A deal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip came into effect last week. It is becoming apparent that the party most committed to its success is, surprisingly, Hamas. The party led by the President recognized by the West as the government, despite losing the election, Fatah has stated that the deal violates Palestinian interests.
Militant groups allied to Fatah have claimed responsibility for rocket attacks on Israel since the truce started. Meanwhile Israel stands accused by the UN of repeated violations of the ceasefire. It is also failing to abide by the agreement to open the borders for essential goods, using those rocket attacks as the excuse.
Al-Jazeera is reporting on its English language station that there is increased discontent in Gaza that the truce is not improving life on the streets.
One is struck by the continual use of terrorism against civilians on the part of Israel and its bungling accomplice in the Middle East, the US government. The mindset is clearly one of civilized western values Americans and Israeli, taking action against Arab non-western "savages".
'The mortar shells were fired [on Monday] by Hamas, although the group did not publicly take responsibility for the attack, which caused no injuries.
Israeli officials said the mortar fire appears to be a Hamas reaction to the wounding of a Palestinian civilian in northern Gaza on Monday, in a bid to show that Hamas will not stand by as Israel harms Palestinian civilians. The civilian, 68, appears to have been hurt by an errant IDF bullet.' (hat tip)
Today the Islamic Jihad fired 2 rockets into Israel. This was in violation of the Egypt-brokered truce between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza strip.
Even when a new "shaky" ceasefire is in place, it helps to consider the plight of Gaza again.
When this came out last May 30
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has denounced the international community for its "silence and complicity" on what he called Israel's "abominable" 11-month blockade of Gaza.
and
The Archbishop, mainly here on a UN mission to investigate what he called the Beit Hanoun massacre of 21 civilians by Israeli tank shelling 18 months ago, said: "All we had heard about conditions in Gaza – deprivation, a sense of despair, the lack of economic activity – had not prepared us for the stark reality which we saw."
Of course, this gets little response, thanks to "fear of AIPAC." But AIPAC may ultimately be working against Israel's long-term interests, and so are others who support the blockade, which has radicalized more moderates and villainized Israel to more people than any "Islamist" propaganda ever could.
News is breaking that Israel and Hamas have agreed a truce starting this Thursday. The talks took place in Cairo. Egypt is also brokering talks between the two main Palestinian parties, Hamas and Fatah. (Update:Al Jazeerareport that senior Fatah officials have travelled to Gaza to discuss the reconcilliation process with Fatah groups although there are no plans to meet with Hamas as yet.)
The first stage of the deal reportedly reached between Hamas and Israel envisages a halt to hostilities and a partial reopening Gaza's borders.
A second stage of the plan would focus on the return of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and on a deal to reopen the main Rafah crossing into Egypt.
An email from Obama on 3 June 2008 said, "This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past and bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face." But not on Middle East policy. Obama will repeat the tired old policy of Bush II, and every US president since Truman. Why is that? Because American political leaders are afraid of the Israel lobby. They become convinced that to win the so-called Jewish vote they must be more Zionist than the Israeli. Obama is no different, sadly. His speech to AIPAC on 4 June proved this. Read the whole thing at NPR
Honestly, I’m having trouble coming up with the words to explain this one. From the NYTimes:
GAZA — The American State Department has withdrawn all Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza hoping to pursue advanced degrees at American institutions this fall because Israel has not granted them permission to leave.
Nothing is more important today than this. Stop indulging yourself in the Obama-Clinton nonsense, McCain is an idiot = the American people will see this.
Here's what matters: Fulbright Scholarships have been withdrawn from seven Palestinian students living in Gaza because the Israeli Govt. has refused them visas. Our State Dept. has cooperated without protest and reassigned the scholarships. The Gaza blockade is a disaster FOR ISRAEL. If you want to stop the terrorism you do not destroy infrastucture and deny education - you try to build those things.In the NYT piece it seems that some Israelis understand this.
The American State Department has withdrawn all Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza hoping to pursue advanced degrees at American institutions this fall because Israel has not granted them permission to leave.
Amnesty International's 2008 annual human rights report has just been published. I haven't the time to do a proper post on it at the moment, but it is viewable online here. For now, here is a summary of the section on Israel/Palestine.
This is a first. A dozen political and military factions in Gaza have agreed to a cease fire with Israel.
Twelve Palestinian factions have accepted Cairo's proposal for a temporary truce with Israel, beginning in Gaza, Egypt announced on Wednesday, adding that it would press Israel to accept the deal.
When it comes to Palestinian children in Gaza, CNN, "the most trusted name in news," is unable to put out a headline that reflects the reality of the situation on the ground. Seven Palestinians have been killed in a raid by the Israeli army in the northern Gaza Strip, including four children and an elderly man.
Shunned by Israeli political leaders, former US president Jimmy Carter met with a Hamas representative in the West Bank and says he will go ahead with plans to meet with the leader of Hamas and the Syrian President in Damascus to promote peace in the Middle East.
Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Eli Yishai just threw a bombshell Friday morning (Israel time), when he let the media know he asked Jimmy Carter help arrange a meeting with Hamas leaders.
Yishai is not exactly the dove of the Israeli cabinet, to put it mildly. He is the leader of Shas - a fundamentalist party of Middle-Eastern origin Jews - the third-largest and most stable force in Israeli politics since the 1990's. In its domestic appeal and social-aid activity patterns, Shas resembles Hamas and Hizbullah - but of course it has no violent military wing.
Since 2000 Shas has tracked a hard right-wing line. In the 1990's, it was known to be pragmatic at times.
Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai asked former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to tell Hamas leaders, including Khaled Meshal, that he would like to meet in order to expedite a prisoner exchange that would bring home kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
Now Obama's cowardly, last-moment decision to hop on the Carter-bashing bandwagon looks even more stupid.
This is why they have formed human shields of the women and children
We desire death like you desire life ...that's quite the pronouncement.
So what can you say? That's the Hamas strategy. But it's never been admitted to so clearly, as in this video.
Hamas commits war crimes by firing thousands of rockets into Israel from Gaza, which finally provokes a forceful response. Hamas then screams about civilians killed - even tho that's their admitted plan -and watches with glee as the worldwide media prints the stories. Quite the trick.
Western TV blasts the stories on newscasts. Images of dead civilians get played round the clock on Arabic satellite television channels as well.
What a sham. What a disaster for the Palestinian people. They're pawns of the Islamists. Brainwashed or forced into sacrificing their lives for a hard core Islamist theology.
Al Jazeera's recent interview with Khaled Mesha'al, head of Hamas' political bureau and a traditional hard-liner within the movement, is well worth a watch.
The money quote: "Now we have a vision: we accept a state on the 1967 borders."
Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip claimed responsibility today for a militant attack on a Jerusalem rabbinical seminary that killed eight Israelis.
A Hamas radio presenter said the group's military wing had "promised a jolting response" to this week's violence in the Gaza Strip....
The radio referred to the Jerusalem attack as "the fruits of what happened in Jebaliya" and called on believers to "celebrate this victory against the brutal enemy."
