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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elroy who wrote (247153)	11/1/2007 11:39:33 AM
From: bentway	Respond to of 281500

Israeli rocket fire kills four Gaza policemen Report, PCHR, 31 October 2007 electronicintifada.net In the evening of 30 October 2007, Israeli warplanes fired rockets at a police station in the southern Gaza Strip and killed four policemen in the police force of the dismissed government in Gaza. Israeli military sources commented on this crime by saying that "the air strike that [has been] relatively rare recently is an indication that Israel will not continue to exhibit restraint towards the firing of mortars at Israeli population centers." PCHR expresses concern over the Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip, and calls upon the international community to intervene to stop these crimes. This week alone, the Centre has documented the death of 15 Palestinians in the Strip as a result of Israel aerial and land bombardment that disregards the civilian nature of targeted areas. The Center's preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 21:40 on 30 October 2007, Israeli war planes fired two rockets at a police station in the town of New Abasan to the east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The rockets hit the entrance of the station, where the four policemen were on guard duty. They were killed instantly, and their bodies were dismembered. The victims are: * Maher Shehda Abu Teir (25) * Bilal Ibrahim Awwad (22) * Ismail Suliman Qudeih (23) * Mahmoud Jamal Radwan (21) PCHR expresses great concern over the continued escalation of the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), and: 1. Renews condemnation of these actions that are part of a continuous series of Israeli war crimes in the OPT. These war crimes clearly show Israel's total disregard for the lives of the civilian population. These actions are forms of reprisal and collective punishment that violate Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949). 2. Calls upon the international community to act immediately to stop these war crimes; and calls upon the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their responsibility to ensure that the Convention is respected by all parties, their responsibility to pursue suspected perpetrators of serious violations of the Convention under Article 146, noting that these serious violations are considered war crimes under Article 147 of the Convention and in the First Optional Protocol Additional to the Convention.

To: Elroy who wrote (247153)	11/1/2007 11:43:04 AM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Now he will bombard you with israeli attacks in gaza, not mentioning that all israeli actions in gaza have to do with curtailing rocket attacks on israel. If hamas were smart they would seek to govern their state effectively and forgo attacks in a hope of eventually winning control in the WB. If just someone would do that even if they fully intended to resume violence at some later date, it would be a great step forward. Once you accept the responsiblities of governance, all things are possible.

To: Elroy who wrote (247153)	11/1/2007 3:54:14 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

As Israel Tightens its Squeeze on Gaza, Where is the Outrage? Palestine Monitor palestinemonitor.org 1 November 2007 As Israel intensifies its blockade of the Gaza Strip by cutting fuel supplies to one and a half million people, the European Union has exposed its true colours, and wilful ignorance of the facts on the ground. Whilst a dozen Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations immediately joined forces to issue a joint press release wholeheartedly condemning Israel’s actions, and demanding an injunction against the Israeli Government, the EU took a very different stance. It noted Israel’s decision "with concern," and underlined "the need for carefully weighing the negative impact of such measures on a civilian population already living under very difficult conditions." EU Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner said she would be raising the issue of fuel cuts during meetings with Israeli leaders this week. "I think collective punishment is never a solution" she stated grandly. If the situation in the Gaza Strip were not so desperate, Ms Ferrero-Waldner’s comment would almost be comic. What exactly does she think Israel has been doing to the population of Gaza for these last two years? Since its unilateral "withdrawal" in August 2005, Israel has consistently claimed it is not occupying Gaza. But the facts on the ground speak for themselves. The Israeli military maintains control over all of Gaza’s borders, plus its airspace and territorial waters. Israel dictates who, and what, enters and leaves the Gaza Strip, and has systematically used this power to bully and collectively punish civilians across Gaza. To cite just a few recent examples of Israeli collective punishments: the two main commercial crossings into Gaza, Karni and Rafah, have both been closed since June. These unprecedented closures have devastated the Gazan economy, especially the private sector. Prices are now spiralling. In the last couple of weeks a sack of flour has gone from 80 Shekels to 200 Shekels. Other essentials, like a batch of hearing aids for 300 deaf children at the Atfaluna School in Gaza, are now being held by the Israeli military on "security" grounds. The closures have also left thousands of civilians stranded both in and outside of Gaza. The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs has calculated that at least 100,000 Palestinians have been denied passage either into or out of Gaza since Karni and Rafah were shut. Gaza journalist Saleh-Al-Naami recently revealed that Gazans who desperately need urgent, sometimes lifesaving medical treatment, are being denied passage out of the Strip unless they agree to become Shin Bet informants. Al-Naami claims retired Shin Bet officers admitted they had instructions to practice the harshest degree of coercion in order to force Palestinian patients to become Israeli informants. His allegations have been backed by the Israeli Physicians for Human Rights. Israel’s intention to cut fuel and power supplies to Gaza are a total violation of international law. So is collective punishment, yet this is blatantly Israel’s strategy in Gaza. But the EU, plus the rest of Europe and the United States, have systematically ignored Israel’s manufactured humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Benita Ferrero-Waldner is obviously not to blame for what Israel is doing, and neither is the EU. Israel alone is responsible for its actions in Gaza. But if the EU is serious about ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, rather than carefully worded statements that downplay the reality on the ground, it must use its leverage to impose an economic embargo on Israel to end the blockade.