Do You Know About The Sabra & Shatila Massacre

On September 16, 1982, Christian Lebanese militiamen allied to Israel entered the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila and the adjacent neighborhood of Sabra in Beirut under the watch of the Israeli army and began a slaughter that caused outrage around the world. Over the next day and a half, up to 3500 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly, were murdered in one of the worst atrocities in modern Middle Eastern history. The New York Times recently published an op-ed containing new details of discussions held between Israeli and American officials before and during the massacre. They reveal how Israeli officials, led by then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, misled and bullied American diplomats, rebuffing their concerns about the safety of the inhabitants of Sabra and Shatila. 

Lead Up

• On June 6, 1982, Israel launched a massive invasion of Lebanon. It had been long planned by Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, who wanted to destroy or severely diminish the Palestine Liberation Organization, which was based in Lebanon at the time. Sharon also planned to install a puppet government headed by Israel's right-wing Lebanese Christian Maronite allies, the Phalangist Party.
• Israeli forces advanced all the way to the capital of Beirut, besieging and bombarding the western part of city, where the PLO was headquartered and the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila and the adjacent neighborhood of Sabra are located.
• Israel's bloody weeklong assault on West Beirut in August prompted harsh international criticism, including from the administration of US President Ronald Reagan, who many accused of giving a "green light" to Israel to launch the invasion. Under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement, PLO leaders and more than 14,000 fighters were to be evacuated from the country, with the US providing written assurances for the safety of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians left behind. US Marines were deployed as part of a multinational force to oversee and provide security for the evacuation.
• On August 30, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat left Beirut along with the remainder of the Palestinian fighters based in the city.
• On September 10, the Marines left Beirut. Four days later, on September 14, the leader of Israel's Phalangist allies, Bashir Gemayel, was assassinated. Gemayel had just been elected president of Lebanon by the Lebanese parliament, under the supervision of the occupying Israeli army. His death was a severe blow to Israel's designs for the country. The following day, Israeli forces violated the ceasefire agreement, moving into and occupying West Beirut.

The Massacre 

• On Wednesday, September 15, the Israeli army surrounded the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila and the adjacent neighborhood of Sabra in West Beirut. The next day, September 16, Israeli soldiers allowed about 150 Phalangist militiamen into Sabra and Shatila.
• The Phalange, known for their brutality and a history of atrocities against Palestinian civilians, were bitter enemies of the PLO and its leftist and Muslim Lebanese allies during the preceding years of Lebanon's civil war. The enraged Phalangist militiamen believed, erroneously, that Phalange leader Gemayel had been assassinated by Palestinians. He was actually killed by a Syrian agent.
• Over the next day and a half, the Phalangists committed unspeakable atrocities, raping, mutilating, and murdering as many as 3500 Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, most of them women, children, and the elderly. Sharon would later claim that he could have had no way of knowing that the Phalange would harm civilians, however when US diplomats demanded to know why Israel had broken the ceasefire and entered West Beirut, Israeli army Chief of Staff Rafael Eitanjustified the move saying it was "to prevent a Phalangist frenzy of revenge." On September 15, the day before the massacre began, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin told US envoy Morris Draper that the Israelis had to occupy West Beirut, "Otherwise, there could be pogroms."
• Almost immediately after the killing started, Israeli soldiers surrounding Sabra and Shatila became aware that civilians were being murdered, but did nothing to stop it. Instead, Israeli forces fired flares into the night sky to illuminate the darkness for the Phalangists, allowed reinforcements to enter the area on the second day of the massacre, and provided bulldozers that were used to dispose of the bodies of many of the victims.
• On the second day, Friday, September 17, an Israeli journalist in Lebanon called Defense Minister Sharon to inform him of reports that a massacre was taking place in Sabra and Shatila. The journalist, Ron Ben-Yishai, later recalled:

  'I found [Sharon] at home sleeping. He woke up and I told him "Listen, there are stories about killings and massacres in the camps. A lot of our officers know about it and tell me about it, and if they know it, the whole world will know about it. You can still stop it." I didn't know that the massacre actually started 24 hours earlier. I thought it started only then and I said to him "Look, we still have time to stop it. Do something about it." He didn't react."'

• On Friday afternoon, almost 24 hours after the killing began, Eitan met with Phalangist representatives. According to notes taken by an Israeli intelligence officer present: "[Eitan] expressed his positive impression received from the statement by the Phalangist forces and their behavior in the field," telling them to continue "mopping up the empty camps south of Fakahani until tomorrow at 5:00 a.m., at which time they must stop their action due to American pressure."
• On Saturday, American Envoy Morris Draper, sent a furious message to Sharon stating:

  'You must stop the massacres. They are obscene. I have an officer in the camp counting the bodies. You ought to be ashamed. The situation is rotten and terrible. They are killing children. You are in absolute control of the area, and therefore responsible for the area.'

• The Phalangists finally left the area at around 8 o'clock Saturday morning, taking many of the surviving men with them for interrogation at a soccer stadium. The interrogations were carried out with Israeli intelligence agents, who handed many of the captives back to the Phalange. Some of the men returned to the Phalange were later found executed.
• About an hour after the Phalangists departed Sabra and Shatila, the first journalists arrived on the scene and the first reports of what transpired began to reach the outside world.

 

Casualty Figures

• Thirty years later, there is still no accurate total for the number of people killed in the massacre. Many of the victims were buried in mass graves by the Phalange and there has been no political will on the part of Lebanese authorities to investigate.
• An official Israeli investigation, the Kahan Commission, concluded that between 700 and 800 people were killed, based on the assessment of Israeli military intelligence.
• An investigation by Beirut-based British journalist Robert Fisk, who was one of the first people on the scene after the massacre ended, concluded that The Palestinian Red Crescent put the number of dead at more than 2000.
• In his book, Sabra & Shatila: Inquiry into a Massacre, Israeli journalist Amnon Kapeliouk reached a maximum figure of 3000 to 3500.

 

Aftermath

Israel

• Following international outrage, the Israeli government established a committee of inquiry, the Kahan Commission. Itsinvestigation found that Defense Minister Sharon bore "personal responsibility" for the massacre, and recommended that he be removed from office. Although Prime Minister Begin removed him from his post as defense minister, Sharon remained in cabinet as a minister without portfolio. He would go on to hold numerous other cabinet positions in subsequent Israeli governments, including foreign minister during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first term in office. Nearly 20 years later, in March 2001, Sharon was elected prime minister of Israel.
• In June 2001, lawyers for 23 survivors of the massacre initiated legal proceedings against Sharon in a Belgian court, under a law allowing people to be prosecuted for war crimes committed anywhere in the world.
• In January 2002, Phalangist leader and chief liaison to Israel during the 1982 invasion, Elie Hobeika, was killed by a car bomb in Beirut. Hobeika led the Phalangist militiamen responsible for the massacre, and had announced that he was prepared to testify against Sharon, who was then prime minister of Israel, at a possible war crimes trial in Belgium. Hobeika's killers were never found.
• In June 2002, a panel of Belgian judges dismissed war crimes charges against Sharon because he wasn't present in the country to stand trial.
• In January 2006, Sharon suffered a massive stroke. He remains in a coma on life support.

The United States

• For the United States, which had guaranteed the safety of civilians left behind after the PLO departed, the massacre was a deep embarrassment, causing immense damage to its reputation in the region. The fact that US Secretary of State Alexander Haig was believed by many to have given Israel a "green light" to invade Lebanon compounded the damage.
• In the wake of the massacre, President Reagan sent the Marines back to Lebanon. Just over a year later, 241 American servicemen would be killed when two massive truck bombs destroyed their barracks in Beirut, leading Reagan to withdraw US forces for good.

The Palestinians

• For Palestinians, the Sabra and Shatila massacre was and remains a traumatic event, commemorated annually. Many survivors continue to live in Sabra and Shatila, struggling to eke out a living and haunted by their memories of the slaughter. To this day, no one has faced justice for the crimes that took place.
• For Palestinians, the Sabra and Shatila massacre serves as a powerful and tragic reminder of the vulnerable situation of millions of stateless Palestinians, and the dangers that they continue to face across the region, and around the world.

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Rights group petitions for arrest warrant as Peres arrives in Switzerland

GENEVA, (PIC)-- A Switzerland-based rights group has petitioned for local courts to issue an arrest warrant against Shimon Peres as the Israeli president arrives Monday for a visit to the country.
The Rights for All group has filed charges with the Swiss Attorney General to have Peres arrested for war crimes committed during the latest Israeli war on Gaza in 2008-2009.
”[Switzerland's] humanitarian record obligates it to [arrest him],” Rights for All chairman Anwar al-Gharbi said Monday. ”Especially since the UN's Goldstone report regarding the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip accuses Tel Aviv and its leaders of committing war crimes and humanitarian crimes in the wake of the killing of more than 1,450 Palestinians, most of them children and women, within 22 days.”
More than 20 rights groups have staged demonstrations Monday near the government headquarters in Geneva to protest Peres's visit to Switzerland.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

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How Will Israeli War Criminals Explain Their Crimes to God?

ISRAELI OFFICERS HAUNTED BY ATTROCITIES COMMITTED IN GAZA

How will you explain this to God?

Desert Peace

IDF officers get photo of dead child   ‘How will you explain this to God?’ says letter sent from Spain to homes of officers exposed on ‘war criminals’ website. ‘I’ve gotten used to curses, but when such a thing arrives at your doorstep, it’s very unpleasant,’ reserve colonel tells Ynet
Colonel (res.) Bentzi Gruber, a deputy commander of an Israel Defense Forces division, was at a training base in Tze’elim last week. His wife called to tell him that he had received a letter from Spain, which didn’t particularly surprise him. But when she opened the envelope, she was shocked.
“Unfortunately, I’ve gotten used to curses and scathing words against me, but when such a thing arrives at your doorstep, it’s very unpleasant,” he tells Ynet.
Gruber is just one of the officers who received a threatening poster from Spain, after his name appeared on a website referring to IDF soldiers involved in Operation Cast Lead as “war criminals”.

The poster includes a picture of a young child buried in the sand. His head is the only thing sticking out and he appears to be dead. Two hands in the background, apparently belonging to a soldier, are directed at him. The picture’s caption reads, “How will you explain this to God?’
The letter was sent in an envelope from Madrid to the homes of Colonel (res.) Gruber and several other IDF officers, including Central Command Chief Avi Mizrahi and outgoing Military Intelligence Director Amos Yadlin. Some of the posters include a picture of an injured or dead young woman being held by a soldier. The English sentence is similar.
The army does not know at this stage the exact number of letters sent to the officers’ home. The website included dozens of addresses of IDF officers, most of whom are believed to have received such letters.

Signed: Rodriguez

“When my wife told me what it was all about, I felt bad,” recounts Colonel (res.) Gruber, an Armored Corps officer who played an active role in the Gaza operation due to his senior position. “It’s disgusting. It’s really unpleasant when such a thing reaches your doorstep, but it won’t make me stop doing what I do.”
Since the end of the Gaza operation, Gruber has delivered more than 150 lectures in many countries on the IDF’s activity and ethical code. He admits that he has been met with curses and signs reading “wanted” quite a few times.
“I’ve gotten used to this attitude in some places, but such a letter is much more difficult to deal with,” he says.
Gruber’s exact home address appeared on the same website that was later removed. The letter was signed by “Rodriguez”, and the address is handwritten on the envelope.
“There’s no doubt that it could get worse,” the reserve officer says. “It might even result in real harm to one of the officers. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I’m supposed to travel to the United States for a series of lectures, and this is something that cannot be ignored. It’s extremely troubling.”
After Operation Cast Lead, the army placed a gag on the identity of brigade commander for fear of legal proceedings against them. The prohibition was lifted later on, but fears that the information will be misused remain.
The IDF is also checking whether the details published on the website were revealed by a military source. Officials estimate, however, that the information was collected on the Web and did not originate in the army.
“The phenomenon of classifying IDF officers as ‘war criminals’ is unacceptable, and it’s even worse when their homes and relatives are targeted with this filth. We must do all we can to back this officers, while working to reduce this phenomenon,” says a senior military source.
Source
The Website mentioned above can be seen HERE

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Corporate Complicity in Israeli War Crimes

The second international session of the RToP will take place in London, on 20, 21 and 22 November 2010. It will examine International corporate complicity in Israel’s Violations of International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, and War Crimes.

http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/sessions/london-session

You will be able to watch the London session of RToP LIVE on your PC from Saturday morning 10am GMT.

Please share these two links as widely as possible. Thanks.

http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/live

witnessgaza.com

Watch the session live online
The second international session of the RToP will take place in London, on 20, 21 and 22 November 2010. It will examine International corporate complicity in Israel’s Violations of International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, and War Crimes.
London proposal document (PDF)
After establishing the responsibilities and obligations of corporations under international law, this session will assess the conduct of a series of companies regarding different aspects of Israel’s violations of the rights of the Palestinian People. The Tribunal will also seek to uncover the system that allows corporations to act in such unlawful ways, and to show in what ways States and international organisations could be held accountable for this.
During this session, the jury will be examining cases on:

• Corporations providing tangible services and infrastructure that support illegal Israeli settlements and the occupation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
• Foreign banks and other financial institutions providing financial services to illegal settlements and Israeli banks etc. trading abroad who provide financial services to illegal settlements.
• Foreign companies that manufacture products inside the settlements and industrial zones in the West Bank and Israeli companies that export agricultural and other products from the settlements and industrial zones in the West Bank,
• Foreign companies involved in the export of arms and the infrastructure of war, occupation, colonisation and repression in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israeli companies that export arms and repressive hardware/knowledge abroad

Just as in the Barcelona session, experts and witnesses will be invited to present these cases to the jury. Challenged corporations will also be invited to defend their position, before the jury presents its conclusions in an international press conference.
The following personalities have confirmed their participation as jury members:

• Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate 1976, Northern Ireland
• John Dugard, Professeur of International law, Former Special rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, South Africa
• Ronald Kasrils, writer and activist, South Africa
• Michael Mansfield, barrister, President of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, United Kingdom
• José Antonio Martin Pallin, emeritus judge, Chamber II, Supreme Court, Spain
• Cynthia McKinney, former member of the US Congress and 2008 presidential candidate, Green Party, USA
• Aminata Traoré, author and former Minister of Culture of Mali
• Alice Walker, Poet and writer, USA.

Following this session, another international session is foreseen for 2011 in South Africa, which should be followed by a session in the United States of America in the same year. The whole process of the RToP will end with the organisation of an International final session, which will make a final judgement that will encompass conclusions of each session.

Programme

Day One: Saturday 20^th November

113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

09:15	Doors Open
10:00	Pr. Pierre Galand (Belgium) will open the London session in the name of the International Organising Committee of the RToP. Introduction to the Second Session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine by Ambassador of France Stéphane Hessel (France) and Michael Mansfield QC (U.K.).
10:15	I. The Legal Framework Relevant to Corporate Conduct Legal experts, Richard Hermer QC (UK), Yasmine Gado (U.S.A.) and Dr. William Bourdon (France) will set out the tribunal’s legal framework. Each expert will discuss the details of U.K., U.S.A.and French law respectively, their relevance to the application of international law as well as their relevance to this session’s focus upon corporate complicity.
11:30	Coffee Break
11:50	II. Implications of Corporate Activities In and Around Settlements (Part 1) Dr. Dalit Baum (Israel) and Hugh Lanning (UK) will provide an overview of the issues relating to business practices in relation to settlements and the settlement industry. Fayez Al Taneeb (Palestine) and Wael Natheef (Palestine) will speak about the direct impact this is having on Palestinians as workers and residents in and around settlements.
13:30	Lunch
14:45	II. Implications of Corporate Activities In and Around Settlements (Part 2) Adri Nieuwhof (Netherlands), will speak as the lead expert on public contracts regulations and the French multinational, Veolia, and its business practices in the occupied Palestinian territories. Ghaleb Mashni (Palestine) will offer an account of the impact this has had on Palestinians. John Dorman (Ireland) will round off the session with an account of the relationships between Cement Roadstone Holdings and the construction of the wall.
15:50	III. Trade and Labelling of Settlement Goods A Representative from Al Haq (Palestine) will offer an overview of the legal issues relating to the trade and labelling of settlement goods.
16:10	Coffee Break
16:30	Christophe Perrin (France) will follow with an account of the business practices of agricultural producers, Carmel Agrexco. Nancy Kricorian and Rae Abileah (U.S.A.) will discuss the cosmetics company Ahava and its production of spa products. Phon Van Den Biesen (Netherlands) will discuss issues relating to labelling of products from Israeli settlements and the day will be closed by Genevieve Coudrais (France), who will speak about Soda Stream.
18:00	End of Day One

Day Two: Sunday 21^st November 2010

113 Chancery Lane, London. WC2A 1PL

10:00	Doors Open Pr. Pierre Galand (Belgium)will open the second day in the name of the International Organising Committee of the RToP.
10:30	IV. Financial Services Sector Merav Amir (Israel) Will offer an overview of both Israeli and international finance companies and their connection to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Mario Franssen (Belgium) will speak on the Dexia group. Saskia Muller (Netherlands) will speak on the PFZW Pension Fund.
11:40	Coffee Break
12:00	V. The Security Industry and the War Industry An overview of the security industry and the nature of corporate involvement will be set out by John Hilary (U.K.). Maria LaHood (U.S.A.) will provide information on Caterpillar and the use of its equipment in Israeli military practices. Josh Ruebner (U.S.A.) will follow with additional information and evidence relating to Caterpillar’s business practices. Merav Amir and or Dr. Dalit Baum (Israel) will follow with an account of British private security firm G4S .
13:30	Lunch
14:45	V. The Security Industry and the War Industry Shir Hever (Israel) and Jamal Juma’a (Palestine) will speak about Elbit Systems and their role in security practices by the Israeli state. Paul Troop (U.K.), will discuss recent court cases against UK based arms manufacturing companies EDO ITT and Raytheon. The final speaker, Ben Hayes (U.K.) will give details relating to EU subsidies to the security industry.
16:10	Break
16:30	Speaking time for corporations** Wrap up questions The Tribunal may want to ‘recall’ experts from the session itself or other international legal experts to ask for clarification on legal issues in light of what will have been heard throughout the two days. Closing Round up and overview of the two days, what has taken place and the way forward.
17:30	End of Day Two
19:00	The jury withdraws for deliberations

Day Three, Monday 22^nd November 2010

10:30

Press Conference The Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre will host a press conference setting out conclusions from the second session of the RToP.

**All corporations whose business practices will been interrogated during the session have been contacted by registered post and invited to attend the session.
Watch the session live online

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200 Israeli War Criminals

The following information was received anonymously; presumably from a member of the Israeli Military. It was presented as follows:

Underlining the following people is an act of retribution and affront. They are the direct perpetrators, agents for the state of Israel that in Dec.- Jan. 2008- 2009 attacked scores of people in the besieged Gaza. The people listed here held positions of command at the time of the attack therefore not only did they perform on behalf of a murderous state mechanism but actively encouraged other people to do the same. They bear a distinctive personal responsibility. They range from low-level field commanders to the highest echelons of the Israeli army. All took an active and direct role in the offensive.

In underlining them we are purposefully directing attention to individuals rather than the static structures through which they operate. We are aligning people with actions. It is to these persons and others, Like them, to which we must object and bring our plaints to bear upon.

This information was pirated. We encourage people to seek out other such similar information, it is readily available in the public sphere and inside public officials' locked cabinets. This is a form of resistance that can be effectively sustained for a long while.

This project for one, has only just begun, do your bit so that this virtual list may come to bear upon the physical.

Disseminate widely.

Israeli War Criminals

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The death toll is getting higher as Israel is in censor mode

The death toll from the Israeli navy’s takeover of a Gaza aid convoy has risen to 20 while Israel carefully censors reports on the casualties from the attack.

Gaza Freedom Flotilla came under fire early on Monday by Israeli navy forces in international waters more than 150km (90 miles) off the coast of Gaza.

The six-ship aid fleet was soon stormed by commandos descending from helicopters.

At least 20 people were killed in the takeover of the Gaza aid convoy, a Press TV correspondent reported, saying more than 50 people were also wounded in the attack.

The news trickled through the Israeli military censorship which has sought to block the reporting of any information about casualties being transferred to Israeli hospitals.

Israel radio said the censor was referring to any casualties brought to Israel for treatment.

Meanwhile, Israeli Trade and Industry Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer expressed regrets for deaths aboard Gaza aid ships.

“The images are certainly not pleasant. I can only voice regret at all the fatalities,” he told Israel’s Army Radio.

The comments, are seen the first official acknowledgement by Tel Aviv that the attack had turned fatal.

Israel had initially declined comment on the reports of casualties from the takeover of the aid ships

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Witness: A Girl Called Jewel

The extended Al Samouni family, some 48 men, women and children, was attacked in the homes they occupied together in the south of Gaza - and almost all of them were killed. Thirteen-year-old Almaza - 'jewel' - is one of the very few who survived the attack in which 30 members of her family died, many before her own eyes. A Girl Called Jewel is Almaza's story, a heart-breaking eye-witness account of the war in Gaza.

Part 1


Part 2

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Gaza 2009: We Will Never Forget

Montage documenting the genocide commited by Isreal in "Operation Cast Lead". Desert Peace: GAZA ~~ RELIVING THE HORRORS OF THE WAR DAILY

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Finkelstein: Livni 'proud' of Gaza 'war crimes'

Goldstone Report is an accurate reflection of what happened in Gaza

Prominent Jewish-American professor says Gaza rockets were 'symbolic resistance' to Israeli siege.

LONDON - Prominent Jewish-American Professor Norman Finkelstein accused Israel of perpetrating "war crimes" in Gaza through its ongoing siege of the Strip and its war at the turn of the year.

His accusation came within an international conference titled, "UNRWA and Future of Palestinian Refugees", organized in London Wednesday.

Finkelstein said the causes and effects of the war on Gaza are now coming to light, both in the Goldstone Report and in the recent arrest warrant issued by the UK for Tzipi Livni, who stated that she was "proud of everything she had done in Gaza".

Briefly assessing the history to the siege, Finkelstein noted that the ceasefire that was agreed between Israel and Hamas June 2008 was broken by Israel, not Hamas: whilst Hamas stopped its rocket attacks, Israel did not lift its illegal blockade on Gaza and launched a night raid on Gaza, whilst the eyes of the worlds were watching 4th November 2008 US elections.

Six Hamas resistance fighters were killed, provoking Hamas to respond, which it did by resuming rocket attacks. Finkelstein emphasised that this is not violence so much as "symbolic resistance".

He quoted one Palestinian who referred to the rocket attacks as "modest home made rockets are a cry of protest to the world".

Finkelstein commented that if we are going to condemn Hamas for these rocket attacks, we must suggest how else they should resist the pressure placed on them by persistent Israeli attacks, subjugation and persistent blockades that drain the small area of land.

If we cannot provide an alternative, we cannot criticise, he argued.

Finkelstein emphasised the disproportionate nature of the Israeli attacks.

The ratios of death and destruction are striking: 100 Palestinians were killed to 1 Israeli; 600 Palestinian civilians were killed to 1 Israeli; and 6000 Palestinian homes were destroyed to 1 Israeli home, he explained.

On this basis, Finkelstein said, it cannot be called a war as a minimum condition of war is that there are at least two sides firing at each other. Israeli soldiers themselves have stated that Israel used "insane amounts of firepower."

Israel's claims that the extent of devastation and death was due to Hamas using human shields and purposely positioning themselves in dense civilian areas has been undermined by reports by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Dugard Committee and the Goldstone Report which have found no evidence to support this claim.

The Goldstone Report stated that the siege was a "deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population".

Finkelstein notes that we can only assume that Goldstone, a self-confessed Zionist and a supporter of Israel, would have no interest in unfairly criticising Israel.

The world must assume therefore that what Goldstone has reported is an accurate reflection of abuse and apportionment of responsibility for what happened in Gaza, he added.

Finkelstein noted that Goldstone Report has, for the first time, put the assessment of human rights abuses first in this conflict, rather than the attention being persistently focussed on the "peace process".

The truth about the ongoing human rights abuses committed by Israel against Palestinians must be at the forefront of campaigning, stressed Finkelstein.

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Israeli War Crimes

A site that was emailed to me today that with photos highlights
Israeli War Crimes.


http://www.israeli-war-crimes.org/

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Charges of war crimes now a real fear for Israeli ministers and officers as Yaalon refuses to fly to Britain

The decision by Moshe Yaalon, Israel's vice premier and a former IDF chief of staff, not to travel to the UK for fear of being arrested on war crimes charges has been welcomed by organisations campaigning for Palestinian human rights.The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Britain's largest organisation campaigning for solidarity with the Palestinian people, said the decision revealed that war criminals were now nervous about stepping foot on British territory.

Sarah Colborne, Director of Campaigns and Operations at PSC, said this was a result of the determination of campaigners seeking to bring Israeli war criminals to justice.

Ms Colborne added: `Israeli war criminals must not be allowed to come into Britain, walk freely and remain unpunished. We are committed to bringing those responsible for war crimes against Palestinians to justice.`

Mr Ya'alon was warned by his legal advisors of possible charges over his involvement in the 2002 assassination of a Hamas leader that killed 14 other people. He had been due to attend a charity event in London next month.

Last week (29 September), campaigners, including Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Martin Linton, gathered to protest outside the Grand Hotel, Brighton, at the presence of Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, at the Labour Party conference.

Mr Barak was saved from arrest after the Foreign Office upgraded his visit from private to special status giving him diplomatic immunity from charges of war crimes.

He was responsible for ordering the December 2008/January 2009 attack on Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 Palestinians in three weeks. Many of the Israeli actions during that period were condemned as war crimes by the Goldstone Report, released by the UN Human Rights Committee in September 2009.

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Al Mezan Publishes Statistical Report on Persons Killed and Property Destroyed During Israel's War On Gaza

Cast Lead Offensive in Numbers

Al Mezan Publishes Statistical Report on Persons Killed and Property Destroyed by Israeli Occupation Forces during Operation Cast Lead

On Sunday 14 June 2009, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights published a statistical report entitled, ‘Cast Lead Offensive in Numbers.’ This report presents figures on the persons killed and property destroyed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) during its recent invasion of the Gaza Strip codenamed ‘Operation Cast Lead’. The report is currently available in Arabic and will be circulated in English soon.

The introduction to the report provides an overview of the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip which was conducted by the IOF during the period 27 January 2008 - 18 January 2009. The report demonstrates that during this invasion, the IOF perpetrated grave and systematic violations of the rules of international law. The report further emphasizes that field investigations clearly indicate that the IOF perpetrated war crimes and crimes against humanity, deliberately targeting civilians, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands and attacking displaced persons who had fled to temporary shelters flying the United Nations flag.


The report highlights the timing of first attacks launched and their surprise nature which indicates an intention on the part of the IOF to cause the highest possible number of civilian casualties and injuries. In particular, the first wave of attacks coincided with school arrival and departure times placing school children at great risk. (Gazan schools operate a ‘shift’ system with some children attending morning sessions and others afternoon sessions). The report also presents the field investigation methodology.



The report provides the numbers of persons killed and extent of property destroyed by the IOF. During the offensive, the IOF killed or fatally wounded a total of 1410 persons of which 355 were under the age of 18, 110 were women and 240 were resistance fighters. The IOF also partially or fully destroyed 11,135 homes, 209 industrial premises, 724 commercial establishments, 650 vehicles and 6271 (1000 meters) of agricultural land.



The report presents 16 tables addressing the details of persons killed, including socio-economic information, in addition to information related to the incident. Details of damage caused to property are also presented. The numbers of persons killed by unmanned surveillance aircraft (drones) hints that the State of Israel was trying to market its surveillance aircraft, with which hundreds were killed during the Offensive.



The report concludes that Al Mezan investigations, in addition to investigations by other national (Palestinian) and international organizations, present compelling evidence of the perpetration of a large number of grave and systematic violations of international humanitarian law which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity according to the Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Fourth Geneva Convention. These crimes include: wilful killing, including the targeting of houses while the residents were inside without apparent military necessity; shooting civilians waving white flags; indiscriminate use of excessive forces in civilian areas; targeting civilians and civilian objects without distinction, proportionality or military necessity; using civilians as human shields; targeting medical teams; preventing medical access to the injured; refraining from taking any steps to assist and save the lives of the injured; and targeting United Nations premises and teams. These practices resulted in the killing of large number of civilians.



The report also address the consequences of IOF practices against Gaza residents such as the destruction of water and electricity networks and the blocking and destruction of roads connecting the Gaza Strip, the demolition of large areas of cultivated land and a high number of industrial facilities. These policies caused immense suffering by heavily restricting access to food and medicines, especially after years of siege and closure, which represents collective punishment of the entire population. The report also points at the psychological impact of intensive attacks on residential areas, killing and destruction, as well as the indiscriminate use of warnings to civilians across the Gaza Strip in a context where there was no safe place for civilians to go. The warning announcements were dropped in the centres of towns as well as in the shelters set up by the UN to house the displaced.



The report also addresses the internal Israeli investigation into allegations of war crimes during Operation Cast Lead. This investigation was declared closed on Wednesday 22 April 2009 by the Israeli military Attorney General 11 days after it commenced. It concluded that the IOF had operated in accordance with international law and did not perpetrate war crimes during Operation Cast Lead. The nature of this investigation is a continuation of Israeli practices which offer immunity to its soldiers and leaders. This requires the doubling of efforts to hold the perpetrators of war crimes, or those who ordered them, accountable through channels afforded by international law.



Al Mezan asserts that this practice of offering immunity confirms the firm conviction of observers of the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories that the State of Israel does not have the will to investigate crimes perpetrated by its forces. Instead, through statements made by its continued leadership, it deliberately encourages them to perpetrate these crimes and assures them that the political leadership will provide full protection to its forces.



Al Mezan further asserts that the State of Israel’s refusal to conduct an investigation in accordance with relevant international standards, and its provision of protection and immunity to members of its armed forces and government who have perpetrated or ordered war crimes, places the moral responsibility on the shoulders of the international community. Al Mezan stresses that the international community holds both moral and legal responsibility to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes in accordance with international legal obligations relevant to the prosecution of war criminals.



Al Mezan condemns in the strongest possible terms the perpetration by the IOF of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. These crimes continue today through collective punishment, and the siege imposed by Israel against the Gaza Strip. Further, Al Mezan condemns the State of Israel’s encouragement of the further perpetration of these crimes by offering protection and immunity to their perpetrators.



Al Mezan calls on the international community to:

· Assume its moral and legal responsibility to end the siege on the Gaza Strip in order to pave the way for reconstruction

· Investigate violations of international humanitarian law and human rights perpetrated by the IOF in the Gaza Strip in preparation for perpetrators to be prosecuted and held to account

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UN withholding Israeli war crimes probe results

The United Nations has once again delayed disclosing the findings of its investigation into the recent Israeli bloodshed of the Palestinians.

Having missed two previous deadlines, on Thursday, the world body said the results from its probe into the 22-day Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip were not yet ready.

"It is not done yet. As we indicated last week, it might be about another week or so from now before it is done," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said at the organization's headquarters in New York on Friday in response to a Press TV correspondent question.

Full Story Here

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Gaza war crimes: Drone plane kills civilians, Cut to pieces: The family drinking tea in a courtyard Pt1

VOICEOVER: Israel has pioneered a new type of all-seeing precision weapon: the armed drone. The capabilities of this hunter-killer, which can track a person walking along a street and strike with precision, are a military secret. To use these weapons against civilians is a war crime. But a Guardian investigation has uncovered evidence from the Israeli military themselves that proves just how clearly these weapons can see. So why did one of these drones kill an entire family having tea in their courtyard? Why did these hunter-killers target a group of women and girls walking down the street holding a white flag? Nearly 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the attack on Gaza. More than half were civilians. Four hundred and thirty-one of them were children. Six members of Munir's family were killed by an armed drone. They were having tea in their courtyard when they saw a drone in the sky above watching them. Then it fired. MUNIR

(SUBTITLED TRANSLATION): The rocket landed here. It fell like a ball of fire from that direction. We came back outside. We found Mohammed lying here cut in half. Ahmad was in three pieces. Wahid was totally burnt; his eyes were gone. Wahid's father was pretty much dead. Nour had been decapitated. We couldn't see her head anywhere. Gaurdian Videos

Conflicts of Interest in Gaza War Crimes Investigation?

Richard Goldstone, a Jewish judge from South Africa, will lead a fact-finding team on the mission....

UN appoints Gaza war investigator

Richard Goldstone, right, will lead the fact-finding investigation into the Gaza war [Reuters] The United Nations has appointed a former war crimes prosecutor to investigate offences allegedly committed by Israeli and Palestinian fighters during Israel's war on Gaza. Richard Goldstone, a Jewish judge from South Africa, will lead a fact-finding team on the mission, ordered by the Human Rights Council in January. "I am confident the mission will be in a position to assess, in an independent and impartial manner, all human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the context of the Gaza conflict," Goldstone said in a statement issued on Friday. Other members of the group are Christine Chinkin, a British professor of international law, Hina Jilani, a Pakistani lawyer and retired Irish army colonel Desmond Travers. Palestinian focus

The investigation's mandate is to focus only on Palestinian victims of the 22-day war.

More than 1,100 Palestinians were killed when Israel launched a two-week ground offensive on Gaza in December and January after a week of aerial bombardment.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights put the final death toll at 1,417, including 926 civilians, and published a list of their names.

The Israeli military, however, says only 295 civilians were among 1,116 Palestinians killed between December 27 and January 18, without providing a list of the dead.

It insists it did everything it could to prevent casualties among Gaza civilians during the war, including dropping leaflets and sending phone messages to civilians to evacuate certain areas.

The military also claims Hamas fighters used civilians as human shields, booby-trapped homes and shot at troops from densely populated areas.

Israeli co-operation

Israeli officials on Friday did not say whether or not they would co-operate with the UN investigation.

It has rejected previous human rights council investigations, including one led by Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, calling them "biased".

The Israeli military earlier in the week closed its own investigation into claims that Israeli troops shot unarmed Palestinian women and children during the Gaza war.

Military investigators said on Monday that they "found crucial components of [the allegations] were based on hearsay and were not supported by specific personal knowledge.

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Palestine Guinness Book of World Records

Guinness World Records contains the most outstanding novelties, miracles, marvels, wonders and prodigies that formed world records in their fields, and as the Zionist entity has a characteristic of its own that no state in the world beats it, and “excels” it and conventional in practices and performances as being an “international innovation” unprecedented in world order and international law, that overstepped laws, practices, customs and conventions in its establishments and rise, its rights and obligations. Guinness World Records is requested to take a visit Palestine to collect what the Zionist state of Israel had exclusivity done and publish them in a special issue… In this case world records are in abundance, and novelties, miracles, marvels, wonders and prodigies that are not equaled or beaten world wide, and to start with:

It is the only entity in the world that was recognized as member in the United Nation on conditions that had never materialized and not even a single one of them had been executed up till now. · It is the only entity in the world that does not have specified boundaries with its neighboring countries. Menahem Begin, an ex prime Minister of the Zionist entity once said “our boundaries are where our soldiers reached”!

It is the only entity in the world that doesn’t have a full and written constitution that specifies its goals and policies, it is an entity without a constitution The only entity in the world that is open for all and only Jewish refugees, who come to and colonize it on the cost of expelling the indigenous Palestinian Arab population from their homes and land, on the excuse of being a Jewish state that is open only and exclusively for the world Jewry to settle in it, on the excuse of being a state for the Jews from all parts of the world.

It is the only entity in the world that occupiers legislates laws to justify legalizing repression, terrorism, torture and massacring against Palestinian and other Arab prisoners of war. It is the only entity in the world that legalizes the murdering of babies, old men and women and unarmed civilians, and justifies all murderous action, and is led away free from punishment in spite of all their crimes and illegal, inhuman action and mass massacres. It is the only entity in the world that gives itself the right to produce and use atomic weapons, without control or observation specialized organizations and the United Nations at large, and also use internationally banned weapons.

It is the only entity in the world that legislate laws to justify the confiscation privately owned land of the occupied people and expel the indigenous population from their land and properties. · It is the only entity in the world that doesn’t have a people but an army, and thus within hours all of them officially become uniformed soldiers.

It is the only entity in the world that the confiscators consider themselves to be superior to everybody else, and are the chosen people and supreme over the rest of the human race, thus they have rights that others shouldn’t. · It is the only entity in the world where the holy places of others are desecrated and are changed for lowly uses such as stables, bars and nightclubs while the whole world look but never complain or take a move to stop such actions and/or be condemned and made to pay for.

It is the only entity in the world where Zionist Jewish actions deserves to be registered in the Guinness World Records book. And here we have other new titles for recording in the Guinness World Records: The oldest war prisoner in the world: War prisoner, Said Al-Atabeh, that had already spent 31 years in enemy prisons, thus he is the oldest war prisoner in the world, no other war prisoner or political detainee had ever been detained for a longer period of time the him, not even Nelson Mandela who spent only 26 years, and the assassinator of President John F. Canady who had been in prison for 28 years.

By the end of 2007 there were 232 war prisoners who already had spent more the 15 years in enemy prisons, there are 73 war prisoner that had spent behind bar more then 20 years, and 10 who had spent more then quarter of a century behind bars … the names of who are subject to be recorded in the Guinness World Records book!!!!

The largest prison in the world After being surrounded by a separation wall, the Palestinian West Bank and the Gaza Strip became the largest prison in the world, area wise and containing the largest number of prisoners in modern history. Its walls are three times longer then the Berlin wall, and two meters higher, constructed with concrete, with an average height of 8 -9 meters and extending to 750 kms: About three and half million people live in between these walls spread through out in tens of cities and hundreds of villages.

A cabinet ministers and elected members of parliament behind bars There are 7 members of the Palestinian cabinet and 40 M.Ps of the elected legislative council members behind the Zionist enemy’s bars. The youngest baby martyr to be killed by enemy forces was ten days old, thus the youngest victim in the world.

A people about 40% of whose citizens were arrested: 700,000 Palestinian citizens in occupied Palestine 1967 were at least arrested once, and put behind bars of the enemy occupation prisons since 1967, that is one in 4 of Palestinians still inside Palestine.

And if we take into consideration that most of those are men, this means 42% of the total number. The Youngest war Prisoner in the world: Occupation prisons contains the youngest prisoner who is not 13 years old. The biggest number of bullet in the body of a 13 years old girl: A 13 years old girl was shut with 30 bullets!!!!

The girl was on her way to school when she was hit by a sniper’s bullet, his officer looked at her and emptied the 30 bullets that were in his gun… When soldiers under his command complained, he was put on a fictitious trial the ended in acquitting him from spilling her blood, as was the case with Muhammad Adurrah who was cold bloodedly killed while trying to hide in his father’s lap, and whose killing was seen live on TV screens throughout the world, but still Zionist are still trying to put the blame on Palestinian Arab resistance for his death.

The biggest number places of worship to be profaned: 200 mosques in 1948 occupied Palestine were profaned by being used as bars, night clubs, dancing halls, restaurants, residential apartments and in some of them indecent films were shot.

Arrested school and university students: Enemy detention camps and prisons contains 1175 female and male students, among whom 330 are less then 18 years old0 Closed schools and universities: 12 universities and schools were closed by military orders only during 2006, while teaching in 1125 schools and educational institutions of all levels was halted due to Zionist aggression.

Bombarded educational institutions: 359 educational institutions including schools, management offices and universities were bombarded during 2006 alone, and 43 schools were converted to military camps. Students shot and killed by occupation forces: 848 university and school students fell martyrs as a result of being shut and killed by occupation forces. 4792 male and female university and school students along with employees were wounded by occupation forces shooting.

Number of uprooted trees: While Zionist propaganda claims that Palestine was a sandy strip of land before its occupation, occupation forces contributed greening Palestine as follows: 13,572,896 trees were uprooted, 14,829 agricultural stores were demolished, 788 poultry farms and animal barns were demolished along with their equipment and machinery.

14829 goats and sheep were killed as a result of occupation operations. 16,549 bee hives were destroyed, 425 wells and their equipment and accessories were destroyed. 207 farmer’s houses were demolished with their furniture destroyed. All only in 2006.

The highest percentage of poverty in the world: As a result of occupation and siege and on the bases of surveys 75% of Palestinians in occupied Palestine were living under the line of poverty. Check points and sudden attacks: 5001 military check points were put by occupations forces most of which are not permanent, while there are 762 permanent check points.

The biggest number of roadblocks for taxi drivers: Taxi drivers has to try to go round the biggest number of roadblocks by using different types of go around roads to avoid roadblocks to try to reach their destinations to avoid hours long delays.
The first in apartheid application: Differentiating between residents in occupied Palestine on religious bases: Occupied Palestine experiences the worst type of apartheid (ethnic cleansing and ethnic separation) in today’s world. Water consumption: Palestinian Arabs are allocated less then 50 cubic meters of water per person against 2400 cubic meters for each Jew per year, which is drawn from the West Bank water sources, that is 42 times more per Jew compared to Arabs.

Income per capita among Jews in the Zionist entity is 30 times more than that of Palestinian Arabs, and in spite of that Arabs are obliges to pay the same prices as those paid by Jews. Figures are not limited to that. The number of books written about the Palestinian cause: The number of books written about the Palestinian is bigger than on any other cause that international resolutions were passed for.

Media and news casts mentions matters related to the Palestinian cause more then about any cause in modern history, The cause on which the biggest number of talk shows, conferences, discussions, demonstrations and threats were made, And the cause about which facts were counterfeited, doubts made, rumors spread and lies made.

The most densely populated area in the world is the Gaza strip, 4,118 people/km2 (10,665/sq mi) In spite of the lies made by Zionist propaganda that Palestine was before the Zionist invasion and occupation was noyhing more the a sandy strip of land it is country where the biggest number of fruit bearing trees were uprooted.

And where liberty of movement is worst. Where education is interrupted most, The most difficult for students to reach their schools and return safe to their homes, The biggest number of military road blocks are built in the world. The biggest number of charity societies are closed, 70 were closed in 2007, after freezing and stealing their reseves.

source

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Add your name to the call for Creation of a Special Tribunal to try Israeli War Criminals

Please read the following petition online and if you feel the need for justice then please add your signature To: President and Member States of United Nations General Assembly

PETITION found here so you can add your name.

To President and Member States of United Nations General Assembly
The Creation of a Special Tribunal to try Israeli War Criminals

Recalling that Israel was created by virtue of a General Assembly Resolution in 1947 against the wishes of the indigenous population of Palestine;

Recalling that the creation of Israel was achieved through the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population, which resulted in the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem, and that more than half of the population of 1.5 millions of the Palestinian Occupied Territory called the Gaza Strip are Palestinian refugees who have become, with the other civilian population, victims of the recent Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip;

Noting that the UN Human Rights Council, in its ninth Special Session, has adopted on 12 January 2009, a resolution on the grave violations of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including the recent aggression of the occupied Gaza Strip, in which it strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli military operation which had resulted in massive violations of human rights of the Palestinian people and systematic destruction of the Palestinian infrastructure; and decided to dispatch an urgent independent international fact-finding mission to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by the occupying power against the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory(United Nations Press Release of 12 January 2009, Human Rights Council, ROUNDUP);

Recalling that Israel has in the past refused to cooperate with similar fact-finding commissions or even give them visas to enter;

Recalling Article 22 of the Charter of the United Nations

Recalling further the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9th July 2004 on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall by Israel, the occupying power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in which the Court emphasized the special responsibility of the General Assembly for the Question of Palestine;


The undersigned NGOs and individuals

Call upon the General Assembly to create a special international tribunal to try Israel, its political and military leaders, for such crimes in violation of international law, human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Palestinian Occupied Territory of which they may be charged.

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Malaysia Considering Israeli War CrimesTribunal

The special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow is expected to adopt Malaysia’s stand on the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip as well as initiatives to further prompt the international community into action over the Zionist regime’s atrocities against the people of Palestine. The members of parliament, both from the government and opposition, will debate on the bloody conflict, which has killed up to 850 people, at the sitting scheduled to begin at 2.30pm.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will table a motion which will be seconded by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), will also speak at the special sitting while Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim will wind up the debate.

The special sitting is an extension of the initiatives adopted by Kuala Lumpur to get the Tel Aviv regime to stop the atrocities it launched on Dec 27 last year against the Palestinians and the various amenities in Gaza, home to 1.5 million people.
The people of Palestine have suffered for a long time under Israeli occupation of the territory and an economic blockade over the last 18 months.

The special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat is significant in figuring out further initiatives following Israel’s rejection of a United Nations resolution adopted on Friday calling for an immediate cease-fire. The United States had abstained in the UN vote.

Malaysia, a strong supporter of the struggle of the Palestinian people, is seen by many as having the clout to coax the international community to adopt efforts to free the people of Palestine from the cruel clutches of Israel.

This was, more or less, evident when the UN responded positively to a request from Malaysia and Brazil to convene a special session, which took place on Friday.

Nevertheless, the Malaysian government has expressed disappointment over the UN resolution which it felt had failed to consider several important elements hoped for by the majority of the international community, such as humanitarian aid and the formation of an international peace-keeping force.

Malaysia has all along rejected the Israeli occupation of Palestine which has seen the conflict prolong since 1948 following the establishment of Israel and the displacement of millions of Palestinians from their homeland.

The latest conflict saw Malaysians reacting along with the peace-loving international community seeking justice to demand an immediate stop to the Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has proposed that the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) set up a peace-keeping force to be despatched to Islamic countries faced with conflicts such as that in Palestine.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has proposed that the special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat adopt a resolution for the UN to set up a tribunal to investigate and prosecute Israeli war crimes, as had been suggested by Francis Boyle, an expert in international law and human rights, from the United States.

Others have also called for the boycott of products of Israel’s allies, including the United States.

The Malaysian government has also offered US$1 million (RM3.6 million) in humanitarian aid for the people of Palestine, to be channelled through voluntary relief agency Mercy Malaysia, and relaunched the humanitarian fund of Wisma Putra to help the Palestinians.

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Alot of Palestinian Children Dead due to Israel's War Crimes

Way Over 195 children killed since operation began and we are still Counting
PNN

A man tries to pull the body of a child out of the rubble of a house that collapsed after an Israeli missile attack in Gaza City on Tuesday. The child died with 17 other members of the Al-Dayah extended family. (AP)

Gaza / PNN – Reports indicate that 13 Palestinians from the same family were killed when Israeli forces targeted an eastern Gaza City house. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said this afternoon that Israeli forces in Gaza have killed 599 Palestinians.Dr. Hassanein of the Ministry of Health said today that Israeli forces have killed 195 Palestinian children since the operation began and injured 2,730 people with the majority in serious condition.

A large contingent of Israeli ground forces have Gaza City encircled and last night the eastern side of town was heavily hit.

The Director of Ambulance and Emergency in the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports on Tuesday afternoon that the number of Palestinians killed has reached 578. In 24 hours Israeli forces have killed 40 people.

He also reports that the vast majority of the Palestinians killed over the past two days were women and children.

A member of Islamic Jihad was killed. On Monday 46 Palestinians were killed, including 17 children and seven women. Overnight Israeli forces killed 19 more, among them four from the Abu Jabara family.

This morning Saraya Al Quds reports two of its armed resistance members were killed in an ambush from sea near Deir Al Belah.

In the central Strip's Al Bureij Refugee Camp Israeli forces killed the Abu Jabara father and three of his sons. Three people from the Kahlout family were killed in a separate attack. Israeli forces attacked Gaza City's Al Zeitoun neighborhood and killed three people, while bombing the Yarmouk Market and killing four more Palestinians.

With hundreds of Israeli soldiers plowing into the city in tanks, armed resistance members from the leftist PFLP, DFLP, and from Islamic Jihad and Hamas attempted to stave them off in the city’s Al Shajaiyeh neighborhood.

Israeli military sources say that three Israeli soldiers were killed and about 20 others were injured by "friendly fire."

Eyewitnesses report that Israeli shelling in the northern Gaza Strip caused dozens of homes to catch fire in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and Gaza City’s neighborhoods of Al Shajaiyeh, Al Tuffah and Zeitoun. The intense aerial bombardment has left the air clogged with smoke and untold victims. Israeli forces renewed the shelling of Mount Rayyes and Al Tuffah in Gaza City, while local sources also report that the southern Strip’s Khan Younis and Rafah were hit with heavy ground invasions.

The Israeli shelling killed members of three families, most of whom are children and women whose homes are not exempt from being targeted. The number of Palestinians killed since the ground invasion has reached 110, including 50 children and 29 women. Since the beginning of the operation on 27 December, Israeli forces have killed 578 Palestinians and injured over 2,700.

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