18 may 2018
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Activists from Jewish Voice for Peace NYC and Jews Say No! held a Gaza solidarity protest outside the office of Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, condemning US support for Israel’s massacre of Palestinian protesters – Ben Norton reports.
TRNN video & transcript: BEN NORTON: Activists from the progressive organizations, Jewish Voice for Peace New York City and Jews Say No, gathered in the rain outside the offices of New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday, May 16. The demonstrators expressed solidarity with the unarmed Palestinian protesters being massacred by the Israeli military in Gaza. |
They demanded that politicians speak out and stop U.S. support for the bloodshed.
SPEAKER ONE: We are here as Jewish New Yorkers. We are with organizations, Jewish Voice for Peace and Jews Say No. And we are here to say to our senators, Senator Gillibrand and Senator Schumer, that they have to condemn the killing of protesters in Gaza and they have to support the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and to go back to their homes. Palestinians in Gaza have been protesting for the past six weeks against this siege that lays on Gaza and demanding the right of return that they deserve.
And seventy percent of the population of Gaza are refugees or descendants of refugees. Israel has reacted to these demonstrations by killing and unarmed protesters. And we’re here to tell our senators that they must condemn these killings and must support the Palestinian right of return.
SPEAKER TWO AND DEMONSTRATORS: Palestinians have the right to live in freedom, the right to return home. We have been so inspired by the unbelievable organizing coming out of Gaza.
SPEAKER THREE AND DEMONSTRATORS: To campaigns. To show how you can support Palestinian rights, whether you’re a teacher, you’re a doctor, you work at a coffee shop, there are ways you can contribute to the BDS movement.
SPEAKER FOUR AND DEMONSTRATORS: Ahmed Rashid was a freedom fighter and he taught us how to fight. We’re gonna fight all day and night until we get it right. Which side are you on, Chuck Schumer, which side are you on, Gillibrand? Which side are you on, Chuck Schumer, which side are you on, Gillibrand?
SPEAKER FIVE: We’re here because we are enraged, and we are sad, and we are determined to stand with Palestinians, especially in this historic and very tragic week and six weeks of massacres of Gazans near the fence that the Israelis put up. The systematic sniping and killing of mostly unarmed protesters is unspeakable, and it’s also- frankly, I’m a political scientist and a student of international law.
It’s a violation of international law. As the entire boycott and siege on Gaza for the last eleven and more years has been a violation of international law. Gazans were protesting, in part, because of the anniversary of the Nakba, The Catastrophe, which was the years of 1947-49, when there were massive expulsions Palestinians from their ancestral homes and villages, seven hundred and fifty thousand Palestinians expelled.
Most of those living in Gaza are refugees from that time, or their descendants. Fifty percent of them are children, so, living in conditions where the water is absolutely undrinkable- so they’re being poisoned by the water in the ground. They’re being bombarded systematically and periodically, and so munitions are poisoning their environment. They are not allowed out of Gaza.
Gaza is strip of land with two million people compressed there. Many people often use the phrase, “it’s an open-air prison.” I actually think it’s more like a concentration camp. And the right to protest those conditions is absolutely a human right. So, to kill people who are peacefully- and very much unarmed- nonviolently protesting those conditions and also calling attention to the expulsion of Palestinians seventy years ago, and ongoing to this day, is a human right.
So, we’re from Jewish Voice for Peace. We stand with Palestinians, we stand with human rights, and we want the senators, who work in this building and supposedly represent us, to hear our voices and to speak out, as- just as humane, ethical people, if not in their politics. They’re more worried about getting reelected. They’re more worried- but they have to listen up, because the times are changing.
Not all Jews, and not even the majority of Jews, support these policies of the Israeli government. And even in New York City, we’re here to say, “We are Jews, we are New Yorkers, and we will not vote for you if you do not speak out against these atrocities.”.
BEN NORTON: Reporting for The Real News, I’m Ben Norton.
05/18/19 UN Human Rights Body Calls for International Inquiry on Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza
SPEAKER ONE: We are here as Jewish New Yorkers. We are with organizations, Jewish Voice for Peace and Jews Say No. And we are here to say to our senators, Senator Gillibrand and Senator Schumer, that they have to condemn the killing of protesters in Gaza and they have to support the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and to go back to their homes. Palestinians in Gaza have been protesting for the past six weeks against this siege that lays on Gaza and demanding the right of return that they deserve.
And seventy percent of the population of Gaza are refugees or descendants of refugees. Israel has reacted to these demonstrations by killing and unarmed protesters. And we’re here to tell our senators that they must condemn these killings and must support the Palestinian right of return.
SPEAKER TWO AND DEMONSTRATORS: Palestinians have the right to live in freedom, the right to return home. We have been so inspired by the unbelievable organizing coming out of Gaza.
SPEAKER THREE AND DEMONSTRATORS: To campaigns. To show how you can support Palestinian rights, whether you’re a teacher, you’re a doctor, you work at a coffee shop, there are ways you can contribute to the BDS movement.
SPEAKER FOUR AND DEMONSTRATORS: Ahmed Rashid was a freedom fighter and he taught us how to fight. We’re gonna fight all day and night until we get it right. Which side are you on, Chuck Schumer, which side are you on, Gillibrand? Which side are you on, Chuck Schumer, which side are you on, Gillibrand?
SPEAKER FIVE: We’re here because we are enraged, and we are sad, and we are determined to stand with Palestinians, especially in this historic and very tragic week and six weeks of massacres of Gazans near the fence that the Israelis put up. The systematic sniping and killing of mostly unarmed protesters is unspeakable, and it’s also- frankly, I’m a political scientist and a student of international law.
It’s a violation of international law. As the entire boycott and siege on Gaza for the last eleven and more years has been a violation of international law. Gazans were protesting, in part, because of the anniversary of the Nakba, The Catastrophe, which was the years of 1947-49, when there were massive expulsions Palestinians from their ancestral homes and villages, seven hundred and fifty thousand Palestinians expelled.
Most of those living in Gaza are refugees from that time, or their descendants. Fifty percent of them are children, so, living in conditions where the water is absolutely undrinkable- so they’re being poisoned by the water in the ground. They’re being bombarded systematically and periodically, and so munitions are poisoning their environment. They are not allowed out of Gaza.
Gaza is strip of land with two million people compressed there. Many people often use the phrase, “it’s an open-air prison.” I actually think it’s more like a concentration camp. And the right to protest those conditions is absolutely a human right. So, to kill people who are peacefully- and very much unarmed- nonviolently protesting those conditions and also calling attention to the expulsion of Palestinians seventy years ago, and ongoing to this day, is a human right.
So, we’re from Jewish Voice for Peace. We stand with Palestinians, we stand with human rights, and we want the senators, who work in this building and supposedly represent us, to hear our voices and to speak out, as- just as humane, ethical people, if not in their politics. They’re more worried about getting reelected. They’re more worried- but they have to listen up, because the times are changing.
Not all Jews, and not even the majority of Jews, support these policies of the Israeli government. And even in New York City, we’re here to say, “We are Jews, we are New Yorkers, and we will not vote for you if you do not speak out against these atrocities.”.
BEN NORTON: Reporting for The Real News, I’m Ben Norton.
05/18/19 UN Human Rights Body Calls for International Inquiry on Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza
Palestinians protest at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, May 23, 2012. Photo credit: Afif Amira for WAFA.
POSTED BY: COREY SHERMAN MAY 17, 2018
Palestinian student organizers respond to backlash: ‘if we irritated some people then we did our job.’
On May 16, 2018, Palestinian students at Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design set up a memorial for the 61 protesters slain in Gaza on Monday. Organizers displayed the names and ages of each of the killed in Arabic on a piece of black paper in the school’s hallways.
The students planned the memorial in a private Facebook group, according to Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot. “There are many people who don’t know what is going on in Gaza and don’t know how many people were killed. So we reminded them,” one of the organizers told Yediot. “All of us are Palestinians. We are all together and this is the only way that we are able to make our voice heard,” said another. The organizers chose to remain anonymous in media interviews.
Later that day, a student ripped the posters off of the wall. The right wing Israeli student organization Im Tirzu captured the action on video. Onlookers in the video can be heard saying, “freedom of speech has gone too far at Bezalel.” Responding to the removal, one of the Palestinian organizers told Yediot, “if we irritated some people then we did our job.”
Bezalel responded by saying: “Bezalel Academy is a protected space for free speech in Israel, and it is possible for students to engage in open dialogue, as well as critical and creative discourse about the different issues that concern them.” A student quoted by Israeli newspaper Walla! expressed similar sentiments, stating that the banners and the responses to it opened up space for students to speak about what is going on in Gaza.
The head of Im Tirzu at Hebrew University celebrated the student who pulled down the memorials. “Instead of bringing a janitor to clean up the incitement and punish the student, now we have a cloud of joy,” he told Yediot. On Thursday, students affiliated with Im Tirzu put up signs labeling the organizers of the memorial as members of Hamas and calling the Nakba “fake”.
Israeli politicians derided the memorial put up by the Palestinian students. Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat responded by blaming Palestinians victims and demanding censorship on Twitter: “I was shocked to see on the walls of Bezalel the names of terrorists that were injured when they tried to break through the border fence in Gaza in order to hurt Jews. There are borders and a clear red line that shows how freedom of expression can be used cynically. I demanded from the leadership of Bezalel that they remove the signs and ban such provocations.”
Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein told Yediot, “freedom of expression is a supreme value in my eyes but a person and an artist should know how to set boundaries for himself. I would remind the students protesting to remember that Israeli soldiers on the border of the Gaza Strip are also protecting them.”
Member of Knesset (MK) Pnina Tamano-Shata (Kulanu) told Walla!, “before we even address the arguments and criticism of the anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic BDS movement, it is necessary to recognize the work that is in front of us in the House of Israel [sic]: all the respected academic institutions abuse freedom to incite against soldiers in the IDF [sic] in the name of freedom of expression and under the guise of humanitarianism.
MK Yoav Kish (Likud) also offered criticism. “Students chose to be creative without values. They confuse freedom of expression and basic morality.”
MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint List) praised the efforts of the students while critiquing the general silence in Israeli academia surrounding the massacres in Gaza:
“The atmosphere of openness at Bezalel diverges a bit from the view of Israeli academia, which has been silent in a thunderous and terrifying manner against the cruel massacre. It is a poor reflection on Israeli academia that only Palestinian students, without the presence of Jewish students or lecturers, found a logical way to protest against the horror of the mass murder in Gaza.”
In response to the memorial at Bezalel, Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis has barred Bezalel students from submitting work to an international science conference this month in Jerusalem. ”
The controversy at Bezalel came one day after Dr. Lina Salaimeh, a lecturer at the Tel Aviv University Law School, informed her students she would be canceling class to observe the general strike taking place across Palestine – a move that drew outrage from Israeli media outlets.
Bezalel removed a poster display hung by a student in its hallways in 2016. Those posters depicted the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the word “rope” underneath and an image of a noose superimposed onto him in the style of the iconic “hope” poster of U.S. President Barak Obama. Police questioned the student, but closed the investigation two months later.
Corey Sherman is a teacher in Washington D.C. and contributing editor to aicnews.org.
POSTED BY: COREY SHERMAN MAY 17, 2018
Palestinian student organizers respond to backlash: ‘if we irritated some people then we did our job.’
On May 16, 2018, Palestinian students at Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design set up a memorial for the 61 protesters slain in Gaza on Monday. Organizers displayed the names and ages of each of the killed in Arabic on a piece of black paper in the school’s hallways.
The students planned the memorial in a private Facebook group, according to Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot. “There are many people who don’t know what is going on in Gaza and don’t know how many people were killed. So we reminded them,” one of the organizers told Yediot. “All of us are Palestinians. We are all together and this is the only way that we are able to make our voice heard,” said another. The organizers chose to remain anonymous in media interviews.
Later that day, a student ripped the posters off of the wall. The right wing Israeli student organization Im Tirzu captured the action on video. Onlookers in the video can be heard saying, “freedom of speech has gone too far at Bezalel.” Responding to the removal, one of the Palestinian organizers told Yediot, “if we irritated some people then we did our job.”
Bezalel responded by saying: “Bezalel Academy is a protected space for free speech in Israel, and it is possible for students to engage in open dialogue, as well as critical and creative discourse about the different issues that concern them.” A student quoted by Israeli newspaper Walla! expressed similar sentiments, stating that the banners and the responses to it opened up space for students to speak about what is going on in Gaza.
The head of Im Tirzu at Hebrew University celebrated the student who pulled down the memorials. “Instead of bringing a janitor to clean up the incitement and punish the student, now we have a cloud of joy,” he told Yediot. On Thursday, students affiliated with Im Tirzu put up signs labeling the organizers of the memorial as members of Hamas and calling the Nakba “fake”.
Israeli politicians derided the memorial put up by the Palestinian students. Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat responded by blaming Palestinians victims and demanding censorship on Twitter: “I was shocked to see on the walls of Bezalel the names of terrorists that were injured when they tried to break through the border fence in Gaza in order to hurt Jews. There are borders and a clear red line that shows how freedom of expression can be used cynically. I demanded from the leadership of Bezalel that they remove the signs and ban such provocations.”
Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein told Yediot, “freedom of expression is a supreme value in my eyes but a person and an artist should know how to set boundaries for himself. I would remind the students protesting to remember that Israeli soldiers on the border of the Gaza Strip are also protecting them.”
Member of Knesset (MK) Pnina Tamano-Shata (Kulanu) told Walla!, “before we even address the arguments and criticism of the anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic BDS movement, it is necessary to recognize the work that is in front of us in the House of Israel [sic]: all the respected academic institutions abuse freedom to incite against soldiers in the IDF [sic] in the name of freedom of expression and under the guise of humanitarianism.
MK Yoav Kish (Likud) also offered criticism. “Students chose to be creative without values. They confuse freedom of expression and basic morality.”
MK Hanin Zoabi (Joint List) praised the efforts of the students while critiquing the general silence in Israeli academia surrounding the massacres in Gaza:
“The atmosphere of openness at Bezalel diverges a bit from the view of Israeli academia, which has been silent in a thunderous and terrifying manner against the cruel massacre. It is a poor reflection on Israeli academia that only Palestinian students, without the presence of Jewish students or lecturers, found a logical way to protest against the horror of the mass murder in Gaza.”
In response to the memorial at Bezalel, Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis has barred Bezalel students from submitting work to an international science conference this month in Jerusalem. ”
The controversy at Bezalel came one day after Dr. Lina Salaimeh, a lecturer at the Tel Aviv University Law School, informed her students she would be canceling class to observe the general strike taking place across Palestine – a move that drew outrage from Israeli media outlets.
Bezalel removed a poster display hung by a student in its hallways in 2016. Those posters depicted the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the word “rope” underneath and an image of a noose superimposed onto him in the style of the iconic “hope” poster of U.S. President Barak Obama. Police questioned the student, but closed the investigation two months later.
Corey Sherman is a teacher in Washington D.C. and contributing editor to aicnews.org.
An emergency summit organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) under the auspices of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan kicked off in Istanbul Friday to discuss the latest developments in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
The summit, held for the second time in six months, will be attended by representatives of 40 countries, out of 57, including presidents, vice presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers and other high-level officials.
The Palestinian Authority government's premier Rami Hamdallah will replace Mahmoud Abbas in the summit meetings which will be chaired by Turkey, the current OIC president.
Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said during the opening speech that other countries should be prevented from following the US lead and moving their embassies to Jerusalem.
According to Anadolu Agency, Çavuşoğlu stressed that the Israeli forces must be held accountable for using lethal force against unarmed protesters in Gaza.
As for Jerusalem, the Turkish minister said, "We will raise our voice in the final statement of the summit against changing the historical status of Jerusalem."
For his part, the OIC Secretary General Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen said that the Israeli army's killing of peaceful protesters in Gaza is a war crime and a crime against humanity.
Al-Othaimeen, as quoted by Anadolu Agency, said that the international community is responsible for protecting the Palestinian people against the Israeli killing machine, pointing out that the absence of accountability has encouraged Israel to commit further crimes against the Palestinian people.
Al-Othaimeen stressed, "The UN Security Council's repeated failure to shoulder its responsibilities, stop the Israeli crimes, and even issue a statement that condemn the Israeli massacre (in Gaza) is a disgrace to this civilized world."
The Israeli army on Monday, the day the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem, killed 62 Palestinians and injured about 3,188 others while they were protesting peacefully along Gaza's eastern border.
Turkish-Israeli diplomatic relations have been strained over the recent events, especially after Erdoğan accused Israel, which he described as an "apartheid state", of committing a genocide against the Palestinians.
A mass demonstration, which Erdoğan called for, is expected to be launched in Istanbul afternoon on the sidelines of the summit.
The summit, held for the second time in six months, will be attended by representatives of 40 countries, out of 57, including presidents, vice presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers and other high-level officials.
The Palestinian Authority government's premier Rami Hamdallah will replace Mahmoud Abbas in the summit meetings which will be chaired by Turkey, the current OIC president.
Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said during the opening speech that other countries should be prevented from following the US lead and moving their embassies to Jerusalem.
According to Anadolu Agency, Çavuşoğlu stressed that the Israeli forces must be held accountable for using lethal force against unarmed protesters in Gaza.
As for Jerusalem, the Turkish minister said, "We will raise our voice in the final statement of the summit against changing the historical status of Jerusalem."
For his part, the OIC Secretary General Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen said that the Israeli army's killing of peaceful protesters in Gaza is a war crime and a crime against humanity.
Al-Othaimeen, as quoted by Anadolu Agency, said that the international community is responsible for protecting the Palestinian people against the Israeli killing machine, pointing out that the absence of accountability has encouraged Israel to commit further crimes against the Palestinian people.
Al-Othaimeen stressed, "The UN Security Council's repeated failure to shoulder its responsibilities, stop the Israeli crimes, and even issue a statement that condemn the Israeli massacre (in Gaza) is a disgrace to this civilized world."
The Israeli army on Monday, the day the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem, killed 62 Palestinians and injured about 3,188 others while they were protesting peacefully along Gaza's eastern border.
Turkish-Israeli diplomatic relations have been strained over the recent events, especially after Erdoğan accused Israel, which he described as an "apartheid state", of committing a genocide against the Palestinians.
A mass demonstration, which Erdoğan called for, is expected to be launched in Istanbul afternoon on the sidelines of the summit.
Online petition against holding next year's Eurovision in Israel
Icelandic citizens sign petition to boycott next year's Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in Israel, following Gaza border riots; Iceland's national public broadcasting organization convenes to discuss issue; Icelandic human rights organization attempts harnessing other European countries to boycott next year's contest.
Iceland's RÚV national public broadcasting organization is expected to convene in the near future to decide whether Iceland will cancel its participation in next year's Eurovision Song Contest—set to take place in Israel following Netta Barzilai's win last week with "Toy"—Icelandic media reported.
Some 22,000 of Iceland's citizens signed an online petition demanding to boycott the contest, in the wake of the Gaza border violence and Israel's policy towards Palestinians.
More than 10,000 people signed the petition just several hours after it went online on Tuesday, one day after violent incidents and dozens of fatalities in Gaza border riots.
"Due to Israel's violation of the Palestinians' human rights, it would be immoral for us to take part in a glamorous contest such as the Eurovision, considering violence Israel is exerting on its neighbors."
"During the past few months, Israel has killed dozens of people whose only crime was to protest the situation in Gaza," according to the petition.
An RÚV committee convened Tuesday to discuss the matter, while a decision regarding the aforementioned matter is expected to be reached during a second meeting that will take place in June.
RÚV senior member Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson said in an official media statement that Iceland's participation in next year's Eurovision in Israel had been up for discussion within the broadcasting department and assured the issue would be reviewed.
Guðmundsson added RÚV's people will discuss the matter with other Nordic television stations before reaching their decision.
Even before the online petition, however, Iceland criticized holding the Eurovision in Jerusalem, with one the country's organizations responsible for Iceland's relations with the Palestinian Authority saying it would be a move detrimental to Palestinians' human rights.
"We regret that Europe is not supporting human rights by choosing to hold next year's Eurovision in Israel," the organization stated.
Several human rights organizations joined the statement, attempting to harness other European countries to join the petition.
Icelandic citizens sign petition to boycott next year's Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in Israel, following Gaza border riots; Iceland's national public broadcasting organization convenes to discuss issue; Icelandic human rights organization attempts harnessing other European countries to boycott next year's contest.
Iceland's RÚV national public broadcasting organization is expected to convene in the near future to decide whether Iceland will cancel its participation in next year's Eurovision Song Contest—set to take place in Israel following Netta Barzilai's win last week with "Toy"—Icelandic media reported.
Some 22,000 of Iceland's citizens signed an online petition demanding to boycott the contest, in the wake of the Gaza border violence and Israel's policy towards Palestinians.
More than 10,000 people signed the petition just several hours after it went online on Tuesday, one day after violent incidents and dozens of fatalities in Gaza border riots.
"Due to Israel's violation of the Palestinians' human rights, it would be immoral for us to take part in a glamorous contest such as the Eurovision, considering violence Israel is exerting on its neighbors."
"During the past few months, Israel has killed dozens of people whose only crime was to protest the situation in Gaza," according to the petition.
An RÚV committee convened Tuesday to discuss the matter, while a decision regarding the aforementioned matter is expected to be reached during a second meeting that will take place in June.
RÚV senior member Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson said in an official media statement that Iceland's participation in next year's Eurovision in Israel had been up for discussion within the broadcasting department and assured the issue would be reviewed.
Guðmundsson added RÚV's people will discuss the matter with other Nordic television stations before reaching their decision.
Even before the online petition, however, Iceland criticized holding the Eurovision in Jerusalem, with one the country's organizations responsible for Iceland's relations with the Palestinian Authority saying it would be a move detrimental to Palestinians' human rights.
"We regret that Europe is not supporting human rights by choosing to hold next year's Eurovision in Israel," the organization stated.
Several human rights organizations joined the statement, attempting to harness other European countries to join the petition.
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The UN human rights chief backed calls on Friday for an international investigation into Israel's use of deadly force against Palestinian protesters along the Gaza border, during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein stressed the importance of opening an independent international investigation into Israel’s actions, which left at least 60 Palestinian protesters dead on Monday -- making it the deadliest day in Gaza since Israel's 2014 offensive. Al-Hussein called the killings “horrific,” and held Israel, as an occupying power, responsible for the welfare of Palestinians living in Gaza, which has suffered from a decade-long land, air, and sea blockade from Israel. “They are, in essence, caged in a toxic slum from birth to death; deprived of dignity; dehumanised by the Israeli authorities to such a point it appears officials do not even consider that these men and women have a right, as well as every reason, to protest,” al-Hussein said. He also pointed out that at least 87 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers since March 30, including 12 children, and that more than 12,000 have been injured, 3,500 of which with live ammunition saying that this is a violation of the Human Rights Law and the 4th Geneva Convention. The Gaza Ministry of Health has reported the death toll since the Great March of Return began to be upwards of 100 Palestinians. Israel and the US accused the council of “anti-Israel bias,” a common accusation made by the two countries whenever the UN calls for investigations into possibly war crimes or human rights violations made by Israel. Israel’s ambassador Aviva Raz Shechter said the call for an inquiry was “politically motivated and won’t improve the situation on the ground by even one iota,” and accused Hamas of inciting violence in Gaza. “The loss of life could have been avoided had Hamas refrained from sending terrorists to attack Israel under the cover of the riots, while exploiting its own civilian population as human shields,” she said. “It is Israel, certainly not Hamas, which makes a real effort to minimize casualties among Palestinian civilians.” |
The Palestinian Independent Commission for the Prosecution of the Zionist Occupation’s Crimes against Palestinians, Tawtheeq, said that 54 civilians of those who have suffered injuries during their participation in Gaza’s March of Return protests are “clinically dead.”
In a news conference held in Gaza City on Thursday, a spokesperson for the commission called for urgent intervention by the international community and the UN to provide protection for the citizens participating in March of Return rallies in Gaza.
The commission also called on the UN secretary-general to set up an independent inquiry into the massacre that was committed last Monday by the Israeli occupation army against unarmed protesters.
It also asked Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to necessarily issue an edict to file war crimes complaints against Israel with the International Criminal Court.
In a news conference held in Gaza City on Thursday, a spokesperson for the commission called for urgent intervention by the international community and the UN to provide protection for the citizens participating in March of Return rallies in Gaza.
The commission also called on the UN secretary-general to set up an independent inquiry into the massacre that was committed last Monday by the Israeli occupation army against unarmed protesters.
It also asked Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to necessarily issue an edict to file war crimes complaints against Israel with the International Criminal Court.
Spokesperson for the Turkish president İbrahim Kalın on Thursday said that the Islamic summit to be held in Istanbul Friday will discuss the practical steps to be made by Islamic countries to defend the Palestinian cause and Jerusalem.
This was said in a statement released by Kalın Thursday on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit which will be held with the participation of presidents of the OIC member states under the auspices of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Kalın pointed out that the Islamic summit will discuss the violation of international law committed by the US administration by transferring its embassy to Jerusalem, in addition to the serious developments that have emerged after the killing of Palestinian civilians taking part in Gaza peaceful demonstrations.
Kalın stressed that the Palestinian cause does not only concern the Islamic countries, but it is also a common issue for all those who believe in law and justice.
"The Islamic summit will discuss steps to mobilize international public opinion to end injustice in Palestine," he added.
This was said in a statement released by Kalın Thursday on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit which will be held with the participation of presidents of the OIC member states under the auspices of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Kalın pointed out that the Islamic summit will discuss the violation of international law committed by the US administration by transferring its embassy to Jerusalem, in addition to the serious developments that have emerged after the killing of Palestinian civilians taking part in Gaza peaceful demonstrations.
Kalın stressed that the Palestinian cause does not only concern the Islamic countries, but it is also a common issue for all those who believe in law and justice.
"The Islamic summit will discuss steps to mobilize international public opinion to end injustice in Palestine," he added.
A medical delegation from the West Bank headed by Dr. Fadel al-Batran, a neurosurgery specialist at the Palestine Medical Complex, arrived on Thursday at al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Zuheir Nofal, director of the nursing department at al-Shifa Hospital, briefed the delegation on the great efforts made by Gaza's Ministry of Health in general and al-Shifa staff in particular in the treatment of those injured in the protests despite the acute shortage of medical supplies and drugs.
The medical delegation includes specialists in neurosurgery, vascular surgery, and pediatric surgery as well as an emergency doctor, and they are scheduled to stay in Gaza for three days.
Dr. Zuheir Nofal, director of the nursing department at al-Shifa Hospital, briefed the delegation on the great efforts made by Gaza's Ministry of Health in general and al-Shifa staff in particular in the treatment of those injured in the protests despite the acute shortage of medical supplies and drugs.
The medical delegation includes specialists in neurosurgery, vascular surgery, and pediatric surgery as well as an emergency doctor, and they are scheduled to stay in Gaza for three days.
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