Sunday, November 18, 2012

THE LAND GRABBERS STRIKE AGAIN

by Rehmat

—

Source

Pictures and captions by Lasha Darkmoon

“I don’t travel. If I did, I probably wouldn’t visit Israel. I remember how it was in 1948 when Israel was being established and all my Jewish friends were ecstatic. I was not. I said: What are we doing? We are establishing ourselves in a ghetto, in a small corner of a vast Muslim sea. The Muslims will never forget nor forgive. And Israel, as long as it exists, will be embattled. I was laughed at, but I was right. I can’t help but feel that the Jews didn’t really have the right to appropriate a territory only because 2000 years ago, people they consider their ancestors, were living there. History moves on and you can’t really turn it back.” — Jewish writer Isaac Asimov

Nasrallah urged the 57 Muslim nation-states to sever all form of relations with the US while calling upon Cairo, Amman and Ankara to break diplomatic relations with the Zionist entity. He also claimed that the Zionist regime is taking revenge for its failure to bring regime changes in Syria and Lebanon by attacking the coastal enclave.

Hezbollah is the only Arab militia which defeated the Jewish Army in the summer of 2006.

Barack Obama (US), David Cameron (UK) and Stephen Harper (Canada) have all given their unwavering support to the Zionist regime’s new air raids on Gaza while condeming retaliatory rocket attacks on the “peace-loving” Israeli Jewish settlers by Palestinian resistance groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Egyptian president Dr Morsi, who is affraid to anger his western backers, sent Prime Minister Hisham Kandil to the Gaza Strip on Friday. During his visit, Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli air strikes to stop. They were resumed as soon as Hisham Kandil had left Gaza.

The Israeli air attack, which started on Wednesday, has killed at least 21 Palestinians including Ahmad Jaabari, head of Ezzedin Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Most of the victims of Israeli air strikes so far have been Palestinian children. The Zionist regime has declared an emergency and recalled over 30,000 army reserves for a possible ground attack.
Killing children is a serious business.

Jihad Masharawi weeps while he holds the body of his 11-month old son Ahmad at Shifa Hospital following an Israeli air strike on their family home in Gaza City, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012.

Hamas has claimed downing an Israeli F-16 fighter jet and capturing its two pilots. Russian Television (RT) has confirmed Hamas’ claim. Israeli Channel 2 has reported that the Jewish army has indeed lost contact with the two pilots. Israeli military officials have warned Israelis to prepare for up to seven weeks of war on Gaza.

The Israeli military frequently carries out airstrikes and other attacks on Gaza Strip, saying the actions are being conducted for defensive purposes. However, in violation of international law, disproportionate force is always used and civilians killed in a cruel and indiscriminate fashion.
In the Gaza War of 2008-9 (known as ‘Operation Cast Lead’), Israel killed 1400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and suffered a loss of only 14 Israelis. As has often been stated: this was not a war — it was shooting fish in a barrel.

Hamas’ leader in exile, Khaled Mishaal, who is attending the 8th General Conference of Sudanese Islamic Movement in Khartoum, has condemned the killing of commander Ahmad Jaabari. The conference is attended by more than 170 Islamists from around the Muslim world.

Jewish academic and author Dr. Norman Finkelstein, in a recent interview on Russia Today, called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a maniac”.

British veteran journalist and author, Alan Hart, has posted a brilliant article, entitled “Excuse me while I vomit”. He writes:

I imagine I am not the only one who feels the need to vomit when Israel’s Goebbels justifies the Zionist state’s ferocious and monstrously disproportionate attacks by air and sea on the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, the prison camp which is home to 1.5 million besieged and mainly impoverished Palestinians.

The Israeli to whom I am referring is, of course, Australian-born Mark Regev, the prime minister’s spokesman, for which read spin doctor.

The more I see and hear him in action, the more it seems to me that he makes Nazi Germany’s propaganda chief look like an amateur. (See here)

Lasha Darkmoon comments:

Any comparison between Israel and Hitler’s Germany is unfair to Germany. Such mischievous comparisons between the two states are based on distorted perceptions of World War II Germany on the one hand and of the genocidal and land-grabbing Zionist state on the other.

Who do you prefer?— The boy on the left or the girl on the right?


Who died of typhus? And who were killed?

Who are the heroes here, and who the villains?

Two children lie dead. You are told to love and pity the first child, the one on the left. And you are told to regard the second child, the one on the right, as an evil terrorist: and this is the child whose land is being stolen and whose people are being slaughtered daily in the world’s largest concentration camp: G A Z A.

“How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty?” ― Bertrand Russell

“Anonymous” Winning Cyber-War Over Israel

650 Israeli Sites Hacked, Email Addresses, Passwords Leaked, Databases Wiped Clean

When the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) this week began taking military action in the Gaza strip against Hamas (as the IDF announced on Twitter), Anonymous declared its own war as part of #OpIsrael. Among the casualties are thousands of email addresses and passwords, hundreds of Israeli Web sites, government-owned as well as privately owned pages, as well as databases belonging to Bank Jerusalem and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

—

Greetings from Anonymous,
It has come to our attention that conservative and pro-Israeli groups throughout the blogosphere have taken advantage of Operation Israel, attempting to solidify public opinion against Anonymous.

TheOtherMcCain.com posted an editorial this morning which stated the following: “If you ever doubted that Anonymous was a terrorist organization, they have now removed all reason for doubt.” The article only contained 55 words of original content by the site itself, the other 90 percent of the article was selected quotations by mainstream media sources.

Let us once again be perfectly clear: Anonymous does not in any way support the use of violence. Anonymous is a world wide collective of individuals whose means pursue human rights, justice, and universal equality for the citizens of every nation.

Pro-Israeli groups throughout the world have grown from a foundation of Israeli/US propaganda and lies. They arbitrarily dismiss the apartheid system of racial segregation and oppression imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people. The fact of the matter is, in the eyes of the media, only the United States and it’s allies are capable of labeling another state or organization as a terrorists. Throughout our campaign, we’ve been inundated with one response in particular; references to Hamas hiding in school buildings or using women and children as human shields. Selective memory seems to have given pro-Israeli organizations the ability to forget that in 2005 Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz appeared in court to defend the practice of using Palestinians as human shields in combat after a supreme court outlawed the practice, noting it violated International Law.

The reasons for Anonymous intervention through #OpIsrael should be abundantly clear: What is happening in Palestine is oppression. They have no navy, no army, or air force. There is no war in Gaza. There is only the continuous application of military force by Israel in an attempt to push every last person out of the Palestinian state, despite international laws that make these efforts illegal. This illegal expansion of territory by Israel in to the Palestinian state has been ongoing since1948, making refugees of over 700,000 Palestinians. Today, Palestinians are not permitted to live in Israeli settlements, drive on Israeli roads or even travel is the “security” areas surrounding them. These Israeli only housing developments are being built on stolen land, even while being called illegal settlements by the International Court of Justice.

The violence inflicted upon the civilian residents of Gaza is well documented, despite the fact that Israel has adamantly opposed intervention by human rights organizations and the IDF constantly blocks and harasses international journalists.

Despite these facts, Anonymous has not used any anti-Semitic language during our campaign. Nor have we vocalized any support for Palestinian military operations or resistance groups. Our goal was to protect the rights of Palestinian people who are threatened with silence as Israel has made attempts to shut down cell phone and internet service throughout Gaza. We know what happens to victims of oppression when the lights go dark.

It is also worthy to note, that as of yesterday, members of Anonymous participating in #OpIsrael were making attempts to augment our Gaza Care Package for civilians in Tel Aviv by translating the same documents in to Hebrew in the event that they lose access to internet service as well. We do not racially or geographically differentiate between victims of violence or oppression anywhere in the world.

Both Palestinians and Israelis need to find common ground and end the violence that has already resulted in the deaths of innocent people, including children. Israel’s advancement on Palestinian Territories and the racist oppression of Palestinian people needs to end.

We are not terrorists. Governments that fund wars, practice deceit against their own citizens, condone corruption, and turn a blind eye to the deaths of innocent people are terrorists. The word terror does not belong to Israel or the United States. We will judge you by your actions.
Peace and Freedom to all,

#OpIsrael

#Anonymous

Anonymous Gaza Care Package: http://www.mediafire.com/?hpnne29xvx1ceuv

#OpIsrael Information and Tools: http://www.anonpaste.me/anonpaste2/index.php?052e585589d89b5d#V7ELmwHwFZ6gm+mv3/BH0M2bw035NxDE7qaf55tRIBY=
———————————

By Emil Protalinski

When the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) this week began taking military action in the Gaza strip against Hamas (as the IDF announced on Twitter), Anonymous declared its own war as part of #OpIsrael. Among the casualties are thousands of email addresses and passwords, hundreds of Israeli Web sites, government-owned as well as privately owned pages, as well as databases belonging to Bank Jerusalem and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

While the hacktivist group doesn’t appear to be anywhere near satisfied yet, the YourAnonNews account, which has over 686,000 followers, did just send out this message:

If that’s not a declaration of success, I don’t know what is. There have so far been hundreds of takedowns and defacements of sites by Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks; one Pastebin trying to list them all includes 659 Web sites. Not all of them are still down, but some are, and others are still defaced.

Another AnonPaste includes 2,004 email addresses, the majority of which appear to have corresponding passwords, allegedly stolen from an MySQL database belonging to dirotmodiin.co.il, a site for finding real estate in Israel. Many of them are hosted on Israeli domains, but there are also the usual Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo accounts.

Yet as already mentioned, we’re talking about more than just DDoS attacks that are overloading Web sites, such as tel-aviv.gov.il, the municipal site for the second most populous city in Israel (after Jerusalem). There are also plenty of defacements, and, as of a few minutes ago, databases have also been wiped.

While the Israeli government almost certainly has backups of the aformentioned databases, these attacks as well as the defacements show Anonymous isn’t just doing its usual spree of overloading target sites. OpIsrael appears to have gotten multiple hackers involved who are interested in doing actual damage, or at least something that is slightly more permanent than just a 404.

anon deface 730x290 Anonymous attacks over 650 Israeli sites, wipes databases, leaks email addresses and passwords (updated)

Update at 8:20PM EST: The Twitter account is now claiming that over 9,000 sites have been taken down or defaced, but don’t be fooled: this is a meme reference.

Update at 9:00AM on November 17 – Anonymous is claiming to have taken down the Web sites for the President of the state of Israel and the IDF’s blog. At the time of writing, the former is still down but the latter is working just fine.

Update at 4:00PM on November 17: Anonymous is claiming to have taken down a few more sites; here are the ones that were down or defaced at the time of this update:

Nothing major, but this further shows Anonymous is clearly still at it.
A press release attempts to explain Anonymous’ motives behind the attacks:

Greetings World
For far too long, Anonymous has stood by with the rest of the world and watched in despair the barbaric, brutal and despicable treatment of the Palestinian people in the so called “Occupied Territories” by the Israel Defense Force. Like so many around the globe, we have felt helpless in the face of such implacable evil. And today’s insane attack and threatened invasion of Gaza was more of the same.

But when the government of Israel publicly threatened to sever all Internet and other telecommunications into and out of Gaza they crossed a line in the sand. As the former dictator of Egypt Mubarack learned the hard way – we are ANONYMOUS and NO ONE shuts down the Internet on our watch. To the IDF and government of Israel we issue you this warning only once. Do NOT shut down the Internet into the “Occupied Territories”, and cease and desist from your terror upon the innocent people of Palestine or you will know the full and unbridled wrath of Anonymous. And like all the other evil governments that have faced our rage, you will NOT survive it unscathed.

To the people of Gaza and the “Occupied Territories”, know that Anonymous stands with you in this fight. We will do everything in our power to hinder the evil forces of the IDF arrayed against you. We will use all our resources to make certain you stay connected to the Internet and remain able to transmit your experiences to the world. As a start, we have put together the Anonymous Gaza Care Package – http://bit.ly/XH87C5 – which contains instructions in Arabic and English that can aid you in the event the Israel government makes good on it’s threat to attempt to sever your Internet connection. It also contains useful information on evading IDF surveillance, and some basic first aid and other useful information. We will continue to expand and improve this document in the coming days, and we will transmit it to you by every means at our disposal. We encourage you to download this package, and to share it with your fellow Palestinians to the best of your ability.

We will be with you. No matter how dark it may seem, no matter how alone and abandoned you may feel – know that tens of thousands of us in Anonymous are with you and working tirelessly around the clock to bring you every aid and assistance that we can.

We Are Anonymous
We Are Everywhere
We Are Legion
We Do Not Forgive
We Do Not Forget
To the oppressors of the innocent Palestinian people, it is too late to EXPECT US

Source

Russian TV office destroyed in Israeli attack on Gaza

Smoke billows as debris flies from the explosion at the local Al-Aqsa TV station in Gaza City on November 18, 2012, after it was attacked during an Israeli airstrike.

"Truth is a treat to the fabricated regime of "Israel's" security"

A Russian television network says its office in the Gaza Strip has been destroyed as buildings of press agencies are hit in the latest wave of Israeli aggression against the besieged Palestinian territory.

The Moscow-based Russia Today news station reported that the office on the top floor of the Showa Media Center "was destroyed after (an) Israeli airstrike hit the building" on Sunday, AFP reported.

The attack comes after the office of Iran's English-language Press TV channel in Gaza was hit twice in the Israeli aerial assaults.

During the bombings, a Press TV cameraman sustained injuries. He is in stable condition at a hospital in Gaza.

"At least six journalists were wounded, with minor and moderate injuries, when Israeli warplanes hit the al-Quds TV office in the Showa and Housari building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City," Hamas Health Ministry Spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.

Most of the reporters evacuated after an initial strike, but they later returned to the site only to come under another assault.

Witnesses said the strikes caused extensive damage to the building.

The latest wave of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has claimed at least 53 lives since November 14. Ahmed al-Ja'abari, the popular and influential leader of the Hamas military wing, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was assassinated in an Israeli attack on his car on Wednesday.

On November 16, Ahmed Abu Jalal, a field commander of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the district of Maghazi in central Gaza.

Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas government buildings in the Palestinian territory on Saturday, after Israel's cabinet authorized the mobilization of up to 75,000 reservists, preparing for a possible ground invasion.

The Israeli military frequently carries out airstrikes and other attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying the actions are being conducted for defensive purposes. However, in violation of international law, disproportionate force is always used and civilians are often killed or injured.

Gaza has been blockaded by the Israeli regime since 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

Source

Saturday, November 17, 2012

From Stalingrad to Gaza with Love

By Gilad Atzmon

—
Benjamin Netanyahu, is made of different material than Barak. Unlike Barak, who is obsessed with the banal implementation of military power, Netanyahu is concerned with the power of deterrence and he is also intelligent enough to realise that the consequences of a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip may mean the total eradication of such a power. A large scale deployment of infantry is a complicated thing.

It would lead to violent clashing with hostile civilians in a heavily populated urban territory, endless cases of inevitable war crimes and crimes against humanity, international condemnation, unavoidable conflict with Israeli allies and so on. Also, such an escalation will prove, once again how resilient the Palestinian society is, as opposed to the vulnerable Israeli people. Let me tell you, this is not what Netanyahu had in mind two weeks ago when he decided to slaughter just a few Palestinians in order to win the next Israeli election.

Netanyahu prefers to kill Palestinians from afar, to missile them from Israeli Navy battle ships, drones and F16s. Israel had initially a limited operative plan ahead of Operation Pillar of Cloud. But, it didn’t take more than a few hours for Israeli generals to realise that they were ambushed by the Hamas. Like Lebanon 2006, Israel was far from being ready for this conflict. It failed to realised that the Hamas has been preparing itself for this battle. Earlier on today, I saw on BBC News, a Palestinian flag waving on top of a wreckage of house in Gaza that was flattened by Israel during the night. The message was clear: Hamas is ready to make Gaza into Stalingrad. The Israeli generals realise it, some of them are clever enough to grasp the fate of their soldiers if they decide to move in. They are not prepared to be Netanyahu’s ‘6^th Army’

The Hamas clearly won this round of violence, it has managed to push Israel to the corner. The Israelis are now expecting Netanyahu and Barak to dissolve the ‘immanent’ ballistic threat. Yet, the IDF doesn’t have a magical military solution except offering full land invasion.

But can the Jewish State redeem itself, can Israel actually win this hopeless situation? Of course it can. All it would take from Israelis is to learn to love their neighbours, to accept the Palestinian cause, to grasp that the rockets are actually a love letter to stolen land, cities, villages, fields and orchards. But can the Jewish State look in the mirror and grasp it all? Can the Jewish State understand its original sin, it own reality as a plundering oppressive entity? Yes, of course it can, only if it stops being a Jewish State.

Source

Friday, November 16, 2012

Nasrallah calls for regional support of Gaza

An image grab from Al-Manar television channel shows Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah delivering a speech on 12 November 2012.

Related by Huzaifah (R.A.) the Prophet said "Whoever does not take an interest in the affairs and problems of the Muslims, he is not of them. And whoever's state is such that, each morning and evening, he is not loyal and earnest to Allah, his Apostle, His Book, the Islamic ruler and towards the Muslims, as a whole, he is not of them."

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah Thursday called on all Arab and Muslim countries to use all means possible to stop Israel’s vicious assault on the Gaza Strip, including raising oil prices.

Nasrallah urged Arab nations to suspend relations with Israel and the US, saying the only solution is for the world to pressure the United States, which will press Israel to end its blockade on Gaza.

He advocated the use of financial levers such as limiting oil production to push the West into stripping Israel of economic and political support.

"Some say the Arabs don't have the courage to stop oil production," he said.

"Decrease your oil exports … you will shake the United States, you will shake Europe ...Put on some pressure. No one is calling for armies or tanks or planes."

The Hezbollah leader also hailed the firing of long-range rockets from Gaza into Israel as a “very significant development” for the Palestinian struggle.

"The firing of Fajr 5 rockets on Tel Aviv today shows the maturation, the wisdom and strength, and the courage of the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip," Nasrallah said. He added that Israel had not expected retaliatory fire on Tel Aviv, the Jewish state’s economic center.

He reaffirmed solidarity with the Palestinian struggle, saying "we in Lebanon are concerned about events in Gaza, because this is not only the battle of Gaza but of all of us."

Source

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Gaza Siege Harshness Continues

11-month-old Omar Masharawi murdered by the terrorist IDF

by Stephen Lendman

Israel's claimed easing is false. Besieged Gazans remain isolated. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) assessed conditions in January.

Except for limited amounts of agricultural products, Gaza's export economy's suffering. In addition, imports of basic needs and raw materials fall well below minimal needs.

Karm Abu Salem crossing was closed nearly 30% of the time. Incoming truckloads are 28.5% of pre-siege levels.

Out of 60 million flowers produced annually, export permission's granted for only a tiny fraction. In 2005, 70 truckloads of agricultural products were exported daily. Now it's a shadow of that amount.

Before June 2007, 570 average daily truckloads entered Gaza. Now it's around 150.

Karm Abu Salem crossing handles commercial traffic only. Currently, it doesn't meet Gaza's needs. Previously, goods entered through four crossings. In March 2011, Israel began demolishing the main al-Mentar (Karni) commercial crossing.

It once handled 75% of Strip needs. Its closure and dependence on Karm Abu Salem severely restricted movement of goods. Moreover, high transportation expenses increased import prices, and farmers incurred higher export costs.

Al-Mentar crossing opened in 1995. According to the 2005 Crossings Agreement, its operational capacity allowed 400 export trucks daily and 600 entering. Yet Israel's bureaucracy prevented attaining these levels even before imposed siege restrictions.

Gaza's commercial crossing is important. During Cast Lead it was destroyed. In addition, Private Transport Association secretary-general Jihad Salim said shipping a container from Ashdod, Israel to Gaza cost more than from China to Ashdod. It's because onerous import fees impose burdensome expenses.

Besides agriculture, Gaza's export economy relies heavily on textiles and furniture. Producers are hard-pressed to survive. Many can't and shut down.

In January, 2,800 tons of cooking gas entered Gaza. It represents less than half what's needed. Israel permitted 330,000 liters of diesel and 70,000 liters of benzene. It's far less than what Gazans need. As a result, tunnel smuggling's essential.

A total ban on construction materials remains for private sector use. International organizations are permitted limited quantities, including 70,000 tons of construction aggregate, 7,400 tons of cement, and 1,435 tons of iron. Limited amounts of tar, other construction materials, plumbing tools, ceramics and marble were also allowed.

Vehicular traffic restrictions reduced entry to half its normal flow. An agreement to permit more wasn't implemented.

Fewer patients were given travel permission to visit Israeli, West Bank and Jerusalem hospitals. The level represents half the early 2006 level. Certain categories were excluded altogether, including blind patients, those with amputated limbs, and others Israel won't qualify as needing urgent treatment.

Under complicated bureaucratic procedures, 46 international journalists, 93 diplomats, and 548 international humanitarian organization workers entered after several days of delay.

Business people endured five border crossing closures. During the 26 open, 2,300 traders were let in. It represents half the June 2007 level.

For over 56 months, families of about 500 Gazans detained in Israeli prisons were prevented from visiting loved ones. No rational reasons were given. Doing so violates Fourth Geneva's Article 116, stating:

"Every internee shall be allowed to receive visitors, especially near relatives, at regular intervals and as frequently as possible. As far as is possible, internees shall be permitted to visit their homes in urgent cases, particularly in cases of death or serious illness of relatives."

Rafah International Crossing Point conditions improved. About 15,760 entered Egypt. Another 774 returned. Palestinian males aged 18 to 40 are prohibited traveling either way. Opened five days a week, it's closed on weekends and official holidays.

Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing handles pedestrian traffic. Israel closed it with few exceptions. They include patients with serious illnesses, Arabs with Israeli IDs, international journalists, international humanitarian organization employees, businesspeople, and persons traveling via al-Karama crossing. Even they endure burdensome delays.

Gaza's siege is illegal. Isolation this long represents cruel and unusual collective punishment. Pressure's vital to end it entirely, including for seaborne entry. Israel maintains it repressively, despite serving no useful purpose.

As a result, 1.7 million Gazans endure severe hardships. They're suffocating because too few vital to life supplies enter. Others remain at Israel's whim to curtail or cut off entry entirely for any reason or none at all. This must end.

Fourth Geneva's Article 55 states:

"To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores, and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate."

"The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles, or medical supplies available in the occupied territory, and then only if the requirements of the civilian population have been taken into account."

Under Article 1, Fourth Geneva's "High Contracting Powers" are obligated to ensure implementation of the convention's provisions to assure proper treatment for occupied people.

For nearly 45 years, Israel never treated Palestinians responsibly. As a result, they continue enduring appalling hardships, especially besieged Gazans.

A Final Comment

At hundreds of checkpoints, Israel harasses Palestinians repressively. On January 25, Haaretz writer Amira Hass headlined, "New Israeli search method at West Bank checkpoint worries Palestinians," saying:

According to international aid workers, "Israel Police have begun implementing a new method of searching Palestinian vehicles through use of (unknown, perhaps toxic) nausea-inducing chemicals at a Bethlehem checkpoint."

Cars are pulled over, then "passengers are asked to roll up all windows, apart from that of the driver – and exit the vehicle. Two tubes are then connected to the vehicle – one is connected to an air pump, the other, which passes through a tiny filter, is attached to the vehicle. A policeman with a stopwatch flicks the air pump switch."

One international user described the experience as follows:

"[T]he tube is left connected for approximately 10 minutes. Afterward, the filter is removed and taken to a nearby building. The worker says she was under the impression that some kind of chemical was disseminated into the vehicle, as she and another passenger began feeling nauseous and suffered from headaches several days afterwards. The worker has informed her country’s embassy."

In combat, Israel tests new terror weapons in real time. Apparently Palestinians are test subjects to see how well or poorly they handle this substance, whatever it is. An Israeli official explained the procedure offhandedly, saying:

"(I)t must conduct arbitrary, rudimentary checks through use of sophisticated technological means, all the while alleviating the experience of those being checked." No further explanation was given.

Begun in December, it continues. Palestinians with Israeli license plates and foreign residents are excluded. What's used and its potential short or longer term effects aren't known.

Israel's unconcerned about Palestinians' health and well-being. Gazans endure critical fuel and medical supply shortages. About 90% of Gaza's water is unsafe, and raw sewage dumped into the Mediterranean poses serious health hazards.

In conflicts, illegal weapons, depleted uranium, and other toxins are used freely. What's a dose of unknown gas besides all that. They add up and take a toll.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

Source

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Pillar of Biblical Cloud

By Gilad Atzmon

Once again we've learned today that in the Jewish State, Goyim's blood translates into political power. In order to win the Israeli election, Benjamin Netanyahu feels the need to present the Israeli voter with a substantial pile of Palestinian corpses.

Like in the case of previous IDF's genocidal operations, the current Israeli Pillar of Cloud also has a Biblical connotation. In Exodus 13:21-22, you will find the following: “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,”

Seemingly, the current Israel murderous assault against civilians is consistent with the Zionist secular interpretation of the Old Testament. " …then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.” (Deuteronomy 7:1-2). However, this time it isn’t God who guides his chosen people. It is actually a democratically elected war criminal that was chosen by God’s favourite people.

Some ‘progressive’ minds amongst us insist that we should never refer to the Jewishness of the 'Jewish State'. But I am afraid that considering the emerging level of Israeli barbarism and some clear Biblical connotations, such a critical tendency is inevitable.

The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics, Jewish political interest and Israeli barbarism in the context of Biblical Jewish secular interpretations.
Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Source

Seven Palestinians, Including An 11-Month-Old Infant, Killed By Israeli Shells In Gaza

by Ghassan Bannoura

Five Palestinian civilians were killed on Wednesday night as Israeli fighter jets continue to pound the Gaza Strip; death toll now reached seven by Israeli attacks targeting the coastal region today.

Seven Killed by Israeli Attacks Targeting Gaza on Wednesday

Palestinian sources announced that Israeli fighter jets and unmanned drones conducted a number of air strikes targeting central and southern Gaza Strip leading to the death of five civilians.

The sources added that the Israeli shelling targeted residential areas in Gaza City and Khan Younis.

The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that among those killed on Wednesday evening are Ahmad Misharawi, 11 months, Ranan Arafat, 7 years old, Issam Abu Izah, 23 years old, and Mohamed Al Kasih, 19 years old.

The Ministry added that 40 Palestinian were injured, including several residents who suffered serious injuries.

Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza responded by firing home-made shells and rockets at Israeli targets near the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Wednesday afternoon two Palestinians were killed, and four others injured, one seriously, by Israeli air strikes targeting Gaza city.

Local sources said that an Israeli drone fired a missile at a car near Gaza City hospital killing Ahmad al-Ja’bari, 52, and Mohamed al-Hiems, 30.

Al-Ja’bari was a commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades of the Hamas movement.

Another air raid targeted a civilian car near the Gaza city port on Wednesday afternoon. Local sources said that two men who were inside the car were injured and moved to a nearby hospital.

Furthermore, Israeli F16 fighter-jets fired missiles at residents’ homes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, no injuries were reported.

On Tuesday, a resistance fighter died of wounds suffered last Saturday during the latest wave of Israeli military escalation against the coastal region.

The death of the seven today brings the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army since Saturday to 17. While dozens of residents, including children, were injured by Israeli fire and shells in the coastal region.

Source

Iron curtains over Gaza; the Media’s Blackout.

All forms of media-television, radio, and newspapers-have been monopolised by corporations. When it comes to reporting, these commercial media outlets have no trouble feeding propaganda into the masses. And this is exactly what happens when Gaza is the given subject. Propaganda. In fact more often than not Gaza doesn’t seem to be worth that. Besides its regular power cuts, Gaza experiences a constant media blackout, the popular censorship of Gaza’s suffering, imposed by the ‘only democracy in the middle east’, Israel.

Now there’s obvious reasons as to why Gaza is an overlooked problem, but which one do we begin to address? The fear of appearing anti-Semitic? The genuine belief that Gaza is a prison camp harbouring terrorists that want to murder all Jews? Or the belief that Palestinians are the ones occupying innocent Israel? Or the impartiality news agencies such as BBC insist on? Whatever the excuse, it will always stand insufficient.

As someone who is always cynical of the legitimacy of what the media ‘reports’ or rather interprets and portrays on daily world news and politics, the media blackout on Gaza fails to surprise me. Even for Afghanistan and Iraq. British or American deaths in these countries are reported on heavily whereas leaked pictures of soldiers from the same countries posing with half naked corpses, killing them for sport and mutilating body parts for trophies is lingered on shortly. It’s important to note that language of media is also extremely crucial. There are always specific words these corporate machines subtly replace with another of their choice, which completely changes the given altitude of meaning to whichever story. The Language of Media Propaganda.

When most people think of propaganda, the posters and songs created by a government during wartime springs to mind, yet the truth of the matter is that propaganda has a much broader application. It refers not only to the efforts a government goes to make people adopt certain beliefs or attitudes, though it does not stop there, for the purpose of politics it does. We can label “propaganda” any organised effort to persuade large numbers of people about the truth of an idea, the value of a product, or the appropriateness of an attitude. When the government uses the media in an organised and deliberate way to get people to believe that a war is necessary for their safety such as Iraq, that’s propaganda. When a corporation uses the media in an organised and deliberate way to get people to think that Gillette 3 layered razor is better than the other brand, that’s propaganda. If a private group uses the media in an organised and deliberate way to get people to adopt a negative attitude towards immigrants as the Daily Mail loves to do, that, is also propaganda.

So what is the language of media propaganda? Language can be extremely powerful, especially when you know how to steer it, and politicians of course are experts when it comes to this craft. For instance when Tony Blair on Iraq said “The bombing is unfortunate, but it’s necessary”, most people usually fill in the gap by projecting their own understanding of what “necessary” means. We don’t stop to wonder, on whose criteria is it necessary, or by what standard is it necessary? When Barack Obama in his 2011 AIPAC speech said, “America’s commitment to Israel’s security flows from a deeper place, and that’s the values we share. ” He values emotions over objective information again audience giving their own understanding to what the shared values are. This is the most subtle skill in propaganda. The media is just as good at this skill. New terminologies are in fact invented.

‘Islamists’, ‘Jihadists’ all given without definition, allowing the audience to interpret it as the words what the media is really pointing unashamedly to; terrorists and terrorism. Another example Robert Fisk clearly noted “The US and British – and Israeli and Palestinian – leaderships have used the words ‘peace process’ to define the hopeless, inadequate, dishonourable agreement that allowed the US and Israel to dominate whatever slivers of land would be given to an occupied people”. The apartheid wall isn’t an apartheid wall but a ‘separation wall‘ , ‘fence‘ or ‘security barrier‘ in Israeli hasbara (propaganda) terms. The occupation becomes ‘conflict‘, the illegal Israeli colonies on annexed Palestinian land become ‘settlements‘ or ‘Jewish communities‘.

Take the example of 2011′s Eliat attacks. Israel as usual was given the spotlight in the media. ‘Gaza militants’ was the most common expression present within the news. Hamas was not the perpetrator of the attack, but the very term initiated the thought, as the west introduced Hamas as the ‘terrorists in Gaza’. Anything Palestinians seem to do is ‘terror’. Non-violent demonstrations become ‘riots’, BDS movement becomes ‘economic sabotage’ or ‘economic terror’. A week after the Eliat attacks, Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz eventually admitted ‘doubts’ that it was Palestinians members of Popular Resisitance Commitee’s organised the Eliat’s bus attack, but actually Egyptian’s as it was revealed. But this new piece of information fails to surface upon the western news agencies, instead, “Gaza fires rockets into Israel” headlines are seen, Popular Resistance Committee’s handmade mortars of retaliation to the American supplied Israeli missiles. Casual attempts to make the oppressed seem as the oppressors.

Anyone following the Gaza siege would have already known that 3 days before the Eliat attacks, a heavy presence of F-16s and drones was lingering in Gaza’s skies, explosions without casualties occurring, and within moments of Eliat, it was the perfect excuse to begin a ruthless assault on a besieged population of 1.6 million – not that Israel ever needs an excuse. Crimes that Israel commits are never ‘responses’ – one of Netenyahu’s favourite word. Again ‘response’ gives the illusion that Gaza is the cause and problem, regardless of its oppression, since that’s hardly mentioned. Netenyahu’s ‘response’ simply waits for pretext. Ehud Barak was quick to state that the “attacks originate in Gaza and we will act against them with full force and resolve”, fuelling disinformation which to the audience may even seem justified, since this ‘Gaza’ has killed Israeli citizens first and have been firing rockets. For the reality of what goes on in Gaza, small alternative news websites are relied on, including Palestinians tweeting from Gaza, reporting real-time as air strikes bury their martyrs and injure civilians.

Warning, distressing and graphic video below of the dead bodies received at al-Shifa hospital, Gaza:

The trend to censor Gaza’s siege and suffering seems to be full on force. It is impossible to forget BBC’s refusal to air an appeal for Gaza during the 2008/2009 massacre. In fury I had attended the demonstration outside BBC building, outraged that their reasoning was ‘impartiality’. When the Mavi Marmara Aid Flotilla rampage took place when 9 Turkish activists where murdered, it was portrayed with a tremendous distortion of facts on BBC Panorama. Soon after ‘Free Palestine’ was censored on BBC Radio. The atrocity of these embargo’s seem to have no end. It is evident that it is up to the volume of our voices, to be the echo of humanity, and to scream to the world in defiance of injustice. The minority who rule society and control our lives with iron curtains are afraid of our voice and love our silence. We must make them tremble at all times. This not only applies to the people of Palestine, but wherever injustice has chosen as a home.

Rise, resist, and revolt.

Source

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

“Israel is a non-nuclear weapons state"

Ask an Awkward Question, Get a Silly Answer…

by Stuart Littlewood

Tired of listening to Agent Cameron and his foreign secretary William Hague trying to pick a fight with Iran and ratcheting up sanctions aimed at ruining that country’s economy and hurting innocent Iranian women and children, I asked my MP, Henry Bellingham, to table the following written Parliamentary Question (PQ)…

“Israel refuses (unlike Iran) to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and open its nuclear programme to international inspection. It has not signed the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. It has signed but not ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, similarly the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Israeli regime continues to defy international law and UN resolutions with its illegal occupation, ongoing confiscation of Palestinian lands, destruction of homes, arrest and imprisonment of civilians, its inhuman blockade of Gaza and many other crimes against humanity – including lethal assaults on peaceful shipping on the high seas bringing humanitarian aid. Instead of rewarding Israel with pledges of everlasting protection and special trade agreements, should not Britain and the international community now discharge their obligation to make Israel accountable?”

Mr Bellingham said he would have to ‘tweak’ the question, presumably to fit the approved format. In the process the emphasis on Israel’s nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction was mysteriously lost. This was the result…

Mr Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage Israel to (a) sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and (b) open its nuclear programme to international inspection. [126611]

Alistair Burt: The British Government supports fully the universalisation of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We have called on Israel and other non-signatories to join the NPT as non-nuclear weapons states. We have also called on them to agree a full scope Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 2009 the IAEA concluded that nuclear material, facilities or other items to which safeguards were applied in Israel remained in use for peaceful activities. The UK accepts these conclusions. We have a regular dialogue with the Israeli Government on civil nuclear and counter proliferation issues. [my italics]

What does Mr Burt, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, mean by including Israel among the “non-nuclear weapons states”? Is he seriously telling Parliament and the world that Israel has no nukes?

He sidesteps the taboo subject of Israel’s hundreds of nuclear warheads, which have never been subject to international safeguards, while he and his colleagues enjoy their sport of punishing Iran, which is properly signed up to the NPT and has no nuclear weapons.

Burt, being a former officer of the lobby group Conservative Friends of Israel, is a rabid admirer and supporter of that racist entity, as are Hague and Cameron. All three, according to theyworkforyou.com, voted “very strongly” for the Iraq war which, for the majority of the British public, was the acid test of how far they can be trusted in government.

My understanding of the Israeli nukes situation is that in 2009 the IAEA again called on Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty, open its nuclear facilities to inspection and place them under comprehensive IAEA safeguards. And again Israel declined.

The IAEA’s report ‘Israeli nuclear capabilities’ http://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC54/GC54Documents/English/gc54-14_en.pdf states: “The IAEA applies safeguards in Israel pursuant to an INFCIRC/66-type safeguards agreement of 4 April 1975 concluded between the IAEA, Israel and the United States of America (INFCIRC/249) which was extended by a Protocol of 28 September 1977 (INFCIRC/249/Add.1). The Agreement relates to an agreement of 12 July 1955 on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the Governments of Israel and the USA. Israel has not concluded an Additional Protocol to its safeguards agreement.”

The Agency’s verification of Israel’s activities, unlike those of States with a comprehensive safeguards agreement, is limited to the materials, equipment and facilities Israel chooses to specify in its safeguards undertakings. The IAEA concluded in 2009 that the items specified by Israel were for peaceful purposes but made clear that it was unable to list all the nuclear facilities which could be subject of safeguards if a comprehensive agreement were in force.

Quite obviously, in the case of Israel the IAEA’s monitoring has been woefully insufficient. On 7 April 2010 the Director General wrote to all IAEA member states, including Israel, about a resolution adopted by the General Conference on 18 September 2009. The letter said the resolution expressed concern about Israeli nuclear capabilities and called on Israel “to accede to the NPT and place all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards”. It also urged the IAEA Director General to work with the concerned States towards achieving that end and report on the implementation of this resolution to the Board of Governors and the General Conference.

Israel’s foreign minister Avigdor Liberman, in his response, called the resolution “politically motivated” and said it attempted to divert attention from the real proliferation challenges of the Middle East, namely non-compliance by Iran and Syria with their NPT obligations. According to him the resolution was incompatible with basic principles and norms of international law. “It is the sovereign right of any state to decide whether it consents to be bound by any particular treaty,” he wrote.

Imagine if Iran had said that…

While claiming that Israel values the non-proliferation regime and acknowledges its importance, Liberman said that “attempts to single out Israel… harm the professional standing of the IAEA” and that co-operation with the resolution was “unjustified”. He wanted it removed from the IAEA’s agenda.

Misleading Parliament is a serious offence. The Foreign Office minister ought to withdraw any suggestion that Israel has no nuclear weapons. I have asked Mr Bellingham to obtain a much fuller reply addressing the weapons issue. He says he will “see what further question can sensibly come out of this and table it in due course”.

A second PQ, asking why the British government hasn’t made friends and developed trade with Iran instead of declaring economic war and plotting a shooting war, seems to have gone missing.

It’s all so reminiscent of the unpleasantness in 1953 when Dr Mossadeq refused to do Britain’s bidding. Will we never learn?

Stuart Littlewood’s book Radio Free Palestine, with Foreword by Jeff Halper, can now be read on the internet by visiting: www.radiofreepalestine.org.uk