Swiss President announces plans to break Gaza siege

Swiss President and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey

23/03/2011

GAZA, (PIC)– Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey has announced her country is developing a project to open up all crossings to the Gaza Strip, which has been suffocating for the last five years from an Israeli blockade.

She also said if Egypt would agree to open the Rafah crossing to bring in building materials and commodities, her country would be ready to restore it.

The statements came Monday during a meeting with several high-profile politicians in Europe staged by the European-Palestinian relations council.

They met to discuss Switzerland’s role in supporting the democratic movements sweeping the Mideast and issues affecting Palestine.

Discussions included British MP Lord Andrew Phillips, member of European Parliament Alexandra Faith, MEP Derek Vaughan from Wales, and Swiss MP Geri Müller.

For his part, Lord Andrew Phillips, who headed the delegation, said world silence was to blame for Israel’s obstinacy, saying that Tel Aviv understands that silence over recent attacks has provided a green light for more attacks.

Swiss MP Geri Müller emphasized the importance of Switzerland’s role in preserving the Geneva Convention brokered in the Swiss capital and stopping Israel from violating it.

Switzerland has recognized elections in Palestine and kept contacts with both Fatah and Hamas.

Source: The Palestinian Information Centre

Gaza Flotilla Will Sail Despite Israeli Threats

London – Despite the Israeli government’s escalating threats of violence and attempts at diplomatic strong-arming, the organizers of a new international “Freedom Flotilla” – more than 15 ships that will set sail in late May to force an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip – says it is proceeding as planned. To assure that its passengers are unharmed, the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG), one of the flotilla organizers, is calling on all governments representing participating citizens to take concrete steps to protect their safety.

“There is nothing Israel – or our own governments — can do to frighten us into abandoning the 1.6 million ‘prisoners’ of Gaza,” said Rami Abdo, spokesperson for the ECESG. “Throughout the past – in the United States during its fight for equal rights for blacks, and in South Africa during the campaign against apartheid – it is only civil actions like this that eventually forced an end to government-imposed oppression. We stand on the right side of history. If they continue their campaign of tyranny, however, we will only become more determined.”

Abdo added that the flotilla is particularly urgently needed at this time due to Israel’s escalating military attacks on Gaza, leading some to fear that another invasion – similar to the deadly war on the Strip that left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead in early 2009 – is planned.

Israel has controlled the Palestinian people for 63 years, since more than 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes or fled out of fear following the creation of Israel in 1948. That control intensified in 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. Although Israel withdrew its settlers from Gaza in 2005, it has continued to control the inhabitants’ lives; since 2007, it has prevented most human traffic in and out of the densely populated Strip, while restricting imports and banning virtually all exports. The impact: More than 75 percent of Palestinians in Gaza live under the poverty line.

The Freedom flotilla, of which Free Gaza and ECESG are founding members, is a human rights coalition that was organized after the 8th voyage by the Free Gaza movment. Free Gaza has sailed since August 2008 to break Israel’s illegal stranglehold, successfuly arriving in Gaza five times: however, the past four voyages were violently intercepted, and on May 31, 2010, the Israeli military killed nine of the passengers during the first Freedom Flotilla.

A 10th flotilla – promising to be the largest, with 15 ships carrying passengers from 12 European states as well as Latin America, Africa, Asia, Canada and the United States – is now being organized for a late May departure for Gaza. The passengers will include hundreds of peace advocates from around the world, including parliamentarians and human rights activists, and representatives of more than 40 media institutions.

Israel has responded by threatening to once again use deadly force to stop the new flotilla, including snipers and attack dogs. According to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi is on record as threatening that “if the IDF is faced with a similar situation in the future, there may be no alternative to deploying snipers to minimize troop casualties.” Likewise, the Jerusalem Post has reported that the IDF will deploy attack dogs from its Oketz canine units.

Meanwhile, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, is summoning foreign diplomats to Jerusalem to urge them to work with Israel to stop the flotilla from taking place. According to the Irish Times, he justified his call for cooperation by claiming the flotilla would violate international law, and that “if anyone of goodwill would like to send anything to Gaza, he has ample ways to do it through our ports or Egyptian ports.”

Abdo, however, described the Israeli government’s claims as “total fabrication.”

“There is nothing in international law that supports Israel’s four-year-long blockade of Gaza, or its attacks on humanitarian shipments in international waters,” he said. “In fact, as stated last year by the normally neutral International Committee of the Red Cross, Israel’s collective punishment of the residents of Gaza is itself a clear violation of international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

For more details:
E-mail: friends@freegaza.org
http://www.freegaza.org/

http://www.revoltoftheplebs.com/categories/occupied-palestine/gaza-flotilla-will-sail-despite-israeli-threats/

The Nakba Law deepens apartheid in Israel

Palestine Monitor

26 March 2011

The ‘Nakba law’ is yet another piece of racist and discriminatory legislation which will directly target the Palestinian minority in Israel. In essence, the law stifles freedom of expression and will punish this sector of society for commemorating the most traumatic event in their recent collective history, the Nakba.

On March 22nd, the Knesset voted 37-25 in favour of the so-called ‘Nakba-Law’, or Amendment 39, a bill which has been in the works since 2009. Initiated by MK Alex Miller of the far-right political party, Yisrael Beiteinu, the law calls for—amongst other things—the reduction of state funding to groups that participate in activities that contradict the character of the state as ‘Jewish and democratic’ or that grieve Israel’s Independence day.

According to experts, the law is undeniably vague in its wording, thus leaving it open to abuse. Sawsan Zaher of Adalah, the legal centre for Arab minority rights in Israel, believes the bill threatens a broad swath of government-funded institutions. Organizations at risk include research institutions that are found to be challenging the definition of the Israeli state as Jewish and democratic; educational institutions, such as bilingual schools, which hold events acknowledging the shared history of Jews and Arabs; and state-funded community organizations, such as theatres showing plays about the Nakba.

One cannot escape the fact that the law clearly targets freedom of expression, a basic human right and an essential requirement for a meaningful democracy. ‘You are sanctioned because of your political thoughts,’ Zaher says. ‘You can have your money so long as your political attitude aligns with the ideology of the right-wing government.’

With this in consideration, one is led to understand the intention of the bill to curb dissident voices within Israeli society.

The decision to sanction those who are involved in acknowledging the Nakba because it undermines Israel’s Independence Day is a clear indicator of the extent to which Palestinians living within Israel are afforded second class citizenship. For Zaher, this unequal treatment of Israel’s citizens can be seen in plain sight, ‘It would be seen as completely unacceptable to deny Jews the right to acknowledge the trauma of the holocaust, now they are trying to deny the trauma of the Palestinian people.’

The law states that it is the Minister for Finance who will be authorized to decrease the budget for those who are found to be involved in activities that are seen as a violation of its terms. For many like Zaher, this bill further affirms Israel’s undemocratic character. Zaher highlights the fact that ‘it is a legal matter and so should be the responsibility of the judicial authorities. This is a breach of constitutional rights and an infringement on the separation of powers.’

In Zaher’s view, this law is but one element of an ongoing policy of discrimination aimed at the Palestinian minority being carried out by the Israeli government. ‘It is an undemocratic law which is part of a chain of racist legislation that serves to target the Palestinian minority and decrease their rights she asserts. ‘The Palestinian citizens of Israel are viewed by the state as the enemy, no democratic state views its own citizens this way,’ she continues. This is given weight if one looks at the stream of racist and discriminatory legislation which has been set forth by Netanyahu’s government since its coming to power.

For the right-wing coalition currently in power, the Palestinian minority and its contesting narrative serves as a substantial thorn in the side of their political agenda, the aim of which is to bolster the Jewish character of the Israeli state. The ‘Nakba law’ is therefore another crude attempt to further this objective. Zaher contends that this stifling of freedom of expression for only one sector of society is not the action of a democratic government. ‘Discriminatory policies are one thing but when you have discriminatory laws, this is apartheid.’

http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1729

Tell me, who is the terrorist?!

International Solidarity Movement

24 March 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza Funeral for the latest victims Two days ago, on March 22nd 2011, the Israeli army attacked a populated area in the Al-Shejaija neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Four days after the murder of two children in Johr Al-Dik, the Israeli army once again killed civilians, amongst them two more children. The latest victims of Israel’s war crimes are Yasser A’ahid Al-Helo (15), Mohamed Jalal Al-Helo (10), Mohammed Shaber Harara (18) and Yasser Hamid Al-Helo (55). At approximately 3 pm, Israeli tanks, positioned along the border, hit Al-Nazzaz street, 2 km from the border with four consecutive artillery shells. The first one hit Samer Walid Mushtaha’s house, destroying the upper floor. His wife, who was preparing dinner, had just gone downstairs and missed the attack by chance. The second shell hit vacant land nearby belonging to the Al-Helo family. The third one hit a group of children and older boys who were playing football near their houses, as they do every single day. 10 year old Mohamed Jalal Al-Helo and 19 year old Mohamed Saber Harara were immediately killed and their bodies brutally dismembered. Ten more children and an adult were also injured by shrapnel. Three year old Yasser A’amer Al-Helo and six year old Ahmad Talal Al-Helo are currently in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital with severe injuries.Yasser Hamed Al-Helo and his 15 year old grandson Yaser Ahed Al-Helo were opening the garage door to take out the car and rescue the wounded when they were hit by the fourth shell. They were killed on the spot. This was the third attack on Al-Shejaija that day. At 10 am artillery fire injured one person and later in the morning another was reported to have been critically wounded by a drone strike. Yesterday morning, Israeli military sources were quoted on Israeli radio as stating that one of the shells veered off and caused casualties. However, these four shells targeted a civilian area therefore civilian casualties were to be expected. According to witnesses, not one, but two different shells caused the deaths of these four civilians. On Tuesday afternoon, the bodies of the four killed were brought to Shifa hospital in Gaza City in horrific conditions from the attacks. Ten year old Mohammed had been struck in the head by shrapnel, causing his skull to crack. Yesterday morning, an outraged and grief stricken crowd of people gathered at the morgue to carry the bodies to the mosque. House damaged in attacks Today, the families set up mourning tents to allow friends and relatives to give their condolences. The outside of the houses are tattered with holes from the attack, while emotions boil over on the inside. "Tell me, who’s the terrorist!? Who is killing innocent children? Who!? My little nephew’s head exploded! And many others are injured! Are you telling the world who the real terrorist is, are you?!" Um Tarreq yells at me, infuriated by grief, anger, fear and sadness. Her cries blow me away and I answer her rage with tears that are rolling down her cheeks also. She was the first one to lay eyes on the horrible scene of dead and injured children and is the mother of one of the nine children that has been injured. Her son is still hospitalized awaiting surgery on his arm. "They play football there every single afternoon, from 3 to 5, after school! What are they who kill children!?" Next to her sits another family member, she yells and then cries when she starts talking about what is happening. "I have all young girls at home and they are so afraid. They already killed children, in broad daylight! Yesterday during the day and at night drones and Apaches were out. And now there is this big drone hoovering over the neighborhood, you saw it? How can I protect my daughters?" Since the 2nd Intifada, seven people of the Al-Helo family have been killed by Israeli attacks. During Operation Cast Lead, tanks shelled a house, killing Foa’ad (55), his son Mohammed (25) and Mohammed’s two year old daughter Farrah. The bodies could only be evacuated after three days. "I just wish you would tell the world we’re not terrorists. We’re just unlucky that we don’t have oil, otherwise the US would support the Palestinian cause for sure", says Ra’aid Al-Helo, one of the family members.

:: Article nr. 76201 sent on 25-mar-2011 19:30 ECT
www.uruknet.info?p=76201

:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website.

Is Another ‘Cast Lead’ in the Offing?

By Alex Kane

March 23, 2011 "Information Clearing House" --- Are we witnessing the stirrings of a new, large-scale Israeli military operation? Haaretz today reports that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces would continue to use ‘firm determination and assaults’ on Gaza…[Netanyahu said:] ‘It could take the form of exchanges of fire, it could continue for a particular length of time.’”

Indeed, the stars seem to be aligning for another brutal Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip two years after “Operation Cast Lead” killed some 1,400 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians, and completely destroyed 3,000 homes in what Judge Richard Goldstone termed a “deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population.”

Eerie parallels between the period leading up to “Cast Lead” and the situation now exist, and there’s nothing to stop Israel from launching another assault, given that the United States has sent the world the message that Israeli war crimes will go unpunished.

First, the parallels. In the months leading up to the 2008-09 assault on Gaza, a tenuous truce held between Hamas and Israel as Hamas stopped firing rockets at Israeli communities and attempted to reign in other armed groups in Gaza from doing so. An August 2008 WikiLeaks cable that describes a visit by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Egypt reports:

Regarding the Tahdiya ["calm" in Arabic], Hacham said Barak stressed that while it was not permanent, for the time being it was holding. There have been a number of violations of the ceasefire on the Gaza side, but Palestinian factions other than Hamas were responsible. Hacham said the Israelis assess that Hamas is making a serious effort to convince the other factions not to launch rockets or mortars. Israel remains concerned by Hamas’ ongoing efforts to use the Tahdiya to increase their strength, and at some point, military action will have to be put back on the table. The Israelis reluctantly admit that the Tahdiya has served to further consolidate Hamas’ grip on Gaza, but it has brought a large measure of peace and quiet to Israeli communities near Gaza.

Despite this “peace,” Israel decisively broke the truce on November 4, 2008 when they raided Gaza and killed six members of Hamas, leading to an increase in Hamas and other armed groups’ rocket attacks on Israel. According to a January 2009 report by investigative journalist Gareth Porter, Israel rejected a Hamas ceasefire offer in December 2008.

After the assault ended in January 2009, a tenuous lull, punctuated by sporadic violence on the Gaza-Israel border, has held. In January 2011, Hamas again attempted to reign in other armed groups from firing at Israeli communities.

But now this lull seems to be breaking down. The Israeli daily Haaretz reports on what has occurred in the last week:

The current tensions began exactly a week ago when Israel launched an air attack on a Hamas base in the ruins of the settlement of Netzarim, killing two Hamas men. That attack came in response to a Qassam fired from Gaza that landed in an open area. Hamas then responded with a barrage of 50 mortars on communities south of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli attacks on Gaza over the last few days have left eight people dead, including five civilians, and another twelve civilians have been wounded. The air strikes came after Hamas offered a truce--events that bear a striking resemblance to what occurred in the run-up to “Operation Cast Lead.”

What makes a renewed assault seem more possible is the fact that strident warnings are coming from Israeli leaders. Tzipi Livni, the head of the opposition party Kadima and who was the foreign minister during the 08-09 Gaza assault, recently said that “the right way to contend with [the recent rocket attacks] is through force, as Israel did during Operation Cast Lead and after it.” Both the Vice Premier and and the culture minister have voiced similar warnings.

The frightening warnings and attacks on Gazan civilians could stop if the international community would pressure Israel. But what’s to stop Israel if they have U.S.-guaranteed impunity? The Goldstone report recommended that proceedings against Israelis and Palestinians who committed war crimes occur if domestic systems do not uphold international law. No high-level officials, on the Palestinian or Israeli side, have been held accountable. The U.S. has ensured that Israeli leaders who committed war crimes will get off free.

A promise of law is that the deterrent effect of punishment may prevent future crimes. That promise goes out the window if there is no punishment–exactly what happened after the publication of the Goldstone report.

Alex Kane blogs on Israel/Palestine and Islamophobia in the U.S. at alexbkane.wordpress.com, where this post originally appeared. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27751.htm

Jerusalem Bombing Likely To Be A Mossad False Flag

Terror Attack In Jerusalem, Counter To Fatah-Hamas Unity

Feroze Mithiborwala
Counter Currents

A bomb has struck a crowded bus stop in West Jerusalem, killing at least one person and wounding 30 in what authorities said was the first major attack in the city in several years. At least eight Palestinians, including children, were killed in Israeli mortar attacks and airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. - Al Jazeera

The terror attack in Jerusalem, follows a set pattern. Israeli’s attack Gaza with airstrikes & tanks, kill civilians so as to provoke & incite counter violence & then Mossad cells engineer a false-flag terror attack. This has been recorded & observed by various analysts.

Israel has also been threatening to launch another war on Gaza & they need to create a case, a valid pretext for the invasion.

More critically, this is also to counter the growing popular pressure from the Palestinian grass-roots for Palestinian unity, between the Fatah & Hamas. A unified Palestinian resistance, will surely set the momentum for the “Third Intifada”, which is due to break out as part of the larger pattern of non-violent democratic uprisings across the Arab world.

When millions of Palestinians begin to march, braving the Israeli bullets, it will decidedly turn the tide of public opinion in favour of Palestinian independence. This is a nightmare scenario that the Israelis do not have an answer to.

The Fatah – Hamas detente is a result of the larger winds of democratic change that are blowing across the region. President Mahmud Abbas has clearly stated that he will soon visit Gaza & that elections cannot be held till Gaza & the West Bank are united again. This is a far cry from the time when the Palestine Authority was complicit in the political marginalization & isolation of Hamas, as that was the core Israeli condition for the so-called “peace process”.

Also, the new dispensation in Egypt has invited the Hamas leadership for a dialogue, which itself is unprecedented & now Hamas is set to be integrated into the larger Arab fold.

The 7 million Palestinian Refugees are also all set to march back to their homeland on the 15th of May this year. They are demanding that UN Resolution be implemented & that they be leggaly allowed to return back to their homes & lands from which they were ethnically cleansed in 1948. Imagine the sight when millions of Refugees are peacefully marching back to reclaim their rightful posessions & the impact that would have on global public opinion. The Israeli’s will do all that is within their power & resort to dubious means to sabotage this mass uprising.

Also the Siege of Gaza, so cruelly imposed by the Nazi Israeli junta is unsustainable, as now Cairo will allow the flow of humanitarian aid, including construction materials into Gaza. This is a total reversal of the policies of the collaborator Mubarak regime.

Soon again in May, the Second Flotilla is all set to reach the shores of Gaza & break the Israeli Siege. More than 20 ships will set sail from various European ports & after the debacle of the Mavi Marmara masscare wherein Israeli soldiers murdered 10 peace activists, it will be interesting to observe the Israeli response to the coming peace armada.

Thus as we can infer, the Israelis have a series of political challenges & a major crisis looms on the horizon. The Israelis were truly sad to see the end of the Mubarak regime & the refrain was that democracy is not applicable to the Arab & Muslim world.

This infact is the only card left that the Israelis have, to break their increasing isolation across the world. Today the Israeli leadership stands exposed for the failure of the peace process, the continued building of the Settlement blocks, destruction of Palestinian homes in the West bank & Jerusalem & the inhuman Siege of Gaza.

Just a few days ago on BBC, Netanyahu continued to insist that Jerusalem will remain the unified capital of Israel, the Settlements will carry on unabted & that Israel will maintain control of the Jordan Valley, even though some sort of a Palestinian entity or rather a Bantustan is created. Expectedly on the Refugee issue he refused to compromise. He insisted that Hamas will never be accomodated in any process, despite the fact that Hamas is the democratically elected government. Thus there is not much there to discuss, as there seems no hope at all on the core issues.

Israel also desperately needs to counter the growing momentum & recognition for a Palestinian state by the International community. Today more than 170 nations have recognised a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, as per UN Resolutions & International Law & this has too set a sense of panic amongst Israel.

The increasing & total isolation was also evident when the US wielded its veto to shamefully bail out Israel on the resolution moved by the Palestinian Authority on the Settlements. It was the US & Israel against the rest of the world.

As the democratic revolutions rage on across the region, Zionist Israel as an Apartheid state, that Occupies the Palestinian nation, supported by the US & other Western powers is now unsustainable & an anathema to global public opinion. Thus israel is increasingly seen in extremely terms across the world, this is despite the fact that they monopolise & control the flow of news & information through their myriad media networks, but to no avail.

Thus, It is only a matter of time before the Zionist state collapses & withers away, as all colonising projects in history have.

But Israel will wreck a lot of mayhem, terror & wars before the Palestinians finally do win their freedom. The coming years will witness violence that will be beyond our imagination & worst fears.

We now stand at a critical phase of our struggle to liberate Palestine & all of the nations from the forces of Imperialism & Zionism. The final triumph will be that of humanity & thus we must persevere on & walk unitedly with utmost faith & belief in our hearts.

http://www.revoltoftheplebs.com/categories/news-analysis/jerusalem-bombing-likely-to-be-a-mossad-false-flag/

UN investigator: Israel engaged in ethnic cleansing with settlement expansion

U.S. academic Richard Falk spoke to UN Human Rights Council as it prepared resolution condemning settlement building in East Jerusalem and West Bank.

By Reuters Tags: Israel news

Israel's expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and eviction of Palestinians from their homes there is a form of ethnic cleansing, a United Nations investigator said on Monday.

United States academic Richard Falk was speaking to the UN Human Rights Council as it prepared to pass resolutions condemning settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The "continued pattern of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem combined with the forcible eviction of long-residing Palestinians are creating an intolerable situation" in the part of the city previously controlled by Jordan, he said.

This situation "can only be described in its cumulative impact as a form of ethnic cleansing," Falk declared.

Israel declines to deal with Falk or even allow him into the country, accusing him of being biased.

In a related discussion on Israeli policies towards the lands it seized in the 1967 war, Israeli and Palestinian delegates clashed over the recent killing of members of a Jewish settler family in the West Bank.

Israeli ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar called on Palestinian leaders to condemn the March 11 murders of three children, including a baby, and their parents "without caveats or hedging" in Arabic to their own people.

Almost as shocking as the killings, "in the days following the massacre many Palestinians took to the streets celebrating the deaths of this family," Leshno Yaar said.

But Palestinian envoy Ibrahim Kraishi said the killings had already been condemned by the Palestinian Authority as "an act of terrorism" that was not part of his people's culture. "Rather, it is the culture of the occupying power," he added.

In his speech, Falk said he would like the Human Rights Council to ask the International Court of Justice to look at Israeli behavior in the occupied territories.

This should focus on whether the prolonged occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem had elements of "colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing inconsistent with international humanitarian law," the investigator declared.

	A protester in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah on Feb. 18, 2011.
	Photo by: Reuters

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-investigator-israel-engaged-in-ethnic-cleansing-with-settlement-expansion-1.350938