Palestinian Pogrom Photo Essay Part 2

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Palestinian Pogrom Photo Essay

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The Arab Legion and the Defense of Jerusalem

The Arab Legion standing in formation. (Photo by Howard Sochurek//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

"To crown this hope of peace based on new democratic possibilities in the Arab world, I as a Muslim, a Hashemite, and an Arab, and as a person who seeks to satisfy my conscience, have called for talks to achieve an accord on the Holy Places in Jerusalem which removes all sovereign claims except for those of Almighty God."

Al-Hussein bin Talal
King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

The Arab legion

The Arab Legion (al-Jaysh al-Arabī) was Transjordan's and later also Jordan's regular army. It was formed in 1921 by Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Gerard Peake as a police force to keep order among Transjordanian tribes and to guard the important Jerusalem-Amman road. Originally, the Legion consisted of only 150 men, most of them stationed along the roads.

In 1939, John Bagot Glubb, better known as Glubb Pasha, became the Legion's commander and transformed it into the best trained Arab army.

During World War II, the Legion took part in the British war effort against the Nazis' allies in the Middle East Theatre and contributed in the Syria-Lebanon campaign and in the Anglo-Iraqi War, two decisive Allies' victories.

The Legion was the most successful of the Arab armies during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The Legion was initially removed to Transjordanian territory, under instruction from the United Nations, prior to the end of the British Mandate. With the commencement of hostilities the Legion re-entered Palestine.

There was considerable embarrassment from the United Kingdom government that British officers were employed in the Legion during the conflict and regular British officers, including a brigade commander, were instructed to return to Transjordan. This led to the bizarre spectacle of British officers leaving their units to return to Transjordan before sneaking back across the border to rejoin the Arab Legion. Without exception all of the affected officers returned to their units. One British MP called for Glubb Pasha to be imprisoned for serving in a foreign army without the King's permission.

At Latrun, the Legion blockaded the Jerusalem highway. Legion troops, aided by Marmon-Harrington armoured cars, conquered the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem (the Jewish Quarter within the Old City of Jerusalem i.e. inside the walls of the Old City) but escorted the Jews who lived there to safety in May 28, 1948. The Legion also secured the West Bank for Transjordan.
Following the war, the Legion was reformed as the army of Jordan. (1)


The Defense of Jerusalem

The heroism and effectiveness displayed by the Hashemite Jordanian armies during their defense of Palestine in 1948 is widely acknowledged. In particular, the Battle of Jerusalem exemplified the professional and valiant performance of Jordan's Arab Legion. In Jerusalem, Arab Muslims fought together as one in resistance to the Zionist invasion. Therefore, the Arab Legion's successful recapture and defense of the holy city was a great victory for Arabs and Muslims not only in Palestine, but throughout the world.

The Battle of Jerusalem can be broken into four distinct phases. The stage was one of unofficial war between Arabs and Jews. It started in December of 1947 and ended with the commencement of military engagements in May, 1948. The UN partition resolution prompted this phase of hostilities, which was characterized by frequent rioting and local skirmishes. The second phase began when Jewish militias invaded the Old city in April, 1948, and lasted until the entry of the Jordanian Arab Legion into Jerusalem on May 18 of that year. On May 2, a cease-fire took effect between Arabs and Jews, and remained in force until the evacuation of the British. The same truce was elaborated on May 7 to include the removal of Jewish troops, who by that time occupied the Arab quarter of the city. The Jewish militias did not adhere to the truce, and consequently controlled much of Jerusalem when the British mandate expired. This blatantly violated the partition plan, which specified Jerusalem as the center of a special international zone.

Despite the enormous military challenge such an operation presented, Jordan's King Abdullah insisted on dispatching the fabled Arab Legion to defend Jerusalem. when the Arab Legion entered the Old City on May 18, commencing the third phase of the Battle of Jerusalem, the Israelis were already firmly entrenched. Indeed, in previous days they had been attacking pockets of Arab resistance in an attempt to complete their seizure of Jerusalem. Fierce fighting ensued when the Hashemite forces entered the city, yet the well-trained Arab Legion managed to gain the upper hand quickly. After ten days of heavy fighting, the Arab Legion defeated the Israelis in the Old City.

Jordanian forces also took a strong position at Latrun, cutting the primary road which connected Jerusalem with Jaffa and Tel Aviv. During the Battle of Latrun, an Israeli contingent of 6500 men was unable to break through a 1200 man Jordanian force defending western access to the city. The Israelis, however, managed to build and defend a secondary road (the Burma Road) to the city, thereby securing West Jerusalem. On June 11, a truce was agreed upon, and hostilities ceased for almost a month. A stalemate had been reached, with the Jews controlling West Jerusalem and the Jordanian Arab Legion defending the Old City and the adjacent Arab quarters.

In early July, the Israelis launched a determined offensive to capture Arab Jerusalem, yet they were unable to penetrate the stubborn defenses of the Arab Legion. The United Nations imposed a second cease-fire on July 19. The Hashemite forces had successfully defended the Holy Places from the Zionist invasion. While fighting fierce battles to safeguard the city, the Jordanian armies made every effort to prevent damage to the Holy Places, thereby preserving them for future generations. (2)

Arab Legion badge

(1)Source

(2)Source

Freedom of Religion Israeli Style

Palestinian Children Learn How To Read The Koran

GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP - JUNE 08: A shadow of a Palestinian child learning how to read the Koran stretches over the carpet inside Marj AL-Zohor mosque, June 8, 2005, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli-Arab member of parliament representing an Israeli Arab political party, has reportedly accused Israeli soldiers June 7 of desecrating the Koran while searching Palestinians and said he received complaints from the Megiddo prison of soldiers tearing an stepping on Korans.

It has been reported that about 900 prisoners at the jail called a day long fast to protest. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images)

Note:

It is ironic that when this was going on by the Israeli government, their were still alleged allegations that the American’s at Guantanamo Bay was doing the same thing to those men detained there?

What is even more interesting, I have never met a Muslim or anything in history that suggests any Muslim government or person towards the Torah or Bible ever has perpetrated an allegation such as this.

Support a Just Peace in the Middle East

Reveal the Truth

It is the responsibility of all media outlets and agencies to cover the atrocities carried out by the Israeli army as fairly and accurately as possible. Do not shirk your duties as reporters and journalists.

The world must know the truth

Ever since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared war on the Palestinian people, Israeli forces have so far attacked the Palestinian towns of Gaza, Byet hanoon, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Bethlehem etc…

The Israeli army has killed up to 95 Palestinians in less than 10 days , using the most sophisticated American weaponry. It has forbidden ambulances and medical aid from reaching the wounded, who are left to bleed to death.

Israel has forbidden humanitarian relief from reaching Palestinians under siege for ten days running, with no source of food, water, electricity, or medicine.

Palestinians are not even allowed to bury their dead…!!

Israel is fighting media coverage of the aggression on Palestinians. Arab, European and American media have been attacked severely by the Israeli occupation army to force them to leave the area of aggression so that they would not cover the Israeli atrocities which pose a constant danger on the residents of the occupied cities.

Please, Do Not buckle under the pressure of the Israeli army – report the facts so that the world can see what the Israeli army is doing to the Palestinians.

Vietnam issues light sentences to 3 Americans charged with terrorism

November 10, 2006

HO CHI MINH CITY (AP) — Vietnam diffused a political storm Friday by issuing light sentences to three Vietnamese-Americans convicted of terrorism, preventing the closely watched case from clouding President Bush's visit next week.

The defendants had been held since September 2005 without charges after being accused of plotting to take over radio airwaves in their native country to call for an uprising to overthrow the communist government.

They, along with four Vietnamese nationals accused of the same crime, were sentenced by a judge to 15 months in prison, with credit for time served. All will be released in one month, and the Americans will have 10 days to leave the country.

The case had attracted Washington's attention just before Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to make their first visit to Hanoi, for the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. It's Vietnam's biggest-ever event.

The seven faced punishments ranging from 12 years in prison to death by firing squad. Prosecutors instead sought lesser terms, saying the defendants had repented and had no previous criminal records.

"I am certainly pleased that they will be sent home," said U.S. Ambassador Michael Marine. "These individuals have been held for quite some time. That is allowed under Vietnamese law, but 14 months without being brought to trial is a long time for anyone. So, we're glad to see that portion over with."

Marine spoke just a few blocks away from the French colonial-style courthouse in southern Ho Chi Minh City where the sentences were read. He was attending a ceremony in which Intel Corp. announced plans to invest $1 billion in Vietnam to expand a chip assembly and testing plant, positive news that followed Vietnam's acceptance into the World Trade Organization on Tuesday.

But much of that glow had already been overshadowed by headlines detailing the uncertain fate of Thuong Nguyen Foshee, 58, of Orlando; Le Van Binh, 31, of Tampa; and Huynh Bich Lien, 51, of San Gabriel, Calif.

Washington had pressured Vietnam to hold a speedy and fair trial, and the issue would likely have spilled over into APEC without Friday's conclusion. The case had also attracted attention from Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who raised the issue with the Bush administration and reportedly vowed to block a key vote in Congress that would normalize trade relations between the former foes.

It is highly unusual for Vietnam to give a lenient sentence for national security crimes, especially in such a high-profile case. But Presiding Judge Vu Phi Long told reporters after the one-day trial that outside pressure did not influence the decision.

"I know that Vietnam is about to host the APEC summit, and I know that the U.S. Congress is about to debate giving (normalized trade relations) to Vietnam," he said. "But when we judge, we follow Vietnamese law and we judge independently."

The trade vote is of great importance to Vietnam. Without it, U.S. companies will not be able to enjoy all the benefits of Vietnam's new WTO agreement. Bush had been hoping to get the bill approved before he came to Hanoi for the APEC summit. Resolution of the terrorism case might increase his chances, although Congress will be in session only briefly before he departs next week.

Carlyle Thayer, an expert on Vietnamese politics at the Australian Defense Force Academy, said he suspects the country decided to proceed with the trial to send two messages. One is an internal warning that Vietnam must remain vigilant against potential dangers.

"The second one is, 'Come on United States, we've given so much away to get into the WTO because of your pressures, we're bending over backward to accommodate you on the war on terror — be consistent with us,"' Thayer told The Associated Press by telephone.

Hanoi wants the United States to take action against Vietnamese living in America who are viewed as terrorists by their homeland, Thayer said.

An indictment said the plan to take over radio airwaves was hatched by the Government of Free Vietnam, a California-based organization that the Vietnamese government considers a terrorist group.

It is one of many anti-communist groups founded by Vietnamese refugees in the United States. Many of its leaders are soldiers of the former South Vietnamese Army who fled Vietnam after the war ended in 1975.

The Government of Free Vietnam group is run by Chanh Huu "Tony" Nguyen, who is wanted in Vietnam for failed plots to bomb the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand and buildings in Vietnam.

Nguyen, a permanent U.S. resident, was arrested at Vietnam's request in April while traveling in South Korea. He was held for three months before being released to the U.S.

In addition to the Americans, Vietnamese nationals Tran Dat Phuong, 65; brothers Ho Van Giau, 59, and Ho Van Hien, 38; and Cao Tri, 35, were convicted and issued the same sentence. Cao Tri is also a U.S. resident.

Under questioning from the judge, some of the defendants acknowledged carrying radio equipment to Cambodia on behalf of the Government of Free Vietnam, while others described themselves as employees at an adoption agency.

When Will We No Longer Mourn?

Meeting Ahmad on the Burnt Side of the Border

Imad Martada writing from Dayr Seryan, south Lebanon, Live from Lebanon, 9 November 2006 The Israeli-Lebanese border (Sandy Chamoun)

I arrived to meet Ahmad after a highly emotionally charged trip through the destroyed villages along the Israel-Lebanese border. We stood there silently sobbing, watching the forbidden land that we consider Palestine as we puffed our cigarettes along with our frustration and helplessness. On one side of the border total destruction, burnt land and graffiti of resistance; and on the other side, green fields and tidily arranged houses protected by the Israeli military. All look serene, rendering the scene all the more brutal and surreal. Borders never looked more ridiculous and painful, a winding barbed wire with fences and military roads marking the separation, cutting through a land that looks very much alike. A land that is one, a natural continuation divided by a war machine and ruthless bombing. We had to leave quickly; the feeling of helplessness and frustration in the face of such a ridiculous fence and such grave injustice was too intense to bear.

I met Ahmad in his village, Dayr Seryan, in the south of Lebanon, while he was playing with his friends around plastic water tanks stacked in front of the village's school. The tanks were waiting to be distributed as part of relief programs and were the source of imagination for the kids game. They were playing war, using the water tanks as shelters, running around throwing little stones at each other, then screaming "go to the shelter, go to the shelter" before they run laughing to hide between the lines of grey water tanks and stay still for a while before they storm out and start throwing pebbles again. Even as we sat to talk we were not spared few pebbles and laughs from the crowd, inciting us to leave the interview and join the game. Ahmad is 12 years old and he spent 21 days in his village during the war before they left during the 24-hour ceasefire declared by Israel - a ceasefire Ahmad told me was restricted to aerial bombing while the Israeli cannons thundered in the distance. He caught my attention from the first minute, the way he spoke calmly with a smile and much confidence, and the way he stared at the ground and took time to think before he answered. His friends were all around us, teasing him, to which he responded with a wide smile and closed eyes as he turned his head down. Ahmad's father works in Qatar while he lives with his mother and two siblings, an older brother and a five-year-old sister - in the village.

Ahmad talks about his experience during the war (Sandy Chamoun)

Where did you stay during the first 21 days of the war? And what do you remember of those days?

We stayed in our house, with our grandparents and our uncles and their families. We played all day as our parents watched the news or listened to the radio. At night there was a lot of noise from the bombs. The noise felt much louder at night and scared us a lot; during the day we could ignore it and play, but at night it was impossible. We also had to turn the lights off so the planes won't know that there are people inside. I kept telling myself that if things become very dangerous my family will save me; this is how I went to sleep. We heard that some families had no food left, but we had grains and we were taking vegetables from our garden to eat. Sometimes there were people from the Civil Defense delivering bread, and when they did not come due to the bombing my mother would bake some. What scared me the most were the empty streets. It was very scary to look out anytime and not see anyone nor hear any movement. We felt all alone though there were many people in the village. This was the scariest part. My little sister was crying all the time, and we could not do anything to make her stop. Even letting her play with my toys did not work.

How did you leave the village?

After they bombed the bridge connecting the villages in our area to the north of the country, the people of the village decided to leave during the ceasefire. People started going out of their houses bit by bit. At first I could see a few families walking down the streets, then more and more till we became around 400 people walking. My mother told me not to be scared, and that everything would be fine once we leave. I believed her but still I was scared. You could hear the cannons in the background. All through the way I was thinking about what will happen if they start bombing us. It was all over the news that they were bombing caravans of people leaving their villages. I thought they would start bombing us any minute. We leaved at 8 am and walked till a village where we could find cars to take us to Beirut. We walked around three hours. There were a lot of people walking with their things, also from other villages. Some people were throwing away things they were carrying because they were getting tired. Some children like my sister were crying, I held my mother's hand and tried not to be scared.

What do you think of the UNIFIL?

They are here to protect us. Before they did nothing to protect us, but now they say they will. We will see.

There is a UNIFIL base very close to your village, why did not you go there to hide instead of walking for hours?

We did not want to be the only ones to go there, and the people in the village were scared that Israel might bomb the UNIFIL base if we went there. They did it before in Qana and killed a lot of people. It was much better to go far from Israel.

You told me you went to Syria after you left the village, how was it there?

was worried about my grandparents who stayed in Beirut. We were bored in Syria and did not have our toys with us. But it was good because my father met us there and we got to spend time with him though most of the time he was either waiting for the news or trying to phone the family in Beirut.

Did you want to leave the village?

I do not know. I did not think about it. We did not have the choice, and I was scared. Here we were sitting around waiting for the bombs expecting to be hit any time. We had to run away. If I was older I would have helped defend the village, but now I do not know how.

When did you come back, and what can you tell me about it?

We came back to the village few days after the final ceasefire. My parents were anxious to see if our house was destroyed. When we arrived the house was still there, but we were told that the Israeli soldiers stayed in it during the few days they occupied the village. A lot of furniture were broken, and there were a lot of mattresses on the floor and a bit of the food they left behind. We were scared that they might come back; it felt like the house smelled of them. My mother was crying when we entered -- she thought we would never come back to see it standing. They threw our year-stock of grains on the floor, mixed all different kinds in a pile then poured oil on it. We had to throw it all. My mother was very upset about that.

Why do you think they did it?

I do not know. I think to hurt and scare us. But maybe ask them, why did they kill all those children. It is very easy, give us our prisoners and let them take theirs, without the war.

Do you think they will start another war? and if so, what to do?

I do not know, but they will come back for their soldiers. We have to let them go anyway, but after they free our prisoners in Israeli jails. I do not like war and it scares me. But I feel for the prisoners -- poor them, we have to free them. Israel has been detaining them and torturing them for such a long time. If they start a war again, we have to protect ourselves, we have to support the resistance ... they are the only ones defending the village.

Do you have any message to the world?

[Smiles shyly] I do not know.

And to the resistance?

May god protect them, and grant them victory.

Do you think we won this war?

We stopped them this time, but maybe they will come back. There were a lot of destroyed houses and a lot of people died; they are all martyrs. The prisoners are still in jail; poor them. I do not know, yes I think we won.

Talking with village kids (Sandy Chamoun)

Ahmad's friends were getting restless around us, giggling and teasing him by chanting "Ahmad, the martyr". He looked to the ground and smiled shyly -- I left him at that point. There was nothing more I wanted to know, or could bear to ask. It was becoming harder for me to fake strength in front of his, holding back my tears was choking me in front of his words of defiance and the calmness of his voice. I did not live this past war, and did not feel entitled to break down in front of him while he held together so beautifully. I thanked him, and he ran to join his friends in throwing pebbles at me before they ran to hide behind the water tanks shouting to me to come to the shelter. I walked away towards the car. In Ahmad's village there is not a single bomb shelter, a village contaminated with cluster bombs, a few kilometers away from the Israeli-Lebanese border, a few kilometers away from a green land packed with beautiful houses with red-shingle roofs and lots of bomb shelters -- those are Israeli settlements.

Imad Mortada is a Lebanese anarchist queer activist and Indymedia volunteer based in Barcelona. His writings can currently be read on qursana.blogspot.com

655,000 Iraqis died since 2003, says study

Police secure the site of a car bomb explosion near the gate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Baghdad.

November 10, 2006

By Tom Clifford, Assistant Editor, International

Dubai: The post-invasion death toll in Iraq has been estimated at 655,000 Iraqis, according to a study in the British journal The Lancet.

This shows a staggering increase in fatalities since October 2004 when the journal estimated that 100,000 people had died in the period between the invasion (March 2003) and September 2004.

The figures were compiled by US researchers led by Gilbert Burnham of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. The researchers compared the mortality rate from January 2002 to January 2003 to gauge the impact of the invasion from March 2003 to June 2006. "The splinter of our [US and British troops] presence in Iraq is increasing, not reducing, violence,'' Lancet editor Richard Horton said.

The research consisted of a random selection of households across Iraq, where people were asked about births, deaths and migration since January 2002 and in the case of death were asked to show documents such as death certificates. The findings (see box) confirm that Iraq has descended into bloodthirsty chaos.

Of the 629 certified deaths, 547 or 87 per cent occurred after March 2003, the post-invasion period.

The researchers then extrapolated these across the country and came to the figure of 654,965 premature deaths - 2.5 per cent of the population - that have occurred since March 2003. Nearly 601,000 of them were due to violence.

The study says although the proportion of deaths attributed to coalition forces has gone down in percentage terms, "the actual numbers have increased every year since the invasion".

The researchers admit the data is open to criticism especially considering the volatile security situation. This had a direct impact on the number of teams that could venture out to interview households and the amount of time they could spend asking questions and collecting data.

"Although such death rates might be common in times of war, the combination of a long duration and tens of millions of people affected has made this the deadliest international conflict of the 21st century," the report says.

Number of Jewish lawmakers worldwide reaches record high

November 10, 2006

By Amiram Barkat

Tuesday's U.S. elections brought the number of Jewish parliamentarians worldwide to an all-time high, according to the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians.

Following yesterday's results, the number of Jews in the Senate rose from 11 to 13 and in the House of Representatives from 26 to 30. However, the United States is still only in third place worldwide for the number of Jewish legislators, after Israel and Britain.

Britain, despite having a Jewish community 20 times smaller than that of the United States, has 59 Jewish members of parliament, including 18 in the House of Commons and 41 in the House of Lords. The latter number includes seven barons whose seats in the house were hereditary until recently. However, the umbrella organization of British Jewry said that in fact, the number of Jews in the House of Lords is even higher, totaling at least 46.

After Britain and the United States come France and Ukraine, with 18 Jewish legislators each, followed by Russia (13), Brazil (11), and Canada and Hungary (10 each). The only Arab country with a Jewish member of parliament is Tunisia.

According to the ICJP, there are 246 Jewish legislators worldwide (excluding Israel), up from 208 in 2005 - an increase of about 18 percent. This is the highest number recorded since the organization was established in 1988.

The organization noted that it does not use the halakhic definition of a Jew in determining whether a legislator is Jewish.

The director of the World Jewish Congress's Israel office, Bobby Brown, said the data reflects Jews' growing success in integrating into the countries where they live. Brown, who coordinates the ICJP's work in Israel, also noted that in recent years, cooperation among Jewish legislators worldwide has increased.

Israel Threatening Iran?

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh: Sanctions against Iran will not succeed. (Archives)

November 10, 2006

Deputy Defense Minister: Israel may be forced to attack Iran

By Haaretz Service and the Associated Press

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh suggested in comments published Friday that Israel might be forced to launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear program - the clearest statement yet of this possibility from a high-ranking Israeli official.

"I am not advocating an Israeli pre-emptive military action against Iran and I am aware of its possible repercussions," Sneh told The Jerusalem Post daily. "I consider it a last resort. But even the last resort is sometimes the only resort," he said.

Sneh's tough talk is the boldest to date by a high-ranking Israeli official. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other leaders frequently discuss the Iranian threat in grave terms, but stop short of discussing military action against Tehran.

The former Israel Defense Forces brigadier general said that Israel cannot afford "living under a dark cloud of fear from a leader committed to its destruction." Under such a threat, he said, "most Israelis would prefer not to live here; most Jews would prefer not to come here with their families; and Israelis who can live abroad will."

"People are not enthusiastic about being scorched," he said.

Sneh said Israel's greatest possible danger could be Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's ability "to kill the Zionist dream without pushing a button. That's why we must prevent this regime from obtaining nuclear capability at all costs."

Ahmadinejad has previously called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," and has expressed doubts that the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were murdered, took place.

The deputy minister said that while he hopes that efficient sanctions would be imposed by the international community against Iran, "the chances are not high... My working assumption is that they won't succeed."

Government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Sneh's comments did not necessarily reflect the view of the government or Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Israel crippled Iraq's nuclear program 25 years ago with an airstrike on its unfinished nuclear reactor at Osiraq. Experts say Iran has learned from Iraq's mistakes, scattering its nuclear facilities and building some underground.

IOF warplanes flatten 3-story home of PFLP official

November 10, 2006

Gaza - Israeli warplanes at dawn Friday fired missiles at the home of Talal Abu Safiyya, one of the PFLP leaders, in Jabalia to the north of the Gaza Strip completely destroying it and damaging nearby buildings.

A Palestinian civilian was wounded in the air raid while paramedics pulled another civilian from under the rubble unharmed.

Israeli intelligence threatened Abu Safiyya three days ago over the phone that his house would be destroyed and he should evacuate it.

The IOF command a few months ago pursued the new policy of informing house owners in the Strip that their homes would be destroyed in air raids and they should evacuate them and levelled many of them in that manner.

Israel accused of 'state terrorism'

The Arab league has called for an immediate ceasefire (File)

November 10, 2006

Aljazeera

A Palestinian official has accused Israel of state terrorism after an attack in Gaza that killed 18 civilians, and said Israeli apologies for such incidents were insincere and no longer acceptable.


Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, told an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Thursday: "This is terrorism, this is state terrorism.

"These are war crimes for which the perpetrators must be held accountable under international law."

But an Israeli diplomat insisted that Wednesday's deadly shelling in Beit Hanoun had been accidental.

Israel was "deeply saddened" by it and doing its utmost to avoid a repetition, Israeli envoy Daniel Carmon said.

The council met at the request of the 22-member Arab League, the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement after what Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, referred to as "a technical failure" but which Palestinian leaders have called a massacre.

The 18 dead, including seven children and four women, were buried at a mass funeral in Gaza on Thursday.

Since the end of June, more than 450 Palestinians had been killed in the Gaza Strip, "making death, mourning and grief a near-daily ritual for the people of Gaza", Mansour said.

Immediate ceasefire

A draft Security Council resolution put forward by Arab states would call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a UN observer force to enforce the ceasefire, as was done in southern Lebanon after the 34-day war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah that ended in August.

But the US, Israel's closest ally and one of five permanent council members with veto power, typically opposes council intervention in the Middle East conflict as ineffective in ending the Arab-Israeli cycle of violence.

John Bolton, the US ambassador, said: "Despite all of the emotion in the air, we must have an honest and even-handed discussion of recent events in Gaza".

He urged Israel to quickly look into the artillery attack and take steps to avoid a repetition while stressing the responsibility of the Hamas government, which refuses to recognise Israel and reject violence, "to prevent terror and take the necessary steps to stop attacks from within Gaza".

"Progress requires a commitment to peace from both sides of the conflict," Bolton said.

Angela Kane, the UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, also pressed Israel to do more to avoid civilian casualties and the Palestinians to try harder to prevent rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza.

"We hope that both Palestinians and Israelis will pause and reflect on the fact that the conflict between them will not be resolved by force and that ways must be found to bring about negotiations," she said.

Condemnation

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain denounced the killings on Thursday as a number of Islamic foreign ministers prepared to meet to discuss Israel's deadly offensive.

A Saudi government spokesman denounced what he called the "carnage".

"An urgent international conference needs to be convened, with the participation of all the parties [concerned with the Middle East problem] to put an end to these massacres and protect the Palestinian people," he said.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, telephoned Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to "denounce Israeli aggression in Beit Hanoun and the human losses they have caused", the official QNA news agency said.

And in Manama, Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, the Bahraini foreign minister, said the attacks by Israel constitute a "disappointing reversal that is leading the region towards a dangerous precipice with grave consequences".

Ministers from Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Yemen will gather along with Palestinian representatives on November 18, the 57-member OIC said on Thursday.

Abbas requested the meeting in a telephone conversation with Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC secretary-general, the bloc added.

Israel Will not Step Down From Gaza

With the latest of the long list of heinous crimes against Israel, Olmert today says they will not stop targeting Gaza.

Israel have made excuses that equipment malfunctions was what murdered those 18 Palestinians to defending these murders with the resistance fighting in defiance of being killed and their families, for their even being a presence in Gaza now.

Gilad Shalit must be on vacation from being a hostage?

Sun Bird

A Palestine sun bird in Art

The James Bond Zionist Ultimate Vacation

This is the James Bond destroy the Middle East Package vacation.

Usually you think of OO7 saving the world, but when you are dealing with the Israeli government the shoe dropped and you hit bottom and yes folks, this time the good guy did not win!

Remember kiddies, the Israeli government will only let you see what they wish you to see; after all would they wish for you to see them torture, maim and kill.

They need your financial support!

As anything associated with the Israeli government, when they say this trip is not connected with them; please do not hold your breath on it.

New James Bond Casino Royale

(See the movie it is cheaper and no one really dies!)




Mission To Israel


A once-in-a-lifetime experience:

THE ULTIMATE MISSION TO ISRAEL
Monday, November 6 - Monday, November 13, 2006

Experience a dynamic and intensive eight day exploration of Israel’s struggle for survival and security in the Middle East today: "a military, humanitarian, historical, judicial, religious, and political reality check."

Mission Highlights

*Briefings by Mossad officials and commanders of the Shin Bet.

*Briefing by officers in the IDF Intelligence and Operations branches.

*Inside tour of the IAF unit who carries out targeted killings.

*Live exhabition of penetration raids in Arab territory.

*Observe a trial of Hamas terrorists in an IDF military court.

*First hand tours of the Lebanese front-line military positions and the Gaza border check-points.

*Inside tour of the controversial Security Fence and secret intelligence bases.

*Meeting Israel's Arab agents who infiltrate the terrorist groups and provide real-time intelligence.

*Briefing by Israel's war heros who saved the country.

*Meetings with senior Cabinet Ministers and other key policymakers.

*Small airplane tour of the Galilee, Jeep rides in the Golan hights, water activities on Lake Kinneret, a cook-out barbecue and a Shabbat enjoying the rich religious and historic wonders of Jerusalem's Old City.

First Class Accomodation

*Five-star accommodations at the Sheraton Plaza Jerusalem (Glatt Kosher);

*Three meals a day (all Kosher);

*Luxury bus transportation and knowledgeable tour guide;

*A dedicated Executive Communications Center at the hotel;

*Personal cell phone for each participant.

Graciously brought to you by your host, Ernst Stavro Blofeld!

The cost of the eight day Mission is US $1,895 not including air fare or required donation of $500 to $5,000 for Shurat HaDin.

Shurat HaDin a legal system that uses profiteering for victims of an illegal war with the Palestinian people.

These court cases are conducted in Israeli, American and European courts on behalf of the Zionist State.

They work to educate the Israeli public, to influence government policy and to secure legal precedents which safeguard and advance the interest of Israeli society against the Palestinian people.

They also are associated with Palestinian collaborators against the PA.

Check you religious political credentials before applying.

Did You Know?

Some startling truths about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Did you know that non-Jewish Israelis cannot buy or lease land in Israel?

Did you know that Jerusalem, both East and West, is considered by the entire world community, including the United States, to be occupied territory and NOT part of Israel?

Did you know that Israel allots 85% of the water resources for Jews and the remaining 15% is divided among all Palestinians in the territories? For example in Hebron, 85% of the water is given to about 400 settlers, while 15% must be divided among Hebron's 120,000 Palestinians?

Did you know the United States awards Israel $5 billion in aid each year?

Did you know that yearly US aid to Israel exceeds the aid the US grants to the whole African continent?

Did you know that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?

Did you know that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and that it bars international inspections from its sites?

Did you know that Israel currently occupies territories of two sovereign nations (Lebanon and Syria) in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions?

Did you know that Israel has for decades routinely sent assassins into other countries to kill its political enemies?

Did you know that high-ranking military officers in the Israeli Defense Forces have admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war were executed by the IDF?

Did you know that Israel refuses to prosecute its soldiers who have acknowledged executing prisoners of war?

Did you know that Israel routinely confiscates bank accounts, businesses, and land and refuses to pay compensation to those who suffer the confiscation?

Did you know that Israel blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt and attacked a U.S. ship in international waters, killing 33 and wounding 177 American sailors?

Did you know that the second most powerful lobby in the United States, according to a recent Fortune magazine survey of Washington insiders, is the Israeli AIPAC?

Did you know that Israel stands in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council Resolutions?

Did you know that Israel is explicitly dedicated to the policy of maintaining a Jewish character.

Did you know that Israel, despite its high standard of living and powerful military, is the single largest recipient of American foreign aid?

Did you know that Israel's current prime minister, Ariel Sharon, was found by an Israeli court to be "personally responsible" for the Sabra and Shatilla massacres in Lebanon. (Olmert is considered a step in because of Sharon's Coma.)

Did you know that today's Israel sits on the former sites of more than 400 Palestinian villages that were destroyed and depopulated by Israel in 1948?

Did you know that it was not until 1988 that Israelis were barred from running "Jews Only" job ads?

Did you know that four prime ministers of Israel (Begin, Shamir, Rabin, and Sharon) have taken part in either bomb attacks on civilians, massacres of civilians, or forced expulsions of civilians from their villages?

Did you know that the Israeli Foreign Ministry pays two American public relations firms to promote Israel to Americans?

Did you know that Sharon's coalition government includes a party -- Molodet -- which advocates expelling all Palestinians from the occupied territories?

Did you know that Israel's settlement-building increased in the eight years since Oslo?

Did you know that settlement building under Barak doubled compared to settlement building under Netanyahu?

Did you know that Israel once dedicated a postage stamp to a man who attacked a civilian bus and killed several people?

Did you know that recently-declassified documents indicate that David Ben-Gurion in at least some instances approved of the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948?We often hear of Ehud Barak's generosity about an alleged return of 95% of the Palestinian Occupied Territories. When Palestinians refused, they were blamed or "missing an opportunity."

Did you know that the Palestinians have already accepted Israel's existence on 78% of what was Palestine?

Did you know that despite a ban on torture by Israel's High Court of Justice, torture has continued by Shin Bet interrogators on Palestinian prisoners?

Did you know that Palestinian refugees make up the largest portion of the refugee population in the world?

Did you know that settlement building under Barak was at its peak during his administration than at any other time?

Did you know that Israeli military checkpoints remained between every Palestinian population center in violation of the Oslo Accords?

Despite every Israeli attempt to hinder Palestinian university education, Palestinians have the highest ratio of PhDs per capita in the world?


Ya Al-Aqsa Ya Al-Jannah يا أقصى يا جنة

Egyptian ministry of health treats injured Palestinians from Beit Hanoun

November 9, 2006

Gaza - Ma'an - The Egyptian minister of health and housing, Dr Hatim al-Jabali, has on Thursday, given directions to offer quick intensive medical care to injured Palestinians from Beit Hanoun, who were received in Egyptian hospitals today. The Egyptian minister demanded a detailed report on the injuries, and repeated checks every two hours.

The spokesperson of the ministry of health in Egypt said that the minister is following the status of the injuries closely, referring to the fact that 24 cases have been received at the Nasir Institute hospital since Thursday.

He added that their ages range from 8 to 55, and their injuries range from fractures to burns at different levels. Three were kept in intensive care unit; one was sent to Al-Hilal hospital in Ramsees and a third was sent to Sheikh Zayid hospital. Most of the injured persons are stable, and the rest are under supervision.

Israel Do You Have Enough Blood on Your Hands Yet?

The body of Maysa al-Athamnehis carried during her funeral (Ma'an)

Nine children buried, victims of latest Israeli massacre; Beit Hanoun hospital over-run with casualties and corpses

November 9, 2006

Gaza - Ma'an - Nine children, including Maysa, a one-year-old infant and Malak, a two-year-old toddler, together with their deceased mothers, were taken to the cemetery on Thursday at noon. These were just some of the latest victims of the most recent Israeli massacre, committed by Israeli military forces on Wednesday in Beit Hanoun, in the north of the Gaza Strip.

The victims were carried on the arms of their relatives, and other Palestinians, who came in their thousands to participate in the funeral. Those in the caskets were mostly from one family, the Athamna family of Biet Hanoun.

Palestinians of all ages, as well as national and Muslim factions participated in the funeral,

Beit Hanoun is a small town, consisting of 8 streets and is, like every other town of the Gaza Strip, very crowded. The main street in the town is now very difficult to use, because of the shells holes in the road from the frequent Israeli attacks.

A local journalist told Ma'an's correspondent that the six days of the incursion so far could be summarized as "siege, horror, starvation and destruction."

The hospital of Beit Hanoun was built recently and had only been operating for just a month and a half before the beginning of the massacre, but has been more busy than any other hospital in the last six days, receiving hundreds of injured people, in spite of its limited capacity of just 40 beds.

Director of the hospital, Dr Jamil Ali, told Ma'an that the Israeli forces have besieged him, along with his colleagues, for six long days in the hospital, and in some cases they have been ordered to hand over some of the injured people. He said that, although they are forced to work in very hard conditions, they have been able to rescue eight of those injured, and prevented them from dying.

People prepare the graves of 18 Palestinians killed by Israeli artillery, at Beit Hanoun cemetery in northern Gaza Strip, November 9, 2006. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters)

Long Live Palestine Forever

Lest You Have Forgotten

November 9, 2006

by Housewife4Palestine

During this time of the Zionist atrocities again us Palestinians, I like many I am sure is somewhat taking a back seat for a moment to pray, contemplate and read the Quran in our mourning and distaste of the recent atrocities against all Palestinians.

Like I mentioned to my husband just a little time ago, when these kinds of heinous crimes are not stopped by man themselves of such evil as perpetrated by the Zionist and the back door of the American government as they sit back and do nothing attitude with not only Palestine but anywhere these kinds of crimes are happening. What tends to occur is Allah steps in and when He does, all criminals are slapped down with the up most weight.

Have we so soon forgotten the flood?

But what will make it worse the whole world will be in unrest and pay the price for their sin of do nothing attitude and if you think I am wrong, look around you as you walk through your day; you are already paying in little bits that you have now gotten use to and taken for granite.

As for those of you who support Israel and those Christian Zionist that think you will go through the back door among the Jewish Zionist and create the Apocalypse you are in grave error, because what you are attempting to create is not your salvation but your death.

Their was a man who was given a choice, did he wish all the riches in this life or save his own soul in Paradise. What he chose was to do good in this life because the riches in Paradise would far exceed what he had in this life and see hell after death.

Think about it!

By now you may be thinking she is just concerned for the welfare only of the Palestinian people, but the events as they keep unfolding in this time makes it more clear that the whole of humanity is in danger and for this I am more concerned for you are destroying yourself.

Israel/Occupied Territories: Amnesty International delegate visits scene of Gaza Strip killings

A Palestinian father despairs after his whole family was killed in Beit Hanoun (MaanImages)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

AI Index: MDE 15/087/2006
(Public)News Service No: 288
8 November 2006

The killing this morning of 18 civilians in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun, victims of Israeli shelling, was an appalling act, Amnesty International said today. The organization called for an immediate, independent investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable. It said previous Israeli investigations, such as that carried out into the killings of a Palestinian family on a beach in the Gaza Strip last June, had been seriously inadequate and failed to meet international standards for such investigations, which must be independent, impartial and thorough.

Those killed, most of whom were asleep in their beds when their homes were struck by shells fired by Israeli forces, included eight children. An Amnesty International delegate who visited the scene of the killings shortly after the attack was told that 15 of the victims were killed in the first strike and that three others were killed by a second shell as they raced to help the dead and injured.

“This terrible act follows a renewed upsurge in killings of Palestinians since Israel forces launched their latest military operation into the Gaza Strip on 2 November,“ said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa programme. “Israeli actions during this entire operation have been marked by nothing less than reckless disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, over 20 of whom had been killed even before this morning’s tragedy.”

In all, before today’s deaths, more than 53 Palestinians were killed during the Israeli military siege of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, and many more were wounded. Two ambulance workers were among the civilians killed. Dubbed “Autumn clouds”by the Israeli army, the operation began on 2 November and continued until 7 November when Israeli forces redeployed outside the town. Israeli authorities said they mounted the operation in an attempt to prevent Palestinian armed groups firing home-made Qassem rockets at Israeli towns and villages near to the Gaza Strip. Most of the dead were killed in Beit Hanoun, which was kept under siege throughout the six days, but others were killed as a result of Israeli military strikes in the surrounding area.

Amnesty International condemns all attacks on unarmed civilians and is calling on the Israeli authorities to establish independent investigations into every incident in which Palestinian civilians were killed or injured by Israeli forces, and to bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations.

As Israeli forces began their siege of Beit Hanoun, one senior officer, Lieutenant Colonel Yarom, said that troops had been instructed to avoid causing civiliancasualties. Four days into the operation, in face of a rising toll of deaths and injuries among Palestinian civilians, Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared:“Those Palestinians who have been wounded were mostly armed, but, to our regret,they are using innocent people as human shields, resulting in the injury ofuninvolved civilians as well”.

The information gathered by Amnesty International delegates currently in the Gaza Strip contradicts this, however, and indicates that at least half of those killed, including at least two women and several children, were unarmed bystanders not involved in the confrontations. The pattern is the same for those injured as a result of Israeli force air strikes and artillery shelling.

Those killed or injured as a result of Israeli attacks include:

• Ramzi al-Ashrafi, 16, was killed and seven other children were injured on the morning of 6 November when an Israeli shell exploded close by the bus on which they were travelling to school along a busy road between Beit Lahia and Jabalya, north of Gaza City. Najwa Khleif, a 20-year-old teacher who was also in the bus, sustained severe brain injuries. Doctors treating her in the intensive care unit of Gaza City’s main hospital told Amnesty International that she was in critical condition. The bus was hit apparently in a failed strike by Israeli forces on a vehicle believed to belong to a Palestinian armed group. However, the attack was carried out at a busy intersection during the morning rush hour, when it could be expected that the streets would be busy with adults and children making their way to work and school. The shell which killed Ramzi al-Ashrafi and injured others in the school bus, fell near a kindergarten although, fortunately, without causing further deaths or injuries there.

• Ala’ Mansour al-Khdeir, an 11-year-old girl, one of two children who were wounded by Israeli fire on 4 November when they were returning home from a morning at school in Beit Lahia. She was struck by a bullet which entered the left side of her head and travelled to the left side of her neck, where it remains lodged, and remains seriously ill. Her mother told Amnesty International that Ala’was near home in the Sayafa area of north-west Gaza, an area where there has been frequent Israeli army shelling in recent days, when she was wounded. The other child, a boy, was also seriously injured.

• Ibtisam Masoud, 44, was killed and ten other women, including Tahrir Shahin, a 37-year-old mother of seven, were injured by Israeli fire during a women’s demonstration on the morning of 3 November at the entrance of Beit Hanoun. Tahrir Shahin, whose leg had to be amputated, told Amnesty International from her hospital bed in Gaza city that she and other women were unarmed and standing less than 100 meters from the Israeli tanks which fired at them: “Ours was a peaceful demonstration, we were all women, there were no men, no militants, no weapons. We were just women standing in front of tanks. We did not think the Israeli soldiers would shoot us, but they fired indiscriminately”.

• Heba Rajab, 20, a volunteer with the Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, and Sou’ad Abu Najem, 43, a mother of eight, both sustained serious gunshot wounds to their legs and hands in the same incident. They said they had seen Israeli soldiers taking aim at the women demonstrators from the tops of their tanks. The women were demonstrating in response to a call by a Hamas party member of the Palestinian parliament to help break the siege by Israeli forces of a mosque in which members of Palestinian armed groups were reported to be sheltering, surrounded by Israeli forces. However, the women were shot before they could approach the mosque.

• Ahmad al-Madhoun, 42, and Mustapha Habib, 26, both volunteer emergency ambulance workers with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), and a third man who was assisting them, were killed in an Israeli air strike on the evening of 3 November as they were evacuating the body of a man killed in an earlier air strike. Iyad Yousef Abu al-Ful, the ambulance driver accompanying them, told Amnesty International: “Ahmad and Mustapha were about 20 meters from the ambulance and were about to load the body of a dead man on the stretcher; I had just got out of the ambulance and was beginning to move towards them when a missile struck at the spot where they were. I got back into the ambulance and called for help. I cannot get out of my mind the sight of my colleagues killed while they were doing their duty”. The medical rescue team was in an open field near Beit Lahia. It was dark but the ambulance should have been clearly visible from the emergency light on its roof. The other victim had directed the ambulance crew to the body of his friend, who had been killed earlier in unclear circumstances.

Palestinian ambulances have been frequently attacked and dozens have been hit by Israeli strikes in recent years. During the siege of Beit Hanoun, emergency rescue workers faced increased obstacles and delays in carrying out their duties due to the virtually continuous curfew imposed by Israeli forces. Israeli tanks controlled the access to Beit Hanoun hospital and delayed the passage of ambulances in and out of the hospital, as well as into and out of the town.

• Zahir Mustapha Shabat, 32, was shot and seriously injured and his cousin, Mazen Shabat, was killed by Israeli soldiers in the evening of 4 November when they were returning home after they had both been released from three days’ detention by the Israeli army. He told Amnesty International from his hospital bed, shortly after he was moved from the intensive care unit: "After three days in detention the soldiers released us and gave us a paper, which they said we could show if we got stopped by other soldiers on our way home, about 1.5 to 2 km from the place where we were detained. They told us that they had coordinated with the tanks in the area and that we would have safe passage home but when we got about 150 meters from my house soldiers jumped out of the house of one of my relatives and fired on me and my cousin, Mazen, Shabat. Mazen was killed and I was seriously injured in the abdomen and back."

For interviews, please contact Amnesty International's researcher Donatella Rovera in Gaza on +970 599 446 703 or +44 7771 796 091, or Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa press officer Nicole Choueiry on +44 7831 640 170

Holocaust of Innocent Palestinians Continues

A morgue worker holds the body of Rima, one-year-old, top, so she does not fall off her mother Sanah Assamna’s body as they lay with her sister Ala, front in the drawer of a morgue fridge in a Beit Hanoun hospital on Wednesday. (AFP)

Hisham Abu Taha, Arab News

GAZA CITY, 9 November 2006 — The holocaust of innocent Palestinians continued as Israeli shells slammed into Gaza homes killing 18 people, mainly women and children as they slept yesterday.

The cold blooded attack, which drew worldwide condemnation, and the deaths of another five Palestinians killed in a pre-dawn raid in occupied West Bank and another two in a Gaza refugee camp, prompted moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to accuse Israel of destroying peace hopes.

While Israeli leaders offered regret for the “tragedy” and aid for the wounded, the international community urged a halt to Gaza operations, which have killed more than 300 Palestinians since a soldier’s capture in late June.

But while Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered a halt to all artillery fire in the coastal strip pending an inquiry, a senior official said the four-month operation against Gaza fighters, launched after the capture of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, would go on.

“Israeli fire killed 18 people, including women and children,” said Khaled Radi, a Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman. Among the dead were eight children and five women, Palestinian medics said.

Eleven of the dead were from the same family while another 40 people were wounded during the shelling that slammed into a row of five apartment blocks.

“I ran away and saw a second shell strike the houses. A shell fell on people who had run out into the street,” said local resident Ataf Ahmed, 22, following the attack, one day after Israel ended a deadly ground operation in Beit Hanoun.

Another two Palestinians, including a Hamas fighter, were killed in the nearby refugee camp of Jabaliya and five others, including four fighters, were killed in a pre-dawn raid near the flashpoint city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, medics said.

A three-day mourning period was declared in the Palestinian territories, while Abbas and Hamas Premier Ismail Haniyeh expressed a rare show of unity, holding hands on their way to donate blood at a Gaza hospital.

In a joint statement, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Peretz “expressed their regret over the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Beit Hanoun” and “offered the Palestinian Authority urgent humanitarian assistance and immediate medical care for the wounded.”

“Israel does everything to avoid hitting innocent civilian populations during operations, unfortunately tragedies sometimes happen. We are sorry,” Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said.

An army spokeswoman said artillery had been trained on an area used by Palestinian fighters to fire rockets into the Jewish state.

Twelve such projectiles exploded inside Israel over the past 24 hours and some 50 over the past week, she said.

Yesterday’s deaths, coupled to 64 Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip over the previous seven days, bring to more than 80 the number killed in Israeli operations in the territories in seven days.

Top officials of Hamas and moderate Abbas’ Fatah party called for a resumption of suicide attacks in Israel, nearly two years after factions agreed to abide by an informal truce in such bombings inside the Jewish state.

“We urge our mujahedeen (fighters) everywhere to resume martyr operations (suicide attacks) in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Jaffa and everywhere else,” Hamas’ Nizar Rayan shouted into loudspeakers during protests in Beit Lahiya. Hamas’ exiled policital supremo Khaled Meshaal vowed from his Damascus headquarters that the deaths would be avenged.“We do not denounce simply by words, but by acts.....the heroes of the resistance on Palestinian land and all of our people will respond by acts,” he said.

Israeli police said it placed its forces on alert following the threats.


Abbas condemned Israel’s “terrible massacre” and together with Haniyeh demanded an urgent UN Security Council meeting to “stop these massacres.”

“You (the Israelis) do not want peace at all. You have destroyed all chances of peace and you should bear all the responsibility,” the Palestinian leader told reporters.

The Israeli attack was condemned throughout the world, though its main and most powerful ally the United States remained silent by midday. The UN special envoy for the Middle East, Alvaro de Soto, called on Israel “to call off these and other military operations without delay,” and on the Palestinian side to “cease all attacks against Israeli targets.”

Palestine in black for Three Days

الحداد في فلسطين المحتلة لثلاثة أيام , حدادا على أرواح شهدائنا في غزة و جنين , دعواتكم لنا يا أبناء العروبة و الإسلام , و يا أيها الشرفاء اللهم ارحم شهدائنا و اجعلهم في عليين

Palestine in black for three days, coz of the martyrs in Gaza and Jenin , we need your prayers, you my Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters, and all those honest people God bless our martyrs.

Aref Herbawi, Abu George