Dive into the archives.
- The IOF’s specialty: shooting unarmed demonstrators.
A Palestinian protester was wounded by IDF fire in the northern Gaza Strip after he and 10 of his colleagues refused to abide by IDF orders given on the site not to approach to border fence. The Palestinian group refused to heed the warnings given by the IDF when they fired shots into the air. [...]
- Pursuing Justice
The residents of Gaza are not waiting on the Goldstone Report to take action. The Defense Ministry and the Tel Aviv Prosecution have reportedly received some 1,500 notices of future civil lawsuits against the IDF over damage caused during Operation Cast Lead. (full article…)
- This is Zionism
With the 2009-2010 academic year under way, 838 Palestinian university students are still waiting for the authorization that will enable them to leave the Gaza Strip in favor of overseas universities. (full article…)
- Zionist PR
While the IDF has expressed objection to the formation of an external inquiry committee to probe Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, a top General Staff official told Ynet on Wednesday that more could be done on the PR front. (full article…)
- The Only Democracy in the Middle East
Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s military offensive against the Gaza Strip, had an impact on the press. As regards its internal situation, Israel sank 47 places in the index to 93rd position. This nose-dive means it has lost its place at the head of the Middle Eastern countries, falling behind Kuwait (60th), United Arab Emirates (86th) [...]
- Richard Goldstone: My Mission – and Motivation
I sincerely believed that because of my own record and the terms of the mission’s mandate we would receive the cooperation of the Israeli government. Its refusal to cooperate was a grave error. My plea for cooperation was repeated before and during the investigation and it sits, plain as day, in the appendices of the [...]
- Don’t Worry, We Never Doubted It
American officials say Washington will likely exercise its veto power if report accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza is brought to a Security Council vote. (full article…)
- This is Zionism
A wonderful war. (full article…)
- Long Live the Tunnels!
Gaza has managed to replenish its fuel supply by using smuggling tunnels from Egypt, and residents of the Strip rejoiced as benzene prices hit a low of just NIS 1.5 (around 40 cents) per liter, after having previously paid up to NIS 7 (around $1.9). (full article…)
- The NYT Always Gives Israel the Final Word
By the Israeli military’s count, 1,166 people were killed in the war: 295 noncombatants, 709 of what it called Hamas terrorist operatives, and 162 men whose affiliations remain undetermined. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza said 1,417 died: 926 civilians, 236 combatants and 255 police officers. Israel says about 400 Gazans die of [...]
- Don’t Forget That Israel No Longer Occupies Gaza
According to the United Nations Relief Web news, 3,900 truckloads entered Gaza from January to May 2007. Over the same period this year, six trucks were allowed in. These carried material for water projects, greatly in need and long awaiting completion. (full article…)
- And If This Happened to Gilad Shalit?
Yousef Abu Zuhri, a Hamas member and brother of the movement’s spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri, died in an Egyptian jail. Hamas is outraged, claiming he was tortured to death. (full article…)
- So What if We Killed Hundreds of Civilians?
The operation was aimed at the rockets and those who fired them (full article…)
- Zionist Realpolitik
Israeli defence officials told the Jerusalem Post they were rethinking arms sales to Turkey and would end support for Turkey in its efforts to stop the US Congress voting to declare the mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks a genocide. (full article…)
- Israel’s War on Palestinian Education
More than a month into the school year, the Israeli restrictions have caused severe shortages that leave students unable to afford supplies such as notebooks. Students are obliged to share or take turns studying from used textbooks and workbooks. Some did not receive any books for this year’s classes. Supplies smuggled through tunnels underneath Gaza’s [...]
- I Wonder
How does Obama’s suppression of Israeli war crimes in the Goldstone Report factor into his silly prize?
- The Defensive Massacre
“I am very sorry for all those who were killed in Gaza,” Ms. Malka said, “but I expect my country to defend me no matter how.” (full article…)
- While Palestinians Are Massacred, This Guy Feels Sorry for the Donkeys
A day after the story was published by the Yedioth Ahronoth daily, Ramat Gan Mayor Tzvi Bar announced that he was “shocked to read the story,” adding that “it is an abuse of helpless animals.” (full article…)
- If the NYT Were Honest…
In Gaza, posters appeared on walls on Wednesday calling Mr. Abbas a traitor and saying he should be consigned to “the trash heap of history.” Gaza is controlled by Hamas, the militant Islamic group that is the Palestinian Authority’s main rival. (full article…) …then they would mention that resentment of the Mahmoud Abbas and the [...]
- Hamas Thugs
The Hamas government has banned motorcycle riders from carrying women on the back seat – the latest in the militants’ virtue campaign in Gaza. The ban was posted on Hamas Interior Ministry Web site on Tuesday. It says the ban seeks “to preserve citizen safety and the stability of Palestinian society’s customs and traditions.” (full [...]
- We Need More Swedens
Stockholm’s foreign minister urges UN human rights council to discuss report probing Gaza war despite expressed reservations as to its credibility (full article…)
- Calls Obeying U.S. Masters “Mistake”
A member of President Mahmoud Abbas’ inner circle says the Palestinian leadership made a mistake by suspending action on a Gaza war crimes report . (full article…) This entire episode makes we wonder if the U.S. is opening a way for Mohammed Dahlan to push Abbas aside.
- Arabs Ungrateful
Commander Aharon Franco slams Arab protestors, calls them ‘ungrateful’ for rioting during High Holidays after allowing to attend Ramadan prayers; says steps will be taken against Sheikh Raed Salah who is believed to have instigated recent rioting (full article…) He’s right. They should grateful for any crumb Israel tosses to them. In fact, they should [...]
- Zionists Are Concerned
After Ehud Barak nearly arrested in London, Minister Ya’alon cancels his trip to Britain ‘in light of legal recommendation.’ However, together with Mazuz, only two lawyers handling some 1,000 foreign lawsuits against politicians and military officers. ‘Situation intolerable,’ said a senior official in Jerusalem (full article…)
- Dahlan
In August the charismatic Dahlan, 47, who has worked closely with the Israelis and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, was elected to Fatah’s 18-member Central Committee, the movement’s executive body, at landmark legislative elections. (full article…) I suppose they already forgot that this “charismatic” figure was the force behind the U.S.-backed failed coup in Gaza… [...]
- And Israelis Have Fired Rockets At Palestine For 42 Years
It was misleading for the commission to examine only the 13 months from June 2008 to July 2009, she said. Palestinians in Gaza had fired rockets into Israel for eight years. (full article…)
- Culture of Impunity
“A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long,” Goldstone, a former UN war crimes prosecutor, told the UN Human Rights Council. “The lack of accountability for war crimes and possible war crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point; the ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful [...]
- Not That There Was Much Opposition Anyway
A new report from Adalah shows how the courts and police attempted to stamp out opposition to Operation Cast Lead. “This is a time of war, and every incident harms the people’s morale.” This was not a sentence in a right-wing journal, but rather a statement by an Israel Police representative during Operation Cast Lead [...]
- And Israel Wonders Why There Are Rockets…
For most Palestinians in Gaza, there is no escaping the constraints of a suffocating Israeli-imposed siege that, with the complicity of the Egyptian government and the international community, has tightened since June 2007 when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. The siege goes further back from that time two years ago to shortly after Hamas [...]
- The Israeli “Left”
Tel Aviv is, in fact, the most politically liberal city in Israel and offers a sharp contrast to the spirit of religious conservatism that informs Jerusalem. It votes to the left and looks to Europe. Many inhabitants yearn for nothing more than to live the life of a hot Mediterranean city, to be, say, the [...]
- We Thought We Could Get Away With It
They expected the military operation to be condemned as grossly disproportionate. They expected Israel to be lambasted for not taking sufficient care to avoid civilian casualties. But they never imagined that the report would accuse the Jewish state of intentionally aiming at civilians. (full article…)
- Poor Coverage By The Economist
The Economist‘s reporting on the Middle East has been declining for the past year, but since when is the newspaper in the practice of apologizing for Israel? This came as quite a shock after years of what I considered to be fairly well-balanced and objective coverage — certainly the best coverage out of the Western [...]
- Disgrace in the Hague
Perhaps next time we set out to wage another vain and miserable war, we will take into account not only the number of fatalities we are likely to sustain, but also the heavy political damage such wars cause. On the eve of the Jewish New Year, Israel, deservedly, is becoming an outcast and detested country. [...]
- Targetting Palestinian Education
Israel’s hermetic sealing of the strip, as part of its blockade against Hamas, has prevented most supplies of paper, textbooks, notebooks, ink cartridges, stationery, school uniforms, school bags, and computers and their spare parts. (full article…)
- Unbalanced, One-Sided & Basically Unacceptable
We have long expressed our very serious concern with the mandate that was given (to Goldstone’s team) by the Human Rights Council prior to our joining the Council, which we viewed as unbalanced, one-sided and basically unacceptable. (full article…) Strange, the same adjectives have been used to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza.
- Moral Narcissism
B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Haaretz and the international media – to Israelis, these have all fallen into the trash bin of the mendacious Palestinians. In the best case, they have become trapped in their own pure-hearted naivete, and in the worst, into collaborating [...]
- Routine Condemnation – For Routine Atrocities
“The mandate of the Goldstone Commission was one-sided from the outset. The initiative to establish the commission came from the UN Human Rights Council which is known for its routine condemnation of Israel.” (full article…)
- Joke of the Day
“Any comparison of Israel’s fight on terror with recent conflicts in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc. immediately shows that Israel holds itself to the highest ethical standard.” (full article…)
- My Lords…
My Lords, I think it is important and is a reflection of the fact that there are people of good will on all sides of this who, whatever their views about the conflict and its origins or long-term peace, recognise that in today%u2019s world these kinds of crimes, whether they occur in Gaza, northern Sri [...]
- Zionist Investigations
“The Israeli investigations have been conducted secretly by the military,” which “relied only on the evidence given to them by their own soldiers,” he said, comparing that strategy to a “domestic police force in Manhattan investigating murders by only speaking to murderers.” (full article…)
- The Gaza Massacre
“It wasn’t easy [for him],” Nicole Goldstone said. “My father did not expect to see and hear what he saw and heard.” (full article…)
- This From an Israeli “Dove”
President Shimon Peres said Wednesday that the Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes during its military offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip earlier this year, “makes a mockery of history.” (full article…)
- I Agree With Israel (Perhaps For Different Reasons)
Israel called the Goldstone Commission Report “nauseating” on Tuesday … (more…)
- Every Crime Recorded
The report, the bulk of which focused on the Israeli violations, said that during the war, Israeli forces engaged in a deliberate policy of collective punishment in furtherance of “an overall and continuing policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population” through blockades and the destruction of food, water and sanitation systems of its people. In [...]
- Israeli War Crimes and the United Nations
The United Nations’ investigation into Israel’s recent massacre in Gaza has now concluded. In general I think the release of their 500+ page report is an important step forward in the process of holding Israel accountable for its horrendous actions earlier this year. Judge Richard Goldstone (whom I met at a talk in San Diego [...]
- Targeting Palestinian Children
Israeli authorities reportedly claimed that “suspicious Palestinians approached the fence” and troops responded by “firing into the air.” But the shot to Ghazi al-Zaneen’s head and the two bullet holes in Maher al-Zaneen’s car suggest otherwise. (more…)
- Zionist (Lack of) Methodology
PCHR and B’Tselem based their tallies on painstaking field research. (There are some small discrepancies between them. But most can be explained by differences in the definitions used.) The Israeli government, by contrast, has not revealed the methodology by which – without having any access at all to surviving family members or local officials on [...]
- Every Crime Recorded
GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) – Some 1,200 students at al-Karmel High School for boys in Gaza City returned to class on 25 August without history and English textbooks, or notebooks and pens — all unavailable on the local market. Severe damage to the school, caused during the 23-day Israeli offensive on the Gaza [...]
- Every Crime Recorded
According to the B’Tselem data, 773 of those killed did not take part in the hostilities, 320 of whom were minors under the age of 18 and 109 were women (above the age of 18). The rest of those killed were 330 armed combatants, 245 Palestinian policemen – most of whom were killed in aerial [...]
- Every Crime Recorded
The first detailed casualty figures from an Israeli human rights organisation since the war ended puts the number of children under 16 killed in the offensive at 252 as opposed to the 89 cited by the military. B’Tselem says its fieldworkers gathered death certificates, photos, and testimonies relating to all 252 of the children. (more…)
- Attacking Fisherman
“An Israeli navy boat approached them and opened fire. It was chaos. The firing was intense; it lasted 15 or 20 minutes. The fishing boat stopped, but the Israelis kept shooting. Finally, the Israelis shot a mortar at the boat. All the fishermen jumped into the water.” (more…)
- Israel’s War on Palestinian Education
During the 22-day war that Israel launched on December 27, 280 schools were damaged, including 18 that were completely destroyed. “Today, one month before the start of the new school year, more than six months after the ceasefires, none of these schools have been properly rebuilt or rehabilitated due to lack of construction materials,” the [...]
- Maybe It’s Not the Best Time To Brag About Dubai…
Netanyahu noted that the question for the Palestinian Authority running the West Bank, where he is seeking to promote the Palestinian economy as a cornerstone of a future peace deal, is “do they progress economically like Dubai, or do they go backwards like Gaza?” (more…)
- Zionist Media
“during the Gaza war I felt as though every radio station was staffed by propagandists, every newspaper by a government spokesman or spokeswomen. It was not any law which told them to say and write as they did. There was no need for a law – the journalists and analysts probably felt what I was [...]
- Hamas is a Useless Organization
Chief Justice of the High Court of Justice, Head of the Higher Justice Council in Gaza gas issued a new decision concerning the clothing of lawyers. PCHR believes that this decision constitutes a violation of the law and an unjustified intervention into lawyers’ affairs. It also undermines personal freedoms and women’s rights through forcing female [...]
- This is Zionism
Israeli forces at the Erez crossing stopped a 5-month old baby from crossing into Israel. His mother and five-year old sister both had a permission to leave the Strip, so the 5-year old girl could receive medical treatment in Israel. (more…)
- Angry Arab Reports…
A person who knows a lot about Middle East affairs and knows the persons in question, tells me that contrary what is widely perceived, Dayton hates Muhammad Dahlan and Dahlan hates Dayton. Dayton never forgave Dahlan for the performance of his gangs in Gaza against Hamas. (more…)
- Something Israel Does Investigate
Two Givati Brigade soldiers are suspected of raping two female soldiers after spiking their drinks with a date-rape drug. The IDF said it launched an investigation into the incident and that its findings, as well as a recommendation, will be transferred to the Military Prosecution. (more…) Not to trivialize these crimes, but Israel’s mass slaughter [...]
- Goodwill?
The Defense Ministry has recommended a partial lifting of the embargo on the Gaza Strip as a goodwill gesture toward the Palestinians to spur talks to free a long-held captive soldier, Israeli media reported Friday. (more…) If only I could laugh. Israel mulls loosening its death grip on Gaza and they dare to refer to [...]
- Illegal Detention
Nineteen foreign activists of the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement were being held in Israel awaiting deportation on Thursday, two days after the Israeli Navy seized control of their boat off Gaza. (more…)
- This is Zionism
After ransacking three homes Israeli forces blasted into a fourth through the back door. They threw rocks at the door and windows, report witnesses. A 16 year old high school student had begun a summer job with his father as an apprentice carpenter. Israeli soldiers took the teen from his bed: no shoes and in [...]
- This is Zionism
“They told us ‘go west or we will shoot you,’” says Ashraf Sadallah. “Initially, we refused, so they began shooting very close all around our boat.” (more…)
- Blight Unto the Nations
“Such a pattern of continuing blockade under these conditions amounts to such a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions as to constitute a continuing crime against humanity,” Falk said in a statement released in Geneva. (more…)
- This is Zionism
Gaza Civilians Killed by Israeli Drone-Launched Missiles
- The Science of Oppression
The security company also dictates the quantity of items allowed: Five pitas, one container of hummus and canned tuna, one small bottle or can of beverage, one or two slices of cheese, a few spoonfuls of sugar, and 5 to 10 olives. Workers are also not allowed to carry cooking utensils and work tools. (more…)
- Crimes of Occupation
A 17-year-old Palestinian girl has been killed in Gaza by Israeli fire. After initial denials, Israeli army officials said the girl was killed by Israeli troops during a clash with Palestinian militants on Thursday. (more…)
- This is Zionism
It apparently takes American pressure to get the Israeli military to allow 350 cows into Gaza today — the first in nine months. This, it should be noted, is for 1.5 million human beings. (more…)
- End the Blockade!
Activists campaigning for an end to Gaza’s blockade by Israel will sail to the Hamas-run enclave from Cyprus despite the presence of the Israeli navy, they said on Thursday. (more…)
- Friedman Pulls Facts Out of Thin Air (Again)
Hamas is facing an energized Fatah in the West Bank and is increasingly unpopular in Gaza. (more…) I know it may come as a surprise to Thomas Friedman but unpopular as Hamas may be, Abu Mazen and Fatah are even more unpopular. Friedman’s use of the word “energized” simply means “U.S./Israeli-trained proxies”. But that doesn’t [...]
- This is Zionism
Gaza: No right to life
- Occupation of the Palestinian Diet
After four pages filled with detailed charts of the number of grams and calories of every type of food to be permitted for consumption by Gaza residents (broken down by gender and age), comes this recommendation: “It is necessary to deal with the international community and the Palestinian Health Ministry to provide nutritional supplements (only [...]
- Zionism, Recorded
“Two Years of Gaza Closure by the Numbers.” (more…)
- Israel’s Crimes
Though Mr Deeb, 40, is not the self-pitying type, the reaction of his colleagues was understandable. For among the many thousands of Gazans bereaved by the war, few lives can have been as shattered as his. Alerted by phone, he had rushed back from work on the afternoon of 6 January to find the family [...]
- Zionist Demotion
Former Gaza Division Commander Brig.-Gen Moshe “Chico” Tamir plans to appeal a military court decision on Thursday to demote him to the rank of colonel for permitting his underage son to drive an IDF dune buggy and attempting to cover-up a subsequent accident. (more…) But for participating in the massacre of 1,400 Palestinians—now that’s a [...]
- Zionist Games
The security cabinet decided on Wednesday that any opening of crossings into the Gaza Strip would be linked to progress in the case of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit. (more…) Yeah, and the rockets are tied to the 10,000 kidnapped Palestinian prisoners.
- Gaza’ Suffering
The years of closed borders has severely crippled Gaza’s health sector, denying patients vital medicines, replacement parts for hospital equipment, access to outside medical care, and preventing the entrance of outside expertise. Moreover, Gaza’s civilian infrastructure was devastated during Israel’s three week assault on Gaza (December 2008-January 2009), making the treatment of patients within the [...]
- John Pilger on Obama’s Moral Bankruptcy
“Just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” said Obama, “does not serve Israel’s security.” That was all. The killing of 1,300 people in what is now a concentration camp merited 17 words, cast as concern for the “security” of the killers. This was understandable. During the January massacre, Seymour Hersh [...]
- Brutality is Just So Demanding
[Israeli] military sources said that Monday’s incident was the most complicated one the soldiers have had to deal with since the end of Operation Cast Lead. (more…)
- Refusing To Cooperate
Israel has refused to cooperate with investigation of its conduct during an offensive on Gaza earlier this year, depriving Judge Richard Goldstone and his team access to military sources and victims of ongoing rocket attacks. (more…) Israel consistently complains that the UN fails to investigate rocket attacks against Israeli civilians while it unduly criticizes the [...]
- Israeli Propaganda, Courtesy of the NYT
Israeli forces on Monday killed four gunmen from Gaza who attacked an army patrol along the Gaza border in one of the most audacious raids since Israel ended its military campaign in the Palestinian coastal strip in January. (more…) When has Isabel Kershner ever described Israeli attacks as “audacious”? Israeli attacks are always “anguished retaliation” [...]
