Israel is facing mounting pressure to agree a ceasefire, as fighting continues in the wake of an attack on a UN school in Gaza.
On Wednesday, 11 Palestinians were killed by air strikes and shelling in Gaza City and in the north of the Strip.
Explosions
were also reported in Jabaliya and Beit Lahia, north of Gaza, as around
eight rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.
No Israeli injuries have been reported following the rocket attacks.
On
Tuesday, the Israelis launched an attack on a school run by the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) in the northern town of
Jabaliya.
The attack left 43 Palestinians dead and around 100 wounded.
Doctors said all the dead were either people sheltering in the school or residents of the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp.
'No safe havens'
Around 15,000 Palestinians have had to flee the fighting amid concern there are no safe havens in Gaza.
Israel says missiles were fired from the UN building and that their
troops were simply returning fire on Palestinian fighters using the
school as cover.
However, Michel Abdel Massih QC, a London-based international human rights lawyer, called for an independent investigation.
"If [Israeli] claims are to be tested properly we need an
independent tribunal. The International Criminal Court was set up to
deal with these issues, so there is a mechanism for the UN security
council to refer the case for investigation," he told Al Jazeera.
Massih compared the 680 Palestinian casualties to 10 Israeli deaths
and underlined that proportionality of use of force is central to
international law.
"From an international law point of view, there is at very least a
case to answer against the planners and those who executed those
orders," he said.
John Ging, director of operations in Gaza for Unrwa, said they
regularly provide the Israeli army with exact geographical co-ordinates
of its facilities.
He also called for the Israelis to allow an international investigation into the incident.
'War crime' allegation
When asked if Tel Aviv would allow such an investigation, Mark
Regev, spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, said Israel had
already held an "initial investigation" which found that troops had
returned fire from the UN building.
Regev accused Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls the Gaza
Strip, of committing a "war crime" by using those sheltering in the UN
school as "a human shield".
The incident has provoked strong international condemnation with
Ban-Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations, branding both the
incident and Hamas rocket attacks "unacceptable".
At least 683 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 3,085
wounded since the war began on December 27. Seven Israeli soldiers and
three civilians have died in the same period.
Following increasing pressure to agree a ceasefire as the
humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates further, Israel announced
on Wednesday it would set up "humanitarian corridor" to ship vital
supplies to the Strip.
From Wednesday, Israel says it will halt military operations near Gaza City for three hours daily to let aid through.
Heba, a Gaza resident and mother of two, told Al Jazeera there was no place left in Gaza that can be considered safe.
"What
happened in the school was a hugely offensive and inhumane thing. We
never expected that people who sought refuge in a UN building would be
attacked and killed," she said.
Self-defence claim
Randa Seniora, from the Independent Commission on Human Rights, told
Al Jazeera: "What is happening in Gaza are crimes against humanity.
"Israel cannot claim, as an occupying authority, that it is acting
in self defence because simply it is considered a war crime to create
harm and damage among civilian populations."
While earlier attempts to agree a ceasefire resolution at the UN
have so far floundered, a French-Egypt proposal appeared to be gaining
some support early on Wednesday.
The deal, which could include stationing international monitors at
the Egyptian-Gaza border, has received qualified backing from the US
and support from Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of
Hamas-rival Fatah.
Despite this, Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in southern
Israel, said the Israelis are thought to be considering stepping up
their assault.
The Israeli security cabinet is due to meet later on Wednesday to
debate whether troops should storm Gaza's urban centres, our
correspondent reported.
[Edited by Ann-Christine Nassar-Pateffoz on January 7, 2009 10:12 AM]
Israel is facing mounting pressure to agree a ceasefire, as fighting continues in the wake of an attack on a UN school in Gaza.
As much as it pains me to say, I don't expect a deal in my lifetime. The supposed "mounting pressure" on Israel does not come from the only source that matters - the United States. The US is officially fully behind Israel on this matter, thus the carnage will continue.
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Originally written by David Kallans on January 7, 2009 4:40 PM
The supposed "mounting pressure" on Israel does not come from the only source that matters - the United States. The US is officially fully behind Israel on this matter, thus the carnage will continue.
Is that why Martin Peretz, editor-in-chief of the American magazine The New Republic conveniently appealed to Europeans to put an end to that war (Post #166245)? He could have as well appealed to me personally, just as a revolutionary friend of ours did these days.
Extreme Veteran Mother tongues: French, German Posts: 504 Joined: July 4, 2006 Location: Spain
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Hello everybody,
I do not know if this helps, but I signed this petition. I think better to sign it than not to do it, like joining a manifestation on the street is better than saying nothing.
The whole European Union accounts for a fraction of that, nevertheless France, Germany and Romania were the top three exporters: Arms exports to Israel from EU worth €200m
07.01.2009
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - European Union member states authorised the export of €200 million in arms exports to Israel in 2007, the latest figures from Brussels disclose, with France far and away the Jewish state's biggest European weapons supplier.
According to the EU's 2008 report on arms export licences, published in December for the 2007 calendar year and consolidating the accounts that member states must annually submit, 18 member states authorised a total of 1,018 such licences to Israel worth €199,409,348.
France, Germany and Romania were the top three exporters. France issued export licences worth €126 million, Germany authorised €28 million and Romania €17 million, the EUobserver can reveal.
In response to calls from opposition politicians that the UK government halt its arms exports to Israel and push all other EU member states to do the same, a British foreign office spokesperson said: "We do not approve any defence related exports if we judge that there is a risk that they will be used for external aggression or internal repression.
"We routinely refuse export licences where we believe that there is a risk of this. Any application relating to Israel is considered on this basis," the spokesperson continued.
EU arms code of conduct
The EU has maintained an arms export code of conduct since 1998, but it is overseen at the member state level, not in Brussels, so if Mr Brown were to push for such a move, he would have to convince the 26 other member states.
In 2007, €12 million in small arms and ammunition were exported to Israel by Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Romania and the UK.
Another €23.5 million in "light weapons," meaning those that require two to three people to operate them, such as bombs, torpedoes and explosive devices, were supplied by the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania and Slovenia.
Belgium, France and Romania also sent Israel €18.5 million worth of aircraft and related material. Paris is responsible for €10 million of this sum.
In a fourth, very broad category of armaments in the EU's consolidated report, "electronic equipment" - referring to electronics specifically modified for military use, navigation and guidance equipment, and satellite jamming systems, some €94 million was exported by France (€89 million) and Germany (€5 million).
The rest of the €200 million consists of weapons that fall into other minor categories beyond small arms, light weapons, aircraft and electronics.
Italy, traditionally a major arms exporter, only supplied Israel with €0.5 million in weapons in 2007. Spain, also a leading trader in the sector also sold Tel Aviv just €4.5 million worth of armaments.
Sweden, another major European weapons producer, along with eight other EU member states, delivered nothing to the Jewish state.
Elite Veteran Mother tongues: Arabic, Swedish Posts: 922 Joined: September 23, 2004 Location: France
RE: A Palestinian Point of View
Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on January 6, 2009 5:48 PM
In fact, please correct me if I am wrong, after 60 years, the external world seems not to care who is right and who is wrong in there simply because those who would remember that have for the most part died by now.
So much have been going on in this thread. I wanted to answer you earlier, Jacek, but didn't have the time.
Maybe those who remember, the so called first eye witnesses, are mostly dead. But this is something that will never die when you feel that something unfair has been done to you. My great grand-mother used to tell us how the land was bought, piece by piece. How the people you thought would be nice neighbours turned out to be -not so nice.
When I used to work in Lebanon, I visited some Palestinian refugee camps. Most of the people there were either born in the camp, or refugees from 1948. All the children, who had never known any other country than Lebanon, were telling me they are Palestinians. They all gave me the name of the villages or cities they originally came from. And back then, 12 years ago, they hoped to go back one day. Now they are all young adults. They probably know very well there will be no going back, or anyway, not like they imagined, whatever a child who knows he/she doesn't live in his own country can imagine.
But one thing is for sure. I remember my great grandmother's words by heart, and just like me, each Palestinian child has his own relative's story to remember.
Now I agree that the external world won't care as much, and thank God for that. And no matter who was right and who was wrong, what we need urgently now is PEACE.
Ann-Christine
[Edited by Ann-Christine Nassar-Pateffoz on January 8, 2009 11:23 AM]
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