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A pointless war has led to a moral defeat for Israel

Details: Written by Editorial, The Observer Editorial, The Observer; Published: 18 January 2009 18 January 2009; Hits: 4908 4908

In historical terms, it is impossible to separate Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza from the long narrative of conflict and mutual grievance in the region.

In geographic terms, the war over a tiny plot of land cannot be detached from the wider involvement and strategic interests of other countries: Syria, Egypt, the US, Iran.

All of which makes it difficult to judge where - even if a unilateral Israeli ceasefire holds - the war really begins and ends.

That fact alone explains why the operation represents a defeat for Israel, as was always likely to be the outcome. The notion that the country's security problems can be resolved by the unilateral use of extreme force is a persistent delusion among Israeli politicians. In this case, the problem was perceived to be Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel; the solution was judged to be a war against Hamas. That analysis did not allow for the vital, humane recognition that, in densely populated Gaza, an all-out war against Hamas is, by necessity, an attack on the civilian population.

Even on its own terms, the campaign has failed. Israeli authorities will insist that they have limited the ability of Hamas to launch rocket attacks. But the ostensible war aim was destroying that capability completely.

Israel will also claim that its campaign has exposed a lack of support for Hamas in many Arab capitals; that Hamas' position as the ruling authority in Gaza has been undermined; and that Hamas has been revealed as little more than a terrorist proxy acting on behalf of and armed by Syria and Iran.

But the reality is that the status of Hamas as the preferred vehicle for Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation has been enhanced by the indiscriminate brutality of the military assault.

Meanwhile, that status guarantees the resurgence, in some form, of armed response, including rocket fire and terrorist attacks on Israeli soil. It is possible that Hamas' military capability has been drastically reduced. But even when Israel had full command of Gaza's external borders, it could not stop the trade in smuggled weapons. Sadly, Hamas will re-arm with or without a ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile, any increased consideration of Iranian or Syrian sponsorship of terrorism will pale against global outrage at the extraordinary disregard shown by Israeli forces for the lives of Palestinian civilians. It is quite possible, as the Observer today reports, that an Israeli withdrawal will reveal evidence of actions deserving indictment as war crimes. Those allegations must be independently investigated.

Israel's allies in the west, chiefly the US, have traditionally defended the country on the grounds that it is a democracy besieged by despotic regimes and terrorists. But while Israeli citizens do enjoy immense political and social freedom, those values do not automatically prevent the state from committing atrocities.

The fact of Israeli democracy is not a reason to resist negotiations with Hamas. That was true before this pointless, brutal war and will remain so afterwards.

Israel accused of war crimes over 12-hour assault on Gaza village

Details: Written by Fida Qishta in Khuza'a and Peter Beaumont in London Fida Qishta in Khuza'a and Peter Beaumont in London; Published: 18 January 2009 18 January 2009; Hits: 4538 4538

White flags ignored and houses bulldozed with families inside, claim residents

Israel stands accused of perpetrating a series of war crimes during a sustained 12-hour assault on a village in southern Gaza last week in which 14 people died.

In testimony collected from residents of the village of Khuza'a by the Observer, it is claimed that Israeli soldiers entering the village:

• attempted to bulldoze houses with civilians inside;{josquote}"They wanted to bury us alive . . ."{/josquote}

• killed civilians trying to escape under the protection of white flags;

• opened fire on an ambulance attempting to reach the wounded;

• used indiscriminate force in a civilian area and fired white phosphorus shells.

If the allegations are upheld, all the incidents would constitute breaches of the Geneva conventions.

The denunciations over what happened in Khuza'a follow repeated claims of possible human rights violations from the Red Cross, the UN and human rights organisations.

Hamas calls Gaza ceasefire and sets deadline for Israeli withdrawal

Details: Written by Chris McGreal and Toni O'Loughlin in Jerusalem, David Batty and agencies Chris McGreal and Toni O'Loughlin in Jerusalem, David Batty and agencies; Published: 18 January 2009 18 January 2009; Hits: 4339 4339

Official says truce dependent on Israel pulling its troops out of Palestinian territory within a week

Hamas today announced an immediate ceasefire by its fighters and allied groups in the Gaza Strip, hours after Israel unilaterally declared a truce.

A senior Hamas official, Ayman Taha, told Reuters that its ceasefire was dependent on Israel pulling its troops out of the Palestinian territory within a week.

"Hamas and the factions announce a ceasefire in Gaza starting immediately and give Israel a week to withdraw," Taha said in Cairo, where he was holding talks with Egypt on a truce deal.

Hamas also demanded that Israel open all of the Gaza Strip's border crossings to allow in food and humanitarian aid to meet the "basic needs for our people", he said.

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: "We'll play this day by day. We'll see how this goes. We want to leave Gaza. We'll do so as soon as we can."

Gaza Protest Set for today, Saturday, at Pioneer Courthouse Square

Details: Written by PPRC PPRC; Published: 17 January 2009 17 January 2009; Hits: 3275 3275

For Immediate Release

Event: Gaza Protest Set for today, Saturday, at Pioneer Courthouse Square
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2009
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill & Broadway, downtown
Portland, Oregon.

Gaza Protest Set for Saturday Afternoon at Pioneer Courthouse Square

With Oregon’s junior-Senator adding his voice to the calls for “an immediate
and durable ceasefire,”1 Portland’s living room will today again be filled
for a demonstration against the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza. “Over
1,100 people have died, thousands have been grievously injured, and 1.5
million are trapped and terrified that they or their family members might be
next,” said William Seaman, a volunteer with Portland Peaceful Response
Coalition. “We hope to see and hear enough people demonstrating for peace
today that our other Senator, Senator Ron Wyden, will also feel he can add
his voice to the calls for an immediate ceasefire.” The demonstration is
set to begin today at 3:00 PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill &
Broadway, in downtown Portland.

The Boss Has Gone Mad

Details: Written by Uri Avnery Uri Avnery; Published: 16 January 2009 16 January 2009; Hits: 4200 4200

Uri Avnery

17.1.09

The Boss Has Gone Mad

169 YEARS before the Gaza War, Heinrich Heine wrote a premonitory poem of 12 lines, under the title “To Edom”. The German-Jewish poet was talking about Germany, or perhaps all the nations of Christian Europe. This is what he wrote (in my rough translation):

“For a thousand years and more / We have had an understanding / You allow me to breathe / I accept your crazy raging // Sometimes, when the days get darker / Strange moods come upon you / Till you decorate your claws / With the lifeblood from my veins // Now our friendship is firmer / Getting stronger by the day / Since the raging started in me / Daily more and more like you.”

Zionism, which arose some 50 years after this was written, is fully realizing this prophesy. We Israelis have become a nation like all nations, and the memory of the Holocaust causes us, from time to time, to behave like the worst of them. Only a few of us know this poem, but Israel as a whole lives it out.

In this war, politicians and generals have repeatedly quoted the words: “The boss has gone mad!” originally shouted by vegetable vendors in the market, in the sense of “The boss has gone crazy and is selling the tomatoes at a loss!” But in the course of time the jest has turned into a deadly doctrine that often appears in Israeli public discourse: in order to deter our enemies, we must behave like madmen, go on the rampage, kill and destroy mercilessly.

In this war, this has become political and military dogma: only if we kill “them” disproportionately, killing a thousand of “them” for ten of “ours”, will they understand that it’s not worth it to mess with us. It will be “seared into their consciousness” (a favorite Israeli phrase these days). After this, they will think twice before launching another Qassam rocket against us, even in response to what we do, whatever that may be.

It is impossible to understand the viciousness of this war without taking into account the historical background: the feeling of victimhood after all that has been done to the Jews throughout the ages, and the conviction that after the Holocaust, we have the right to do anything, absolutely anything, to defend ourselves, without any inhibitions due to law or morality.

Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights