Dispatches - Children of Gaza

Pepe Silvia

a truly heartbreaking episode :( when i tried to watch from 'watch now' it wouldn't let me but a link to the episode is here


http://www.channel4.com/programmes/disp ... /episode-1

In December 2008, the Israeli Defence Force unleashed a campaign to destroy the ability of Hamas to launch rockets and mortars into Israel. Around 300 children were among the 1,300 Palestinians that were killed.

After the ceasefire, BAFTA-winning filmmaker Jezza Neumann arrived in Gaza to follow the lives of three children over a year.

Surrounded by the remnants of the demolished Gaza Strip and increasingly isolated by the blockade that prevents anyone from rebuilding their homes and their lives, Children of Gaza is a shocking, touching and uniquely intimate reflection on extraordinary courage in the face of great adversity.

timc

pretty sad all around, most people only talk about Israel, it's like there are no children in Palestine! When the US shows video on Gaza etc.. there are only stories of Israeli children getting hurt! thanks for dropping off truth bomb.

Byrnzie

Pepe Silvia wrote:

In December 2008, the Israeli Defence Force unleashed a campaign to destroy the ability of Hamas to launch rockets and mortars into Israel.

Except that wasn't why they attacked Gaza.

TriumphantAngel

you know i've seen first hand a lot of really awful things the last few years, but when Ibraheem's dad sat at his grave, talking about how the IDF killed his son while he held him in his arms, how tormented he is every day because he could not protect him, or look at him while he was taking his last breaths in life because the soldiers were right above his head, screaming at him, that just broke me. he was so petrified they were going to kill him too. the rest of his family were screaming and yelling, frightened, confused and scared. imagine being a father, knowing your own precious son was dying, and knowing you didn't even hug him or comfort him for those last seconds. how the hell do you live with that.

and what was Ibraheem's crime again?' that's right. he was a child living in gaza.

i didn't watch any more after that. i already know what is happening over there. i feel so helpless watching the Palestinians suffer so badly, knowing that it's happening right now and nothing is changing no matter how many videos i watch, how many people i talk too, how much i voice my concerns to our Government and our Representatives. not enough people care, and it cuts me to pieces knowing that i can not do a god damn thing.

rebornFixer

Does anyone else find it at least a bit encouraging that Israel did NOT turn Gaza into a deathtrap this last time around, despite a rocket attack that killed someone? Its not enough, but refraining from massive attacks into Gaza is a good first step.

Commy

rebornFixer wrote:

Does anyone else find it at least a bit encouraging that Israel did NOT turn Gaza into a deathtrap this last time around, despite a rocket attack that killed someone? Its not enough, but refraining from massive attacks into Gaza is a good first step.

I don't think you should be praising Israel for doing something its supposed to be doing all along.

polaris_x

really - what hope is there for humanity? ... when people can sleep knowing they've murdered children?

rebornFixer

Commy wrote:

rebornFixer wrote:

Does anyone else find it at least a bit encouraging that Israel did NOT turn Gaza into a deathtrap this last time around, despite a rocket attack that killed someone? Its not enough, but refraining from massive attacks into Gaza is a good first step.

I don't think you should be praising Israel for doing something its supposed to be doing all along.

I am not praising Israel, I am saying that its a good thing that they did not enact a massive military response.
[rude comments removed] being happy that there weren't more deaths. :roll:

rebornFixer

Here, maybe this will appease you:
[rude comments removed]

Happy?
Seriously ... I cannot win with folks on here, because even when I make it painfully obvious that I think Israeli actions are wrong, I get jumped on for pointing out that I am happy that there was no excessive military response this time. THIS is why some people conclude that you guys are more interested in bashing than in actual solutions to the problem. Why not think before posting, Commy?

TriumphantAngel

rebornFixer wrote:

Here, maybe this will appease you:
Israel sucks. What a rogue state full of terrorists and babykillers.

take out the word "full" and i completely agree with you.

rebornFixer wrote:

Happy?

of course i'm not happy. there are still 1.5 million ordinary Palestinians who are victims of Israels illegal and brutal occupation.

rebornFixer wrote:

Seriously ... I cannot win with folks on here, because even when I make it painfully obvious that I think Israeli actions are wrong, I get jumped on for pointing out that I am happy that there was no excessive military response this time. THIS is why some people conclude that you guys are more interested in bashing than in actual solutions to the problem. Why not think before posting, Commy?

you are so wrong. you can jump to conclusions all you like, but i don't think there is anyone here more interested in bashing Israel than seeing a halt to the occupation. i agree with Commy's comment, Israel should not be praised for doing something they should be doing all along.

the IDF murdered a 16 year old boy a few days ago when he was participating in a protest at the Gaza border. they shot and killed him. 16 years old. the IDF's excuse was some of the protestors were throwing stones. so excuse me for not agreeing with your comment that they have backed off on the 'excessive military force'. killing someone just because they can is repulsive enough, but killing because apparently people were throwing stones is despicable.

and i've seen people time and time again offer solutions to the problem, sadly not everyone agrees.

did you watch the video by the way?

rebornFixer

You can agree with Commy all you like, the fact remains that I was not praising anyone. Not sure why that's complicated, such that everyone has to just agree without a deeper look at what I was pointing out. At no point was I cheerleading Israel. If I was doing that, I would have said something to the effect of "Great, Israel must be serious about peace" or "Sweet, great move by Israel, they must really care". I did say that I found Israel NOT deciding to enter Gaza full-force to kill a bunch of people encouraging, and I stand by that. Yes, it makes me glad that 800 more civilians did not die this time, and a little more hopeful that peace can be attained. Surely this is not a debatable point. If I am so wrong, prove me wrong. My perception is that I cannot even "cheerlead" the avoidance of deaths without someone pointing out that I am praising Israel, which I'd sort of like to have happen if and ONLY if I actually say something that consists of bona fide praise for said state.

And yes, I watched the video.

TriumphantAngel

rebornFixer wrote:

You can agree with Commy all you like, the fact remains that I was not praising anyone. Not sure why that's complicated, such that everyone has to just agree without a deeper look at what I was pointing out. At no point was I cheerleading Israel. If I was doing that, I would have said something to the effect of "Great, Israel must be serious about peace" or "Sweet, great move by Israel, they must really care". I did say that I found Israel NOT deciding to enter Gaza full-force to kill a bunch of people encouraging, and I stand by that. Yes, it makes me glad that 800 more civilians did not die this time, and a little more hopeful that peace can be attained. Surely this is not a debatable point. If I am so wrong, prove me wrong. My perception is that I cannot even "cheerlead" the avoidance of deaths without someone pointing out that I am praising Israel, which I'd sort of like to have happen if and ONLY if I actually say something that consists of bona fide praise for said state.

And yes, I watched the video.

as much as he would probably like to, even netanyahu is not stupid enough to enter Gaza with full force again at this point in time.

instead, as i already mentioned with the example of the 16 year old being murdered a few days ago, they will keep killing, just in smaller numbers for now.

Israel has some of the most sophisticated weaponry in the world at its disposal and uses it without mercy. even at kids throwing stones (if they were even doing that). so sickening reborn.

rebornFixer

Well, I am not going to knock you for being sickened by any child's death, Triumphant. Nor was my intent to pretend that the killings have stopped. If something happens on a big scale, though, that saves lives, I am going to highlight it.

When you say Netenyahu is not stupid enough to enter Gaza full force, what do you mean? I actually agree with you, if you are referring to the political acceptability of such a decision (I am not trying to pretend that Netenyahu is a humanitarian). Maybe the tides are changing, ever so slightly?

TriumphantAngel

rebornFixer wrote:

When you say Netenyahu is not stupid enough to enter Gaza full force, what do you mean? I actually agree with you, if you are referring to the political acceptability of such a decision. Maybe the tides are changing, ever so slightly?

i was referring to the political acceptability of a decision to enter Gaza. as for feeling the tides changing, i posted those same thoughts the other day. i worry even more if that's possible about the Palestinians. i worry that they will feel even more of Israel's wrath because of it.

badbrains

polaris_x wrote:

really - what hope is there for humanity? ... when people can sleep knowing they've murdered children?

I ask myself that EVERYDAY......oh and also, where's god?????? Must be to busy for us ey, or maybe just gave up on us........... :(

yosi

This is in no way meant to diminish in any way anyone's suffering, but I feel that since we are using this thread to mourn the victims of this conflict that it would be appropriate to mention something I saw last night. I'm in Jerusalem now, and I was watching the Israeli evening news. They had a long segment where they interviewed the parents of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas and is being held captive in Gaza. He has now been a hostage for four years. He was kidnapped when he was 20, and he is now 24. He is literally being held no more than an hours drive from his parents home, and yet they haven't seen or spoken to him in four years. While the rest of the country was celebrating Passover, and sitting down to the Seder with their families, Gilad's parents were at home, alone, mourning for their son. At the seder I attended we included two prayers in addition to the traditional Seder text. The first was a prayer for peace. The second was a prayer for Gilad's safe and speedy return to his family.

redrock

This is in no way to diminish the pain of the parents/family, but you cannot compare the plight of this soldier to the plight of the children of Gaza. I actually think it's a bit offensive.... The children are innocent. One can argue that they may find the soldier an innocent pawn but those are risks soldiers take in times of war.

TriumphantAngel

yosi wrote:

This is in no way meant to diminish in any way anyone's suffering, but I feel that since we are using this thread to mourn the victims of this conflict that it would be appropriate to mention something I saw last night. I'm in Jerusalem now, and I was watching the Israeli evening news. They had a long segment where they interviewed the parents of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas and is being held captive in Gaza. He has now been a hostage for four years. He was kidnapped when he was 20, and he is now 24. He is literally being held no more than an hours drive from his parents home, and yet they haven't seen or spoken to him in four years. While the rest of the country was celebrating Passover, and sitting down to the Seder with their families, Gilad's parents were at home, alone, mourning for their son. At the seder I attended we included two prayers in addition to the traditional Seder text. The first was a prayer for peace. The second was a prayer for Gilad's safe and speedy return to his family.

i feel for his family and friends and hope that he is returned safely.

just like i hope the hundreds of Palestinian children who are being held in Israeli Prisons illegally, while they are subjected to serious violations of their rights, are released and returned home safely.

Jail ordeal of hundreds of Palestinian children arrested for throwing stones. Rights groups express concern at the rising number of juveniles as young as 12 who are held behind bars and 'treated like terrorists'

With more than 300 Palestinian children being held in Israeli prisons, human rights groups and Palestinian officials are increasingly concerned about the actions of the Israeli military.

The Israeli group B'Tselem said that security forces had "severely violated" the rights of a number of children, aged between 12 and 15, who had been taken into custody in recent months.

The family of one 13-year-old boy from Hebron who was arrested on 27 February by a military patrol and detained for eight days have brought a legal case against the authorities. The teenager, Al-Hasan Muhtaseb, described how he had been interrogated without a lawyer late into the night, forced to confess to throwing stones, made to sign a confession in Hebrew that he couldn't read, jailed with adults and brought before a military court. He was only released on bail eight days later, after considerable legal effort by several human rights groups. As he had signed a confession, he still faces a possible indictment for throwing stones – a charge that usually brings several months in jail but carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' jail.

Although most international attention focuses on diplomatic sparring in the Middle East, it is cases such as this teenager's arrest that are the reality for Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation. The surprise about the teenager's experience is not that it is exceptional, but that it is a common occurrence.

As of the end of February, 343 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli prisons, according to Defence for Children International (DCI), which took up the Muhtaseb case. Israel routinely prosecutes Palestinian children as young as 12 and the Israeli legal system treats Palestinians as adults when they turn 16, but Israelis become adults only at 18. Ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children are "widespread, systematic and institutionalised", DCI said in a report last year.

Al-Hasan Muhtaseb was arrested early in the afternoon as he and his 10-year-old brother Amir were walking home through Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, after visiting their aunt.

"Two soldiers came to us and told us: 'Come over here.' We went to them," said Al-Hasan, a slight boy, neatly dressed, who barely looks his 13 years. "They took my brother and I don't know where they took him. I was sent inside the station and I never saw him after that."

They were detained separately. Amir was released later that night, deeply traumatised. "He was in a very, very bad psychological state," said his father, Fadel Muhtaseb, 45. "He had wet himself. He was terrified." The boy said he had been held with his eyes covered by a hat in a room where there was also a dog, which he could hear panting.

Al-Hasan was interrogated at an Israeli military post in Kiryat Arba, a Jewish settlement in Hebron. "I was asked: 'Did you throw stones? Did you hurt the soldiers or hit their vehicles? How close were you to the soldiers? Why were you throwing stones?'," he said. Eventually he had admitted throwing stones, although in an interview last week Al-Hasan said it was untrue: on that day he had not thrown stones, although earlier in the week he had.

He had been made to sign a statement in Hebrew, a language he doesn't speak or read. He was blindfolded and taken to Ofer military prison, where he arrived at 3.30am. "There were no other children," he said. "I was afraid." Three days after his arrest he appeared at a military court. But his father, who works as a tiler, could not afford the 2,000 shekels (£350) bail. "My father told them he couldn't pay this much money," said Al-Hasan. His father, who sat next to him through the interview, burst into tears.

Last Sunday the boy was freed under a bail arrangement in which his father faces arrest if his son does not appear at the next summons. "Even if he were throwing stones, he is only 13," said Fadel. "They treated him like a terrorist. They claim they are democratic and human, but they are not."

The Israeli Defence Force defended the arrest, saying Israeli troops were acting to prevent violence. Both boys are now incontinent and Amir has been hospitalised. "He wakes up in the middle of the night screaming," said Fadel. "We try to comfort him, but he's getting worse and worse."

The Palestinian Authority highlighted the case of the two Muhtaseb brothers, saying Israel was breaching international law and has recently seemed to take a stronger stance against the more routine challenges of the occupation, including the effect of the West Bank barrier. Israeli security forces have warned of a broader crackdown if the protests escalate.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ma ... ted-israel

polaris_x

rebornFixer wrote:

I am not praising Israel, I am saying that its a good thing that they did not enact a massive military response.
Excuse the fucking shit out of me for being happy that there weren't more deaths. :roll:

dude ... i think you need to stop being so defensive ... i don't think anyone was jumping all over you ... no one called you any names or said anything derogatory ... it was just a simple statement ... you can't always look at every post as some continuation of conversations from before ...

Byrnzie

yosi wrote:

This is in no way meant to diminish in any way anyone's suffering, but I feel that since we are using this thread to mourn the victims of this conflict that it would be appropriate to mention something I saw last night. I'm in Jerusalem now, and I was watching the Israeli evening news. They had a long segment where they interviewed the parents of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas and is being held captive in Gaza. He has now been a hostage for four years. He was kidnapped when he was 20, and he is now 24. He is literally being held no more than an hours drive from his parents home, and yet they haven't seen or spoken to him in four years. While the rest of the country was celebrating Passover, and sitting down to the Seder with their families, Gilad's parents were at home, alone, mourning for their son. At the seder I attended we included two prayers in addition to the traditional Seder text. The first was a prayer for peace. The second was a prayer for Gilad's safe and speedy return to his family.

Did you also offer a prayer for any of the 10,000 kidnapped Palestinians who currently reside in Israels jails?

http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/10000- ... estinians/
10,000 Kidnapped Palestinians

08.23.2006 | Ha'aretz
By Amira Hass

On Jerusalem’s Jabotinsky Street, opposite the President’s Residence, a medium-sized plaque is fixed on a locked gate, enclosing a broad building and a lovely garden: “This building was the location of the British Mandate Government’s High Military Court, which held the trials of the Hebrew resistance fighters from the Haganah, Etzel and Lehi.” The sign bears the emblems of the Jerusalem municipality and the three resistance organizations. It further notes: “The resistance fighters refused to acknowledge the authority of the court to judge them, and asked to be recognized as prisoners of war.”

The speaker of the Palestinian Authority’s parliament, who was arrested two weeks ago by the Israel Defense Forces, also refused to acknowledge the authority of the Military Court to judge him. Obviously the two latest detainees, whose arrest was deemed by Israel to be the appropriate solution to its shortcomings in releasing kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, will make the same declaration. Nasser A-Shaer, the Palestinian education minister and deputy prime minister, and Mahmoud Ramahi, chief whip of the Palestinian Legislative Council, were arrested on Saturday and Sunday. Incidentally, the Palestinians have lately ceased using the verb “arrested” in regards to the arrests of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers. Instead they use the verb “abducted.”

These three detainees/abducted join about 10,000 other Palestinian prisoners and detainees. As with the prisoners of the Hebrew resistance, who saw themselves as POWs regardless of their actions (killing British soldiers or Arab civilians), some Palestinians request that their prisoners be declared POWs. Others prefer the definition of political prisoners. Let’s let the definitions rest. In any case, from the offense to the jailing, Israel, as an occupying force, plays around with the definitions as it sees fit.

On Sunday, at 4:30 A.M., IDF soldiers shot and killed a worker, Jalal Uda, 26, and injured three other Palestinian civilians. This happened not far from the Howara checkpoint, south of Nablus. Palestinian newspapers referred to it as the “crime scene.” The young men rode a taxi in a road bypassing the checkpoints. For the last several weeks the army has again forbid young men under age 32 from leaving Nablus. But people have to make a living, and thousands are looking for hidden routes. An offense punishable by death, so it seems. The soldiers acted as prosecutor, judge and executioner. According to the rules of occupation, when soldiers kill Palestinian civilians, they and those who sent them are never criminals, suspects, accused or convicts. The brigadier general who limits the age of those who exit the Nablus compound, by virtue of his belonging to the “Defense Army” can also not be considered a criminal, suspect or convict.

When a Palestinian kills an Israeli - soldier or civilian - his name, picture and details of his indictment will be published. He will automatically be condemned to life in jail, and his prime minister or the leader of his organization will be considered responsible and hence a target for arrest or assassination. The soldiers who kill Palestinian civilians are sheltering under the wide apron of the occupation army. Their names will not be known in public, and their prime minister and commanders will not be deemed accountable.

The Palestinian detainees are led to a military court: The same military establishment that occupies and destroys and suppresses the civilian population is the one that determines that to resist occupation - even by popular demonstrations and waving flags, not only by killing and bearing arms - is a crime. It is the one to prosecute, and it is the one to judge. Its judges are loyal to the interest of defending the occupier and the settler.

Allegedly every Palestinian is tried, convicted and jailed as a private person who committed a criminal offense. But a sharp discrimination in the conditions of imprisonment proves that the Palestinian security prisoner is punished not as an individual, but as a representative of a group, as part of its overall suppression. Contrary to international law, the majority of Palestinian prisoners and detainees are not held in the occupied territory, but rather inside Israel. Contrary to popular myth, Israel does not respect the right to regular family visits.

The army does its best to disrupt the visitation schedule, using various security and technical excuses. Only relations of the first degree (parents, siblings and children) are allowed to visit the prisoners, but hundreds of them have not had the privilege of any visits for several years. The right to make daily use of a telephone is given to the most dangerous of criminal prisoners, and is denied from Palestinian security prisoners, among them citizens and residents of Israel. This is done via a weak and unconvincing excuse of a security establishment that has advanced and effective surveillance devices. The path of sentence reduction and clemency is open to the Jew (especially when he is a settler) and is almost hermetically shut to the Palestinian.

It is no wonder that the Palestinians support every action - such as kidnapping soldiers - that tries to break the rules of this discrimination game. Every Palestinian prisoner’s personal history is an expression of the freedom Israel allows itself in the implanting of an extreme subculture of double standard, discriminating blood from blood, human being from human being, nation from nation.

Byrnzie

http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58249

Soldiers Kidnap a Palestinian Woman, Child, Near Jerusalem

Sunday March 21, 2010 10:05author by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Eyewitnesses reported that the soldiers kidnapped Ibtisam Mustafa Abu Dayya, 42, a mother of six children, after she quarreled with the soldiers.

Troops violently attacked the woman before cuffing and blindfolding her.

Later on, the army kidnapped 14-year-old child during clashes that took place in the camp.

The army invaded the camp and clashed with dozens of residents. Soldiers fired rounds of live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets and gas bombs.

The army recently kidnapped more than 250 residents during clashes that took place after Israeli settlers inaugurated a synagogue near the Al Aqsa Mosque. Among the kidnapped residents were 30 children below the age of 14, and a number of reporters.