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| Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv in January 2009 during the last pre-election full scale assault on Gaza by Israel which killed over 1400 Palestinians, 350 of them children in the most densely populated place in the world |
On 14 November 2012, the Israeli army began attacking Gaza
with drones, Apache helicopters, F-16 fighter jets, and naval vessels. Israel
launched its offensive dubbed Operation Pillar of Defence with the
assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari, chief of staff of Hamas’ military wing.
Following this attack, a series of airstrikes was launched, targeting civilian
areas throughout occupied Gaza. Fears of military escalation are now rising
especially, after the Israeli army dropped leaflets in the north of Gaza warning
of an overland invasion in the area. War on Want is in touch with Palestinian
and international human rights campaigners reporting from inside Gaza’s already
strained hospitals as the number of injured continues to rise.
After a day of attacks on the civilian population of Gaza,
the British government has failed to condemn Israel’s aggression. The British government instead has given
Israel the green light to continue escalating its military operations by
putting the sole blame for the situation on Hamas, ignoring Israel’s continued
military occupation and siege. Speaking today the Foreign Secretary William
Hague said: "Hamas bears principal responsibility for the current crisis.
I utterly condemn rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel by Hamas and other
armed groups. This creates an intolerable situation for Israeli civilians in
southern Israel, who have the right to live without fear of attack from Gaza.”
The Foreign Secretary’s statement is the latest example of the government’s
decision to ignore the international law with respect to Israel's crimes against
the Palestinian people.
This attack marks the latest stage of a policy of collective
punishment and killing practiced by Israel against the people of Gaza. Israel
has imposed an illegal siege on Gaza and created a devastating humanitarian
crisis for the 1.5 million people trapped there. In 2009, 1,400 Palestinians
were killed and 5000 more injured during Israeli assault on Gaza. A senior Israeli official described Israel’s
policy in Gaza saying “the idea” is to “put the Palestinians on a diet, but not
to make them die of hunger.”
Israel's latest attack on civilians in Gaza is a war crime,
made possible only through the continued financial, military and diplomatic
support Israel receives from Western states. The UK government and other EU
member states are rewarding Israeli aggression with economic trade preferences.
The UK government has licensed the sale of millions of pounds worth of arms to
Israel, including key components for F-16 fighter jets. Such equipment was used
during the 2009 assault on Gaza and the British government has repeatedly
admitted it does not accept Israeli assurances that British arms will not be
deployed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
War on Want calls on the UK government to condemn Israel’s
action and to end its complicity in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian
people. The government must introduce a two-ways arms embargo on Israel and
place sanctions on the Israeli government until it ends its violations of
international law and crimes against the Palestinian people.
The root cause of the crisis in Gaza is Israel's illegal
occupation. War on Want is committed to playing its part in the search for a
lasting peace based on justice for the Palestinian people, ending violence once
and for all. The principal barrier to peace with justice is Israel’s continuing
violations of human rights and international law and its policies of collective
punishment. We call on all people of conscience to join the international
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel until it complies
with international law.
War on Want will be joining protests outside the Israeli
embassy (2 Palace Green London W8 4QB) Thursday 15 November from 5:30 to 7:30.
DaithaiC adds;
“How lucky is Hamas to have a Jewish racist (and son of a Jewish racist) Benjamin Netanyahu as its recruiting sergeant. How many more children will die in the open air prison of Gaza tonight obliterated by American weapons fired from American supplied planes to maintain the right of Jewish racists from Brooklyn to settle on stolen Arab land?
“How lucky is Hamas to have a Jewish racist (and son of a Jewish racist) Benjamin Netanyahu as its recruiting sergeant. How many more children will die in the open air prison of Gaza tonight obliterated by American weapons fired from American supplied planes to maintain the right of Jewish racists from Brooklyn to settle on stolen Arab land?
It is amazing how Israeli politicians always seem find the
great courage to let others fight a coward's war in Gaza coming up to Israeli
elections?”
See also:
Interesting choice of words. First, not a mention of the 750+ rockets employed by Gaza somebodies over the past few days. Moreover, the "civilian" areas attacked are from whence the rockets are propelled- which makes your statements even more suspect.
ReplyDeleteAhmed Al-Jabari is the director of the TERRORIST wing of Hamas, who led the seizure of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority, who directed the entire rocket assault on Israeli citizens.
Facts are useful. Your opinion is interesting, but alleging your opinion as fact is just plain BS.