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WAR CRIMES in GAZA Written by Arwa Aburawa

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WAR CRIMES in GAZA Written by Arwa Aburawa WAR CRIMES IN GAZA Written by Arwa Aburawa Edited by Rajnaara Akhtar Forward Ismail Patel Design and Layout Shoayb Adam Friends of Al-Aqsa P.O Box 5127 Leicester LE2 0WU 0116 212 5441 www.aqsa.org.uk [email protected] Gaza cannot be forgotten CONTENTS Preface 5 Forward 9 1. A Historic Overview 10 a. A Brief History of Gaza Before 1948 b. Gaza During the Nakba c. The 1967 War d. Gaza and the Intifada e. Oslo and the Al-Aqsa Intifada f. Gaza and the ‘Disengagement Plan’ 2005 g. Growing Popularity of Hamas 2. The Hamas Election Victory and its Impact on the Gaza Strip 15 a. Background on Hamas b. Hamas in the Gaza Strip c. Election Victory d. Sanctions Imposed in Response to Hamas’ Victory e. Violence Between Hamas and Fatah f. US-backed Palestinian Civil War 3. Summer/Autumn 2006 20 a. Attacks from April to Early June 2006 b. Sonic Booms Terrorize Gazan Skies c. Gaza Food Crisis d. The Kidnap of Gilad Shalit e. Operation ‘Summer Rain’ f. Operation ‘Autumn Clouds’ and the Massacre in Beit Hanoun g. Kidnapped: Alan Johnston 4. The Gaza Siege 24 a. Food and Water b. Fuel and Electricity c. Medical Treatment d. January 2008: Gaza’s Border Breached e. The Ceasefire f. The Future for Gaza’s Economy 5. International Complicity and Protest 29 a. States Accused of Complicity in the Crisis b. International Organisations Condemning the Siege c. International Protest Against the Siege d. Free Gaza Boats 6. Preparation for War in 2008 34 a. Israel Rejects Hamas’ Ceasefire Offer b. Pre-planned Military Invasion c. The Israeli elections Gaza Report 3 7. The War on Gaza 37 a. Week 1: Launch of Operation ‘Cast Lead’ b. Week 2: The Ground Assault c. Week 3: End of the War d. Media Blackout e. Reaction to the War 8. A Record of Israel’s War Crimes 42 a. Civilian Death b. Children c. Phosphorous Bombs d. United Nations’ Buildings Bombed e. Destruction of Homes and Hospitals f. Medical Staff Under Fire g. Israel’s Investigations 9. Justice for War Crimes 48 a. War Crimes Assessment b. Universal Jurisdiction and Spain c. The United Nations and International Criminal Court d. Action in the UK 10. Gaza, The Aftermath 52 a. Food Aid Dependency b. Health and the Rise of Disabilities c. Water and Sewage d. Rebuilding Gaza e. Aid with a Political Agenda f. Conclusion 4 Gaza Report Preface The election of President Obama heralded a welcome change in US policy on Israel and Palestine. For the first time the US administration is applying real pressure on the Israeli government to ful- fill its obligations under the long-stalled road map and make the concessions necessary to restart credible negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. But while international and media attention has been focused on the small improvements delivered in the West Bank, the continued siege of Gaza and ostracizing of Hamas have slipped from view. It is an intolerable affront to civilized values that the people of Gaza, already traumatised by the sustained firepower directed at them during Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead”, should still be suffering under a siege which prevents the replacement of damaged and destroyed homes, stops the repair of water and sewage systems and keeps the supply of fuel, food and medicines at a trickle. As well as perpetuating a humanitarian crisis, the siege maintains the isolation of Hamas and weakens moves to create a unity government to reunite Gaza with the West Bank. The international community, despite condemning Israel’s blockade, seems unable to end it. This report helps to remind all of us why action must be taken to lift the siege and permit the people of Gaza to rebuild their lives and participate in the democratic process to renew Palestinian institutions. Dr Phyllis Starkey, MP Chair of the Select Committee for Communities and Local Government Last November, the Israelis breached the ceasefire Hamas had agreed nearly 6 months before, by killing 6 people in a raid across the border from Southern Israel. Hamas responded with rockets towards Sderot. Israel then had the excuse to launch a ferocious and totally disproportionate attack on the hapless people of Gaza who were unable to escape or protect their families. The horrors of that attack are well known and were witnessed by those of us who watched Al Jazeera TV; all other media having been carefully prevented from going into Israel by its government. That way, they thought, the world would not know what really happened. However, we all know and have read or heard from eye witnesses, of the wanton destruction, kill- ings, burnings with white phosphorous shells and the use of civilians as human shields. The suffer- ing of the people of Gaza was immense. 1,400 people, many of whom were children, were killed. Reports have come in from the UN, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and from Israeli soldiers themselves, who were horrified by the orders they received. All confirmed the breaches of International Law and Geneva Conventions by Israel. Judge Goldstone is currently trying to do the most authoritative inquiry of all, at the request of the UN, but is being obstructed by the Israeli government. The blockade of Gaza goes on, the suffering continues and the International Community has moved its spotlight to Afghanistan and the Swine Flu. We should all be shamed of ourselves. This is the most important problem for the world to solve and once again Israel is getting away without any censure from the international community. Baroness Jenny Tonge Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health The human needs of the people of Gaza are urgent. Some thousands are living in tents and make- shift dwellings. Crude sewage is being discharged into the sea, affecting both Gaza and Israel. Gaza Report 5 Malnutrition is quite common especially among children. Hospitals work under great difficulties. It is clear that access for supplies etc has been limited and manipulated for political reasons. It is tragic that so far not one truck-load of essential materials for reconstruction has been allowed in. The best hope may lie in the Egyptian proposal for a joint committee of HAMAS and the PA, with perhaps some independent foreigners, to oversee incoming supplies. Alas, this proposal does not seem to be acted on. Lord Hylton In February this year, in the aftermath of the Israeli assault I visited the Gaza Strip as part of the Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group. What we saw was shocking even to those of us that had witnessed the effects of the blockade on Gaza. What happened was no war. It was an attack on a weak and captive population at the mercy of the most modern and devastating weapons available to nations. The result was reckless killing and wanton destruction on a scale not seen for many years, compounded by a cruel and officious siege. I have pressed the UK Government to support an independent inquiry into allegations of war crimes and tabled Early Day Motion 1235 to this effect. Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East has a clear policy on this issue: An independent inquiry is essential. Anything less means leaving it to the Israelis to identify and prosecute their own war criminals and who will believe that? The hope now is that the world will wake up and see the situation for what it is – to do this we are competing against a media that is often reluctant to expose Israel’s occupation. This is precisely why it is important that we have a factual record. This is what the Friends of al-Aqsa are doing and I applaud this thorough document and their continuing work in the name of peace in Palestine. Martin Linton MP Chair, Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East “Where is the Ummah? Where is this Arab world they tell us about in school?” Those words will forever remain etched in my mind. They were spoken by a 10-year-old girl in a bombed-out ruin in Gaza in March. She had lost almost her entire family in the 22-day Israeli bombardment earlier this year. I had to turn away. What answer could I give her? During those murderous weeks in December and January, the leaders of the Arab League - with a handful of exceptions - scarcely summoned even the synthetic indignation that has so often at- tended previous bloody episodes in the Palestinian tragedy. But public opinion was united in out- rage not only in the Muslim world but in the West too. In Britain, over 100,000 people took to the streets and the Israeli embassy was blockaded night after night. Above all, the Gaza onslaught produced an unprecedented outpouring in the US. There have been protests before, but this has turned out to be more than an ephemeral release of im- potent rage. Something is changing. The success of the Viva Palestina convoy from the US to Gaza in July is further confirmation of that. Some 200 US citizens entered Gaza, bearing a quarter of a million dollars of aid in the biggest such mission ever to leave America for Palestine. 6 Gaza Report There were difficulties: the convoy was allowed in by the Egyptian authorities for only 24 hours and its vehicles prevented from entering at all. But they are difficulties we are determined to over- come in December, when a mega-convoy heads off from London, with US support, across Europe to Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt aiming to enter Gaza around 27 December – a year to the day from the beginning of the Israeli onslaught.
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