Please explain how any of this relates to the occupation.
Oh, also ... I was responding to Mr.B's specific remark about resentment/dislike ... I never made any claims about the occupation one way or the other, with that particular comment.
Whenever I type that word, it feels like ominous music should start playing ... "the occupation" .... **cue Twilight Zone theme song**
So you're now claiming that the Israeli settlements are being built because of rocket attacks? Sorry, I'm confused. Please elaborate.
I get the impression that you're just making it up as you go along.
Nope, never said that. Israel's military reprisals are generally triggered by terrorist attacks ... The settlement of lands is something the Israelis have no valid rationale for, and this is one of the things that they will have to stop if anything is to change. The Israelis weaken their case against terrorism when they continue to expand settlements and then claim that its for security reasons.
Whenever I type that word, it feels like ominous music should start playing ... "the occupation" .... **cue Twilight Zone theme song**
Right, because the occupation is actually a benevolent, pleasant thing in reality, right? Maybe we should play jingle bells when discussing the imprisonment, starvation, and terrorising of over a million people.
Nope, never said that. Israel's military reprisals are generally triggered by terrorist attacks ... The settlement of lands is something the Israelis have no valid rationale for, and this is one of the things that they will have to stop if anything is to change. The Israelis weaken their case against terrorism when they continue to expand settlements and then claim that its for security reasons.
But to say that all of Israel's attacks on Palestinians are 'reprisals' is a lie, as you well know.
And it's not just a case of them 'stopping' the settlements, they need to abide by international law and dismantle all of the illegal settlements.
But to say that all of Israel's attacks on Palestinians are 'reprisals' is a lie, as you well know.
And it's not just a case of them 'stopping' the settlements, they need to abide by international law and dismantle all of the illegal settlements.
Sure, I'm with you on that one. I also agree that not all Israeli military operations are reprisals, although the bulk probably are ... Either way, its easy to state that claim when terrorism provides one with the ability to play that card pretty much any time. One wonders what would happen if Hamas was actually serious about peace and stopped the attacks.
If terrorism worked, not only would you guys need a new group of people to hate on, but there would be no "occupation". Instead, the "occupation" grows stronger with each passing year ... Do you think their MIGHT be a link?.
My belief is that much of the Israeli expansion is indeed about land-grabbing ... SOME of it is about security, and terrorism provides Israel with the means to argue that it is ALL about security.
Sure, I'm with you on that one. I also agree that not all Israeli military operations are reprisals, although the bulk probably are ... Either way, its easy to state that claim when terrorism provides one with the ability to play that card pretty much any time. One wonders what would happen if Hamas was actually serious about peace and stopped the attacks.
Well, they only recently offered a peace deal, but it was rejected by Israel. And that's not the first time either.
Other ceasefires observed by the Palestinians have been broken by continued attacks from Israel and continued settlement expansion.
Seriously, the terrorism you speak of here really isn't only one-sided.
Well, they only recently offered a peace deal, but it was rejected by Israel. And that's not the first time either.
Other ceasefires observed by the Palestinians have been broken by continued attacks from and continued settlement expansion.
Seriously, the terrorism you speak of here really isn't only one-sided.
Its not one-sided. But Palestinian "freedom fighting" is a huge part of the equation. We wouldn't be having such a heated discussion if you'd simply concede the point.
Its not one-sided. But Palestinian "freedom fighting" is a huge part of the equation. We wouldn't be having such a heated discussion if you'd simply concede the point.
The only point I concede is that the Palestinians have no option but to try to defend themselves with whatever means they have at their disposal. Unfortunately those means are limited. They don't possess modern weapons, including the worlds 2nd largest fleet of F16's.
My belief is that much of the Israeli expansion is indeed about land-grabbing ... SOME of it is about security, and terrorism provides Israel with the means to argue that it is ALL about security.
The settlements have nothing to do with security. Nothing whatsoever.
Israel is taking the place over. Point blank, I think a lot of people miss this reality completely.
They are not interesting in co-exisisting. They are interested in taking the place over over by lethal force according to biblical prophecy.
Words and negotiations are useless to them. They don't care if Palestinians breathe let alone speak words aloud.
They will take over and continue to kill regardless, and the Palestinians have figured this out. This is why their opposition has become so desperate.
That's it...that's all. There are a host of documentaries out there that illustrate this rather well.
Just look at what they are doing. They are killing people to create Jewish only racial colonies.
It needs to be said twice...
They are killing people to create Jewish only racial colonies.
Think about that, and apply it to any other group of people. Like KKK members, Hells angels, Nazi's, or any other group of people.
Racial colonies imposed by lethal force....in 2008!?!!
I think some people need to really open their eyes...
Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
My belief is that much of the Israeli expansion is indeed about land-grabbing ... SOME of it is about security, and terrorism provides Israel with the means to argue that it is ALL about security.
but israel has killed more ppl in a few days than israeli's have been killed in the past 4-5 years
standin above the crowd
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
Sure, I'm with you on that one. I also agree that not all Israeli military operations are reprisals, although the bulk probably are ... Either way, its easy to state that claim when terrorism provides one with the ability to play that card pretty much any time. One wonders what would happen if Hamas was actually serious about peace and stopped the attacks.
And I apologize if I sound antagonistic when discussing this subject, but it's hard not to be. There's so much distortion, deliberate confusing of the issues - obfuscation, and just outright lies, constantly being thrown around with regards to this issue that it's hard to feel anything other than anger when trying to simply state the facts and cut through all the crap.
If black south Africans,e.t.c, had had to confront a similar wall of mainstream media manufactured bullshit as has been spun around the Israel/palestine conflict then they'd still be living in ghettoes to this day. Those in power obviously pay more attention to the lessons of history than we realise.
oh... now i get it... so the stock photos are from Amnesty International....dude, much like on this board...you cant believe everything you read... there is more than one side to every story. and NO that is not what daily life is like in Gaza. the pictures you posted are obviously of the aftermath of a particular "incident"... they DONT portray every day life. again, i can look up photos of an israeli bombing scene and post them, would you think that it would represent every day life? cmon dude....
Now I have been saying in another thread there are two sides to this issue and that both Israelis are Palestinians are victims but there are too many "incidents" and they have to stop!
Life in Gaza is not pretty. The Palestinians are suffering.
Vehicle on fire during clashes between Hamas and Fatah militants in Gaza City, May 2007
24 October 2007
Hundreds of Palestinians lost their lives as a result of the inter-factional political violence that engulfed the Gaza Strip in the past year. Fighting between security forces and armed groups loyal to the two main Palestinian political parties caused the deaths of many unarmed bystanders not involved in the confrontations, including children.
Both sides -- Fatah, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas of then Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyeh -- committed grave human rights abuses. They showed a flagrant disregard for the human rights of a civilian population already worn down by decades of Israeli occupation, military campaigns and blockades. These have caused a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation of the 1.5 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
As armed clashes became more frequent and intensified, Fatah and Hamas gunmen unlawfully killed and maimed captured rivals and hostages. They used indiscriminate and reckless fire in and around residential neighbourhoods.
Neither medical nor educational facilities were immune as they and residential buildings were both attacked and used as firing positions from which to mount attacks. Homes and public properties were damaged and beleaguered residents were virtually imprisoned in their own homes for days by the fighting.
After Hamas’ violent takeover in the Gaza Strip in June, President Abbas’ decision to suspend operations of PA security forces and judicial institutions in the Gaza Strip created a legal and institutional vacuum there. This opened the way for Hamas to establish a parallel security and law enforcement apparatus, but one which lacks appropriately trained personnel, accountability mechanisms or safeguards.
Unsurprisingly, arbitrary detentions and torture or other ill-treatment of detainees by Hamas forces are now widespread and the initial improvements in the security situation that followed Hamas' takeover are fast being eroded.
In the West Bank, there has also been a marked deterioration in the human rights situation under the emergency government set up by President Abbas in June. Arbitrary detention of suspected Hamas supporters by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces has become routine. Detainees are often subject to torture or other ill-treatment and Fatah gunmen have launched revenge attacks against Hamas supporters and their properties with impunity.
Amnesty International is calling on both the PA and Hamas to take swift and decisive measures to stop and prevent the increasingly widespread human rights abuses committed by those acting under their authority and to put an end to the impunity enjoyed by security forces and armed groups.
The organization is also calling on the international community to hold all the Palestinian parties accountable to the same human rights standards and to ensure that the population of the Gaza Strip is not punished for the positions and actions of the Hamas de-facto administration and that emergency assistance essential to fulfilling fundamental human rights is never used as a bargaining tool to further political goals.
AI Index: MDE 21/023/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 202
24 October 2007
Embargo Date: 24 October 2007 00:01 GMT
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Palestinian factional strife fuelling abuses
Interfactional fighting between Hamas and Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip earlier this year left 350 Palestinians dead and has been followed by further serious abuses in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.
The 57-page report, Occupied Palestinian Territories: Torn apart by factional strife, accuses Hamas of resorting increasingly to arbitrary detentions and torture since it took power last June in the Gaza Strip, and of allowing its forces to attack and assault peaceful demonstrators as well as journalists reporting on their protests. In the West Bank, the report blames security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas of arbitrarily detaining hundreds of Hamas supporters but of failing to take action against Fatah militants responsible for abductions, arson and other attacks.
"The leaders of both the PA and Hamas must take immediate steps to break the cycle of impunity that continues to fuel abuses, including arbitrary detentions, abductions, torture and ill-treatment by their forces," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East Programme Director. "The ongoing factional struggle between Fatah and Hamas is having a dire effect on the lives of Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, compounding and exacerbating the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by Israeli military campaigns and blockades."
The report calls for the establishment of an independent commission of experts to investigate human rights abuses committed by both parties since the beginning of 2006 and for the leaders on both sides to commit to implementing its recommendations.
According to the report, Palestinian interfactional fighting in the Gaza Strip reached unprecedented levels during the past year, culminating in June 2007 when Hamas seized control of Palestinian Authority security institutions in the territory. It argues that both PA and Hamas security forces and armed groups displayed a flagrant disregard for the safety of the civilian population by launching indiscriminate attacks and reckless gun battles in residential neighbourhoods. This left civilians virtually trapped like prisoners in their own homes while dozens of unarmed bystanders who were not involved in the confrontations, including children, were caught in the line of fire.
The report contains harrowing accounts from victims of both sides and from residents who were directly affected by the waves of armed clashes which took place in the Gaza Strip in June and previous months: “For three days we could not leave the house. Gunmen had taken position on tall buildings and were firing rockets at each others. We feared that a missile could come through the window any time,” a resident of Gaza City told Amnesty International in June 2007.
Rival security forces whose responsibility it was to uphold and enforce the law, and to protect the population, betrayed this responsibility and instead acted as partisans, in concert with armed groups that serve as their proxy militias, and themselves broke the laws and committed gross abuses with complete impunity.
President Abbas’ decision to suspend the operations of PA security forces and judicial institutions in the Gaza Strip following the de-facto takeover of Hamas in Gaza has created a legal and institutional vacuum. This paved the way for Hamas to establish a parallel security and law enforcement apparatus - but one which lacks appropriately trained personnel, accountability mechanisms or safeguards.
As a result, arbitrary detentions and torture of detainees by Hamas forces are now widespread in Gaza, as are attacks against demonstrators and journalists covering such incidents. The initial improvements in the security situation which followed Hamas' takeover in Gaza are fast being eroded .
In the West Bank, human rights abuses by PA security forces are also rife, though much less well publicised - as the international community is seemingly unwilling to rock the boat ahead of forthcoming US-convened conference aimed at resuscitating the long-stalled peace talks between the Israeli government and the PA emergency government.
Hundreds of Hamas supporters or presumed sympathizers have been arrested and arbitrarily detained by PA security forces, violations of legal detention procedures are routine and reports of torture or other ill-treatment are becoming more frequent. Detainees are held in sites not authorized by law for this purpose and security forces frequently ignore orders the judges’ orders to release detainees for lack of evidence.
The PA emergency government has failed to hold to account Fatah gunmen who abducted Hamas supporters and burned down their houses, businesses and charity organizations suspected of links to Hamas in the West Bank - even though the perpetrators of these attacks were often known in their communities and acted in full view of the security forces.
The arrest and detention of more than 1,000 presumed Hamas supporters, most of whom are not accused of any crime, stands in stark contrast to the PA's failure to arrest and bring to justice members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s armed wing, responsible for unlawful killings, hostage-taking, arson and other attacks against people and property.
"The lawlessness which has increasingly gripped the West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent years, culminating in the recent interfactional fighting, is to a large extent the result of the prolonged and systematic failure of the PA to uphold and enforce the law," said Malcolm Smart.
The report also calls on the international community to cease the sale or transfer of weapons to any parties until guarantees can be secured that they won't be used to violate human rights.
"The international community must hold all Palestinian parties accountable to the same human rights standards," said Malcolm Smart. "It must ensure that the population of the Gaza Strip is not punished for the positions and actions of the Hamas de-facto administration and that emergency assistance essential to fulfilling fundamental human rights is never used as a bargaining tool to further political goals."
"...believe in lies...to get by...it's divine...whoa...oh, you know what its like..."
The only point I concede is that the Palestinians have no option but to try to defend themselves with whatever means they have at their disposal. Unfortunately those means are limited. They don't possess modern weapons, including the worlds 2nd largest fleet of F16's.
Are you saying it's ok for some people or in some situations it’s ok to violate international law then?
"...believe in lies...to get by...it's divine...whoa...oh, you know what its like..."
I have family that lives in Israel... i have been there... it is a BEAUTIFUL country... the palaestinians have an opportunity to live together with them... they choose not to. The fact that palestinians dont want israel to exist or continue to attack Israel, will cause them to be blocked off... too fuckin bad for them... sorry to sound harsh about it and perhaps a bit primative about it, but it is the fact... Israel is a thriving country filled with great technology, Agriculture, arts, medicine... all good stuff... what do the palestinians have? NOTHING... cause that is they way they want it... they want it their way or no way... so you know what... NO WAY... let them live in sqalor... they can build their own roads, sewers and whatnot, and let them live in their own space... whatever that space may be.
So you're proud that Israelis have everything going for them and the Palestinians have nothing? That's really sad. It was not too long ago when the Jews had nothing and it's only a matter of time before the Palestinians are able to take back their land once the international community enforces it. Better not wish for the same treatment on the Israelis by the Palestinians.
"...believe in lies...to get by...it's divine...whoa...oh, you know what its like..."
Are you saying it's ok for some people or in some situations it’s ok to violate international law then?
Yes I am.
Although I'm not sure that the Palestinians have violated international law.
And I may be mistaken, but show me one U.N resolution which the Palestinians are currently in violation of.
14. Considers that nothing in the present resolution could in any way prejudice the right to self-determination, freedom and independence, as derived from the Charter of the United Nations, of peoples forcibly deprived of that right referred to in the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, particularly peoples under colonial and racist regimes and foreign occupation or other forms of colonial domination, nor, in accordance with the principles of the Charter and in conformity with the above-mentioned Declaration, the right of these peoples to struggle to this end and to seek and receive support;
Although I'm not sure that the Palestinians have violated international law.
And I may be mistaken, but show me one U.N resolution which the Palestinians are currently in violation of.
14. Considers that nothing in the present resolution could in any way prejudice the right to self-determination, freedom and independence, as derived from the Charter of the United Nations, of peoples forcibly deprived of that right referred to in the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, particularly peoples under colonial and racist regimes and foreign occupation or other forms of colonial domination, nor, in accordance with the principles of the Charter and in conformity with the above-mentioned Declaration, the right of these peoples to struggle to this end and to seek and receive support;
The targeting of civilians whether they are Palestinians or Israelis (or anyone) is in violation of the Geneva Convention. The refusal of allowing the Red Cross to see prisoners of war is in violations of the Geneva Convention.
If you think you have the right to disregard international law then what makes you any different than the Israelis?
Letter to Hamas Spiritual Leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin
August 6, 2002 Sheikh Ahmed YassinSpiritual Leader Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Gaza Dear Sheikh Yassin, We are writing to you regarding continued attacks against civilians for which the Islamic Resistance Movement (harakat al-muqawama al-islamiyya, Hamas) has claimed responsibility. We are aware of remarks by you and by other leading Hamas figures, including Dr. Abd al-Aziz al-Rantissi and Dr. Mahmoud Zahar, endorsing such attacks. Human Rights Watch strongly condemns attacks by any party that target civilians or in which civilians suffer disproportionate harm, whether such attacks are committed by agents of a government or by armed opposition groups. No matter what the aims and objectives are, such attacks flagrantly violate the most fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law.
Human Rights Watch is an international human rights monitoring organization that documents and campaigns against violations of human rights and international humanitarian law throughout the world. Since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada almost two years ago, we have sent numerous missions to the Occupied Territories to research violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. On several occasions we have pressed the international community to dispatch an international monitoring force to help provide some measure of protection for civilians in the current clashes. I attach to this letter a full list of Human Rights Watch publications on Israel, the Occupied Territories, and the Palestinian Authority, and a list of the reports and public statements from 2002 available in Arabic on our website: . According to news reports, Hamas has claimed responsibility for at least twenty-three suicide bombings that have targeted and killed civilians. These include Sunday's suicide bombing on a bus in northern Israel, which killed nine and injured forty-six, and last week's attack at the Hebrew University cafeteria, which killed seven students and injured eighty. Leading Hamas members have frequently described these attacks as retaliation for Israeli actions. On July 23, an Israeli air strike on a crowded Gaza apartment in killed fifteen, including Salah Shehadeh, the group's military leader, and injured over 140. Dr. Rantissi was quoted by Reuters on the same day as saying, "Hamas' retaliation will come very soon, and there won't be only just one [attack]…. After this crime, even Israelis in their homes will be the target of our operations." Human Rights Watch has condemned the July 23 air strike as a violation of international humanitarian law because Israel failed to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties. However, even such violations cannot justify deliberate attacks on civilians. Under international humanitarian law, the absolute prohibition against targeting civilians extends to acts of reprisal. One cannot attack civilians, no matter what the cause. You yourself have acknowledged that the Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks against civilians, but then claimed that such protections do not extend to "occupiers." In an interview published in the August 11, 2001 St. Petersburg Times, you are quoted as saying: "The Geneva convention protects civilians in occupied territories not civilians who are in fact occupiers.... All of Israel, Tel Aviv included, is occupied Palestine. So we're not actually targeting civilians-that would go against Islam." This is a gross misreading of international law. International humanitarian law in fact makes no exceptions whatsoever to the prohibition against targeting civilians. Human Rights Watch has made clear that, in our view, Israeli settlements in the territories occupied in 1967 are illegal under international humanitarian law. This illegal status, however, does not in any way make civilians associated with those settlements, or any other civilians, legitimate targets of armed attacks. All attacks that target civilians constitute crimes of the gravest sort. There can never be any justification for such blatant disregard of basic principles of international human rights and humanitarian law. We will press vigorously for those who commit these crimes, as well as those who direct or sponsor them, to be brought to justice. We strongly urge you to adopt and publicize a policy of full respect for the laws of war, including an immediate and total stop to the practice of targeting civilians. We ask that you publicly and unequivocally call on the military wing of your organization, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and any other groups or individuals acting on behalf of the Islamic Resistance Movement, to desist from any attacks or acts of reprisal that deliberately target civilians or are indiscriminate. Such attacks have continued unabated for far too long. It is incumbent upon you as a leader of the organization sponsoring these attacks to take a clear and forthright position in opposition to the killing of civilians-no matter what justifications may be put forward. Sincerely,Hanny MegallyExecutive DirectorMiddle East and North Africa division
"...believe in lies...to get by...it's divine...whoa...oh, you know what its like..."
Vehicle on fire during clashes between Hamas and Fatah militants in Gaza City, May 2007
24 October 2007
Hundreds of Palestinians lost their lives as a result of the inter-factional political violence that engulfed the Gaza Strip in the past year. Fighting between security forces and armed groups loyal to the two main Palestinian political parties caused the deaths of many unarmed bystanders not involved in the confrontations, including children.
Both sides -- Fatah, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas of then Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyeh -- committed grave human rights abuses. They showed a flagrant disregard for the human rights of a civilian population already worn down by decades of Israeli occupation, military campaigns and blockades. These have caused a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation of the 1.5 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
As armed clashes became more frequent and intensified, Fatah and Hamas gunmen unlawfully killed and maimed captured rivals and hostages. They used indiscriminate and reckless fire in and around residential neighbourhoods.
Neither medical nor educational facilities were immune as they and residential buildings were both attacked and used as firing positions from which to mount attacks. Homes and public properties were damaged and beleaguered residents were virtually imprisoned in their own homes for days by the fighting.
After Hamas’ violent takeover in the Gaza Strip in June, President Abbas’ decision to suspend operations of PA security forces and judicial institutions in the Gaza Strip created a legal and institutional vacuum there. This opened the way for Hamas to establish a parallel security and law enforcement apparatus, but one which lacks appropriately trained personnel, accountability mechanisms or safeguards.
Unsurprisingly, arbitrary detentions and torture or other ill-treatment of detainees by Hamas forces are now widespread and the initial improvements in the security situation that followed Hamas' takeover are fast being eroded.
In the West Bank, there has also been a marked deterioration in the human rights situation under the emergency government set up by President Abbas in June. Arbitrary detention of suspected Hamas supporters by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces has become routine. Detainees are often subject to torture or other ill-treatment and Fatah gunmen have launched revenge attacks against Hamas supporters and their properties with impunity.
Amnesty International is calling on both the PA and Hamas to take swift and decisive measures to stop and prevent the increasingly widespread human rights abuses committed by those acting under their authority and to put an end to the impunity enjoyed by security forces and armed groups.
The organization is also calling on the international community to hold all the Palestinian parties accountable to the same human rights standards and to ensure that the population of the Gaza Strip is not punished for the positions and actions of the Hamas de-facto administration and that emergency assistance essential to fulfilling fundamental human rights is never used as a bargaining tool to further political goals.
AI Index: MDE 21/023/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 202
24 October 2007
Embargo Date: 24 October 2007 00:01 GMT
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Palestinian factional strife fuelling abuses
Interfactional fighting between Hamas and Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip earlier this year left 350 Palestinians dead and has been followed by further serious abuses in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.
The 57-page report, Occupied Palestinian Territories: Torn apart by factional strife, accuses Hamas of resorting increasingly to arbitrary detentions and torture since it took power last June in the Gaza Strip, and of allowing its forces to attack and assault peaceful demonstrators as well as journalists reporting on their protests. In the West Bank, the report blames security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas of arbitrarily detaining hundreds of Hamas supporters but of failing to take action against Fatah militants responsible for abductions, arson and other attacks.
"The leaders of both the PA and Hamas must take immediate steps to break the cycle of impunity that continues to fuel abuses, including arbitrary detentions, abductions, torture and ill-treatment by their forces," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East Programme Director. "The ongoing factional struggle between Fatah and Hamas is having a dire effect on the lives of Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, compounding and exacerbating the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by Israeli military campaigns and blockades."
The report calls for the establishment of an independent commission of experts to investigate human rights abuses committed by both parties since the beginning of 2006 and for the leaders on both sides to commit to implementing its recommendations.
According to the report, Palestinian interfactional fighting in the Gaza Strip reached unprecedented levels during the past year, culminating in June 2007 when Hamas seized control of Palestinian Authority security institutions in the territory. It argues that both PA and Hamas security forces and armed groups displayed a flagrant disregard for the safety of the civilian population by launching indiscriminate attacks and reckless gun battles in residential neighbourhoods. This left civilians virtually trapped like prisoners in their own homes while dozens of unarmed bystanders who were not involved in the confrontations, including children, were caught in the line of fire.
The report contains harrowing accounts from victims of both sides and from residents who were directly affected by the waves of armed clashes which took place in the Gaza Strip in June and previous months: “For three days we could not leave the house. Gunmen had taken position on tall buildings and were firing rockets at each others. We feared that a missile could come through the window any time,” a resident of Gaza City told Amnesty International in June 2007.
Rival security forces whose responsibility it was to uphold and enforce the law, and to protect the population, betrayed this responsibility and instead acted as partisans, in concert with armed groups that serve as their proxy militias, and themselves broke the laws and committed gross abuses with complete impunity.
President Abbas’ decision to suspend the operations of PA security forces and judicial institutions in the Gaza Strip following the de-facto takeover of Hamas in Gaza has created a legal and institutional vacuum. This paved the way for Hamas to establish a parallel security and law enforcement apparatus - but one which lacks appropriately trained personnel, accountability mechanisms or safeguards.
As a result, arbitrary detentions and torture of detainees by Hamas forces are now widespread in Gaza, as are attacks against demonstrators and journalists covering such incidents. The initial improvements in the security situation which followed Hamas' takeover in Gaza are fast being eroded .
In the West Bank, human rights abuses by PA security forces are also rife, though much less well publicised - as the international community is seemingly unwilling to rock the boat ahead of forthcoming US-convened conference aimed at resuscitating the long-stalled peace talks between the Israeli government and the PA emergency government.
Hundreds of Hamas supporters or presumed sympathizers have been arrested and arbitrarily detained by PA security forces, violations of legal detention procedures are routine and reports of torture or other ill-treatment are becoming more frequent. Detainees are held in sites not authorized by law for this purpose and security forces frequently ignore orders the judges’ orders to release detainees for lack of evidence.
The PA emergency government has failed to hold to account Fatah gunmen who abducted Hamas supporters and burned down their houses, businesses and charity organizations suspected of links to Hamas in the West Bank - even though the perpetrators of these attacks were often known in their communities and acted in full view of the security forces.
The arrest and detention of more than 1,000 presumed Hamas supporters, most of whom are not accused of any crime, stands in stark contrast to the PA's failure to arrest and bring to justice members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s armed wing, responsible for unlawful killings, hostage-taking, arson and other attacks against people and property.
"The lawlessness which has increasingly gripped the West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent years, culminating in the recent interfactional fighting, is to a large extent the result of the prolonged and systematic failure of the PA to uphold and enforce the law," said Malcolm Smart.
The report also calls on the international community to cease the sale or transfer of weapons to any parties until guarantees can be secured that they won't be used to violate human rights.
"The international community must hold all Palestinian parties accountable to the same human rights standards," said Malcolm Smart. "It must ensure that the population of the Gaza Strip is not punished for the positions and actions of the Hamas de-facto administration and that emergency assistance essential to fulfilling fundamental human rights is never used as a bargaining tool to further political goals."
As you can see, Palestinian suffering has a lot to do with their own politics, and a lot to do with civil fighting, and a lot to do with Hamas.
But once the civil fighting ends, the blame is put all back on Israel.
Well if this is what the international community wants as you said, why doesn't the international community grow some balls and take on Israel and the US?
"...believe in lies...to get by...it's divine...whoa...oh, you know what its like..."
As you can see, Palestinian suffering has a lot to do with their own politics, and a lot to do with civil fighting, and a lot to do with Hamas.
But once the civil fighting ends, the blame is put all back on Israel.
Media Propaganda & the Palestinian Civil War
June 18, 2007 By Anthony DiMaggio
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/4100
'Hamas' recent takeover of the Gaza Strip has been described as many things: an escalation of Palestinian civil war, a threat to Israel's existence, and a major setback for Palestinian statehood. The last of these descriptions, prevalent throughout the American mainstream press, has dramatic consequences for those seriously interested in the peaceful co-existence of both Palestinian and Israeli states.
The American mainstream press has long prided itself in one-sided demonizations of the Palestinian leadership, perhaps most notoriously for blaming the late Yasser Arafat for monkey-wrenching the 2000 Camp David "Peace" proposal. However, with the popular election of Hamas in 2006, American reporters and editors have found a new whipping boy that can effectively be blamed for holding up Israeli-Palestinian peace.
The recent violence in Gaza demonstrates this point rather well, as Western media coverage was rife with allegations that Hamas gunmen dragged several Fatah officers into the street and executed them, some in front of their families. Although Hamas officials denied the executions, the incendiary allegations have served as a rallying cry for anti-Hamas political leaders, pundits, and analysts in the U.S., Israel, and elsewhere. As the New York Times reports, Israeli political officials are beginning to wonder whether "Hamas' show of strength in Gaza would make it more likely that the Israeli military would intervene there this summer to cut back Hamas' political power."
American media coverage has been unequivocal in the placing of blame squarely at the feet of Hamas for hampering possibilities of Palestinian statehood in the foreseeable future. The New York Times reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud "Abbas faces the collapse of Fatah power in Gaza and a putative Palestinian state divided into a West Bank run by Fatah and a Gaza run by Hamas." The Washington Post claimed: "the territorial cornerstones of a future Palestinian state have been reduced to strongholds of each faction." Regional coverage has hardly fared better. The Chicago Sun Times commented that Abbas' firing of Hamas leader and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh left Palestinians "struggling to adjust to a new political reality that has crushed their long-standing hopes for their own state." Perhaps the most critical that any corporate media outlet has come to blaming the U.S. or Israel for the failure of a two-state solution was seen in the Chicago Tribune, where Ali Jarbawi, a professor of Political Science at Bir Zeit University was cited arguing that the U.S. has "failed to empower Abbas politically through genuine progress toward a negotiated two-state solution, leaving him domestically weakened." Substantive condemnations of Israel and the U.S. for denying Palestinian statehood and engaging in terrorism against the Palestinian people have predictably been out of bounds, as only Hamas' acts of terror are deemed to be a salient issue.
While it is difficult to argue with American journalists who argue that the escalating rift between Hamas and Fatah poses a serious danger to peace in Palestine, the one-sided blame placed upon Hamas for the failure of peace represents more a propaganda strategy than a legitimate reporting of the reality on the ground. What is systematically omitted from media coverage are the many attempts by Israeli leaders to exclude any viable two state solution, not to mention the vehement efforts of those same leaders to foment a civil war between Hamas and Fatah.
For only a few of the most recent examples of such efforts, one need look only to the wall being constructed by Israel, which cuts deep into Palestinian territory, unofficially annexing as much as 10% of Palestinian lands by some estimates. The International Court of Justice condemned the wall as an egregious violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions, although one would hardly know this by reading American media coverage. It is difficult to argue that the wall is intended primarily for security purposes (rather than a land grab), considering that the wall could have provided the same level of security if it was built on the Israeli side of the 1967 green line border, rather than the Palestinian side. One can also look to the myth of the "generous" offer at Camp David in 2000. The American press has long been known by Progressive Americans to have played a major role in misrepresenting the offer, which prohibited the establishment of a Palestinian army, refused to offer any concessions on the status of occupied Jerusalem, left a Palestinian "state" with no control over its borders, airspace, or water supply, and failed to dismantle the major settlements or settlement infrastructure within the West Bank (see "The Myth of the Generous Offer," by Ackerman for more details on US media complicity).
More recently than Camp David, one can also look to "Operation Defensive Shield," a 2002 Israeli military operation undertaken in the West Bank, the main goal of which was to systematically destroy the Palestinian governing structure, so as to pave the way for a renewed military occupation. And then, of course, there are the explicit demands of Israeli leaders themselves, codified in the 2003 Road Map, that Abbas engage in armed conflict against Hamas. The second phase of the Road Map directed the Palestinian leadership to undertake "the complete dismantling of terrorist organizations," including Hamas and Islamic Jihad - a prescription that the late progressive critic Tanya Reinhart condemned as a recipe for civil war (see The Road Map to Nowhere: Israel/Palestine Since 2003).
The reporting of the inconvenient facts above might very well shed more light upon the underlying reasons for the emergence of civil war in Palestine. However, to do so would be a serious challenge to the longstanding American practice of uncritical support for Israel, regardless of its violent provocations and illegal military occupation, which has now entered its 4th decade. And while condemnations of Hamas for attacks against civilians should be well taken by anyone opposed to terrorism and violence, the media's one-sided pre-occupation with such terror to the neglect of the far more deadly terror of the Israeli military (directed against Palestinian militants and civilians) remains the major obstacle to a real peace in the Middle East.
Anthony DiMaggio has taught Middle East Politics and American Government at Illinois State University. He is the author of Mass Media, Mass Propaganda: Understanding American News in the "War on Terror" (forthcoming from Lexington Books, Fall 2007).'
Comments
Oh, also ... I was responding to Mr.B's specific remark about resentment/dislike ... I never made any claims about the occupation one way or the other, with that particular comment.
Whenever I type that word, it feels like ominous music should start playing ... "the occupation" .... **cue Twilight Zone theme song**
Nope, never said that. Israel's military reprisals are generally triggered by terrorist attacks ... The settlement of lands is something the Israelis have no valid rationale for, and this is one of the things that they will have to stop if anything is to change. The Israelis weaken their case against terrorism when they continue to expand settlements and then claim that its for security reasons.
Right, because the occupation is actually a benevolent, pleasant thing in reality, right? Maybe we should play jingle bells when discussing the imprisonment, starvation, and terrorising of over a million people.
And you get that impression because you're close-minded, polemical, and a little too good at Google searches.
But to say that all of Israel's attacks on Palestinians are 'reprisals' is a lie, as you well know.
And it's not just a case of them 'stopping' the settlements, they need to abide by international law and dismantle all of the illegal settlements.
Sure, I'm with you on that one. I also agree that not all Israeli military operations are reprisals, although the bulk probably are ... Either way, its easy to state that claim when terrorism provides one with the ability to play that card pretty much any time. One wonders what would happen if Hamas was actually serious about peace and stopped the attacks.
Err, o.k.
My belief is that much of the Israeli expansion is indeed about land-grabbing ... SOME of it is about security, and terrorism provides Israel with the means to argue that it is ALL about security.
Well, they only recently offered a peace deal, but it was rejected by Israel. And that's not the first time either.
Other ceasefires observed by the Palestinians have been broken by continued attacks from Israel and continued settlement expansion.
Seriously, the terrorism you speak of here really isn't only one-sided.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0425/p99s01-duts.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/25/israelandthepalestinians
Its not one-sided. But Palestinian "freedom fighting" is a huge part of the equation. We wouldn't be having such a heated discussion if you'd simply concede the point.
The only point I concede is that the Palestinians have no option but to try to defend themselves with whatever means they have at their disposal. Unfortunately those means are limited. They don't possess modern weapons, including the worlds 2nd largest fleet of F16's.
The settlements have nothing to do with security. Nothing whatsoever.
They are not interesting in co-exisisting. They are interested in taking the place over over by lethal force according to biblical prophecy.
Words and negotiations are useless to them. They don't care if Palestinians breathe let alone speak words aloud.
They will take over and continue to kill regardless, and the Palestinians have figured this out. This is why their opposition has become so desperate.
That's it...that's all. There are a host of documentaries out there that illustrate this rather well.
Just look at what they are doing. They are killing people to create Jewish only racial colonies.
It needs to be said twice...
They are killing people to create Jewish only racial colonies.
Think about that, and apply it to any other group of people. Like KKK members, Hells angels, Nazi's, or any other group of people.
Racial colonies imposed by lethal force....in 2008!?!!
I think some people need to really open their eyes...
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")
but israel has killed more ppl in a few days than israeli's have been killed in the past 4-5 years
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
And I apologize if I sound antagonistic when discussing this subject, but it's hard not to be. There's so much distortion, deliberate confusing of the issues - obfuscation, and just outright lies, constantly being thrown around with regards to this issue that it's hard to feel anything other than anger when trying to simply state the facts and cut through all the crap.
If black south Africans,e.t.c, had had to confront a similar wall of mainstream media manufactured bullshit as has been spun around the Israel/palestine conflict then they'd still be living in ghettoes to this day. Those in power obviously pay more attention to the lessons of history than we realise.
Now I have been saying in another thread there are two sides to this issue and that both Israelis are Palestinians are victims but there are too many "incidents" and they have to stop!
Life in Gaza is not pretty. The Palestinians are suffering.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n12xtCmSsx4
How can you just simply call it an "incident" anyway?
And you need to read into all of the reports being made on this issue:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/reports/hundreds-killed-gaza-strip-violence-20071024
Hundreds killed in Gaza Strip violence
Vehicle on fire during clashes between Hamas and Fatah militants in Gaza City, May 2007
24 October 2007
Hundreds of Palestinians lost their lives as a result of the inter-factional political violence that engulfed the Gaza Strip in the past year. Fighting between security forces and armed groups loyal to the two main Palestinian political parties caused the deaths of many unarmed bystanders not involved in the confrontations, including children.
Both sides -- Fatah, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas of then Prime Minister Isma’il Haniyeh -- committed grave human rights abuses. They showed a flagrant disregard for the human rights of a civilian population already worn down by decades of Israeli occupation, military campaigns and blockades. These have caused a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation of the 1.5 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
As armed clashes became more frequent and intensified, Fatah and Hamas gunmen unlawfully killed and maimed captured rivals and hostages. They used indiscriminate and reckless fire in and around residential neighbourhoods.
Neither medical nor educational facilities were immune as they and residential buildings were both attacked and used as firing positions from which to mount attacks. Homes and public properties were damaged and beleaguered residents were virtually imprisoned in their own homes for days by the fighting.
After Hamas’ violent takeover in the Gaza Strip in June, President Abbas’ decision to suspend operations of PA security forces and judicial institutions in the Gaza Strip created a legal and institutional vacuum there. This opened the way for Hamas to establish a parallel security and law enforcement apparatus, but one which lacks appropriately trained personnel, accountability mechanisms or safeguards.
Unsurprisingly, arbitrary detentions and torture or other ill-treatment of detainees by Hamas forces are now widespread and the initial improvements in the security situation that followed Hamas' takeover are fast being eroded.
In the West Bank, there has also been a marked deterioration in the human rights situation under the emergency government set up by President Abbas in June. Arbitrary detention of suspected Hamas supporters by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces has become routine. Detainees are often subject to torture or other ill-treatment and Fatah gunmen have launched revenge attacks against Hamas supporters and their properties with impunity.
Amnesty International is calling on both the PA and Hamas to take swift and decisive measures to stop and prevent the increasingly widespread human rights abuses committed by those acting under their authority and to put an end to the impunity enjoyed by security forces and armed groups.
The organization is also calling on the international community to hold all the Palestinian parties accountable to the same human rights standards and to ensure that the population of the Gaza Strip is not punished for the positions and actions of the Hamas de-facto administration and that emergency assistance essential to fulfilling fundamental human rights is never used as a bargaining tool to further political goals.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE21/023/2007/en/dom-MDE210232007en.html
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: MDE 21/023/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 202
24 October 2007
Embargo Date: 24 October 2007 00:01 GMT
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Palestinian factional strife fuelling abuses
Interfactional fighting between Hamas and Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip earlier this year left 350 Palestinians dead and has been followed by further serious abuses in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.
The 57-page report, Occupied Palestinian Territories: Torn apart by factional strife, accuses Hamas of resorting increasingly to arbitrary detentions and torture since it took power last June in the Gaza Strip, and of allowing its forces to attack and assault peaceful demonstrators as well as journalists reporting on their protests. In the West Bank, the report blames security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas of arbitrarily detaining hundreds of Hamas supporters but of failing to take action against Fatah militants responsible for abductions, arson and other attacks.
"The leaders of both the PA and Hamas must take immediate steps to break the cycle of impunity that continues to fuel abuses, including arbitrary detentions, abductions, torture and ill-treatment by their forces," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East Programme Director. "The ongoing factional struggle between Fatah and Hamas is having a dire effect on the lives of Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, compounding and exacerbating the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by Israeli military campaigns and blockades."
The report calls for the establishment of an independent commission of experts to investigate human rights abuses committed by both parties since the beginning of 2006 and for the leaders on both sides to commit to implementing its recommendations.
According to the report, Palestinian interfactional fighting in the Gaza Strip reached unprecedented levels during the past year, culminating in June 2007 when Hamas seized control of Palestinian Authority security institutions in the territory. It argues that both PA and Hamas security forces and armed groups displayed a flagrant disregard for the safety of the civilian population by launching indiscriminate attacks and reckless gun battles in residential neighbourhoods. This left civilians virtually trapped like prisoners in their own homes while dozens of unarmed bystanders who were not involved in the confrontations, including children, were caught in the line of fire.
The report contains harrowing accounts from victims of both sides and from residents who were directly affected by the waves of armed clashes which took place in the Gaza Strip in June and previous months: “For three days we could not leave the house. Gunmen had taken position on tall buildings and were firing rockets at each others. We feared that a missile could come through the window any time,” a resident of Gaza City told Amnesty International in June 2007.
Rival security forces whose responsibility it was to uphold and enforce the law, and to protect the population, betrayed this responsibility and instead acted as partisans, in concert with armed groups that serve as their proxy militias, and themselves broke the laws and committed gross abuses with complete impunity.
President Abbas’ decision to suspend the operations of PA security forces and judicial institutions in the Gaza Strip following the de-facto takeover of Hamas in Gaza has created a legal and institutional vacuum. This paved the way for Hamas to establish a parallel security and law enforcement apparatus - but one which lacks appropriately trained personnel, accountability mechanisms or safeguards.
As a result, arbitrary detentions and torture of detainees by Hamas forces are now widespread in Gaza, as are attacks against demonstrators and journalists covering such incidents. The initial improvements in the security situation which followed Hamas' takeover in Gaza are fast being eroded .
In the West Bank, human rights abuses by PA security forces are also rife, though much less well publicised - as the international community is seemingly unwilling to rock the boat ahead of forthcoming US-convened conference aimed at resuscitating the long-stalled peace talks between the Israeli government and the PA emergency government.
Hundreds of Hamas supporters or presumed sympathizers have been arrested and arbitrarily detained by PA security forces, violations of legal detention procedures are routine and reports of torture or other ill-treatment are becoming more frequent. Detainees are held in sites not authorized by law for this purpose and security forces frequently ignore orders the judges’ orders to release detainees for lack of evidence.
The PA emergency government has failed to hold to account Fatah gunmen who abducted Hamas supporters and burned down their houses, businesses and charity organizations suspected of links to Hamas in the West Bank - even though the perpetrators of these attacks were often known in their communities and acted in full view of the security forces.
The arrest and detention of more than 1,000 presumed Hamas supporters, most of whom are not accused of any crime, stands in stark contrast to the PA's failure to arrest and bring to justice members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s armed wing, responsible for unlawful killings, hostage-taking, arson and other attacks against people and property.
"The lawlessness which has increasingly gripped the West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent years, culminating in the recent interfactional fighting, is to a large extent the result of the prolonged and systematic failure of the PA to uphold and enforce the law," said Malcolm Smart.
The report also calls on the international community to cease the sale or transfer of weapons to any parties until guarantees can be secured that they won't be used to violate human rights.
"The international community must hold all Palestinian parties accountable to the same human rights standards," said Malcolm Smart. "It must ensure that the population of the Gaza Strip is not punished for the positions and actions of the Hamas de-facto administration and that emergency assistance essential to fulfilling fundamental human rights is never used as a bargaining tool to further political goals."
Are you saying it's ok for some people or in some situations it’s ok to violate international law then?
i think i will take my chances with an israel only colony.
So you're proud that Israelis have everything going for them and the Palestinians have nothing? That's really sad. It was not too long ago when the Jews had nothing and it's only a matter of time before the Palestinians are able to take back their land once the international community enforces it. Better not wish for the same treatment on the Israelis by the Palestinians.
What exactly is your point here?
At what point did the Palestinians say they wanted a Muslim only state, or 'world'?
I'll answer the question for you: they didn't.
Yes I am.
Although I'm not sure that the Palestinians have violated international law.
And I may be mistaken, but show me one U.N resolution which the Palestinians are currently in violation of.
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/42/a42r159.htm
General Assembly
94th plenary meeting - 7 December 1987
14. Considers that nothing in the present resolution could in any way prejudice the right to self-determination, freedom and independence, as derived from the Charter of the United Nations, of peoples forcibly deprived of that right referred to in the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, particularly peoples under colonial and racist regimes and foreign occupation or other forms of colonial domination, nor, in accordance with the principles of the Charter and in conformity with the above-mentioned Declaration, the right of these peoples to struggle to this end and to seek and receive support;
I wouldn't hold your breath.
The targeting of civilians whether they are Palestinians or Israelis (or anyone) is in violation of the Geneva Convention. The refusal of allowing the Red Cross to see prisoners of war is in violations of the Geneva Convention.
If you think you have the right to disregard international law then what makes you any different than the Israelis?
http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/08/hamasltr080602.htm
Letter to Hamas Spiritual Leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin
August 6, 2002 Sheikh Ahmed YassinSpiritual Leader Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Gaza Dear Sheikh Yassin, We are writing to you regarding continued attacks against civilians for which the Islamic Resistance Movement (harakat al-muqawama al-islamiyya, Hamas) has claimed responsibility. We are aware of remarks by you and by other leading Hamas figures, including Dr. Abd al-Aziz al-Rantissi and Dr. Mahmoud Zahar, endorsing such attacks. Human Rights Watch strongly condemns attacks by any party that target civilians or in which civilians suffer disproportionate harm, whether such attacks are committed by agents of a government or by armed opposition groups. No matter what the aims and objectives are, such attacks flagrantly violate the most fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law.
Human Rights Watch is an international human rights monitoring organization that documents and campaigns against violations of human rights and international humanitarian law throughout the world. Since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada almost two years ago, we have sent numerous missions to the Occupied Territories to research violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. On several occasions we have pressed the international community to dispatch an international monitoring force to help provide some measure of protection for civilians in the current clashes. I attach to this letter a full list of Human Rights Watch publications on Israel, the Occupied Territories, and the Palestinian Authority, and a list of the reports and public statements from 2002 available in Arabic on our website: . According to news reports, Hamas has claimed responsibility for at least twenty-three suicide bombings that have targeted and killed civilians. These include Sunday's suicide bombing on a bus in northern Israel, which killed nine and injured forty-six, and last week's attack at the Hebrew University cafeteria, which killed seven students and injured eighty. Leading Hamas members have frequently described these attacks as retaliation for Israeli actions. On July 23, an Israeli air strike on a crowded Gaza apartment in killed fifteen, including Salah Shehadeh, the group's military leader, and injured over 140. Dr. Rantissi was quoted by Reuters on the same day as saying, "Hamas' retaliation will come very soon, and there won't be only just one [attack]…. After this crime, even Israelis in their homes will be the target of our operations." Human Rights Watch has condemned the July 23 air strike as a violation of international humanitarian law because Israel failed to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties. However, even such violations cannot justify deliberate attacks on civilians. Under international humanitarian law, the absolute prohibition against targeting civilians extends to acts of reprisal. One cannot attack civilians, no matter what the cause. You yourself have acknowledged that the Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks against civilians, but then claimed that such protections do not extend to "occupiers." In an interview published in the August 11, 2001 St. Petersburg Times, you are quoted as saying: "The Geneva convention protects civilians in occupied territories not civilians who are in fact occupiers.... All of Israel, Tel Aviv included, is occupied Palestine. So we're not actually targeting civilians-that would go against Islam." This is a gross misreading of international law. International humanitarian law in fact makes no exceptions whatsoever to the prohibition against targeting civilians. Human Rights Watch has made clear that, in our view, Israeli settlements in the territories occupied in 1967 are illegal under international humanitarian law. This illegal status, however, does not in any way make civilians associated with those settlements, or any other civilians, legitimate targets of armed attacks. All attacks that target civilians constitute crimes of the gravest sort. There can never be any justification for such blatant disregard of basic principles of international human rights and humanitarian law. We will press vigorously for those who commit these crimes, as well as those who direct or sponsor them, to be brought to justice. We strongly urge you to adopt and publicize a policy of full respect for the laws of war, including an immediate and total stop to the practice of targeting civilians. We ask that you publicly and unequivocally call on the military wing of your organization, the 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and any other groups or individuals acting on behalf of the Islamic Resistance Movement, to desist from any attacks or acts of reprisal that deliberately target civilians or are indiscriminate. Such attacks have continued unabated for far too long. It is incumbent upon you as a leader of the organization sponsoring these attacks to take a clear and forthright position in opposition to the killing of civilians-no matter what justifications may be put forward. Sincerely,Hanny MegallyExecutive DirectorMiddle East and North Africa division
As you can see, Palestinian suffering has a lot to do with their own politics, and a lot to do with civil fighting, and a lot to do with Hamas.
But once the civil fighting ends, the blame is put all back on Israel.
You really won't ever get it will you Jlew. :rolleyes:
Well if this is what the international community wants as you said, why doesn't the international community grow some balls and take on Israel and the US?
Media Propaganda & the Palestinian Civil War
June 18, 2007 By Anthony DiMaggio
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/4100
'Hamas' recent takeover of the Gaza Strip has been described as many things: an escalation of Palestinian civil war, a threat to Israel's existence, and a major setback for Palestinian statehood. The last of these descriptions, prevalent throughout the American mainstream press, has dramatic consequences for those seriously interested in the peaceful co-existence of both Palestinian and Israeli states.
The American mainstream press has long prided itself in one-sided demonizations of the Palestinian leadership, perhaps most notoriously for blaming the late Yasser Arafat for monkey-wrenching the 2000 Camp David "Peace" proposal. However, with the popular election of Hamas in 2006, American reporters and editors have found a new whipping boy that can effectively be blamed for holding up Israeli-Palestinian peace.
The recent violence in Gaza demonstrates this point rather well, as Western media coverage was rife with allegations that Hamas gunmen dragged several Fatah officers into the street and executed them, some in front of their families. Although Hamas officials denied the executions, the incendiary allegations have served as a rallying cry for anti-Hamas political leaders, pundits, and analysts in the U.S., Israel, and elsewhere. As the New York Times reports, Israeli political officials are beginning to wonder whether "Hamas' show of strength in Gaza would make it more likely that the Israeli military would intervene there this summer to cut back Hamas' political power."
American media coverage has been unequivocal in the placing of blame squarely at the feet of Hamas for hampering possibilities of Palestinian statehood in the foreseeable future. The New York Times reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud "Abbas faces the collapse of Fatah power in Gaza and a putative Palestinian state divided into a West Bank run by Fatah and a Gaza run by Hamas." The Washington Post claimed: "the territorial cornerstones of a future Palestinian state have been reduced to strongholds of each faction." Regional coverage has hardly fared better. The Chicago Sun Times commented that Abbas' firing of Hamas leader and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh left Palestinians "struggling to adjust to a new political reality that has crushed their long-standing hopes for their own state." Perhaps the most critical that any corporate media outlet has come to blaming the U.S. or Israel for the failure of a two-state solution was seen in the Chicago Tribune, where Ali Jarbawi, a professor of Political Science at Bir Zeit University was cited arguing that the U.S. has "failed to empower Abbas politically through genuine progress toward a negotiated two-state solution, leaving him domestically weakened." Substantive condemnations of Israel and the U.S. for denying Palestinian statehood and engaging in terrorism against the Palestinian people have predictably been out of bounds, as only Hamas' acts of terror are deemed to be a salient issue.
While it is difficult to argue with American journalists who argue that the escalating rift between Hamas and Fatah poses a serious danger to peace in Palestine, the one-sided blame placed upon Hamas for the failure of peace represents more a propaganda strategy than a legitimate reporting of the reality on the ground. What is systematically omitted from media coverage are the many attempts by Israeli leaders to exclude any viable two state solution, not to mention the vehement efforts of those same leaders to foment a civil war between Hamas and Fatah.
For only a few of the most recent examples of such efforts, one need look only to the wall being constructed by Israel, which cuts deep into Palestinian territory, unofficially annexing as much as 10% of Palestinian lands by some estimates. The International Court of Justice condemned the wall as an egregious violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions, although one would hardly know this by reading American media coverage. It is difficult to argue that the wall is intended primarily for security purposes (rather than a land grab), considering that the wall could have provided the same level of security if it was built on the Israeli side of the 1967 green line border, rather than the Palestinian side. One can also look to the myth of the "generous" offer at Camp David in 2000. The American press has long been known by Progressive Americans to have played a major role in misrepresenting the offer, which prohibited the establishment of a Palestinian army, refused to offer any concessions on the status of occupied Jerusalem, left a Palestinian "state" with no control over its borders, airspace, or water supply, and failed to dismantle the major settlements or settlement infrastructure within the West Bank (see "The Myth of the Generous Offer," by Ackerman for more details on US media complicity).
More recently than Camp David, one can also look to "Operation Defensive Shield," a 2002 Israeli military operation undertaken in the West Bank, the main goal of which was to systematically destroy the Palestinian governing structure, so as to pave the way for a renewed military occupation. And then, of course, there are the explicit demands of Israeli leaders themselves, codified in the 2003 Road Map, that Abbas engage in armed conflict against Hamas. The second phase of the Road Map directed the Palestinian leadership to undertake "the complete dismantling of terrorist organizations," including Hamas and Islamic Jihad - a prescription that the late progressive critic Tanya Reinhart condemned as a recipe for civil war (see The Road Map to Nowhere: Israel/Palestine Since 2003).
The reporting of the inconvenient facts above might very well shed more light upon the underlying reasons for the emergence of civil war in Palestine. However, to do so would be a serious challenge to the longstanding American practice of uncritical support for Israel, regardless of its violent provocations and illegal military occupation, which has now entered its 4th decade. And while condemnations of Hamas for attacks against civilians should be well taken by anyone opposed to terrorism and violence, the media's one-sided pre-occupation with such terror to the neglect of the far more deadly terror of the Israeli military (directed against Palestinian militants and civilians) remains the major obstacle to a real peace in the Middle East.
Anthony DiMaggio has taught Middle East Politics and American Government at Illinois State University. He is the author of Mass Media, Mass Propaganda: Understanding American News in the "War on Terror" (forthcoming from Lexington Books, Fall 2007).'