December 30, 2008

CO-CONSPIRATORS

Israeli Minister: No Cease-Fire
As the airstrikes continued Tuesday, Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit told Israel Radio, "There is no room for a cease-fire."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/31/world/middleeast/31mideast.html?_r=1&hp


Barak

Barak: 'All-Out War'
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak declared "an all-out war against Hamas" on Monday as fighter jets raked the Gaza Strip with bombs for the third straight day. . . . "Anything affiliated with Hamas is a legitimate target."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122900373.html

Israeli Electioneering with Bombs
[B]y launching the attack when many foreign reporters were away from the region for the holidays, the government hoped to be able to inflict the maximum damage on Gaza before the media could catch up.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10074.shtml

Sealed Off
Israel has not allowed foreign reporters into Gaza since the operation began Saturday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122900373.html


Protest at Obama's Motorcade in Hawaii

Republicrats
Washington, as is its wont, blames the pro-Hamas Palestinians, with Obama and Bush singing from the same AIPAC hymn sheet.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/30/gaza-hamas-palestinians-israel1

NYT Editorial
Israel must defend itself.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/opinion/30tue1.html?ref=opinion



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ANATOMY OF A WAR CRIME

Bodies of 4-year-old Lama Hamdan and her sister Haya in Beit Hanoun

Israel Attacked During Lull
Palestinians in Gaza believed Israel had called a 48-hour "lull" in retaliatory attacks with Hamas when Israeli warplanes launched a massive bombardment of militant installations in the Gaza Strip, a U.N. official said Monday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jEsKgyiG7aSlVT6qkanjs67ZfeCAD95COK280\

Previous Attacks
Israel's four-day bombing campaign in Gaza is the latest in a series of military operations dating back to 2006, when Hamas won the Palestinian elections. . . . They have claimed hundreds of Palestinian lives.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/30/israelandthepalestinians-middleeast


Tutu: 'Akin to War Crimes'
"In the context of total aerial supremacy, in which one side in a conflict deploys lethal aircraft against opponents with no means of defending themselves, the bombardment bears all the hallmarks of war crimes."
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20081228135838626C247461



Five Murdered Sisters
Five Balousha girls -- Tahir, 17; Ikram, 14; Samar, 12; Dina, 8; and Jawaher, 4 -- were dead, swelling the list of Palestinian civilians killed in three days of Israeli airstrikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-civilians30-2008dec30,0,1804115.story

Mother's Response
"Does my 12-days-old baby have a rocket with her?" Samira demanded. "Or my son, does he have a missile with him? Or did my daughters have AK-47s beside them? Why did they target them?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122902490.html

Father's Response
"If the dead here were Israelis, you would see the whole world condemning and responding. But why is no one condemning this action? Aren't we human beings?" he said. "We are living in our land, we didn't take it from the Israelis. We are fighting for our rights. One day we will get them back."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/30/israel-and-the-palestinians-middle-east

Students
Eight students, ages 18 to 20, were killed while waiting for a U.N. bus to take them home, and 19 were injured.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122902490.html

Emergency Services
Gaza's emergency services are crippled by the airstrikes and power outages caused in part by an Israeli blockade.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-civilians30-2008dec30,0,1804115.story



Israeli Navy Rams Aid Ship
The crew and passengers were hoping to treat some of those injured in four days of the Israeli air strikes, with hospitals in the territory overwhelmed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/30/israel-gaza-aid-ship

Amnesty Denounces Strangulation
"It is utterly unacceptable for Israel to continue to purposefully deprive 1.5 million people of food and other basic necessities."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122902490.html

Basic Goods
"The most basic goods are not available in the shops."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122900373.html



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MYTH-BUSTING: HAMAS ROCKETS

Not Even Comparable
During the last seven years, 14 Israelis have been killed by mostly homemade rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, while more than 5,000 Palestinians were killed by Israel with some of the most advanced US-supplied armaments in the world.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/30/israel-and-the-palestinians-middle-east

Right to Resist
Like any occupied people, the Palestinians have the right to resist, whether they choose to exercise it or not. But there is no right of defence for an illegal occupation - there is an obligation to withdraw comprehensively.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/30/israel-and-the-palestinians-middle-east



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WORLDWIDE PROTEST AND RESISTANCE

P.A. Thoroughly Discredited
"I am originally Fatah, and my voice will always be Fatah. But Hamas is resisting, and we are a nation under occupation. I support the resistance."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2008/12/30/fatah_sidelined_hamas_gains_status_as_principal_resistance/

al-Ram in the West Bank

Ramallah

East Jerusalem

Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near the port city of Sidon in southern Lebanon

D.C.

Dearborn, MI

Minneapolis

Copenhagen

Damascus

Dubai

Bosnia

Cardiff, Wales

Bangalore, India

Hyderabad, Pakistan

Yemen

Jakarta, Indonesia

Vienna

Tokyo

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia