Food, Water Running out For Gaza's Children
The humanitarian crisis in a civilian Gaza under attack from Israel is worsening, according to United Nations agencies. They had already warned over the weekend that given that half of Gazans are children, that the adult unemployment rate is 40 percent, and that malnutrition had already been widespread, the further degradation of electricity, water and food delivery systems by Ehud Olmert threatened a humanitarian catastrophe.
Even the Jerusalem Post is reporting Tuesday morning:
' International aid organizations reported on Tuesday morning that basic foodstuffs, including flour, sugar and oil, will run out within a few days. The aid organizations submitted reports on the issue to the UN headquarters in New York. In addition, the organizations will report that water supplies are scarce due to the lack of electricity and that the sewage system was no[t] functional.
Palestinian 4-year-olds have not committed any crimes, to be deprived of food, water and medical care.
Dr. Mona El-Farra explains how bad the situation is.
See Sandy Tolan and Tom Englehardt on "Deja Vu in Gaza.".
These photos give a sense of the impact of conflicts like the current one on Gaza's children.
Rabbi Michael Lerner writes poignantly of his recognition that Israel has crossed a moral boundary in its latest collective-punishment policies toward ordinary Palestinians.
Black humor alert.
The Israeli military still hasn't stopped the Qassam rockets or found its kidnapped soldier, but it has located some Palestinian farms and orchards with dastardly anti-Israel olive trees and other crops that have now been destroyed before they can strike again.
I continue to challenge progressive bloggers to link and speak out on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is man-made and entirely avoidable. It is being deliberately created by Ehud Olmert.
There is a link on the right for writing your congressional representatives. Use it.
posted by Juan Cole @ 7/11/2006 06:06:00 AM
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11 Comments:
Juan – in response to your Sunday post on Gaza Cameron wrote:
“it seems the Israelis were/are more interested in electing leaders who are open to negotiating a solution with the Palestinians. …… the challenge for them is how do you negotiate with a government whose central identity rests on your elimination?”
The plain fact is that Israel is not remotely interested in negotiation. For even the most ardent believer in the morally pristine Israeli government Dov Weisglass’ interview with Ha'aretz two years ago lays that myth well and truly to rest. Weisglass spelled out unambiguously that his government’s central policy was the elimination of the merest prospect of a Palestine ever emerging.
Weisglass is one of the principal architects of the current disengagement plan.
Recounting the interview, Le Monde Diplomatique said that "according to Weisglass, Sharon decided to give up Gaza, which he had never considered as a national interest, to save the settlements in the West Bank and, more important, to prevent any negotiated agreement with the Palestinians". Anyone still labouring under the delusion that the Gaza withdrawal was an onerous hardship that Israel had volunteered to bear for the sake of peace, or that Israel just wants to negotiate a fair settlement with the Palestinians, should carefully read Weisglass' exact words:
"There was a very difficult package of commitments that Israel was expected to accept. That package is called a political process. It included elements we will never agree to accept and elements we cannot accept at this time. But we succeeded in taking that package and sending it beyond the hills. You know, the term `political process' is a bundle of concepts and commitments. The political process is the establishment of a Palestinian state with all the security risks that entails. The political process is the evacuation of settlements, it's the return of refugees, it's the partition of Jerusalem [i.e. compliance with international law]. And all that has now been frozen.
The disengagement plan makes it possible for Israel to park conveniently in an interim situation that distances us as far as possible from political pressure. [It] is actually [suspending the political process in] formaldehyde. It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that's necessary so that there will not be a political process with the Palestinians.
It places the Palestinians under tremendous pressure. There are no more Israeli soldiers spoiling their day. And for the first time they have a slice of land with total continuity on which they can race from one end to the other in their Ferrari. And the whole world is watching them - them, not us. It is making it possible for the Americans to go to the seething and simmering international community and say to them, `What do you want?' It also transfers the initiative to our hands. It compels the world to deal with our idea, with the scenario we wrote.
[Sharon] doesn't see Gaza today as an area of national interest. He does see [the illegal West Bank settlements of] Judea and Samaria as an area of national interest. The withdrawal in Samaria is a token one. We agreed to only so it wouldn't be said that we concluded our obligation in Gaza. In regard to the large settlement blocs, thanks to the disengagement plan, we have in our hands a first-ever American statement that they will be part of Israel. Sharon can tell the leaders of the settlers that he is evacuating 10,000 settlers and in the future he will be compelled to evacuate another 10,000, but he is strengthening the other 200,000, strengthening their hold in the soil. [Sharon] can say honestly that ....out of 240,000 settlers, 190,000 will not be moved from their place. Will not be moved
I found a device, in cooperation with the management of the world [the US government], to ensure that there will be no .... timetable to implement the settlers' nightmare. I have postponed that nightmare indefinitely. Because what I effectively agreed to with the Americans was that part of the settlements would not be dealt with at all, and the rest will not be dealt with until the Palestinians turn into Finns. That is the significance of what we did. The significance is the freezing of the political process. And when you freeze that process you prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and you prevent a discussion about the refugees, the borders and Jerusalem. Effectively, this whole package that is called the Palestinian state, with all that it entails, has been removed from our agenda indefinitely. And all this with authority and permission. All with a presidential blessing and the ratification of both houses of Congress. What more could have been anticipated? What more could have been given to the settlers? They should have danced around and around the Prime Minister's Office." (Ha’aretz, Tel Aviv, 8 October 2004)
(Weisglass’ jokes that Palestinians “can race from one end to the other [of the Gaza strip] in their Ferrari”. Of course, he knows full well the levels of extreme poverty, child malnutrition, etc that Gazans suffer from as a result of his government’s policies – as demonstrated by his expressed wish to put Palestinians on a “diet”. Note that this rock-solid ally of the west, friend of Condoleeza Rice, enjoyer of unrivalled access to the US Government, is an unashamedly out-and-out racist who relishes Palestinian suffering as a source of great amusement).
The fact is that, with the full backing of the US, Israel has consistently refused to negotiate anything other than the terms of Palestinian subjugation. See this article by Noam Chomsky for the full, miserable record. Israel must have been terrified by the emergence of a Hamas government, which could not be bribed into collaboration like Fatah, and which has for some time been making clear its willingness to negotiate a two-state solution on the basis of the 67 borders, in accordance with international law and the international consensus. Its latest agreement signed with Fatah which implicitly recognises Israel goes farther than it has gone before and would be a clear basis for a fair settlement, if that was what Israel wanted. But instead, yet another Israeli government has rejected a generous offer of peace and embraced terrorism as a means, not to peace, but to victory.
"
The humanitarian crisis in a civilian Gaza under attack from Israel is worsening, according to United Nations agencies."
Israel is committing Genocide. (Wikipedia entry)
[Begin fair use]
In the wake of the Nazi perpetrated Holocaust, Lemkin (Polish/Jewish legal scholarf) successfully campaigned for the universal acceptance of international laws, defining and forbidding genocide.
This was achieved in 1948, with the promulgation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The CPPCG was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1948 and came into effect on 12 January 1951 (Resolution 260 (III)). It contains an internationally-recognized definition of genocide which was incorporated into the national criminal legislation of many countries, and was also adopted by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Convention (in article 2) defines genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such:"
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."
[End fair use.]
Are there any Israeli apologists here who would like to defend such activites on the basis of "What is Israel to do?"
I always enjoy it when I hear that question, "What is Israel to do?" because it reminds us all that
Israel is perfectly willing to create problems and then perfectly willing to ask the world community to solve them or else Israel will justify further aggression as "regrettable, but necessary because what else is Israel to do?"
(I call this Israel's carrot and schtick policy. I digress.)
The Wikipedia article mention eight stages of Genocide. (presented below as
Stage / Characteristics ,
Preventive measures,
my comments).
Stage 1. Classification
People are divided into "us and them".
"The main preventive measure at this early stage is to develop universalistic institutions that transcend... divisions."
Israel was founded on the basis of "us versus them," or, more accurately, "us versus a land without people."
2. Symbolization
"When combined with hatred, symbols may be forced upon unwilling members of pariah groups..."
"To combat symbolization, hate symbols can be legally forbidden… as can hate speech".
The idea that all Muslims = Arabs = Terrorists has been distorted and amplified to inculcate the American public into accepting Zionist excess.
3. Dehumanization
"Dehumanization overcomes the normal human revulsion against murder."
"Hate propaganda should be banned, hate crimes and atrocities should be promptly punished."
It would benefit society at large if the regularly racist and dehumanizing editorial policies of the Jerusalem Post were more widely known. A remedy would include, perhaps, "deleting" the Jerusalem Post.
4. Organization
"Genocide is always organized... Special army units or militias are often trained and armed..."
"To combat this stage, membership in these militias should be outlawed."
`Disband the IDF. Prosecute murderous settlers. How would Israel defend itself against terrorism? Frankly, we don't care.
5. Polarization
"Hate groups broadcast polarizing propaganda..."
"Prevention may mean security protection for moderate leaders or assistance to human rights groups..."
Delete AIPAC?
6. Identification
"Victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic or religious identity..."
"At this stage, a Genocide Alert must be called..."
Is anyone willing to tell President Bush he is part and parcel of Genocide?"
7. Extermination
"It is "extermination" to the killers because they do not believe their victims to be fully human."
"At this stage, only rapid and overwhelming armed intervention can stop genocide. Real safe areas or refugee escape corridors should be established with heavily armed international protection."
I humbly suggested (2002) that instead of invading Iraq, we should have taken Jerusaledm. I was not joking.
8. Denial
"The perpetrators... deny that they committed any crimes..."
"The response to denial is punishment by an international tribunal or national courts."
What is israel to do?
Israel has the right to defend itself.
The War on Terrorism.
Anti-semite! Anti-Semite! Anti-Semite!
If some nice person were to invent an instant-nausea pill such that personal attacks such as these could be countered with the most appropriate response, namely vomit, we could become a more civil society.
A few days ago you wrote: "Most Israel Lobby propaganda can be fairly easily refuted with three observations:
*Israelis are not above international law.
*Collective punishment is illegal according to the Geneva Convention.
*Two wrongs don't make a right."
Unfortunately, Israelis have a ready set of misleading and diversionary tactics well-honed to stifle such obvious statements. It is necessary to return again and again to the basics when arguing against their wrongs.
"The Israeli military still hasn't stopped the Qassam rockets or found its kidnapped soldier, but it has located some Palestinian farms and orchards with dastardly anti-Israel olive trees and other crops that have now been destroyed before they can strike again."
The real purpose of the occupation is revealed through acts such as these. This is genocide.
An al-Nakba mitzvah
Dear Congrsswoman Pelosi: Israel's on-going operations in Gaza are immoral and against the interests of the US. They must end. The humanitarian crisis in a civilian Gaza under attack from Israel is worsening, according to United Nations agencies. The UN had already warned over the weekend that given that half of Gazans are children, that the adult unemployment rate is 40 percent, and that malnutrition had already been widespread, the further degradation of electricity, water and food delivery systems by Ehud Olmert threatened a humanitarian catastrophe. Even the Jerusalem Post is reporting Tuesday morning: ' International aid organizations reported on Tuesday morning that basic foodstuffs, including flour, sugar and oil, will run out within a few days. The aid organizations submitted reports on the issue to the UN headquarters in New York. In addition, the organizations will report that water supplies are scarce due to the lack of electricity and that the sewage system was no[t] functional. Palestinian 4-year-olds have not committed any crimes, to be deprived of food, water and medical care. Rabbi Michael Lerner has recognized that Israel has crossed a moral boundary in its latest collective-punishment policies toward ordinary Palestinians.The humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is man-made and entirely avoidable. It is being deliberately created by Ehud Olmert Please support a cut off of aid to Israel until that country conforms to international law. Thank you
Wasn't the departure from the scene of both Arafat and Sharon supposed to be the glorious millenial change that would allow true peace to bloom in these parts?
Sigh.
I put it up at Corrente and will try to flog it around and about. Of course this Indian train bombing situation is probably going to suck up all the media air on foreign topics today; it's far more important that we be kept informed of the health status of a former racehorse than to have to strain our beautiful minds with ugly topics like these.
Thank you for keeping up the good fight here, you've become about the only source I trust on anything ME related any more.
Thanks for keeping us up to date. This is a flashpoint that Americans constantly underestimate in value.
“it seems the Israelis were/are more interested in electing leaders who are open to negotiating a solution with the Palestinians. …… the challenge for them is how do you negotiate with a government whose central identity rests on your elimination?”
The Palestinians could ask the same question of the Israelis.
"The Israeli military still hasn't stopped the Qassam rockets or found its kidnapped soldier, . . . "
Juan, please do not buy into the fear monger's and bigots language. Soldiers are not kidnapped. Kidnapping is an illegitimate criminal act. Soldiers are captured. Capture is a legitimate act of war recognized by the law of land war, Geneva Conventions, etc. Capture is an occupational risk borne by soldiers, their commanders, and their political masters. It is hypocrisy for a politician or general (but I repeat myself) to send a soldier on a high risk mission, then when it does not go as hoped, to whimper that a soldier was kidnapped, when the real issue is a poorly designed political objective or badly planned or executed mission.
I think you are misinterpreting Weisglass's statements. If you had an appreciation for Israel's history, you might understand them better. The theme underlying Weisglass is that Israel should avoid being forced into "processes" and "solutions" by outsiders. Weisglass posits that withdrawing from Gaza was simply a way to get the international community off Israel's back. It doesn't preclude further concessions; it simply ensures that Israel, and not the international community, will make the decision to go forward with them.
If you understand nothing else about the Jewish state, understand that it is mainly a response to having others determine the destiny of the Jewish people over many centuries, usually with bad results.
A response to Michael Brenner
By invading and occupying the Palestinian territories, brutally subjugating the Palestinians and denying them self-determination, Israel is committing a criminal, as well as an immoral act.
International law precludes such actions for very good reasons - namely so that the strong cannot dominate the weak and impose their will on others unilaterally. As is the case domestically, the law represents an opportunity to move human relations out of the feudalism of the dark ages.
I’m sure you wouldn’t suggest that if someone stole your car, they should escape compliance with the law on the grounds that they wished to “avoid being forced into "processes" and "solutions" by outsiders”. Or that the thief should be the one who makes “the decision” on how “to go forward”.
Weisglass not only has no intention whatsoever of making any concessions even at some imaginary point in the future; his plan is designed specifically to preclude the possibility of such concessions being made. You don’t need my interpretation to see that. You just have to read what he says.
My appreciation of Israeli history is fine, thank you. So’s my appreciation of Palestinian history. I would say that our ability to take an honest and sympathetic look at the history of both peoples is essential if the situation is to be resolved.
Finally, Israelis plainly have a right to self determination, but no more so than the Palestinians. Weisglass plainly believes that the rights of Israelis trump the rights of Palestinians. If that’s not racism then the word has no meaning.
The terrible things that happen there are in the shadows since the war in Lebanon broke out 2 months ago.
Maybe Blair’s visit and the promises for a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaderships will start negotiations for peace.
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