You find the photo's/video's disturbing? Remember, this is what Palestinian children see almost every day
16 july 2014
By Safaa El Derawi
Safaa El Derawi is the Gaza project assistant for Middle East Children’s Alliance and an environmental engineer living in Nuseirat Refugee Camp.
I tried to write two days ago, but I did not know where I should start.
Do I start talking about the terror and the fear that we feel due to continuous bombardment of houses and agricultural lands across Gaza by Israeli warplanes? Or do I tell you about the bombing by marine boats that make us feel that we are threatened with death at any time?
But I decided to write about Friday night; it was the hardest and the heaviest. Many homes and mosques were bombed randomly. A hospital and association for the disabled were targeted too.
We spent all night in fear and tension without electricity trying to calm the children. No matter how hard we tried, they did not stop crying.
In the area where I live, three houses and a mosque were bombed in a period of 15 minutes. Messages reached many of the people ordering them to leave their homes, and some residents left and others decided to stay.
I called my friend Maha after I heard the news about the bombing of several houses in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp and I could not reach her. My heart was racing. She contacted me after hours to tell me that they left their home.
Their neighbors had received a warning message before their home was bombed. Four floors with four families and they had just three minutes to leave the house.
They live in a very crowded residential area with no space between homes. All of the refugee camps in Gaza are like this. So they told all their neighbors about the warning message.
What could they do in three minutes? Is it enough to come to grips with the shock or to take the papers, clothes and property?
They did not take anything with them.
The house was bombed while people were leaving their homes. It was then bombed again, killing and injuring many people, mostly women and children, and causing many houses in the area around it to collapse.
My friend Maha's family is one of hundreds of families whose houses were destroyed, leaving them homeless without anything. They went to her uncle's house where 20 people are living in less than 120 square meters (1200 square feet).
This is happening all over Gaza. The same story is repeated every hour with a different family.
We have endured a very bad situation for years due to the siege. And now we threatened with death at any time.
But we love life and we will stay here.
Safaa El Derawi is the Gaza project assistant for Middle East Children’s Alliance and an environmental engineer living in Nuseirat Refugee Camp.
I tried to write two days ago, but I did not know where I should start.
Do I start talking about the terror and the fear that we feel due to continuous bombardment of houses and agricultural lands across Gaza by Israeli warplanes? Or do I tell you about the bombing by marine boats that make us feel that we are threatened with death at any time?
But I decided to write about Friday night; it was the hardest and the heaviest. Many homes and mosques were bombed randomly. A hospital and association for the disabled were targeted too.
We spent all night in fear and tension without electricity trying to calm the children. No matter how hard we tried, they did not stop crying.
In the area where I live, three houses and a mosque were bombed in a period of 15 minutes. Messages reached many of the people ordering them to leave their homes, and some residents left and others decided to stay.
I called my friend Maha after I heard the news about the bombing of several houses in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp and I could not reach her. My heart was racing. She contacted me after hours to tell me that they left their home.
Their neighbors had received a warning message before their home was bombed. Four floors with four families and they had just three minutes to leave the house.
They live in a very crowded residential area with no space between homes. All of the refugee camps in Gaza are like this. So they told all their neighbors about the warning message.
What could they do in three minutes? Is it enough to come to grips with the shock or to take the papers, clothes and property?
They did not take anything with them.
The house was bombed while people were leaving their homes. It was then bombed again, killing and injuring many people, mostly women and children, and causing many houses in the area around it to collapse.
My friend Maha's family is one of hundreds of families whose houses were destroyed, leaving them homeless without anything. They went to her uncle's house where 20 people are living in less than 120 square meters (1200 square feet).
This is happening all over Gaza. The same story is repeated every hour with a different family.
We have endured a very bad situation for years due to the siege. And now we threatened with death at any time.
But we love life and we will stay here.
Several journalists were injured after an Israeli airstrike early Wednesday morning struck a building in Gaza City that houses the Sawt al-Watan radio station.
A journalist at the station Luay Abu Muammar told Ma'an that the radio station "was damaged, some machines were destroyed, and the radio's car was destroyed," in the attack, which comes on the ninth day of a sustained Israeli assault on Gaza.
"The broadcast is still cut off," he added.
The management and employees of the radio station condemned the targeting the building, stressing that the Israeli attack targets the rights of journalists and contravenes laws protecting freedom of the press.
Abu Muammar called upon the Arab and International Journalists Syndicate to condemn the attack and hold Israel responsible for its crimes.
Journalists Ahmad al-Ajala, Tariq Hamdieh, Muhammad Hammoudeh and Bahaa al-Razi Abu Muammar were in the building at the time of the airstrike.
The Israeli army has been regularly accused of targeting Palestinian journalists by international watchdogs, and attacks on news and radio stations in Gaza have generally been more frequent during times of bombardment like in 2012 and 2008-9.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces bombed a car full of journalists with the word "TV" printed across the roof, killing Hamdi Shihab and injuring three others.
209 Palestinians have been killed and 1,560 have been injured since Israel began "Operation Protective Edge" in Gaza, which began after more than two weeks of an intensive operation in the West Bank that killed at least six, injured more than 130, and led to the arrest of more than 600.
A journalist at the station Luay Abu Muammar told Ma'an that the radio station "was damaged, some machines were destroyed, and the radio's car was destroyed," in the attack, which comes on the ninth day of a sustained Israeli assault on Gaza.
"The broadcast is still cut off," he added.
The management and employees of the radio station condemned the targeting the building, stressing that the Israeli attack targets the rights of journalists and contravenes laws protecting freedom of the press.
Abu Muammar called upon the Arab and International Journalists Syndicate to condemn the attack and hold Israel responsible for its crimes.
Journalists Ahmad al-Ajala, Tariq Hamdieh, Muhammad Hammoudeh and Bahaa al-Razi Abu Muammar were in the building at the time of the airstrike.
The Israeli army has been regularly accused of targeting Palestinian journalists by international watchdogs, and attacks on news and radio stations in Gaza have generally been more frequent during times of bombardment like in 2012 and 2008-9.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces bombed a car full of journalists with the word "TV" printed across the roof, killing Hamdi Shihab and injuring three others.
209 Palestinians have been killed and 1,560 have been injured since Israel began "Operation Protective Edge" in Gaza, which began after more than two weeks of an intensive operation in the West Bank that killed at least six, injured more than 130, and led to the arrest of more than 600.
The military wing of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that the fighting in Gaza will continue until the demands of the Palestinian resistance are met, a day after an attempt at a ceasefire with Israel fell through.
The al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that the all Israeli cities and towns would remain under fire," as the resistance has prepared for a long battle which the enemy could not have expected."
The statement said that the al-Quds Brigades had fired 864 missiles and shells at Israeli towns in the eight days since the conflict began.
The attacks included 273 Grad missiles, 32 Buraq missiles, 5 Fajr (5) missiles and one Kornet missile, a Russian-made anti-tank guided missile.
Although Palestinian groups including Islamic Jihad and Hamas have fired more than 1,200 rockets into Israel since fighting began, they have caused only minor damage, killing one Israeli civilian volunteering with soldiers near the border and injuring a soldier in two separate incidents.
Despite this, the rockets have caused widespread panic across Israel, as for the first time they have struck as far north as Tel Aviv and Haifa as well as Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Over the same period of time, Israel has killed 209 Palestinians in Gaza and injured 1,560 in around-the-clock air strikes in the besieged coastal enclave.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli news site Maariv said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had offered Israel a 10-year truce if Israel agreed to 10 conditions primarily related to the lifting of a seven-year economic siege.
The al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that the all Israeli cities and towns would remain under fire," as the resistance has prepared for a long battle which the enemy could not have expected."
The statement said that the al-Quds Brigades had fired 864 missiles and shells at Israeli towns in the eight days since the conflict began.
The attacks included 273 Grad missiles, 32 Buraq missiles, 5 Fajr (5) missiles and one Kornet missile, a Russian-made anti-tank guided missile.
Although Palestinian groups including Islamic Jihad and Hamas have fired more than 1,200 rockets into Israel since fighting began, they have caused only minor damage, killing one Israeli civilian volunteering with soldiers near the border and injuring a soldier in two separate incidents.
Despite this, the rockets have caused widespread panic across Israel, as for the first time they have struck as far north as Tel Aviv and Haifa as well as Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Over the same period of time, Israel has killed 209 Palestinians in Gaza and injured 1,560 in around-the-clock air strikes in the besieged coastal enclave.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli news site Maariv said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had offered Israel a 10-year truce if Israel agreed to 10 conditions primarily related to the lifting of a seven-year economic siege.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have submitted a list of 10 demands to Egypt to establish a 10-year truce with Israel, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported Wednesday.
Maariv quoted a “high-profile” Palestinian source as confirming that Hamas and Islamic Jihad were willing to sign a truce if their 10 conditions were met.
The first demand, according to Maariv, is the withdrawal of Israeli military tanks from the border fence area to a distance that enables Gaza farmers to access their fields and tend them freely.
In addition, Israel must free all Palestinian prisoners detained after the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the southern West Bank including those who were freed as part of Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. This precondition also includes softening procedures against all prisoners in Israeli custody.
A third demand stipulates that Israel ends the crippling siege on the coastal enclave, which means reopening all border crossings and allowing the entry of construction materials and all requirements needed to run the Gaza Strip’s power station.
The fourth demand stipulates the opening of an international seaport and international airport in the Gaza Strip to be run and monitored by the United Nations.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad also demanded that Israel increases the Gaza fishing zone to 10 nautical miles and allows Gaza fishermen to use large fishing ships.
Furthermore, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip should be monitored by international crews from friendly and Arab countries.
Israel must commit to a ceasefire for 10 years which includes closing Gaza airspace to Israeli aircraft, it added.
Moreover, Israel must give Gaza residents permission to visit Jerusalem and pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Another stipulation demands that Israel abstain from any intervention in Palestinian internal affairs including political arrangements and the reconciliation agreement and all its consequences.
Finally, the Gaza industrial zone must be re-established.
Maariv quoted a “high-profile” Palestinian source as confirming that Hamas and Islamic Jihad were willing to sign a truce if their 10 conditions were met.
The first demand, according to Maariv, is the withdrawal of Israeli military tanks from the border fence area to a distance that enables Gaza farmers to access their fields and tend them freely.
In addition, Israel must free all Palestinian prisoners detained after the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the southern West Bank including those who were freed as part of Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. This precondition also includes softening procedures against all prisoners in Israeli custody.
A third demand stipulates that Israel ends the crippling siege on the coastal enclave, which means reopening all border crossings and allowing the entry of construction materials and all requirements needed to run the Gaza Strip’s power station.
The fourth demand stipulates the opening of an international seaport and international airport in the Gaza Strip to be run and monitored by the United Nations.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad also demanded that Israel increases the Gaza fishing zone to 10 nautical miles and allows Gaza fishermen to use large fishing ships.
Furthermore, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip should be monitored by international crews from friendly and Arab countries.
Israel must commit to a ceasefire for 10 years which includes closing Gaza airspace to Israeli aircraft, it added.
Moreover, Israel must give Gaza residents permission to visit Jerusalem and pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Another stipulation demands that Israel abstain from any intervention in Palestinian internal affairs including political arrangements and the reconciliation agreement and all its consequences.
Finally, the Gaza industrial zone must be re-established.
6 killed, including 3-year-old, in airstrike on Khan Younis
Hamza Raed Thari, 6, dies of wounds sustained in airstrike days ago
Hamza Raed Thari, 6, dies of wounds sustained in airstrike three days ago
Hamza Raed Thari, 6, dies of wounds sustained in airstrike days ago
Hamza Raed Thari, 6, dies of wounds sustained in airstrike three days ago
|
|
Child injured in Gaza beach attack
An Israeli naval ship fired multiple artillery shells at children on a beach in Gaza City Wednesday, killing four children between the ages of 9 and 11, and wounding a number of other children. Reporters for AFP and the Guardian witnessed the attack, which took place near a hotel where the few foreign journalists in Gaza are staying. The children were identified as Ahed Atef Bakir, 10, Zakariya Ahed Bakir, 10, Mohammad Ramiz Bakir, 11, and Ismail Mahmoud Bakir, 9. |
Neighbors report that they were brothers and cousins, helping their father/uncle with a fishing boat.
Peter Beaumont of the Guardian witnessed the shelling of the children, and said that after the first shell struck, and survivors were rushing for cover, Israeli naval forces fired a second shell at the survivors.
He described the attack as follows: “The retaining wall of Gaza's harbour sticks out into the Mediterranean about 100 metres from the terrace of al-Deira hotel, base to many of the journalists covering the conflict in Gaza. The first of the artillery shells came in a little after 4pm on Wednesday as I was writing on the hotel's terrace.
“There is a deafening explosion as it hits a structure on the pier, a place we have seen hit before, where fishermen usually store their nets. Behind the smoke, I see four figures running, silhouettes whose legs are pumping raggedly. They clear the smoke. From their size it is clear they are a man and three young boys.
“Where the harbour wall ends and the beach starts, there are a few brightly coloured tents and chairs for beach users in more peaceful times. The four figures jump on to the beach and begin running towards us and the safety of the hotel.
“Only afterwards do we discover there are four others who are dead, all children, lying on the wall. I am shown a picture of one of the dead boys, his skin scorched and bruised. Their names are released later: Ahed Bakr, aged 10; Zakaria, 10; and two other boys from the Bakr family, both named Mohammad, aged 11 and nine.
“The second shell catches the survivors as they reach the brightly coloured tents. As it explodes, my colleagues, now standing by the terrace wall, shout at unseen Israeli gunners who can't hear them: ‘They are only children.’
The Israeli military said it would investigate the attack. But previous investigations by the Israeli military of its own soldiers’ conduct have never found them to be in violation of Israeli or international law, despite flagrant evidence of violations.
Israeli raids on Gaza kill 10, including 6 children
Israeli raids on Gaza on Wednesday afternoon killed nine Palestinians, including six children, bringing the total number of Palestinians slain in nine days of Israeli assault to 220.
Four children were killed when Israeli forces shelled a beach they were playing on in Gaza City on Wednesday, medics said, in an incident witnessed by AFP journalists.
All four were on the beach when the attack took place, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said, with several injured children taking refuge at a nearby hotel where journalists were staying.
They were reportedly attacked by Israeli naval boats, witnesses told Ma'an, and were members of the same family.
The children were identified as Ahed Atef Bakr, 10, Zakariya Ahed Bakr, 10, Mohammad Ramiz Bakr, 11, and Ismail Mahmoud Bakr, 9.
A Guardian reporter who witnessed the attack, and helped provide first aid to two children injured by shrapnel, tweeted about the shelling.
peter beaumont✔ @petersbeaumont 1st shell hit the harbour wall. It's been hit before so I assume its on a prerecorded grid. Gunner appears to have adjusted to hit survivors
Peter Beaumont of the Guardian witnessed the shelling of the children, and said that after the first shell struck, and survivors were rushing for cover, Israeli naval forces fired a second shell at the survivors.
He described the attack as follows: “The retaining wall of Gaza's harbour sticks out into the Mediterranean about 100 metres from the terrace of al-Deira hotel, base to many of the journalists covering the conflict in Gaza. The first of the artillery shells came in a little after 4pm on Wednesday as I was writing on the hotel's terrace.
“There is a deafening explosion as it hits a structure on the pier, a place we have seen hit before, where fishermen usually store their nets. Behind the smoke, I see four figures running, silhouettes whose legs are pumping raggedly. They clear the smoke. From their size it is clear they are a man and three young boys.
“Where the harbour wall ends and the beach starts, there are a few brightly coloured tents and chairs for beach users in more peaceful times. The four figures jump on to the beach and begin running towards us and the safety of the hotel.
“Only afterwards do we discover there are four others who are dead, all children, lying on the wall. I am shown a picture of one of the dead boys, his skin scorched and bruised. Their names are released later: Ahed Bakr, aged 10; Zakaria, 10; and two other boys from the Bakr family, both named Mohammad, aged 11 and nine.
“The second shell catches the survivors as they reach the brightly coloured tents. As it explodes, my colleagues, now standing by the terrace wall, shout at unseen Israeli gunners who can't hear them: ‘They are only children.’
The Israeli military said it would investigate the attack. But previous investigations by the Israeli military of its own soldiers’ conduct have never found them to be in violation of Israeli or international law, despite flagrant evidence of violations.
Israeli raids on Gaza kill 10, including 6 children
Israeli raids on Gaza on Wednesday afternoon killed nine Palestinians, including six children, bringing the total number of Palestinians slain in nine days of Israeli assault to 220.
Four children were killed when Israeli forces shelled a beach they were playing on in Gaza City on Wednesday, medics said, in an incident witnessed by AFP journalists.
All four were on the beach when the attack took place, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said, with several injured children taking refuge at a nearby hotel where journalists were staying.
They were reportedly attacked by Israeli naval boats, witnesses told Ma'an, and were members of the same family.
The children were identified as Ahed Atef Bakr, 10, Zakariya Ahed Bakr, 10, Mohammad Ramiz Bakr, 11, and Ismail Mahmoud Bakr, 9.
A Guardian reporter who witnessed the attack, and helped provide first aid to two children injured by shrapnel, tweeted about the shelling.
peter beaumont✔ @petersbeaumont 1st shell hit the harbour wall. It's been hit before so I assume its on a prerecorded grid. Gunner appears to have adjusted to hit survivors
|
|
Five Palestinians including a three-year-old were also killed on Wednesday afternoon in an airstrike in the Absan area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Akram Muhammad Abu Amer, 34, and his brother Kamal Muhammad Abu Amer, 38, were killed in the airstrike, along with Hussein Abd al-Latif al-Astal, 23, Roqayya al-Astal, 70, Yasmin Mahmud al-Astal, 4, and Osama Mahmud al-Astal, 6. Elsewhere, five people were injured including two critically in an airstrike on Shamlakh family home in Sheikh Ajleen neighborhood in southern Gaza city. The latest attack brings the Palestinian death toll since midnight to 22, with 220 killed and 1,560 injured since Israel's assault began last week. |
A Gaza-based rights group says over 80 percent of the victims are civilians.
Earlier, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Khalil al-Sarhi, 37, was killed in an airstrike on the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City while Omar Abu Daqqa, Ibrahim Abu Daqqa, and Khadra Abu Daqqa, 65, were killed in a strike targeting a civilian vehicle in Khan Younis.
Ashraf Abu Shanab, 33, was killed in Shabura camp in Rafah and Muhammad Abu Audah and Muhammad Zahouq were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Abu Audah family home.
A five-year-old girl also died after falling from a building following an airstrike on a residential building in Rafah.
Islamic Jihad fighter Muhammad al-Dabari was killed in an airstrike on a Rafah building, while two men were killed in Khan Younis, while another man died from injuries sustained in an airstrike before midnight.
Gaza fighters have fired more than 1,200 rockets at Israel, which on Tuesday claimed their first Israeli life.
Overnight, warplanes struck about 40 sites across Gaza, among them political targets and the air force also dropped flyers warning 100,000 in northeastern Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes ahead of an air campaign east of Gaza City.
Earlier, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Khalil al-Sarhi, 37, was killed in an airstrike on the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City while Omar Abu Daqqa, Ibrahim Abu Daqqa, and Khadra Abu Daqqa, 65, were killed in a strike targeting a civilian vehicle in Khan Younis.
Ashraf Abu Shanab, 33, was killed in Shabura camp in Rafah and Muhammad Abu Audah and Muhammad Zahouq were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Abu Audah family home.
A five-year-old girl also died after falling from a building following an airstrike on a residential building in Rafah.
Islamic Jihad fighter Muhammad al-Dabari was killed in an airstrike on a Rafah building, while two men were killed in Khan Younis, while another man died from injuries sustained in an airstrike before midnight.
Gaza fighters have fired more than 1,200 rockets at Israel, which on Tuesday claimed their first Israeli life.
Overnight, warplanes struck about 40 sites across Gaza, among them political targets and the air force also dropped flyers warning 100,000 in northeastern Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes ahead of an air campaign east of Gaza City.
|
|
International activists remain in Gaza hospital threatened by Israeli missiles Last night, Israel’s army fired five warning missiles at El-Wafa geriatric hospital in Gaza City, Gaza. International volunteers now staying in the hospital in solidarity, have said they, “can hear missiles falling close by”.
“The civilian population of Gaza is being bombed. We will stay with them in solidarity until the international community and our governments take action to stop Israel’s crimes against humanity.” States Swedish International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist, Fred Ekblad. The volunteers are citizens of USA, Spain, Sweden, Venezuela, France, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The first barrage of missiles hit the fourth floor of the hospital at 2:00AM. At approximately 19:00 a fifth missile hit the hospital. “Windows and doors were blown out, broken glass everywhere, damage to the stairs, there’s a big hole at the impact area and the wall is burnt,” reports Joe Catron, ISM activist, from the U.S. At around 20:00 Basman Alashi, executive director of the hospital, received an unidentified call from a person with a, ‘heavy Israeli accent’, asking if there were any injuries, whether there was any one in the top floor, and whether they were planning to evacuate the hospital. Alashi says the hospital will not be evacuated because there is nowhere to evacuate the patients too. “El-Wafa hospital serves the patients that need medical attention 24 hours a day. Including patients that can’t move, or people who need to be fed by tube. |
|
|
This hospital is the only one in Gaza specializing in the rehabilitation of people who need physical and occupational therapy. Most of our patients are over 60 years old, men and women.
We don’t understand why the Israeli forces have fired five rockets at the hospital in the last 24 hours so far. We serve humanity.” |
Al-Ashaal noted that the Egyptian initiative ultimately aims to allow for Israel's expansion in the region thanks to collaboration between Israel and Arab armies, which are now concerned with protecting regimes instead of protection nations
Cairo-based political science Professor Abdallah Al-Ashaal warned that that the objective behind the Egyptian initiative for a ceasefire, which was welcomed by Arab foreign ministers, is to put an end to the Palestinian resistance and uproot it completely so that the resistance fighters would turn in their weapons and exit the Gaza Strip. In an interview with Al-Quds Press, Al-Ashaal said that the Egyptian initiative was proposed to fragment the Arab resistance instead of it being uprooted by Israel.
"Israel is currently preparing for a ground war against the Gaza Strip in a bid to uproot the resistance. Arab foreign ministers want to prevent this ground war by agreeing with Israel on ending and fragmenting the resistance so that the resistance would turn in their weapons, leave the Gaza Strip and spread in various places. So we are in front of two options: Either Israel would bring down the resistance on its own or it would have Arabs dismantle the resistance on its behalf," he said.
"There is an Arab-Israeli-American complicity against the resistance. They are betting on the end of Hizbullah's resistance with the Iranian-American deal. Afterwards, the US will eliminate the 'Occupied Territories' term from UN dictionaries and will replace it with the term 'restored territories'," Al-Ashaal said.
"Arab normalisation of relations with Israel will be expanded," he added, pointing out that Egypt is the hub of normalisation, and that the initiative in its essence reflects common interests shared by Israel and Arab regimes.
Al-Ashaal said he believes that Egypt has become an irrelevant actor that is primarily concerned with coordination with Israel because its priority is to secure Sinai and protect it from radical groups. These groups were made by Israel, he explained.
He pointed out that the Egyptian army is no longer a combat army after it spread across Sinai and elsewhere in Egypt. The current Egyptian-Israeli goal is to get rid of Hamas because it represents the resistance for Israel and it represents the Muslim Brotherhood for the Egyptian regime, he said.
He warned against the repercussions that may result from the Arab-Israeli-American project that aims to uproot and dismantle the resistance. "The initiative addresses settlement activity whereas the current discussion is about the Israeli military attack," he said.
Al-Ashaal noted that the Egyptian initiative ultimately aims to allow for Israel's expansion in the region thanks to collaboration between Israel and Arab armies, which are now concerned with protecting regimes instead of protection nations.
In the same context, he said, the US-Iranian agreement will have its repercussions on Hizbullah: Iran will dismantle it and turn it into a political party rather than a resistance movement.
Cairo-based political science Professor Abdallah Al-Ashaal warned that that the objective behind the Egyptian initiative for a ceasefire, which was welcomed by Arab foreign ministers, is to put an end to the Palestinian resistance and uproot it completely so that the resistance fighters would turn in their weapons and exit the Gaza Strip. In an interview with Al-Quds Press, Al-Ashaal said that the Egyptian initiative was proposed to fragment the Arab resistance instead of it being uprooted by Israel.
"Israel is currently preparing for a ground war against the Gaza Strip in a bid to uproot the resistance. Arab foreign ministers want to prevent this ground war by agreeing with Israel on ending and fragmenting the resistance so that the resistance would turn in their weapons, leave the Gaza Strip and spread in various places. So we are in front of two options: Either Israel would bring down the resistance on its own or it would have Arabs dismantle the resistance on its behalf," he said.
"There is an Arab-Israeli-American complicity against the resistance. They are betting on the end of Hizbullah's resistance with the Iranian-American deal. Afterwards, the US will eliminate the 'Occupied Territories' term from UN dictionaries and will replace it with the term 'restored territories'," Al-Ashaal said.
"Arab normalisation of relations with Israel will be expanded," he added, pointing out that Egypt is the hub of normalisation, and that the initiative in its essence reflects common interests shared by Israel and Arab regimes.
Al-Ashaal said he believes that Egypt has become an irrelevant actor that is primarily concerned with coordination with Israel because its priority is to secure Sinai and protect it from radical groups. These groups were made by Israel, he explained.
He pointed out that the Egyptian army is no longer a combat army after it spread across Sinai and elsewhere in Egypt. The current Egyptian-Israeli goal is to get rid of Hamas because it represents the resistance for Israel and it represents the Muslim Brotherhood for the Egyptian regime, he said.
He warned against the repercussions that may result from the Arab-Israeli-American project that aims to uproot and dismantle the resistance. "The initiative addresses settlement activity whereas the current discussion is about the Israeli military attack," he said.
Al-Ashaal noted that the Egyptian initiative ultimately aims to allow for Israel's expansion in the region thanks to collaboration between Israel and Arab armies, which are now concerned with protecting regimes instead of protection nations.
In the same context, he said, the US-Iranian agreement will have its repercussions on Hizbullah: Iran will dismantle it and turn it into a political party rather than a resistance movement.
The Zionists' Occupation army, led by the Government of settlers, continues to commit war crimes against our people.
As our inevitable victory approaches we call the international community to assume its responsibilities towards our people. We also demand a provisional International protection force for our people and the accountability of the Zionist war criminals.
A statement issued by the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC)
The Zionists' Occupation army, led by the Government of settlers, continues to commit war crimes against our people. They commit crime after crime, massacre after massacre. targeting women and children, the elderly and families, attacking our land trees building so they are violating our peoples right to live safely. They use the most powerful means of killing, aircraft, tanks and advanced missiles.
The number of martyrs draws near to 200, half of them women and children, and more than a thousand have been injured. And still the Occupation Army continue to kill, attacking the besieged Gaza Strip and destroying the homes of families, making them homeless as well as mourning their dead. They destroy their homes over their heads and destroy institutions providing care for those with disabilities.
In the West Bank, and in the heart of Jerusalem, they are continuing their campaign of oppression, murder and torture against our people. Invading their homes, institutions and arresting. Now they have taken their Zionist crimes to a new level by kidnapping the child, Mohammed Abu Khudair, burning him alive. And still the number of martyrs, wounded, prisoners and displaced persons is on the rise.
All this is happening with the support of the Governments of Western imperialism. These Governments see freedom, independence and liberation of our people and our land as a threat to their interests in the region. The crimes of the Occupation are allowed to continue, all with the suspicious silence of the Arab regimes.
We in the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) are engaged in a battle of steadfastness and confrontation. We continue to denounce the crimes committed against our people and our land, and condemn Western support and political cover that is provided for the crimes of the occupation, whether that support is clear and direct or veiled. We affirm the right of our people’s resistance to colonialism settlement in Palestine and insist on the right of return for Palestinian refugees to the homes from which they were displaced. In addition, the right of self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital.
As our inevitable victory approaches we call the international community to assume its responsibilities towards our people, through the mechanisms of a clear vindication of our rights to our land. We also demand a provisional International protection force for our people and the accountability of the Zionist war criminals.
It is time for the International community to cease to claim the existence of a peace process that has only benefited the Occupation, allowing it to strengthened the control over our land and institute racist policies through a system of apartheid, which is the ugliest in the history of mankind.
We applaud the resistance of our people in all its forms and spectra, and we salute the young men and women rebelling in the fields in all parts of Palestine. We also salute the Arab peoples and all people around the world that have shown solidarity with us.
We also call:
1· The Palestinian leadership to tackle the task of unity of our people, protecting our cause. A leadership that is working to develop a national strategy for the struggle, and thus stop the negotiations and security coordination with the Occupation, which form a dagger in the side of our people and their struggle.
2· We call on the masses of our people for increased participation in the struggle and direct confrontation with the Occupation. We call upon it to achieve victory for our people and our cause and to fulfill the wishes of our martyrs, our wounded, our prisoners, our bereaved, our orphans and the homeless of our people.
3· We call upon Palestinian women to provide more initiative and direction for national events and to increase their militancy, providing positive role models for women and people around the world.
4· To the people of the free world and to the Arab people we ask you all to show greater even greater solidarity through events, and apply more pressure on your Governments to provide real support to the struggle of our people and for the accountability of the Zionist war criminals.
5· We call for the expansion of the campaign to boycott the state of the Zionist entity “Israel” and the imposition of sanctions and divestment at the global, Arab and national levels. We call for a mass campaign to boycott “Israel.”
Live for our people, in spite of all the crimes committed against them;
Glory, eternity and loyalty to our martyrs;
Healing of our wounded and freedom for our prisoners.
As our inevitable victory approaches we call the international community to assume its responsibilities towards our people. We also demand a provisional International protection force for our people and the accountability of the Zionist war criminals.
A statement issued by the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC)
The Zionists' Occupation army, led by the Government of settlers, continues to commit war crimes against our people. They commit crime after crime, massacre after massacre. targeting women and children, the elderly and families, attacking our land trees building so they are violating our peoples right to live safely. They use the most powerful means of killing, aircraft, tanks and advanced missiles.
The number of martyrs draws near to 200, half of them women and children, and more than a thousand have been injured. And still the Occupation Army continue to kill, attacking the besieged Gaza Strip and destroying the homes of families, making them homeless as well as mourning their dead. They destroy their homes over their heads and destroy institutions providing care for those with disabilities.
In the West Bank, and in the heart of Jerusalem, they are continuing their campaign of oppression, murder and torture against our people. Invading their homes, institutions and arresting. Now they have taken their Zionist crimes to a new level by kidnapping the child, Mohammed Abu Khudair, burning him alive. And still the number of martyrs, wounded, prisoners and displaced persons is on the rise.
All this is happening with the support of the Governments of Western imperialism. These Governments see freedom, independence and liberation of our people and our land as a threat to their interests in the region. The crimes of the Occupation are allowed to continue, all with the suspicious silence of the Arab regimes.
We in the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) are engaged in a battle of steadfastness and confrontation. We continue to denounce the crimes committed against our people and our land, and condemn Western support and political cover that is provided for the crimes of the occupation, whether that support is clear and direct or veiled. We affirm the right of our people’s resistance to colonialism settlement in Palestine and insist on the right of return for Palestinian refugees to the homes from which they were displaced. In addition, the right of self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital.
As our inevitable victory approaches we call the international community to assume its responsibilities towards our people, through the mechanisms of a clear vindication of our rights to our land. We also demand a provisional International protection force for our people and the accountability of the Zionist war criminals.
It is time for the International community to cease to claim the existence of a peace process that has only benefited the Occupation, allowing it to strengthened the control over our land and institute racist policies through a system of apartheid, which is the ugliest in the history of mankind.
We applaud the resistance of our people in all its forms and spectra, and we salute the young men and women rebelling in the fields in all parts of Palestine. We also salute the Arab peoples and all people around the world that have shown solidarity with us.
We also call:
1· The Palestinian leadership to tackle the task of unity of our people, protecting our cause. A leadership that is working to develop a national strategy for the struggle, and thus stop the negotiations and security coordination with the Occupation, which form a dagger in the side of our people and their struggle.
2· We call on the masses of our people for increased participation in the struggle and direct confrontation with the Occupation. We call upon it to achieve victory for our people and our cause and to fulfill the wishes of our martyrs, our wounded, our prisoners, our bereaved, our orphans and the homeless of our people.
3· We call upon Palestinian women to provide more initiative and direction for national events and to increase their militancy, providing positive role models for women and people around the world.
4· To the people of the free world and to the Arab people we ask you all to show greater even greater solidarity through events, and apply more pressure on your Governments to provide real support to the struggle of our people and for the accountability of the Zionist war criminals.
5· We call for the expansion of the campaign to boycott the state of the Zionist entity “Israel” and the imposition of sanctions and divestment at the global, Arab and national levels. We call for a mass campaign to boycott “Israel.”
Live for our people, in spite of all the crimes committed against them;
Glory, eternity and loyalty to our martyrs;
Healing of our wounded and freedom for our prisoners.
|
|
