[Peace-discuss] Article and letter in this morning's NG

Sun Jul 27 15:40:55 EDT 2014

我完全同意。

--CGE

On Jul 27, 2014, at 11:03 AM, ewjohnson via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:

> very good indeed.
> 
> 
> On 07/27/2014 10:08 PM, David Green via Peace-discuss wrote:
>> Thanks to Niloofar for her invaluable contribution to this morning's paper, and to Mort Brussel for his timely letter. I link to the letter, and paste Niloo's article below.
>> 
>> Since the mainstream media won't do it, it's up to us to inform our fellow citizens
>> 
>> DG
>> 
>> http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letters-editor/2014-07-27/gazas-misery-not-being-reported.html
>> 
>> During Israel's recent assault on Gaza, President Barack Obama, Congress and the American media have been sounding off the mantra of "Israel's right to defend itself" against rockets from Gaza — a self-evident right, if Israel were indeed the innocent victim of a military aggression, and not its perpetrator.
>> 
>> The right to self-defense actually belongs to the Palestinians, who, as the indigenous population of Palestine, have been subjected to ethnic cleansing since 1947-8. This project will continue unless the U.S. stops vetoing U.N. Security Council resolutions against Israel's illegal actions — so far, 42 such vetoes.
>> 
>> As of July 25, Israel's bombing campaign and the more recent addition of a ground offensive have killed 800 and seriously wounded 5,500 Palestinians — 80 percent being unarmed civilians, including 200 children. The Israeli government and the Obama administration have been explaining away the high civilian casualty by accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields, and placing their military installations among civilians.
>> 
>> They know well, though, that having the world's highest population density, Gaza cannot afford its refugee and local populations residential neighborhoods. Moreover, as Israeli journalist Amira Hass writes, Israel itself has its military headquarters in civilian areas.
>> 
>> There is ample evidence to confirm that Israel's political and military strategists are not just after militant Islamists and their military installations, but use their war machine to instill terror in the hearts and minds of children and adults trapped in these killing fields.
>> 
>> Norwegian physician Dr. Mads Gilbert, who has been treating the injured in Gaza, describes the extreme damage that Israel's U.S.-made dense inert metal explosives — DIME — inflict on their victims:
>> 
>> "People are torn apart. I mean, they're split at their mid-level. They lose their arms and legs, and they're killed. They're charcoaled by the burns, if they are hit by these DIME explosives," he said.
>> 
>> In addition, the Israeli army, which boasts of the precision of its targeting, has killed many civilians who could not have been mistaken as militants: Nine young men were torn into pieces and 15 more wounded as they were watching a World Cup game in a beachfront cafe on July 9. On July 16, four small children who were playing on the beach were killed by two rounds of bombing. The civilians, who had taken refuge in a U.N. school, were denied time to leave before the school was bombed, killing tens.
>> 
>> All this is nothing but terrorism, and America is its financier and sponsor.
>> 
>> Besides loss of life and severe injuries, the destruction of the remaining infrastructure from Israel's bombings during the winter of 2008-09 and the one-week assault in 2012 will further harm the health and the ability of Gazans to make a living. People have irrevocably lost the use of 60 percent of their agricultural land. The vast majority of their chicken coops, their only flour mill, water tanks and sewage-treatment facilities are targeted and destroyed; so is most of their electricity-generating capacity.
>> 
>> The harsh maritime, aerial and ground blockade that Israeli leaders have maintained over Gaza since 2007 has made it next to impossible for the people to acquire the needed material to fix damages to the infrastructure.
>> 
>> In addition, the blockade has been depriving the Gazans of the nutrition they need to sustain themselves. Gisha, an Israeli human-rights organization, has documented that in 2008, Israeli health experts had calculated that in order to prevent malnutrition, 170 truckloads of food should be allowed into Gaza — less than half the number of trucks entering Gaza with foodstuff before the siege. The Israeli officials have lowered this minimum to 67, doubled the number of trucks filled with empty-nutrient foods, and have drastically reduced the amount of milk, fruits and vegetables allowed into Gaza.
>> 
>> A Red Cross report leaked in 2008 concluded that "chronic malnutrition is on a steadily rising trend and micro-nutrient deficiencies are of great concern."
>> 
>> Before the start of the current military campaign, 80 percent of Gazans were dependent on humanitarian aid to survive. Given this dire situation, it shouldn't be hard to understand the level of anger and hatred toward Israeli policymakers.
>> 
>> Now Hamas is being blamed for rejecting the cease-fire "plan," drafted by Egypt's military rulers without input from Hamas. Hamas correctly maintains that a brief cease-fire and return to the status quo is meaningless. They point to the cease-fire of November 2012, which was to lead to the easing of the Gaza siege but was ignored by Israel with the usual impunity.
>> 
>> This time, Hamas says, they will only accept a cease-fire based on the recognition of the short-term demands of Palestinians. Among those are the permanent lifting of the Israeli blockade, the extension of the small zone imposed on Gaza fishermen, placing international forces at Gaza's borders with Israel and Egypt, and non-interference of Israel in the formation and workings of the Palestinian unity government, which has the blessing of the Quartet (representatives of the U.N., U.S., EU and Russia).
>> 
>> Without due pressure, Israeli policy-makers will not accept these conditions, which are within the framework of international law and past consensus. The key to the success of this first step toward a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis is the U.S., which is still unwilling to be an honest broker.
>> 
>> This situation leaves Americans with only one ethical option: To persist in our demand that our government end its unconditional and destructive support of Israel, and/or to join the boycott, divestment and sanction campaign until Israeli Jews decide to join the international community and live in peace with their Palestinian cousins.
>> 
>> In the meantime, we have no right to deny the right of Palestinians to resist the siege and the occupation through whatever means that are still at their disposal.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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