ceasefire are finally being heard in the Israeli cabinet and media, Hamas is signalling it could accept a deal including Turkish forces and EU monitors, but the sides are too far apart to end this themselves.[3] That’s why action by world powers is critical to break the deadlock -- and global citizens’ voices can make all the difference if we raise an unstoppable voice calling on incoming President Obama, the EU and Arab and Muslim states to guarantee a fair and lasting ceasefire.

This week we are lobbying European and Muslim states for a more effective international initiative to end the violence, protect civilians on all sides and make normal life possible again in Gaza, while reaching out to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who is in the Middle East working for a deal (we met him last year to deliver our food crisis campaign). Meanwhile we’re challenging contacts on both sides to think creatively and accept a fair, internationally-overseen agreement.

We've already run member-funded ads in the influential Washington Post and Roll Call, the US Congress newspaper -- on the day of his inauguration this coming Tuesday, we will press Barack Obama to abandon Bush’s failed policies and act immediately to end this war, using his own words alongside hard facts to make the case in ads, US media debates and directly lobbying his team.

It's amazing what we can do when hundreds of thousands of us come together arond the world -- and if we raise our efforts to another level this week, we could help to finally end the Gaza horror. Follow the link below to take the first step by signing the petition, then spread the word so others can do the same: http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace

With hope and determination,

Paul, Graziela, Alice, Ricken, Luis, Brett, Ben, Iain, Paula, Veronique, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

P.S. For a report on some of Avaaz's other campaigns so far, see: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

Sources:

1. "White House behind US volte-face on ceasefire call": http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/09/gaza-us-security-council-abstention

"Israeli PM Ehud Olmert claims to be able to order Bush around": http://www.juancole.com/2009/01/israeli-pm-ehud-olmert-claims-to-be.html

2. Washington Post: Israelis Push to Edge of Gaza City: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011100616.html

3. Haaretz, "Olmert ignoring calls from Barak, Livni for immediate Gaza truce": http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055214.html

Other Voice - Sderot and Gaza residents calling for a ceasefire: http://www.othervoice.org/welcome-eng.htm

On Hamas acceptance of a Turkish force, first reported in the Arabic Al-Hayat newspaper, see: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10771766.asp?scr=1

"Gaza bloodshed continues despite UN calls for ceasefire", 9 January 2009: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/09/gaza-fighting-un-ceasefire

"Reigniting Violence: How Do Ceasefires End?" (6 January 2009) is a statistical analysis by an MIT professor, based on Israel's own data for rocket fire (which it shows stopped for four months) and on which side struck first. It provides useful factual background for how the Israel-Hamas truce effectively collapsed in November well before it expired (facts poorly reflected in some news reporting): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-kanwisher/reigniting-violence-how-d_b_155611.html

International Crisis Group's Ending the War in Gaza report (5 January 2009): http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5838&l=1

This Rasmussen Reports poll from the US is of interest: Only 31% of Democrats support offensive, most prefer a diplomatic solution: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/americans_closely_divided_over_israel_s_gaza_attacks

"Gaza: outlines of an endgame", Ghassan Khatib (6 January 2009) http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/gaza-outlines-of-an-endgame

Jerusalem Post: "Israel must get out of Gaza now", 8 January 2009: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231167305710&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

Reuters: "Hamas seeks truce but says lifting siege a must" (5 January 2009) http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L5111105.htm

The US Army War College has just released a substantial report supporting the view that Hamas can and must be brought into negotiations and is capable of sustaining a long-term truce, or even peace with Israel. Linked via: http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/node/10703

The inside story of the civil strife between Fatah and Hamas and the Bush administration's involvement in this debacle is best-told in The Gaza Bombshell, an investigative article published in the leading US magazine Vanity Fair in April 2008: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804

Third Vancouver Rally to End the Siege on Gaza & Protest Israeli War Crimes

Saturday Jan 10 @ 1 pm Vancouver Art Gallery For info email vancouver.gazaprotest@gmail.com

Nearly 1000 people have came out in the midst of snowstorms on Monday Dec. 29th and January 3rd to show our solidarity with the people of Gaza. With the ground invasion starting this week and a growing number of fatalities, our ongoing support for the people of Palestine - along with millions of other people of conscience worldwide - is critical.

Demonstrations across Canada this weekend were held in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Windsor, London, Hamilton, as well as Montreal and Toronto where 10,000 people gathered in each city. With further actions being planned globally, please come out for a 3rd rally (rain, snow or shine!) to demonstrate your outrage and our collective humanity in response to the latest massacre of Palestinians.

TAKE ACTION!!!

The latest crisis is the single largest massacre in Gaza since Israel illegally occupied Gaza in 1967, many among the dead are civilians and children and the numbers keeps mounting. Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has stated that, "the operation will last as long as necessary". Israel's latest massacre in Gaza occurs with official US and Canadian complicity towards Israel’s illegal siege and ongoing sanctions over the civilian population in Gaza. Over the past two years the Gaza Strip has been undergoing the daily violence of a wide-ranging humanitarian catastrophe triggered by severely reduced access to energy, food, and medicines.

1) Email the prime minister, foreign affairs minister, and leaders of the opposition. Visit: www.cjpme.ca

2) Respond to biased media coverage. Visit http://letgazabeheard.wordpress.com to send sample emails to the BBC, CNN, and Fox News regarding their biased coverage and use those template letters to send to Canadian media outlets.

ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS

Adala - Arab Justice Committee, Al-Awda - Vancouver, Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign, Canadian Arab Federation - National, Canada Palestine Association - Vancouver, Canadians Against War, Canadian Islamic Congress BC, Canadian Muslim Union Canpalnet, Code Pink Women for Peace (local chapter), Independent Jewish Voices (Canada), Indigenous Action Movement, Jews for a Just Peace - Vancouver, No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Palestinian Islamic League - Canada, Salaam - Vancouver Siraat Collective, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights - University of British Columbia, StopWar Coalition, Muslim Canadian Federation - Vancouver, Students for a Democratic Society (UBC), The Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice Vancouver Socialist Forum, Voice of Palestine - Vancouver

Contributed by blackandred on Mon, 2009-01-05 20:19

mostlywater.org

NEWS ALERT! Jewish Women Occupy Israeli Consulate in Toronto‏

This action is happening right now!

If you are in Toronto, please go right now to 180 Bloor Street West to demonstrate your support for their action!

Press release!

Toronto: Wednesday January 8, 2009 Time: 10:25 am

A diverse group of Jewish Canadian women are currently occupying the Israeli consulate at 180 Bloor Street West in Toronto. This action is in protest against the on-going Israeli assault on the people of Gaza.

The group is carrying out this occupation in solidarity with the 1.5 million people of Gaza and to ensure that Jewish voices against the massacre in Gaza are being heard. They are demanding that Israel end its military assault and lift the 18-month siege on the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid into the territory.

Israel has been carrying out a full-scale military assault on the Gaza Strip since December 27, 2008. At least 660 people have been killed and 3000 injured in the air strikes and in the ground invasion that began on January 3, 2009. Israel has ignored international calls for a ceasefire and is refusing to allow food, adequate medical supplies and other necessities of life into the Gaza Strip.

Protesters are outraged at Israel's latest assault on the Palestinian people and by the Canadian government's refusal to condemn these massacres. They are deeply concerned that Canadians are hearing the views of pro-Israel groups who are being represented as the only voice of Jewish Canadians. The protesters have occupied the consulate to send a clear statement that many Jewish-Canadians do not support Israel's violence and apartheid policies. They are joining with people of conscience all across the world who are demanding an end to Israeli aggression and justice for the Palestinian people.

The group includes: Judy Rebick, professor; Judith Deutsch, psychoanalyst and president of Science for Peace; B.H. Yael, filmmaker; Smadar Carmon, an Canadian Israeli peace activist and others.

Spokespersons for the group will be outside the Israeli consulate: Dr. Miriam Garfinkle: 416-731-6605 mgarfinkle@sympatico.ca Cathy Gulkin: 416-697-0768 cgulkin@rogers.com

Release is online at http://www.sources.com/Releases/NR135.htm

Please also remember that there is a demonstration outside the Israeli Consulate on Saturday beginning at 11am.

Gaza: Enough is enough‏

Israel's ground offensive has reached the cities of Gaza and more and more civilians are dying: it's way past time to end this war. With 270,000 signatures for a ceasefire already -- including yours -- our momentum is growing, we've contacted many international leaders and ceasefire initiatives are beginning.

But there's still no end to the violence, and outrageously, the US is obstructing a fair ceasefire at the United Nations -- so we need to raise an even bigger outcry, seeking face-to-face meetings with Security Council powers to deliver our petition as well as taking out ads in influential US newspaper the Washington Post before Barack Obama takes office.

The more of us come together to sign the campaign, the more powerful our voices will become. If you haven't already, please take a moment to forward the link and message below to ten people who might be interested in signing the petition. Delivering half a million signatures this week would really make an impact--

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace

The bloodshed in Gaza is escalating -- the death toll now stands at over 600 people and rising, almost half of them civilians and over 100 children dead.[1] As Israeli tanks, airplanes and artillery bombard thickly populated urban areas, hitting UN schools yesterday, thousands more have been injured and 1.5 million terrified civilians have no escape from this prison-like enclave -- the borders have been sealed. Hamas continues to fight and fire rockets deep into Israel: 11 Israelis have died, including from friendly fire.

Our worldwide call for an internationally-guaranteed ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides has begun to ring out loud and clear, winning the support of leaders in Europe, the Middle East and beyond, with hopeful outlines of a deal emerging from Turkey, Egypt and others.[2] But Israel is rejecting a truce for now and escalating its offensive, while US President Bush is blocking a negotiated UN ceasefire, trying instead to impose a skewed alternative that could legitimize Israel's suffocating isolation of Gaza.[3]

Enough is enough: these civilian deaths can't go on, and we can't let Bush and co block a fair, negotiated ceasefire. 250,000 of us have signed the petition, let's make it half a million -- we'll publish it in a hard-hitting ad in the Washington Post and deliver it in meetings with UN Security Council members -- follow the link below to see the ad, sign the petition, and forward this message to all your friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace

Our efforts really can make a difference -- Israel's own foreign minister admits that international pressure, if intense enough, could ensure a ceasefire. As the international community debates and delays, civilians are dying by the day. The top UN official in Gaza says, "There's nowhere safe in Gaza. Everyone here is terrorized and traumatized." Opposing a United Nations resolution, Bush reportedly proposes to exclude Hamas from any ceasefire deal and leave Israel a free hand, something that would guarantee that the violence continues. That's why we're targeting incoming President Obama and US decision-makers, as well as the European Union and other international leaders, to pursue a fair and stable resolution.

To be lasting, a ceasefire must protect civilians and end all attacks -- Israeli bombings and incursions as well as the rockets Palestinian factions fire into southern Israel. International supervision is desperately needed at the borders, to reopen Gaza's borders and crossings for food, fuel, medicine and goods, to prevent weapon-smuggling which has only grown under the blockade, and to monitor and enforce the ceasefire on both sides.[4]

Hamas, which won elections in 2006 and now runs Gaza, suggests it will agree to such a ceasefire.[5] It should be challenged to live up to its word just like Israel. There is no military solution for either side -- it's time for world powers to step in, advancing a fair deal to protect civilians on all sides and let them live their lives in peace and security. Sign the petition now at the link below and send this message to everyone you know -- we'll publish it in The Washington Post and elsewhere, and seek face-to-face meetings to deliver the petition with the Obama team, the UN Security Council and European leaders:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace

With hope and determination,

Paul, Graziela, Ricken, Luis, Alice, Brett, Ben, Iain, Paula, Veronique, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

P.S. We wrote to European, US and Arab leaders last week about our campaign, and received responses -- now we need to escalate the pressure. For a report on many of Avaaz's other campaigns so far, see: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

'Gaza: Stop the Violence'‏ Petition

On Monday, Masouda al-Samouni lost her 10-month-old son to an Israeli missile attack. She had been preparing food for the baby when the missile struck. "He died hungry," she said.

With 1.5 million people, the Gaza Strip is one of the most densely crowded areas in the world, and Israeli artillery, tank and missile fire can easily cause civilian casualties and deaths.

Urge President Bush to pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire. »

At least a quarter to one-third of deaths in the recent attacks have been civilians. Unlike other conflicts where there's a chance to flee the war zone, Gaza itself has become the war zone, and there's nowhere else for the population to go.

Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks, but this "war" is a disproportionate response, placing thousands of civilians at risk of injury and death.

So far, Israel has resisted international calls for a ceasefire. The United States has a special relationship with Israel. Let's use that goodwill to bring an end to the violence in Gaza. Please act today! » Take action link: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Aejan/yY6h/Ao5pD

Thanks for taking action! Samer ThePetitionSite actionalerts@care2.com

Israel: Over 150,000 Protest Gaza Military Operation

Over 150,000 people demonstrated yesterday (Saturday, January 3, 2009) in Israel against Operation Cast Lead in the northern Arab town of Sakhnin and in Tel Aviv. The demonstration in Sakhnin was by far the biggest such protest in Israel. According to organizers, it was the largest protest held by the Palestinians in Israel in many years.

Sign the Appeal to Stop the Attack on Gaza!

Urgent Appeal for Israel to Immediately Cease Its Murderous Bombing, Siege and Threatened Invasion of Palestinian Gaza
Initiated by 2008 U.N. Human Rights Award winner Ramsey Clark

Let President George W. Bush, President-Elect Barack Obama, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State Designate Hillary Clinton, Vice President Richard Cheney, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Congressional leaders, U.N. Secretary General Ban, U.N. General Assembly President d'Escoto-Brockmann, members of the U.N. Security Council, U.N. member states, the President, Prime Minister, Cabinet and Opposition leader of Israel, and Major media representatives know you support this urgent appeal initiated by 2008 U.N. Human Rights Award recipient Ramsey Clark for Israel to Immediately Cease Its Murderous Bombing, Siege and Threatened Invasion of Palestinian Gaza! Sign the petition here!

Sample Text

Urgent Appeal for Israel to Immediately Cease Its Murderous Bombing, Siege and Threatened Invasion of Palestinian Gaza!

To: President George W. Bush, President-Elect Barack Obama, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State Designate Hillary Clinton, Vice President Richard Cheney, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Congressional leaders, U.N. Secretary General Ban, U.N. General Assembly President d'Escoto-Brockmann, members of the U.N. Security Council, U.N. member states, the President, Prime Minister, Cabinet and Opposition leader of Israel, and Major media representatives:

For 60 years, Israel has persecuted the Palestinian people with impunity in defiance of United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Security Council Resolutions, orders of the International Court of Justice, International Law and fundamental human rights.

Throughout the years, Israel has proclaimed itself the victim as it grew richer, more powerful and more violent, while Palestinians were abused, impoverished, divided and demeaned.

A consistent tactic of Israel through all the years has been to divide Palestinians against their most effective organizations. Through most of the recent years Israel has attacked Fatah. Now it is Hamas that Israel attacks. But there is only one Palestinian people and there can be only one Palestinian State. This has been the guiding principle of the PLO. Israel's policy has always been to destroy the possibility of a Palestinian State. Its criminal assault on Hamas is in truth Israel's continuing assault on the possibility of a Palestinian State: divide and conquer.

Now in the waning days of the disastrous Bush Administration, the government of Israel with its Prime Minister under criminal indictment, is testing whether world opinion will permit it to escalate its isolation and impoverishment of Palestine and selective and systematic assassination of Palestinian leadership in Gaza to a genocidal, indiscriminate assault and invasion of Palestinian Gaza, knowing full well its acts will inflame passions throughout the Middle East and Arab and Muslim worlds risking conflict of disastrous magnitude in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, even between India and Pakistan.

Beyond crushing Gaza's capacity to resist and imposing its final solution on Palestinians, Israel is seeking confrontation that will lead to war with the U.S., the European Union, and NATO fighting for Israel against Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan to impair their ability to prevent expansion of Israel's domination of the region while the "only one President at a time" the U.S. has, George W. Bush, will support Israel, finding all fault with Gaza.

In these dangerous and difficult days and hours the undersigned call upon the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, NATO members, and European countries independently, the governments of Asia, foremost China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, the nations of Africa, and the Americas to demand an immediate ceasefire throughout Israel and Palestine and the assurance of peace. All borders to Gaza, Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, must be opened for humanitarian relief and a complete arms and trade embargo on Israel until it fully complies with all the requirements of permanent peace.

We call upon all the people, the ultimate power in every nation when organized and energized, to take to the streets where they live and demand that their governments do all in their power to cause Israel to stop its war of aggression against Palestine and for all parties to pursue peace and for Israel, the U.S. and other nations who have provided material support for Israel's aggression to be held accountable for the deaths, injuries and damage Israel has inflicted.

We call upon governments and humanitarian agencies to provide all needed emergency relief to Palestine - medical care, food, humanitarian supplies, shelter; and on all the media that truly seeks peace, justice and respect for the equal dignity of every child, woman and man on earth to headline the demand that Israel stop its aggression immediately. All parties must engage in continuous negotiation with all Palestinians until a one state solution is agreed or the state of Palestine as mandated not later than October 1948 in UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947) is created, fully implemented, and Palestine thrives.

Sincerely, (Your signature will be appended here based on the contact information you enter in the form) Initiated and signed by Ramsey Clark, winner, 2008 U.N.Human Rights Award (Posted December 30, 2008. Campaign to Stop the Bombing, Siege and Threatened Invasion of Gaza) Sponsored by: International Action Center www.iacenter.org c/o Solidarity Center 55 West 17th St 5C New York, NY 10011 For further information call: (212) 633-6646

Gaza‏, Jan 5/09

The Gaza Ghetto Uprising http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10110.shtml

It is now recognized that Israel's 1967 invasion of Egypt aimed successfully to destroy Gamal Abdul-Nasser, the enemy of all US dictatorial allies among the Arab regimes ... Israel thus rendered a great service to Arab monarchies (and a few republics) from "the ocean to the Gulf," whose survival was threatened by Nasser and Nasserism. Israel's subsequent intervention in Jordan in 1970 to help the Jordanian army destroy Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrillas and its final crushing of that organization in its massive invasions of Lebanon in 1978 and 1982 were also important services it rendered to these same regimes ... Israel's services to Arab regimes continue apace. Its 2006 invasion of Lebanon, engineered to destroy Hizballah, was cheered by Arab regimes and neoliberal Arab intellectuals hostile to Hizballah and employed exclusively by Saudi media outlets. ... The Bahraini foreign minister suggested a few weeks ago that Israel join the Arab League. ... Since 2006, Arab regimes, neoliberal Arab intellectuals, as well as the Palestinian Collaborationist Authority (PCA) in Ramallah have reached an understanding that only Israel will be able to save them from Hizballah and Hamas, both organizations constituting a threat to the open alliance Arab regimes have with the US and Israel against Iran and all progressive forces in the region. ... A veritable open alliance now exists between the Palestinian Collaborationist Authority, Arab regimes, and Israel with the support of neoliberal Arab intellectuals, wherein Israel is subcontracted to decimate the Hamas government -- the only democratically elected government in the entire Arab world.

On collaboration and resistance of the oppressed http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10103.shtml

Hosni Mubarak's government in Egypt and the unelected PalestinianAuthority in Ramallah have actively colluded with Israel, first tounsuccessfully overthrow Hamas from Gaza through force and then to chokethe Palestinians in Gaza by denying them basics such as food, cleanwater, medical treatment and a decent education.

Azmi Bishara: Statement on the Gaza Situation http://www.alternativenews.org/news/english/statement-on-the-gaza- situation-20090104.html (short link: http://twiturl.de/bishara)

[Azmi Bishara is a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesseth]

Israeli Offensive in the Gaza Strip: Before the Next Stage http://www.alternativenews.org/news/english/israeli-offensive-in-the- gaza-strip-before-the-next-stage-20090101.html (short link: http://twiturl.de/stage)

Israeli demands require Hamas to choose between humiliation and death. However, in response, Hamas forces Israel to choose between genocide and defeat. At the current stage, only the physical elimination of the movement’s membership will prevent Hamas from leading the national liberation movement. Israel can achieve a military victory over Hamas, but only through genocide. Up to certain extent, this is the meaning of the demands of the Israeli public as expressed in the Hebrew press.

The Aggression towards Gaza and the Official European Discourse http://www.alternativenews.org/blogs/nassar-ibrahim/aggression- towards-gaza-and-the-official-european-discourse-this-how-politics- disfigure-the-false-moral-set-20090105.html (short link: http://twiturl.de/nasser)

Given the Palestinian blood flowing in the streets of the Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli war of aggression, the vague, diplomatic language and meticulously selected terms being employed by European governments lose all their value, becoming mere justification and protection for Israel’s actions.

International community giving Israel time to weaken Hamas in Gaza http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052330.html Hebrew: העולם נותן לישראל זמן http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1051941.html

Gideon Levy: And there lie the bodies http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052348.html Hebrew: נהר של דם עד עזה http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1052433.html

The moral voice of restraint, if it ever existed, has been left behind. Even if Israel wiped Gaza off the face of the earth, killing tens of thousands in the process, [...] one can assume that there would be no protest.

Amira Hass: No humanitarian crisis in Gaza? http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052606.html

Khaled Hroub: A “New Hamas” through Its New Documents (Summer 2006) http://www.palestine-studies.org/journals.aspx? id=7087&jid=1&href=fulltext (short link: http://twiturl.de/hroub)

Since Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006, its political positions as presented in the Western media hark back to its 1988 charter, with almost no reference to its considerable evolution under the impact of political developments. The present article analyzes (with long verbatim extracts) three recent key Hamas documents: its fall 2005 electoral platform, its draft program for a coalition government, and its cabinet platform as presented on 27 March 2006. Analysis of the documents reveals not only a strong programmatic and, indeed, state building emphasis, but also considerable nuance in its positions with regard to resistance and a two-state solution.

Michael Warschawski: Blaming the “Two Sides”: Worse than the Killers http://www.alternativenews.org/blogs/michael-warschawski/blaming-the- two-sides-worse-than-the-killers-20081230.html (short link: http://twiturl.de/warsch)

In order to show concern, Europe is sending (symbolic) humanitarian assistance to the population of Gaza. While listening to French Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner supporting the Israeli action, while simultaneously announcing the decision to send humanitarian supplies to Gaza, I could not but remember the broadcasted International Red Cross delegations coming to Nazi extermination camps with chocolate and cookies. I know, it is not at all the same, but no-one can control his mind's associations… Bernard Kouchner, however, has one extenuating circumstance: the Arab regimes, in particular Hosni Mubarak's, are also supporting the Israeli aggression. And they also will send chocolate and cookies to the children of Gaza. Except, of course, to those lying dead in Shifa hospital.

The Predictable Trajectory of Israeli Public Opinion http://www.alternativenews.org/news/english/the-predictable- trajectory-of-israeli-public-opinion-20090101.html (short link: http://twiturl.de/atinsky)

International Intervention Now! http://www.alternativenews.org/blogs/michael-warschawski/ international-intervention-now-20081231.html (short link: http://twiturl.de/now)

The holy crusade for the defense of human rights has one interesting articularity: one possesses the right to violate every single human right, in order to defend human rights. Beginning with the right to life. The international community has given a green light to the state of Israel to massacre hundreds of Palestinian women, men and children in order to protect human rights from Islam in Gaza, as it is doing in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

Do Israel pilots feel happy killing innocent women and children? http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/03/gaza-diary-israel

A Palestinian in Gaza chronicles life under Israeli bombardment

Six children among 12 killed in mosque blast http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/04/mosque-blast-gaza

Scenes of carnage as Israeli shells strike crowd of civilians who were leaving evening prayers

Tanks, rockets, death and terror: a civilian catastrophe unfolding http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/05/civilian-catasrophe-gaza

John Ging, the head of the UN relief agency in Gaza, described the situation there as "inhuman". "We have a catastrophe unfolding in Gaza for the civilian population," he said. "The people of Gaza City and the north now have no water. That comes on top of having no electricity. They're trapped, they're traumatised, they're terrorised by this situation ... The inhumanity of this situation, the lack of action to bring this to an end, is bewildering to them." The UN has been particularly angered at the contention of the Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Ging also accused Israel of a campaign of destroying public buildings vital to the administration and governance of Gaza. "The whole infrastructure of the future state of Palestine is being destroyed," he said. "Blowing up the parliament building. That's the parliament of Palestine. That's not a Hamas building. The president's compound is for the president of Palestine."

>NewsClots<

Gaza‏

Ilan Pappe: Israel's righteous fury and its victims in Gaza http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10100.shtml

Obama's deadly silence http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10097.shtml [A]s more than 2,400 Palestinians have been killed or injured -- the majority civilians -- since Israel began its savage bombardment of Gaza on 27 December, Obama has maintained his silence. "There is only one president at a time," his spokesmen tell the media. This convenient excuse has not applied, say, to Obama's detailed interventions on the economy, or his condemnation of the "coordinated attacks on innocent civilians" in Mumbai in November. [...] Despite pervasive wishful thinking that Obama would abandon America's pro-Israel bias, his approach has been almost indistinguishable from the Bush administration's. [...] The problem is much wider than Obama: American liberals in general see no contradiction in espousing positions supporting Israel that they would deem extremist and racist in any other context.

Israeli warplanes destroy Gaza houses and mosque as air strikes continue http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/02/israel-gaza-attacks

Palestinian police ban pro-Hamas rallies in West Bank http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052273.html Palestinian police violently cracked down on protests organized by their rivals in Hamas throughout the West Bank on Friday as rallies against Israeli air strikes in Gaza turned into demonstrations against the Palestinian Authority. [...] Abbas, together with his allies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have blamed Hamas for bringing the attacks on themselves by repeatedly firing rockets into Israel. These criticisms, though, have angered many in the face of Israel's assaults.

Is the UN complicit in Israel's massacre in Gaza? http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10089.shtml Not only has the UN Secretary-General betrayed the very Charter of the UN and all relevant international law principles by failing to even condemn Israel's massacre of civilians and targeting of civilian institutions and residential neighborhoods; the entire UN system has so far dealt with it as a "war" between two relatively symmetric forces, where the mightier side has sufficient justification to "defend itself," but should do so more proportionately, while the weaker side is chiefly responsible for triggering the "armed conflict."

Critical emergency' after air strike every 20 minutes http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/03/gaza-infrastructure- humanitarian-crisis short link: http://twiturl.de/twenty

Land, sea, sky: all will kill you http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/03/israel-palestinians-gaza- attacks short link: http://twiturl.de/nabulsi

If Gaza falls ... (1 January 2009) http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n01/roy_01_.html Israel’s siege has two fundamental goals. One is to ensure that the Palestinians there are seen merely as a humanitarian problem, beggars who have no political identity and therefore can have no political claims. The second is to foist Gaza onto Egypt. That is why the Israelis tolerate the hundreds of tunnels between Gaza and Egypt around which an informal but increasingly regulated commercial sector has begun to form.

Tariq Ali (4 March 2004):To be Intimidated is to be an Accomplice Notes on Anti-Semitism, Zionism and Palestine http://www.counterpunch.org/ali03042004.html

No, it’s not anti-semitic (21 August 2003) http://www.lrb.co.uk/v25/n16/butl02_.html

Gaza: Ceasefire Now

As we watch the Gaza bloodshed with horror, appalled at how the crisis is spiraling further out of control, one thing is clear -- this violence will only lead to further civilian suffering and an escalation of the conflict. There must be another way. Over 280 are dead so far in the Gaza Strip and hundreds more injured -- rockets are striking Ashdod deep inside Israel for the very first time, and the sides are mobilising for invasion. A global outcry has begun, but it'll take more than words -- the immediate violence won't end, nor will wider peace be secured, without firm action from the international community. Today, we're launching an emergency campaign which will be delivered to the UN Security Council and key world powers, urging them to act to ensure an immediate ceasefire and address the growing humanitarian crisis -- only with robust international oversight and action can civilians on all sides be protected and real steps be taken toward a wider peace. Follow this link now to sign the emergency petition and send it to everyone you know: http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/?cl=161911973&v=2606 After Gaza's bloodiest day in recent memory and eight or more years of ineffective US and global diplomacy, we need to get world leaders to do more than issue statements if they're to ensure a lasting ceasefire.¹ Through the UN Security Council and other international bodies, the world can provide the help and pressure needed to stop the violence and change the situation on the ground in Gaza -- preventing the rockets and incursions, re-opening crossing-points under international oversight so that instead of weapon-smuggling, the 1.5 million ordinary people of Gaza can get the fuel, food and medicines they so desperately need. All sides to the conflict will continue to act as they have in the past if they believe that the world will stand by and allow them to do so. We mobilised for a ceasefire in 2006's Israel-Lebanon war and succeeded, but this time the international community must not delay -- let's raise a truly worldwide outcry. 2009 is a year that things can be different. As we face this crisis, and the possibilities of a new year, it's time for us everywhere to work together to stop this violence. With hope and determination, Brett, Ricken, Alice, Ben, Pascal, Paul, Graziela, Paula, Luis, Iain and the whole Avaaz team ¹ Further actions could include: a formal resolution from the Security Council rather than issuing a press statement as was done on 28 December 2008; explicit private and public international pressure on the parties to end the hostilities including developing clear terms for the resumption of negotiations; proper international oversight of the Rafah border; and in time, a detailed Security Council resolution setting out the terms in international law for a permanent peace between Israel and Palestine. For background, see this Jerusalem Post article, "No international pressure to end op": http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456497503&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull) Sign the Petition here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/?cl=161911973&v=2606