Saturday, January 17, 2009

Operation Kill Children to Boost Poll Ratings Achieves Partial Success

Pity it Tripled deaths from rocket attacks; but there are glimmers of hope

We can all relax now that Operation Kill Children to Boost Poll Ratings has achieved partial success. Barak and Livni now have their chances to be the next Israeli Prime minister who bombs and starves Gazans rather than Benjamin Netanyahu. That’s a triumph for humanity (1,2).

Cynics point out that the offensive actually increased rocket attacks. The Israeli Foreign Ministry website shows one Israeli civilian was killed by rocket attacks in the six months before the offensive, while three were killed in the three weeks during it (3).The cynics miss the point though. Reducing rocket attacks was never the aim.

More Palestinians have been radicalized by a thousand deaths and Israeli spokesmen have been able to claim that it’s the ‘undemocratic’ Hamas, not their own government, which has refused to negotiate. That may be the opposite of the truth and Hamas may be elected, but who cares. Israel “won”;the Labour-Kadima governing coalition matched Likud in the polls; the untermenschen Israeli Arab parties are banned from the next election (edit - a law later over-turned in Israeli courts) and the settlement of the West Bank continues. Palestinians are again relegated to their assigned roles of being ethnically cleansed and used as an enemy to rally Israeli voters against (4 – 11).

The Israeli government can also continue to propagandise about being the "only democracy in the Middle East", even while (yet again) trying to overthrow the democratically elected government of one of the other two (the Palestinian Authority) by force and repeatedly trying the same in the other (Lebanon).

There are some glimmers of hope though - Barack Obama has announced his administration will talk to Hamas, which would make it hard for the Israeli government to justify not acccepting offers of talks, especially if Obama threatens a cut in financial aid and arms shipments behind the scenes, as even George Bush Senior did when he was President (12).

Many people have also begun their own boycotts of Israeli produce and some company directors, including, I'm proud to say, one of my own relatives, have said their firms won't trade with Israel as long as the slaughter of civilians continues. So even if governments fail to put sufficient pressure on the Israeli government their citizens might yet do it.


(1) = Haaretz 31 Dec 2009 ‘Poll: Most Israelis support continuing Gaza military op’,
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051852.html

(2) = BBC News 08 Jan 2009 ‘Israelis back Gaza action - for now’,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7816794.stm (see last two sections under sub-headings ‘Ratings War’ and ‘High Stakes’)

(3)= Israel Foreign Ministry ‘Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000’, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm

(4) = Telegraph 09 Feb 2006 ‘Hamas offers deal if Israel pulls out’,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1510074/Hamas-offers-deal-if-Israel-pulls-out.html

(5) = Guardian 4 Mar 2006 , ‘Hamas says peace possible at Moscow talks’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1723217,00.html

(6) = Guardian 22 Jun 2006 ‘Climbdown as Hamas agrees to Israeli state’ http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1803184,00.html

(7) = Ynet news (Israel) 22 Dec 2007 ‘Report: Hamas weighing unconditional truce with Israel’, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3485394,00.html

(8) = IHT 23 Dec 2007 ‘Israel rejects Hamas request for cease-fire talks’,
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/23/africa/hamas.php

(9) Guardian.co.uk 21 April 2008 ‘We can accept Israel as neighbour, says Hamas’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/21/israel

(10) = Khaled Hroub (2006) ‘Hamas : A beginner’s guide’ , Pluto Press, London, 2006

(11) = Haaretz (Israel) 13 Jan 2009 ‘Israel bans Arab parties from running in upcoming elections’, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054867.html

(12) = 09 Jan 2009 'Obama camp 'prepared to talk to Hamas'',
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/08/barack-obama-gaza-hamas

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Seven lies that kill – and the truth on Israel , Palestine, Gaza, Fatah , Hamas and the West Bank

The continuing killing in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel can only happen thanks to seven lies which prevent negotiations and allow the killing to go on as long as enough people believe them.

There's an easier to read version of this post with contents links and links to footnoted sources on my website on this link

Lie One : Hamas are merely a terrorist group that took power by force

Condoleezza Rice told the UN Security Council, Hamas is “a terrorist organization” which came to power in Gaza by force. In fact Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections and they, not President Abbas of Fatah, have the power under the Palestinian constitution to form a government. The Israeli campaign aims at overthrowing the elected government, like the US campaign against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua in the 80s (1)– (8).

Fatah forces backed by the US, Israel and Egypt, attempted a coup in late 2007, after Israel refused to lift sanctions on a Fatah-Hamas coalition government. It failed in Gaza but succeeded in the West Bank (9) (10), (11), (12).

Another part of this lie is that Hamas members are all armed terrorists who aim to kill all non-Muslims. In fact apart from their armed or terrorist wing Hamas are also a political party and run hospitals and schools for Palestinians of all religions and none (13).

Lie Two : Hamas refuse to negotiate with Israel and aims to destroy it

In fact Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal, two of the most senior Hamas leaders, have repeatedly said they could co-exist with Israel if Israel’s government ratified a peace agreement on a Palestinian state in Gaza and most of the West Bank and a majority of Palestinians voted to approve the agreement in a referendum (polls show they would).Haniyeh has also repeatedly offered negotiations with Israel throught 2006, 2007 and 2008 . Hamas leaders are well aware that their machine guns and rockets will never defeat thousands of Israeli tanks, jets, helicopters and artillery units (14) – (20) .

Prime Minister Olmert of Israel has repeatedly refused any negotiations unless Hamas first recognises Israel in its current borders (i.e including the occupied West Bank without any Israeli commitment to recognise a viable Palestinian state in Gaza and most of the West Bank in accordance with UN resolution 242 and others) , gives up violence (which Israel won’t do, even during ceasefires) and abides by the Oslo Accords (which Israel has failed to, continuing to take Palestinian land and destroy Palestinian houses at gunpoint in the West Bank). (14) – (20) .

Lie Three : Israeli forces don’t target civilians

The driver of the U.N. truck died immediately; another worker in the truck died later of his wounds. The truck…in northern Gaza, was marked with the U.N. flag and insignia….We've been coordinating with them (Israeli forces) and yet our staff continue to be hit and killed," said a U.N. spokesman, Chris Gunness...

AP 08 Jan 2009 (24).

In fact Human Rights Watch, the UN, Oxfam, Amnesty international, the ICRC and Israeli human rights group B’T Selem have reported Israeli forces killing civilians including aid workers and ambulance crews in clearly marked ambulances and UN trucks and buildings; bombing the houses of Hamas leaders, killing their families and children with them – and using Palestinian civilians as human shields, as in past wars. So deliberate targeting of civilians has been at least as big a factor as much as “collateral damage” in killing over 250 women and children in Gaza and certainly many more adult male civilians along with Hamas rocket teams and gunmen (21) – (44) .

Comparisons with Hezbollah’s use of human shields supposedly causing civilian deaths in Lebanon in2006 have been rife. The trouble with that is that Human Rights Watch investigations found that wasn’t the cause of most of the civilian deaths in Lebanon.

“Israeli forces have systematically failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians in their military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Human Rights Watch said …The pattern of attacks in more than 20 cases investigated by Human Rights Watch researchers in Lebanon indicates that the failures cannot be dismissed as mere accidents and cannot be blamed on wrongful Hezbollah practices. In some cases, these attacks constitute war crimes.”(45).

Most civilian deaths in Gaza now and in past Israeli wars are similarly caused by Israeli forces targeting civilians along with combatants as sources (21) to (45) show.

Lie Four : Military action reduces deaths from terrorist attacks and can weaken or destroy extremist groups

As with every previous military strike attacks on Israeli civilians have increased since the offensive began. The Israeli foreign ministry’s website shows one Israeli was been killed by rocket attacks by Palestinian groups firing from Gaza in the six months before the offensive (partly the result of the Israeli blockade and its violation of a ceasefire agreement by bombings killing Hamas members and civilians on November 5th). It three Israeli civilians killed by Palestinian rocket fire in the 18 days since the offensive began (46) , (47), (48).

As for “destroying” or “weakening” Hamas are there really people with decades of experience in the Israeli military and government who could have failed so completely to learn from experience as to believe bombing and shelling can do this?

Hezbollah didn’t even exist before Israel invaded and occupied Lebanon in 1982. Over the subsequent two decades of occupation it grew stronger thanks to Israeli military torture, killings of civilians and backing of nationalist militias against Hezbollah (much like its current backing of Fatah’s armed wing against Hamas in a similar strategy of divide and conquer ) (49), (50), (51), (52), (53) .

Hamas itself won the 2006 elections partly thanks to Ariel Sharon’s campaign of sanctions, bombing and invasion which attempted to overthrow Arafat’s Fatah government by force, declaring that Fatah were terrorists who couldn’t be negotiated with. That, financial corruption among Fatah’s leaders and their willingness to give information on Hamas to the Israeli military all contributed to their election defeat.

Why do Israeli planners and policy makers believe that Palestinians will give in if their fighters and civilians are killed any more than Israelis would after a suicide bombing?
Did 9-11 make Americans surrender to Al Qaeda? Of course not – it made them rally behind the extreme policies of the Bush administration.

Inflicting extreme suffering on Palestinian civilians in Gaza similarly makes them more likely to join and support extremist groups like Hamas’ armed wing – and if the bombing and sanctions continue maybe Islamic Jihad and Hizb Ut Tahrir, who, unlike Hamas’ political leaders, will make no compromises on talks with or co-existence with Israel.

Lies Five and Six : Israel has abided by the Oslo Accords and There’s Peace in the West Bank

In fact negotiations with President Abbas of Fatah in the West Bank have made no progress, partly because they can’t without Hamas, who got 45% of the vote to Fatah’s 42% in the 2006 elections – and partly because there is no peace in the West Bank because Israeli settlers and the Israeli military are killing Palestinians, destroying their homes and taking their land and water. Fatah have called the continued settlement building “a slap in the face to the Peace Process”. One hundred and thirty-one Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank in 2008, many as the Israeli army watched and did nothing. Palestinian homes have been bulldozed and Israeli settlements keep expanding and new ones are built. All of the settlers removed from Gaza with such televised wailing and theatrics were given $250,000 compensation each and re-settled on Palestinian land in the West Bank. The barrier wall keeps being built, annexing Palestinian farmland and leaving farmers with nothing (54) – (61).

Israeli forces have also killed unarmed Palestinians in the West Bank who were protesting against the bombing of Gaza (62) – (64).

The Gaza fighting provides a convenient distraction from Israel’s total failure to abide by the terms of the Oslo peace agreements, which called for an end to new settlements or the expansion of existing ones in the West Bank. Failure to sign up to the Oslo agreements is one of the charges levelled at Hamas by Israel and “the international community” (the EU, US, Chinese and Russian governments).

Lie Seven : The Israeli blockade of Gaza lets plenty of supplies in and causes no civilian suffering or deaths

Fifth, that the Israeli blockade of Gaza lets enough supplies in. In fact the UN reports severe shortages and many Palestinians searching rubbish dumps for food (65), (66). In 2007 five Palestinians in Gaza drowned in sewage because Israel wont allow spare parts for sewage treatment plants. The World Bank say a similar crisis now risks killing 10,000 people (67), (68).

What we can do

We simply need to challenge these lies and keep responding to them with the truth every time someone makes one of these claims. Repeating these lies or refusing to challenge them results in more civilian deaths in another war that doesn’t need fought.

(1) = US Department of State 08 Jan 2009, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice ‘Remarks at the UN Security Council Session on the Situation in the Middle East’,
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009/01/113698.htm ; back


(3rd sentence of 5th paragraph reads ‘Eighteen months ago, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup’)

(2) = Associated Press 26 Jan 2006 , ‘Hamas Wins Landslide 76 Seats’, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/26/international/i094327S41.DTL&feed=rss.news

(3) = House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/17 ; 15 Mar 2006 , ‘The Palestinian Parliamentary Election and the rise of Hamas’, http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2006/rp06-017.pdf (see Section C, page 12 ‘Conduct of the Elections’ – also note the paper mistakenly gives the date of the elections as January 2005 – this must be a typo – the parliamentary elections were a year later)

(4) = Political Risk Monitor – Special Coverage - The January 2006 Palestinian Elections , ‘Palestinian elections: MEPs hail success of democratic process but urge Hamas to take the path of peace’, http://www.politicalriskmonitor.com/hamas/electobserv.shtml

(5) = Europa (EU) News Service 27 Jan 2006 ‘Palestinian elections: MEPs hail success of democratic process but urge Hamas to take the path of peace’, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-4661-026-01-04-903-20060124IPR04643-26-01-2006-2006-false/default_en.htm

(6) = BBC News 9 Feb 2007 , ‘Palestinian rivals in unity deal’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6344297.stm

(7) = NPR 18 Mar 2007, ‘Israel Rejects Palestinians' Unity Deal’, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8983689

(8) = FMEP/Reuters 9 July 2007, ‘Abbas Exceeded Powers in Sacking Government’,
http://www.fmep.org/analysis/analysis/abbas-exceeded-powers-in-sacking-government

(9) = Haaretz (Israel) 28 Dec 2006 , ‘Israeli defense official: Fatah arms transfer bolsters forces of peace’, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806603.html ; back

(10) = Christian Science Monitor 25 May 2007, ‘Israel, US, and Egypt back Fatah's fight against Hamas’, http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0525/p07s02-wome.html

(11) = Guardian 26 Jun 2007, ‘A thankless task with four bosses and no office’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2111447,00.html

(12) = Israel Today 18 Jun 2007, ‘Bush to replace arms Fatah surrendered to Hamas’, http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=13150

(13) = Khaled Hroub (2006) ‘Hamas : A beginner’s guide’ , Pluto Press, London, 2006; >(13)

(14) = Telegraph 09 Feb 2006 ‘Hamas offers deal if Israel pulls out’,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1510074/Hamas-offers-deal-if-Israel-pulls-out.html
; back

(15) = Guardian 4 Mar 2006 , ‘Hamas says peace possible at Moscow talks’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1723217,00.html

(16) = Guardian 22 Jun 2006 ‘Climbdown as Hamas agrees to Israeli state’ http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1803184,00.html

(17) = Ynet news (Israel) 22 Dec 2007 ‘Report: Hamas weighing unconditional truce with Israel’, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3485394,00.html

(18) = IHT 23 Dec 2007 ‘Israel rejects Hamas request for cease-fire talks’,
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/23/africa/hamas.php

(19) Guardian.co.uk 21 April 2008 ‘We can accept Israel as neighbour, says Hamas’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/21/israel

(20) = Khaled Hroub (2006) ‘Hamas : A beginner’s guide’ , Pluto Press, London, 2006

(21) = Amnesty International 08 Jan 2009 ‘Gaza civilians endangered by the military tactics of both sides’, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/gaza-civilians-endangered-military-tactics-both-sides-20090108 (2nd paragraph reads ‘“Our sources in Gaza report that Israeli soldiers have entered and taken up positions in a number of Palestinian homes, forcing families to stay in a ground floor room while they use the rest of their house as a military base and sniper position,” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. “This clearly increases the risk to the Palestinian families concerned and means they are effectively being used as human shields.”’) ; Back

(22) = UNoCHA 012 Jan 2009 ‘FIELD UPDATE ON GAZA FROM THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR 12 January 2009, 1700 hours’,
http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_gaza_humanitarian_situation_report_2009_01_12_english.pdf

Under ‘Protection of Civilians’ on first page reads “The Palestinian Red Crescent Society suspended activities in the Al Zeitoun and Al Atatra regions as of 11 January after their ambulances were exposed to gunfire in those regions (on 9 and 10 January, respectively), injuring two ambulance personnel and damaging one ambulance. The Palestinian

Medical Relief Society reported on 11 January that their two mobile clinics, normally serving more than 42 Gaza communities, have not been operating since 28 December due to insecurity. Twelve medical personnel have been killed since 27 December.

The Palestinian civilian casualty rate continues to increase. Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) figures as of 1600 hours 12 January are 910 Palestinians dead, of whom 292 are children and 75 are women (correction: 71 as of 11 January). The number of injured stands at 4,250, of whom 1,497 are children and 626 are women.”

(23) = The Herald January 6 2009 ‘‘The killings came as a complete shock’’, http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/foreign/display.var.2478359.0.The_killings_came_as_a_complete_shock.php

(24) = AP 08 Jan 2009 ‘UN curbs Gaza aid after trucks hit by Israeli fire’,
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD95J82Q00 ,
9th paragraph reads “"We've been coordinating with them (Israeli forces) and yet our staff continue to be hit and killed," said a U.N. spokesman, Chris Gunness, announcing the suspension. The U.N. is the largest aid provider in Gaza.” ; Back

(25) = Guardian 02 Jan 2009 ‘Israeli bomb kills Hamas leader and six of his family’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/02/hamas-leader-death-israel-bombing

(26) = IRIN 29 Dec 2008 ‘ISRAEL-OPT: Dire humanitarian situation looms in Gaza’,
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82131,
(see under sub-heading ‘Air Strikes’ – ‘"Eight students from Gaza Vocational Training Centre in Gaza City were killed and 20 injured? by an air strike," said UNRWA [UN Palestinian agency for refugees] spokesperson Sami Mshasha. "Two UNRWA teachers were also killed.")

(27) = UNISPAL 06 Jan 2009 ‘DIRECT HIT ON UNRWA SCHOOL KILLS THREE IN GAZA’,
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/766674819c81f04a852575360053c075!OpenDocument

(28) = UNISPAL 06 Jan 2009 ‘Dozens killed in strikes on UN schools in Gaza’,
http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/92efe566c5e0db4c852575360065480d!OpenDocument

(29) = Haaretz 07 Jan 2009 ‘UN rejects IDF claim Gaza militants operated from bombed-out school’, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053455.html(30) = Oxfam 4 Jan 2009 ‘Gaza: Oxfam supported health worker killed, ambulance destroyed’,
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/pressoffice/?p=2906

(31) = BBC News Online 23 Feb 2007 , ‘UN envoy hits Israel 'apartheid'’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6390755.stm (UN special rapporteur John Dugard on Palestinian terrorist war crimes and Israeli war crimes)

(32) = UN Human Rights Council 8 Jun 2007 ; Fourth session Item 2 of the provisional agenda ; IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 60/251 OF 15 MARCH 2006 ENTITLED “HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL” ; ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, John Dugard’, http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?m=91 (ditto, Dugard reporting Israeli war crimes against civilians “on a much greater scale” than Palestinian ones)

(33) = UNRWA 10 Dec 2002 ‘Ten killed in Gaza including two UNRWA staff’,
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/3c74b0acd9085fc385256c8700539476

(34) = BBC News 06 Dec 2005 ‘British UN worker unlawfully shot’,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/4534620.stm

(35) = Jessica Montell, Executive Director of B’Tselem (2004) ‘‘The search for truth: human rights documentation in the war of representation’ In
Humanitarian Exchange Magazine Issue 28 Nov 2004,
http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?id=2667

(36) = Haaretz (Israel) 12 Oct 2004 ‘IDF admits Qassam was not transported in UN ambulance’,
http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0410b&L=fofognet&P=2138

(37) = UNISPAL/Human Rights Watch 13 Sep 2006 ‘Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: Don't Fire on Gaza Medics ; Six Attacks on Palestinian Ambulances, Paramedics’,
http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.nsf/0145a8233e14d2b585256cbf005af141/088e7c424b63cc19852571ea00536864!OpenDocument

(38) = Observer 3 Feb 2002, ‘Hatred sown in a carer's heart' http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4348774-102275,00.html

(39) = Guardian 28 Jun 2005, ‘Snipers with children in their sights’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1516362,00.html

(40) = BT’Selem eyewitness testimonies – IDF soldier shoots and kills a 14 year-old boy playing with his friends, in Tubas, north of Nablus, January 2005 - witness Abu Muhsen -
http://www.btselem.org/english/Testimonies/20050120_Salah_Abu_Muhsen_Shot_to_Death_in_Tubas_witness_Abu_Muhsen.asp

(41) = BT'Selem eyewitness testimonies - IDF soldier shoots and kills a 14 year-old boy playing with his friends, in Tubas, north of Nablus, January 2005 - witness Daragmeh - http://www.btselem.org/english/Testimonies/20050120_Salah_Abu_Muhsen_Shot_to_Death_in_Tubas_witness_Daraghmeh.asp

(42) = Summerfield, Derek ‘Palestine – The Assault on Health and Other War Crimes’,
British Medical Journal 16 October 2004 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/329/7471/924?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Derek+Summerfield+Palestine&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

(43) = Guardian 6 Sep 2005, ‘Israeli troops say they were given shoot-to-kill order’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1563476,00.html

(44) = Guardian 6 Sep 2005, ‘Israeli soldiers tell of indiscriminate killings by army and a culture of impunity’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1563255,00.html

(45) = Human Rights Watch Aug 2006 ‘Israel/Lebanon: End Indiscriminate Strikes on Civilians’, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/08/02/israellebanon-end-indiscriminate-strikes-civilians
; Back

(46) = Israel Foreign Ministry ‘Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000’, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm ; Back

(47) = NYT 19 Dec 2006 ‘Gaza Truce May Be Revived by Necessity’,
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/world/middleeast/20mideast.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Ethan%20Bronner%20December%202008%20gaza&st=cse

(48) = Guardian 05 Nov 2008 ‘Gaza truce broken as Israeli raid kills six Hamas gunmen’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/05/israelandthepalestinians

(49) = BBC News 23 May 2000 ‘Q & A: Leaving Lebanon’,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/636594.stm ; Back

(50) = Morris, Benny(1999) ‘Righteous Victims – A History of the Arab Israeli Conflict’ , John Murray, London , 2000 (hardback)edition, Chapter 12 especially pages 552-560

(51) = Time magazine 28 Jun 2006, 'Will Hizballah Go To War for Iran?', http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1208916,00.html

(52) = BBC News 25 Jan 2007, 'Who are Hamas?', http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1654510.stm

(53) = Robert Fisk (1990) ‘Pity the Nation : Lebanon at War’ 3rd edition, OUP, Oxford & NY, 2001

(54) = UNOCHA Dec 2008 ‘Unprotected: Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians and their property’, http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_settler_vilonce_special_focus_2008_12_18.pdf ; (54)

(55) = Amnesty International 11 Mar 2008 ‘Palestinian homes demolished without warning’, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/palestinian-homes-demolished-without-warning-20080311

(56) = UN radio 11 Mar 2008 ‘UN envoy alarmed at Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes’, http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/35534.html

(57) = Independent 10 Mar 2008 ‘Israel defies freeze on illegal settlements’,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-defies-freeze-on-illegal-settlements-793685.html

(58) = BBC News 02 Mar 2004 ‘Israeli settlement building grows’,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3526791.stm

(59) = BBC News 27 Dec 2006 ‘Israel approves W Bank settlement’,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6210721.stm

(60) = Guardian 06 Dec 2008 ‘Footage shows settlers shooting two Palestinians’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/06/settlers-shoot-palestinians-west-bank

(61) = Also see sources at the bottom of this page

(62) = Reuters 4 Jan 2009 ‘Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian WBank protester’,
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL4619326 ; Back

(63) = AP 03 Jan 2009 ‘Worldwide protests staged against Israel's offensive in Gaza’
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtStEng.jhtml?itemNo=1052263&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&title='Protests%20against%20Gaza%20assault%20sweep%20the%20Mideast'&dyn_server=172.20.5.5 – “Protests erupted as well in the Palestinian territories. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, thousands demonstrated in solidarity with Gazans, calling for Palestinian unity and accusing Arab leaders of silence over Israel's bombardment”

(64) = The Herald January 6 2009 ‘‘The killings came as a complete shock’’,
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/foreign/display.var.2478359.0.The_killings_came_as_a_complete_shock.php

(65) = UN 29 Dec 2008 ‘PRESS CONFERENCE on situation in gaza’,
http://un.org/News/briefings/docs/2008/081229_Gaza.doc.htm
(4th paragraph includes ‘Because of the blockade that had been in place for months and the recent tightening of that blockade, the stocks of some vital items were very low or non-existent. Today, however, around 60 truckloads of goods had been allowed in, including 4 trucks of medical supplies for UNRWA and 18 trucks of food supplies for UNRWA and the World Food Programme (WFP). UNRWA needed about 100 trucks of wheat flour a day’) ; Back

(66) = Observer 21 Dec 2008 ‘Israeli blockade 'forces Palestinians to search rubbish dumps for food'’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/21/israel-gaza-strip-middle-east

(67) = Times 27 Mar 2007 ‘Five dead in Gaza 'sewage tsunami'
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1576633.ece
; Back

(68) = AFP 07 Jan 2008 ‘Threats to Gaza sewage put 10,000 lives at risk: World Bank’
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090107/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazahumanitariansewage_newsmlmmd



copyright©Duncan McFarlane2008


Friday, January 09, 2009

Rice Lies; A hundred children and aid workers die



I suppose we should be grateful that, for once, the US government has been shamed into not vetoing a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (while continuing to arm and fund Israel's offensives).



Listening to bare-faced lies from the soon to be -ex US Secretary of State riles me though - especially when those lies have become accepted widely as truth through mere repetition and are being used to try to justify the targeting of civilians, ambulance crews and UN aid workers in a campaign to overthrow an elected

government by force.



Condoleezza Rice told the UN Security Council yesterday that Hamas is a ‘terrorist organisation’ which came to power in Gaza “in a military coup…18 months ago.” (0) That’s a lie.



Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Authority’s legislature in elections judged free and fair by EU observers in January(1), (2),(3),(4). That makes Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas the democratically elected Palestinian Prime Minister. Hamas are involved in terrorism but remain the elected government just as President Bush and Ehud Olmert remain the elected heads of their governments despite their involvement in war crimes killing civilians.



Sanctions imposed on the entire Palestinian authority by the US, EU, Israel, Russia, China and Arab dictatorships to force Hamas out of office led to civil war between Hamas and Fatah. These governments even vetoed a coalition government formed by Hamas and Fatah in June 2007 (5), (6).



Then the US, Israel and Egypt organised an attempted military coup against Hamas by Fatah forces armed, trained and funded by them. This coup attempt succeeded in the West Bank but was defeated in Gaza (7), (8), (9), (10).



The situation is similar to the one in Nicaragua in the 80s and 90s when the Reagan and Bush senior administrations denounced the Sandinistas, who overthrew the dictator Somoza before winning fair elections, as “terrorists” while sanctioning Nicaragua and funding a campaign of rape, murder, torture and bombings by Contra “freedom fighters”.



Fatah’s leadership are as corrupt as Somoza was.



The toll of the latest attempt to overthrow the elected Palestinian government by sanctions and force includes 101 children dead and 1,000 wounded according to UNoCHA and UN aid workers are being shot by Israeli forces along with ambulance crews, but no doubt we’ll hear that’s entirely Hamas’ fault and nothing to do with the Israeli forces that killed them (11), (12), (13).




(0) = US Department of State 08 Jan 2009, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice ‘Remarks at the UN Security Council Session on the Situation in the Middle East’,
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009/01/113698.htm


(3rd sentence of 5th paragraph reads ‘Eighteen months ago, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup’)



(1) = Associated Press 26 Jan 2006 , ‘Hamas Wins Landslide 76 Seats’, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/26/international/i094327S41.DTL&feed=rss.news


(2) = House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/17 ; 15 Mar 2006 , ‘The Palestinian Parliamentary Election and the rise of Hamas’, http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2006/rp06-017.pdf (see Section C, page 12 ‘Conduct of the Elections’ – also note the paper mistakenly gives the date of the elections as January 2005 – this must be a typo – the parliamentary elections were a year later)



(3) = Political Risk Monitor – Special Coverage - The January 2006 Palestinian Elections , ‘Palestinian elections: MEPs hail success of democratic process but urge Hamas to take the path of peace’, http://www.politicalriskmonitor.com/hamas/electobserv.shtml


(4) = Europa (EU) News Service 27 Jan 2006 ‘Palestinian elections: MEPs hail success of democratic process but urge Hamas to take the path of peace’, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-4661-026-01-04-903-20060124IPR04643-26-01-2006-2006-false/default_en.htm


(5) = BBC News 9 Feb 2007 , ‘Palestinian rivals in unity deal’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6344297.stm


(6) = NPR 18 Mar 2007, ‘Israel Rejects Palestinians' Unity Deal’, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8983689


(7) = Haaretz (Israel) 28 Dec 2006 , ‘Israeli defense official: Fatah arms transfer bolsters forces of peace’, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806603.html


(8) = Christian Science Monitor 25 May 2007, ‘Israel, US, and Egypt back Fatah's fight against Hamas’, http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0525/p07s02-wome.html


(9) = Guardian 26 Jun 2007, ‘A thankless task with four bosses and no office’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2111447,00.html


(10) = Israel Today 18 Jun 2007, ‘Bush to replace arms Fatah surrendered to Hamas’, http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=13150


(11) = UNoCHA 07 Jan 2009 ‘SITUATION REPORT FROM THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR 7 January 2009, 1700 hours’, http://www.ochaopt.org/gazacrisis/admin/output/files/ocha_opt_gaza_humanitarian_situation_report_2009_01_07_english.pdf ,
Last sentence of 3rd paragraph reads “At least 101 children have been killed, almost one thousand injured and tens of thousands traumatized.”



(12) = Oxfam 4 Jan 2009 ‘Gaza: Oxfam supported health worker killed, ambulance destroyed’,
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/pressoffice/?p=2906


(13) = AP 08 Jan 2009 ‘UN curbs Gaza aid after trucks hit by Israeli fire’,
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD95J82Q00
9th paragraph reads “"We've been coordinating with them (Israeli forces) and yet our staff continue to be hit and killed," said a U.N. spokesman, Chris Gunness, announcing the suspension. The U.N. is the largest aid provider in Gaza.”

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Churchill, ‘Moral Courage’ and Gaza


Is Israel showing moral courage against evil or trying to justifying its atrocities against civilians by pointing to Hamas’?



Dr. Denis MacEoin ( Herald letters 6th January ) in replying to my letter of 3rd January quotes Hamas’ founding charter as proof that Hamas can’t be negotiated with. The Fatah and PLO charters don’t recognise Israel’s right to exist either though, yet Israeli negotiations with them led to many partial breakthroughs, such as the Oslo Accords, in between calling them terrorists who couldn’t be negotiated with (1), (2).



Dr. MacEoin then compares Hamas to Nazi Germany and urges us to show Churchill’s ‘moral courage’ in the face of ‘Evil’.



Palestinian rocket attacks have killed several Israeli civilians and are not justified, but apart from the fact that it’s massed Israeli tanks and bombers attacking Gaza, not Palestinian ones invading Israel, this is not a conflict of good versus evil but of wrong acts by both sides, with the stronger refusing to negotiate.



Israeli forces have deliberately starved and indiscriminately bombed the whole population of Gaza, with the UN figure of 62 civilians killed given on 29th December not including any adult men according to a UN press conference on the same day. At least 101 children have been killed and 1000 wounded by the Israeli offensive in Gaza so far, as reported by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.. This is the result of the Israeli government and military’s definition of civilian echoing that of the Bosnian Serbs at Srebrenica – i.e not ‘males of military age’. As in British Boer War concentration camps and German ones in World War Two some food has been allowed into Gaza , just not enough – so many Palestinians in Gaza now have to search rubbish tips for food (3), (3a), (4).



Israeli officers continued their long running practice of ordering the targeting of civilians – like the two unarmed youths shot dead in the West Bank for demonstrating against the Gaza strikes, the entire family of Hamas leader Nizar Rayan, whose house they bombed, killing his children; and dozens of UN staff and civilians killed in at least two clearly marked UN buildings (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11). In the last case the Israeli military made up claims about rockets fired from the UN buildings – claims which they could provide no evidence for. A supposed video of the rocket fire has not materialized (11a).



These kind of propaganda claims without any evidence are a common IDF practice. In the past they’ve claimed to have videos of UNRWA ambulances carrying missiles – claims they dropped when it was obvious it was a stretcher not a missile. Then they fell back on saying that since some UNRWA employees are also Hamas members, the UN is employing terrorists. Hamas is one of the two main Palestinian political parties though – being a member of it does not make someone a member of its armed wing – the Al Qassam Brigades – or a terrorist, any more than being a Kadima member automatically makes an Israeli a war criminal because Kadima are in government and have ordered war crimes (11b), (11c).



The missiles in ambulances story was an attempt to justify Israeli forces’ targeting of Palestinian and foreign ambulances and medics – like the Oxfam paramedic killed by Israeli fire on an ambulance in Gaza on 4th January, just as many ambulances were attacked in Gaza and in Lebanon in the 2006 war (12), (13). Every week for decades Israeli forces have been firing on ambulances, paramedics and the wounded – and ordering snipers to shoot Palestinian children in the head (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), (21). If that sounds incredible check the sources – British and Palestinian doctors., British journalists and Israelis who’ve fought as IDF soldiers in the West Bank.



Churchill might well have approved. He was a propagandist for the Boer War, in which concentration camps were invented to deny the Boers food by starving the whole population (22).



Churchill, who also said he approved of gassing civilians – particularly uncivilised tribes, but also had plans to use poison gas on German civilians in World War Two. He only looked good next to Hitler though; and Haniyeh is not Hitler (23), (24), (25.)



It’s easy to call the other side ‘Evil’ and claim this justifies everything ‘our’ side does and makes negotiation unthinkable. It’s not true though and it leads to more deaths. ‘Moral courage’ requires condemning wrong acts whichever side commits them and rejecting the option of using a stronger military with utter ruthlessness to punish an entire population and overthrow an elected government when negotiations are on offer.



(1) = Morris, Benny (1999), ‘Righteous Victims : A History of the Arab-Zionist Conflict’ , John Murray, New York , Chapter 12 , pages 303,365,606-608



(2) = Shlaim, Avi (2000) , ‘The Iron Wall : Israel and the Arab World’, Penguin paperback, 2000, chapter 12, page 466



(3) = UN 29 Dec 2008 ‘PRESS CONFERENCE on situation in gaza’,
http://un.org/News/briefings/docs/2008/081229_Gaza.doc.htm,
(2nd sentence of 3rd paragraph reads ‘Based on UNRWA information, 62 of the casualties were civilian casualties, a count that included only women and children, and not civilian casualties who were men.’)



(3a) = UNoCHA 07 Jan 2009 ‘SITUATION REPORT FROM THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR 7 January 2009, 1700 hours’,
http://www.ochaopt.org/gazacrisis/admin/output/files/ocha_opt_gaza_humanitarian_situation_report_2009_01_07_english.pdf



(4) = UN 29 Dec 2008 ‘PRESS CONFERENCE on situation in gaza’,
http://un.org/News/briefings/docs/2008/081229_Gaza.doc.htm
(4th paragraph includes ‘Because of the blockade that had been in place for months and the recent tightening of that blockade, the stocks of some vital items were very low or non-existent. Today, however, around 60 truckloads of goods had been allowed in, including 4 trucks of medical supplies for UNRWA and 18 trucks of food supplies for UNRWA and the World Food Programme (WFP). UNRWA needed about 100 trucks of wheat flour a day’)



(4a) = Observer 21 Dec 2008 ‘Israeli blockade 'forces Palestinians to search rubbish dumps for food'’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/21/israel-gaza-strip-middle-east



(5) = The Herald January 6 2009 ‘‘The killings came as a complete shock’’,
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/foreign/display.var.2478359.0.The_killings_came_as_a_complete_shock.php



(6) = Guardian 02 Jan 2009 ‘Israeli bomb kills Hamas leader and six of his family’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/02/hamas-leader-death-israel-bombing



(7) = IRIN 29 Dec 2008 ‘ISRAEL-OPT: Dire humanitarian situation looms in Gaza’,
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82131,
(see under sub-heading ‘Air Strikes’ – ‘"Eight students from Gaza Vocational Training Centre in Gaza City were killed and 20 injured? by an air strike," said UNRWA [UN Palestinian agency for refugees] spokesperson Sami Mshasha. "Two UNRWA teachers were also killed.")



(8) = UNISPAL 06 Jan 2009 ‘DIRECT HIT ON UNRWA SCHOOL KILLS THREE IN GAZA’,
http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/766674819c81f04a852575360053c075!OpenDocument




(9) = UNISPAL 06 Jan 2009 ‘Dozens killed in strikes on UN schools in Gaza’,
http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/92efe566c5e0db4c852575360065480d!OpenDocument



(10) = UNRWA 10 Dec 2002 ‘Ten killed in Gaza including two UNRWA staff’,
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/3c74b0acd9085fc385256c8700539476



(11) = BBC News 06 Dec 2005 ‘British UN worker unlawfully shot’,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/4534620.stm



(11a) = Haaretz 07 Jan 2009 ‘UN rejects IDF claim Gaza militants operated from bombed-out school’, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053455.html




(11b) = Jessica Montell, Executive Director of B’Tselem (2004) ‘‘The search for truth: human rights documentation in the war of representation’ In
Humanitarian Exchange Magazine Issue 28 Nov 2004,
http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?id=2667



(11c) = Haaretz (Israel) 12 Oct 2004 ‘IDF admits Qassam was not transported in UN ambulance’,
http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0410b&L=fofognet&P=2138




(12) = Oxfam 4 Jan 2009 ‘Gaza: Oxfam supported health worker killed, ambulance destroyed’,
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/pressoffice/?p=2906


(13) = UNISPAL/Human Rights Watch 13 Sep 2006 ‘Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: Don't Fire on Gaza Medics ; Six Attacks on Palestinian Ambulances, Paramedics’,
http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.nsf/0145a8233e14d2b585256cbf005af141/088e7c424b63cc19852571ea00536864!OpenDocument



(14) = Observer 3 Feb 2002, ‘Hatred sown in a carer's heart' http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,4348774-102275,00.html





(15) = Guardian 28 Jun 2005, ‘Snipers with children in their sights’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1516362,00.html



(16) = BT’Selem eyewitness testimonies – IDF soldier shoots and kills a 14 year-old boy playing with his friends, in Tubas, north of Nablus, January 2005 - witness Abu Muhsen -
http://www.btselem.org/english/Testimonies/20050120_Salah_Abu_Muhsen_Shot_to_Death_in_Tubas_witness_Abu_Muhsen.asp



(17) = BT'Selem eyewitness testimonies - IDF soldier shoots and kills a 14 year-old boy playing with his friends, in Tubas, north of Nablus, January 2005 - witness Daragmeh - http://www.btselem.org/english/Testimonies/20050120_Salah_Abu_Muhsen_Shot_to_Death_in_Tubas_witness_Daraghmeh.asp



( 18) = Summerfield, Derek ‘Palestine – The Assault on Health and Other War Crimes’,
British Medical Journal 16 October 2004 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/329/7471/924?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Derek+Summerfield+Palestine&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT cited in Pilger, John (2006) , ‘Freedom Next Time’ , Bantam, London, 2006 , page 118



(19) = Pilger, John (2006) , ‘Freedom Next Time’ , Bantam, London, 2006 , page 126



(20) = Guardian 6 Sep 2005, ‘Israeli troops say they were given shoot-to-kill order’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1563476,00.html cited by Summerfield, Derek (2005) ‘British Medical Journal Debate on Palestine continues : Palestine: the assault on health and other war crimes. Israeli soldiers confirm the shoot-to-kill policy I documented’In British Medical Journal , September 2005 ,
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/331/7518/699?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Derek+Summerfield+Palestine&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT



(21) = Guardian 6 Sep 2005, ‘Israeli soldiers tell of indiscriminate killings by army and a culture of impunity’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1563255,00.html



(22) = Thomas Pakenham (1999) ‘ The Boer War’, The Folio Society, London, 1999,
p613-615, 626-634 (chapters 38 & 39)



(23) = Telegraph 31 Jan 2007 ‘Churchill wanted to use gas on enemies’,
http://www.fpp.co.uk/bookchapters/WSC/gaswar.html



(24) = Guardian 28 Nov 2002 ‘The Churchill you didn't know’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2002/nov/28/features11.g21



(25) = Guenther W. Gellermann, "Der Krieg, der nicht stattfand", Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1986, pp. 249-251, http://www.codoh.com/incon/incongasmemo.html




Wednesday, January 07, 2009

De Facto in Gaza - where the elected government "siezed power by force"

The topsy-turvy world where the coup-makers are democrats, elected governments 'siezed power by force'and 'western backed' = legitimate and democratically elected

Much of the media have consistently referred to Ismail Haniyeh as “de facto" Prime Minister "in Gaza" and claimed that Hamas siezed power in Gaza by force and aim to destroy Israel. They're giving too much credence to the rhetoric of the Israeli government and its allies.

Haniyeh is the democratically elected Prime Minister of all Palestinians, West Bankers and Gazans. The January 2006 Palestinian legislative elections were verified free and fair by EU monitors. (2), (3), (4),(5).

Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah is the elected Palestinian President, but his appointment of his own ‘Prime Minister’ and Ministers in the West Bank is undemocratic and against the Palestinian Authority’s constitution, which gives parliament, not the President, the power to sack and approve ministers. Hamas has a parliamentary majority (6), (7).

The US and EU governments may recognise Abbas’ appointed, unelected PM and cabinet but the legitimacy of governments does not derive from other governments but from free and fair elections and adherence to a country's constitution. Fatah lost the 2006 elections because of Israel's campaign to overthrow Arafat and Fatah by bombing and sanctions under Ariel Sharon - and because of it's corruption, with many Fatah officials living in luxury by taking aid money that should be going to their people, while the majority of those people suffer malnutrition caused by food shortages.(8), (9), (10)

Hamas didn't 'sieze power' in Gaza either. A coup by Fatah gunmen, armed and trained by Egypt, the US and Israel, failed in Gaza but succeeded in the West Bank. Both factions' gunmen have murdered the other side's supporters (11), (12), (13), (14). The refusal of Israel and the Quartet to lift sanctions after a peace deal and coalition government formed by Hamas and Fatah in 2007 Israel led to renewed civil war (15), (16).

The ‘barrier to negotiations’ is not Hamas but the Israeli government’s refusal of all offers of talks with the elected Palestinian Prime Minister and attempts to overthrow his government by starvation and force. Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal of Hamas have repeatedly offered negotiations and said that a Palestinian state could co-exist with Israel - and would have to since Israel's military is immensely more powerful than the Palestinians'.(17), (18), (19), (20), (21), (22).

Since Hamas' election the Israelis have made a great show of offering to negotiate with Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah but saying Hamas are terrorists who can't be negotiated with. They now call Fatah "the forces of peace". Four years ago they were saying Fatah were terrorists who couldn't be negotiated with (and Israel's Foreign Ministry website lists attacks on Israelis by Fatah's armed wing every year too). It isnt too hard to make sense of this - the aim is to divide and conquer the Palestinians. In negotiations with Abbas the Israeli government offer him nothing of any substance and continue expanding settlements and seizing water supplies and farmland from Palestinians forced out at gunpoint. As long as the focus is kept on Gaza by sanctions and bombing and rocket attacks on and from it the annexation of the West Bank can continue.

Hamas and Fatah are both involved in terrorism - but they also have political and social wings, with Hamas providing hospitals and schools for everyone (including Christians). Many of Israel's Prime Ministers were terrorists bombing their way to an Israeli state before Israel's foundation - and every one of them has been a war criminal with as much civilian blood on their hands as any Palestinian terrorist.

Bombing and invasions have been tried before to end rocket attacks and suicide bombings. Predictably they create more of them by killing 50 Palestinian civilians for every Israeli civilian killed.

Negotiations are possible - and the only way forward.



(1) = See e.g Guardian 07 Jan 2009 ‘Gaza’s Day of Carnage – 40 dead as Israelis bomb two UN schools’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-obama

and

Independent 06 Jan 2009 ‘Tunnels – the secret weapon for Hamas’, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tunnels-ndash-the-secret-weapon-for-hamas-1228140.html

(2) = Associated Press 26 Jan 2006 , ‘Hamas Wins Landslide 76 Seats’, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/01/26/international/i094327S41.DTL&feed=rss.news

(3) = House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/17 ; 15 Mar 2006 , ‘The Palestinian Parliamentary Election and the rise of Hamas’, http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2006/rp06-017.pdf (see Section C, page 12 ‘Conduct of the Elections’ – also note the paper mistakenly gives the date of the elections as January 2005 – this must be a typo – the parliamentary elections were a year later)

(4) = Political Risk Monitor – Special Coverage - The January 2006 Palestinian Elections , ‘Palestinian elections: MEPs hail success of democratic process but urge Hamas to take the path of peace’, http://www.politicalriskmonitor.com/hamas/electobserv.shtml

(5) = Europa (EU) News Service 27 Jan 2006 ‘Palestinian elections: MEPs hail success of democratic process but urge Hamas to take the path of peace’, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-4661-026-01-04-903-20060124IPR04643-26-01-2006-2006-false/default_en.htm

(6) = Ha’aretz 15 Jul 2007, ‘Fatah to boycott parliament session convened by Hamas’, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/881670.html

(7) = FMEP/Reuters 9 July 2007, ‘Abbas Exceeded Powers in Sacking Government’,
http://www.fmep.org/analysis/analysis/abbas-exceeded-powers-in-sacking-government

(8) = Jerusalem Post 27 Jan 2006 'Fatah leaders reeling from 'the big punishment''
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1137605926202
5th paragraph reads "Fatah activists here blamed the party's veteran leadership for the humiliating defeat. "The people punished us because of the mismanagement and corruption of the mafia that came from Tunis," said Nasser Abdel Hakim, referring to the Fatah leaders who returned with Yasser Arafat from Tunis in 1994."

(9) = Israel National News 30 Mar 2008 'Fatah PA Corruption Exposed', http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125722

(10) = See http://www.duncanmcfarlane.org/Israel-Palestine/thecoup/ under sub=heading 'Economic Warfare' and source notes and links for it - and also http://www.duncanmcfarlane.org/Israel-Palestine19thJan08/index.html#2

(11) = Haaretz (Israel) 28 Dec 2006 , ‘Israeli defense official: Fatah arms transfer bolsters forces of peace’, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806603.html

(12) = Christian Science Monitor 25 May 2007, ‘Israel, US, and Egypt back Fatah's fight against Hamas’, http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0525/p07s02-wome.html

(13) = Guardian 26 Jun 2007, ‘A thankless task with four bosses and no office’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2111447,00.html

(14) = Israel Today 18 Jun 2007, ‘Bush to replace arms Fatah surrendered to Hamas’, http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=13150

(15) = BBC News 9 Feb 2007 , ‘Palestinian rivals in unity deal’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6344297.stm

(16) = NPR 18 Mar 2007, ‘Israel Rejects Palestinians' Unity Deal’, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8983689

(17) = Telegraph 09 Feb 2006 ‘Hamas offers deal if Israel pulls out’,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/1510074/Hamas-offers-deal-if-Israel-pulls-out.html

(18) = Guardian 4 Mar 2006 , ‘Hamas says peace possible at Moscow talks’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1723217,00.html

(19) = Guardian 22 Jun 2006 ‘Climbdown as Hamas agrees to Israeli state’ http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1803184,00.html

(20) = Ynet news (Israel) 22 Dec 2007 ‘Report: Hamas weighing unconditional truce with Israel’, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3485394,00.html

(21) = IHT 23 Dec 2007 ‘Israel rejects Hamas request for cease-fire talks’,
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/23/africa/hamas.php

(22) Guardian.co.uk 21 April 2008 ‘We can accept Israel as neighbour, says Hamas’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/21/israel