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NYCLAW Antiwar Bulletin: Israeli Massacre in Gaza — 12.28.08

December 29, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Thousands of people marched today in Manhattan. Photos at: http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2008/12/102498.html

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ANATOMY OF A WAR CRIME

Relatives of a Palestinian who was killed in an Israel air strike mourn during his funeral in Gaza Strip December 28, 2008. Israel launched air strikes on Gaza for a second day on Sunday, piling pressure on Hamas after killing more than 270 people in one of the bloodiest days in 60 years of conflict between the Palestinians and the Jewish state. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.

“The Amount of Death and Destruction is Inconceivable”
[E]ven after the dead are identified, doctors are having a hard time gathering the right body parts in order to hand them over to their families.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10059.shtml

Desperate Hospitals Overwhelmed by Casualties
“What was the sin of my 4-year-old son?”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza-react28-2008dec28,0,7401089.story

Unprecedented Casualties
The high numbers of casualties made Saturday the single deadliest day in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s occupation of the territory in 1967.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7802515.stm

Knowingly Indiscriminate Air War
Israel prefers to use its unchallenged aerial superiority — clearly a blunt instrument that cannot distinguish between fighters and civilians.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/27/gaza-attacks-analysis-ian-black

An Israeli soldier holds his gun out of a tank, near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008. Israel's Cabinet authorized a callup of thousands of reserves soldiers, suggesting plans to expand a campaign against Gaza rocket squads that has already killed some 280 Palestinians, most of them Hamas police. From AP Photo by SEBASTIAN SCHEINER.

Olmert: Massacres Will Continue
The situation in southern Israel “is liable to last longer than we are able to foresee at this time.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/28/world/AP-ML-Israel-Palestinians.html

Only the Beginning?
[T]his isn’t the beginning, this is an ongoing policy of collective punishment and killing with impunity practised by Israel for decades.
http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=5f36cb2382cb6e2b413b88331d2223f1&offset=

A History of Ethnic Cleansing
Massacres were part and parcel of the Zionist project in Palestine. They aimed at intimidating the Arabs and make them leave the country.
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14537

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U.S. COMPLICITY

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, an Israeli helicopter fires a rocket at a target in Gaza City on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008. Israel widened its deadliest-ever air offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers Sunday, pounding smuggling tunnels and a central prison, sending more tanks and artillery toward the Gaza border and approving a reserves callup for a possible ground invasion. From AP Photo by Yin Bogu.

An Israeli F15 fighter flies over the northern Israeli-Gaza Strip border on December 28, 2008. Israel warned today it could send ground troops into Gaza as its warplanes continued pounding Hamas targets inside the enclave where more than 280 Palestinians have been killed in just 24 hours. From Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images.

U.S. Weapons
Apache’s are hovering above us, whilst F16s sear overhead.
http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=5f36cb2382cb6e2b413b88331d2223f1&offset=

White House Stands By Massacres
“These people are nothing but thugs. Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/world/middleeast/28diplo.html?ref=world

Bush Winks at Israel’s Slaughter in Gaza, While Obama and Clinton Are Silent
President-elect Barack Obama and Secretary of State-to-be Hillary Clinton were shamefully silent in the first hours after the attack.
http://www.progressive.org/mag/wx122708.html

U.S. Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., second right, is presented with an "I Love Sderot" T-shirt by Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, left, looks on as they stand in front of a display of rockets that landed in southern Israel, during a visit to Sderot, southern Israel, Wednesday, July 23, 2008. Obama pledged Wednesday that as president he would preserve the close ties between the United States and Israel, and that the Jewish state's security would be a top priority in his administration. From AP Photo by David Silverman.

But Obama Had Already Endorsed Attacks
“If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that,” Obama said at the time. “And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.” Israelis have been further encouraged by Obama’s key appointments, from his vice-presidential running mate Joe Biden, long a prominent supporter of Israel, to his choice of Rahm Emanuel, a leading Jewish congressman, as his White House chief of staff.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5404534.ece

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MORE LIES AND PRETEXTS

Election Posturing
“The government and the defense minister are trying to gain political capital in an election period on account of the bloodletting of the Palestinian people.”
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050396.html

Propaganda Offensive
An international media broadcast outlet will be opened in Sderot on Sunday, and the Foreign Ministry will organize a series of tours of Sderot and the Gaza envelope communities for foreign media and diplomatic figures.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050402.html

What Rockets?
Retaliatory Palestinian fire killed one woman in southern Israel — underlining the unequal military balance.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/27/gaza-attacks-analysis-ian-black

Palestinian and international activists stand amid tear gas during a demonstration against Israel's separation barrier in Bilin, near the West Bank city of Ramllah on October 31, 2008. Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad warned earlier this week that peacemaking was "teetering" because of continued settlement construction and the construction of Israel's controversial separation barrier. From Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images.

No Protest Allowed
Any response to Israeli attacks — whether peaceful protests against the apartheid wall in Bilin and Nilin in the West Bank is met with bullets and bombs.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10055.shtml

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WORLDWIDE PROTEST AND RESISTANCE

Uproar

Email Picture

Throughout Middle East
“The reaction of the Arab street shows that the Palestinian issue is not just about Palestinians, but it is an Arab question and an Arab problem. It’s still in the hearts and minds of the Arab people.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza-arab-react28-2008dec28,0,5777613.story

Hamas Resolute
”We will survive, we will move forward, we will not surrender, we will not be shaken.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/28/world/AP-ML-Israel-Palestinians.html

One Democratic State Group
The Gaza-based One Democratic State Group reaffirmed this today as it “called upon all civil society organizations and freedom loving people to act immediately in any possible way to put pressure on their governments to end diplomatic ties with Apartheid Israel and institute sanctions against it.”
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10055.shtml

A Palestinian throws a stone at Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron December 28, 2008. Tensions rose throughout major West Bank cities as hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in protest of Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip that have killed more than 280 people, most of them Hamas militants. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.

West Bank
“With our blood and souls we defend you, Gaza.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/28/world/AP-ML-Israel-Palestinians.html

Palestine ‘48
“No one can tell us that slaughtering the citizens of Gaza is meant to protect the citizens of Sderot and Ashkelon.”
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050470.html

The violence led to demonstrations around the world, including at Al-Baqaa refugee camp near Amman, Jordan, where youngsters burned an Israeli flag

Refugee Camps
“‘The Israelis kill our people in Gaza and the West Bank. The Americans kill our people in Iraq. We’re refugees, kicked out of our home in Tulkarem in 1967 and we’re still displaced.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/28/world/AP-ML-Mideast-Israel-Palestinians.html

Jordanian Labor
Labor unions in Jordan organized a mass demonstration to protest the IAF strikes in Gaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050396.html

A pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a muddy boot during a protest near the Israeli Embassy in London December 28, 2008, against the Israeli strikes on Gaza. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.

London
“We should treat Israel as we treated South Africa during apartheid. They should be shunned.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7802078.stm

Protesters across Canada slam ‘terrorist’ Israel as Palestinian toll grows
“If there was no occupation, there would be no rockets.”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gIMgfueYl9c8eLuLb6eSgaCLsIqg

International Mobilization and Boycott
We can turn a spotlight onto Israel’s crimes against humanity and the enduring injustice here in Palestine, through coming out onto the streets and pressurizing our governments; demanding an end to Israeli apartheid and occupation, broadening our call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.
http://www.freegaza.org/index.php?module=latest_news&id=5f36cb2382cb6e2b413b88331d2223f1&offset=

Categories: Uncategorized

NYCLAW Antiwar Bulletin: Israeli Massacre in Gaza — 12.27.08

December 28, 2008 · Leave a Comment

HUNDREDS OF CASUALTIES

THIS IMAGE CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT) Bodies of Palestinians laid out on the ground outside Shifa hospital on December 27, 2008 in Gaza City, Gaza. Israel's air force fired about 30 missiles at targets along the Gaza Strip on Saturday, destroying several Hamas police compounds, killing more than 200 people and wounding hundreds. From Getty Images.

Single Bloodiest Day
[U]nprecedented waves of airstrikes Saturday, killing at least 155 and wounding more than 310 in the single bloodiest day of fighting in recent memory. . . . Some of the Israeli missiles struck in densely populated areas as children were leaving school, and women rushed into the streets frantically looking for their children. . . . ”We are treating people on the floor, in the corridors. We have no more space. We don’t know who is here and what the priority is to treat.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/27/world/AP-ML-Israel-Palestinians.html

Palestinian children and a man wounded in Israeli missile strikes are seen in the emergency area at Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008. Israeli warplanes demolished dozens of Hamas security compounds across Gaza on Saturday in unprecedented waves of simultaneous air strikes. Gaza medics said at least 145 people were killed and more than 310 wounded in the single deadliest day in Gaza fighting in recent memory. From AP Photo by Khalil Hamra.

A wounded child awaits medical attention at the Shifa hospital on December 27, 2008 in Gaza City, Gaza. Israel's air force fired about 30 missiles at targets along the Gaza Strip on Saturday, destroying several Hamas police compounds, killing more than 155 people and wounding hundreds. From Getty Images.

Hospitals Overwhelmed
At Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, scores of dead bodies were laid out in front of the morgue waiting for family members to identify them. Many were dismembered.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/world/middleeast/28mideast.html?_r=1&hp

Palestinians look at bodies removed from the sites of Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on December 27, 2008. At least 155 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip today in massive Israeli air strikes on the Hamas-run enclave, Hamas radio reported. Israeli military spokesman Avi Benayahu told army radio the massive bombardment of Gaza was only just beginning. From Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images.

And More Where That Came From
Israeli military spokesman Avi Benayahu said the bombardment of Gaza was “only the beginning.”
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/35350

An Israeli F16 fighter jet lands at air base near the border after a bombing raid in Gaza December 27, 2008. Israel's air force fired about 30 missiles at targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, destroying several Hamas police compounds and killing more than 140 people, medical officials and witnesses said. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.

Video (1:38m): Brought to You By . . . U.S. F-16s
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7801128.stm

Palestinian women and children flee an area hit by an Israeli air strike in the southern town of Rafah on December 27, 2008 in Gaza. Israel's air force fired about 30 missiles at targets along the Gaza Strip on Saturday, destroying several Hamas police compounds, killing more than 155 people and wounding hundreds. From Getty Images.

Video (1:41m): Scenes of Destruction in Gaza
This video contains some disturbing images.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7801012.stm

A Palestinian man cries over the body of a child in his arms, beside bodies of Palestinians laid out on the ground outside Shifa hospital on December 27, 2008 in Gaza City, Gaza. Israel's air force fired about 30 missiles at targets along the Gaza Strip on Saturday, destroying several Hamas police compounds, killing more than 155 people and wounding hundreds. From Getty Images.

Video (4:59m): Witness Describes Gaza Attacks
Fikr Shallpoot, a health worker and resident in Gaza, spoke to the BBC about the attacks that she witnessed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7801291.stm

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LIES AND PRETEXTS

“Security”
[N]o Israelis were killed or seriously injured in the recent [Palestinian] attacks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/world/middleeast/28mideast.html?_r=1&hp

Who is the Real Victim Here?
By contrast, Israel has terrorized 1.5 million Gazans, locked them inside their awfully narrow borders, throttled their economy, and killed and seriously wounded thousands of them.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230111687765&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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ACTUAL MOTIVES

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni speaks during a news conference with Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Cairo December 25, 2008. Livni was invited to Cairo for talks on Thursday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak about prospects for a new truce between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Livni talking in the news confrance Israel would not tolerate Hamas' rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.

Zionist Electioneering
Leadership credentials will be built on spilling Palestinian blood.
http://counterpunch.org/amiri12262008.html

Breaking Palestinian Resistance
Israel wasn’t willing to live and let live with Hamas – it was intent on making them cry uncle or, ideally, on getting rid of Hamas altogether by turning Gaza’s population against them.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230111687765&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

President Bush walks with his senior Middle East adviser Elliott Abrams, right, to meet with participants of the U.S. Middle East Partnership Initiative, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008, at the White House in Washington. From AP Photo by Ron Edmonds.

Coup d’etat
Gaza’s final and unpardonable sin was, in a completely fair election, to elect a party that displeased Israel and the US. Elliott Abrams of Iran-Contra infamy helped the reprisal along by engineering civil war between Hamas and Fatah (see Vanity Fair, April, 2008.)
http://counterpunch.org/cantarow12262008.html

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WORLDWIDE RESISTANCE AND BLOWBACK

Gaza

–”My son is gone, my son is gone. May I burn like the cigarettes, may Israel burn.”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2008/12/27/world/AP-ML-Israel-Palestinians.html

–Hours after the Israeli assault, Gaza fighters fired home-made rockets into southern Israel, heeding calls by Hamas and other affiliated Palestinian groups to avenge the attacks, unprecedented in their scale. One Israeli was killed in the rocket fire, medics said.
http://mwcnews.net/content/view/27520&Itemid=1

–As for Israeli air raids, assassinations and the sort, they would only serve to help Hamas regain some popularity – and not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank and across the Arab-speaking world.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1049778.html

A Palestinian Hamas supporter holds a toy gun during a protest in the West Bank city of Nablus against Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip December 27, 2008. Israeli warplanes and helicopters pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 195 people in one of the bloodiest days in the Palestinians' conflict with Israel. From Reuters Pictures by REUTERS.

Nablus
–Video (1:23m): Palestinians have taken to the streets of the West Bank following Israel’s air raids on Gaza City.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7801311.stm