Please forward .....
What every American needs to know about Israel/Palestine
US Interests
a.. US Interests and Israel/Palestine - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ us_ints/
b.. U.S. Middle East Policy - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ us_ints/policy. html
c.. Pressure Groups on US Middle East Policy - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ us_ints/lobby. html
d.. Israeli Spying on the United States - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ us_ints/spy. html
e.. The USS Liberty - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ us_ints/ussliber ty.html
f.. Neoconservatives - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ us_ints/neocons. html
g.. War on Iran? Is Iran Next? - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ us_ints/iran. html
h.. Israel-Palestine and the 2008 US Election - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ us_ints/2008. html
History
a.. A Synopsis of the Israel/Palestine Conflict - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ history/
b.. The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ history/origin. html
c.. Maps of Israel and Palestine - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ history/maps. html#settlements Historic Palestine
UN Partition of Palestine
1948 Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Strip
Refugees and Depopulated Villages
1967 and Occupation
Annexation of Jerusalem
Israeli Settlements on Palestinian Land
d.. Refugees and Ethnic Cleansing - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ history/refugees .html
e.. A Jewish State - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ history/jewish_ state.html
f.. The History of Israel’s Sacred Terrorism Terrorism in Israel and Palestine - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ history/terroris m.html
g.. The Prevalence of Torture - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ history/prevtort ure.html
h.. Religion in the Holy Land - The conflict in the Middle East is not a religious conflict - http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ history/religion .html
____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
http://www.ifameric ansknew.org/ stats/settlement s.html
Israeli Settlements on Palestinian Land
Israel currently has 121 Jewish-only settlements and 106 ‘outposts’ on confiscated Palestinian land.
Palestinians do not have any settlements on Israeli land.
“The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”
- Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949
Source: According to Peace Now's report, "Aerial Survey Settlements Summary 2006," there are 121 official Israeli settlements. According to their report, Periodic Report, May-October 2007 there are at least 106 outposts and more than 50 of them have been built since March 2001.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A Child From Gaza
By Khaled Fayyad
I feel dizzy and its hard for me to walk.
I am in pain and hurt all over.
I could only hear the screams of my friends
As the bombs fall on our playground.
I see their bodies
Lying about me
Torn and lifeless;
I call their names,
They do not answer;
I touch them,
They do not move.
I shake them,
They do not stir.
I am afraid.
I run looking for my sister
I find her amongst the rubble,
Her beautiful face scares me
I do understand
Its is scarred and bloodied
And covered with dust.
Where is her hand
Which she used to hold me with?
Why do her eyes stare at me but not blink?
Why can she not call my name?
Why can she not talk to me?
Why can she not smile?
Why can she not breathe?
I do not understand.
I want to go home.
I do not like school any more
I want to go home
Home to my mom!
Mom where are you?
Why are you not here?
My hands and legs hurt
My face is covered with blood.
My uniform is torn and dirty
I am cold
I do not know what to do
I am all alone
Frightened and hungry.
I cannot play anymore
My school is gone
My playground lies in rubble
My sister cannot help me if I fall
She lost her hand
and does not want to move.
My friends are all gone
I don't want to play any more.
I do not understand
I am little boy
I am only a child!
I run home
Many people are there
They all look at me with tears in their eyes
Why are they not smiling?
I thought my home was here
Where did it go?
Did the same thing that happened to my school
Happen to my home?
It is gone
My bed is broken and I have no pillow
I have no blanket
I cannot find my only toy
My coloring pens are not there
I cannot draw any more!
I am in pain
Cold and hungry.
My legs, my arms hurt
My face is cut
Mom
Where are you?
People tell me she is gone
The bombs took her away
They came from the sky….
I thought God lives there
Did He send them to take my mom?
Why?
I thought God loved me too!
Why would He take her from me?
Who will tuck me in
Who will hold me in their arms
Who will wash my face?
Who will feed me
who will love me?
Mom, mom, where are you?
I call her crying.
I am afraid
I need you
I want you
I hurt and I am in pain.
I hear her but cannot find her
The bombs took her away
But her voice stayed here.
I wish they would take me
I want to be with her
She is my only mom
She loves me and I love her too!
I do not understand
I am little boy
Without school and books
Without a playground,
With a sister who cannot blink
Because they took away her hand.
I am only a child from Gaza
My home is gone
My only mom is gone
People look at me and cry
I look at the sky
Crying
I ask God
Why?
Give me back my mom.
He does not answer me
I am all alone
I hurt
I am hungry and cold.
I am only a child from Gaza ,
I want my mom,
I want my toy.
source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/39/A_child_from_Gaza.html#
I feel dizzy and its hard for me to walk.
I am in pain and hurt all over.
I could only hear the screams of my friends
As the bombs fall on our playground.
I see their bodies
Lying about me
Torn and lifeless;
I call their names,
They do not answer;
I touch them,
They do not move.
I shake them,
They do not stir.
I am afraid.
I run looking for my sister
I find her amongst the rubble,
Her beautiful face scares me
I do understand
Its is scarred and bloodied
And covered with dust.
Where is her hand
Which she used to hold me with?
Why do her eyes stare at me but not blink?
Why can she not call my name?
Why can she not talk to me?
Why can she not smile?
Why can she not breathe?
I do not understand.
I want to go home.
I do not like school any more
I want to go home
Home to my mom!
Mom where are you?
Why are you not here?
My hands and legs hurt
My face is covered with blood.
My uniform is torn and dirty
I am cold
I do not know what to do
I am all alone
Frightened and hungry.
I cannot play anymore
My school is gone
My playground lies in rubble
My sister cannot help me if I fall
She lost her hand
and does not want to move.
My friends are all gone
I don't want to play any more.
I do not understand
I am little boy
I am only a child!
I run home
Many people are there
They all look at me with tears in their eyes
Why are they not smiling?
I thought my home was here
Where did it go?
Did the same thing that happened to my school
Happen to my home?
It is gone
My bed is broken and I have no pillow
I have no blanket
I cannot find my only toy
My coloring pens are not there
I cannot draw any more!
I am in pain
Cold and hungry.
My legs, my arms hurt
My face is cut
Mom
Where are you?
People tell me she is gone
The bombs took her away
They came from the sky….
I thought God lives there
Did He send them to take my mom?
Why?
I thought God loved me too!
Why would He take her from me?
Who will tuck me in
Who will hold me in their arms
Who will wash my face?
Who will feed me
who will love me?
Mom, mom, where are you?
I call her crying.
I am afraid
I need you
I want you
I hurt and I am in pain.
I hear her but cannot find her
The bombs took her away
But her voice stayed here.
I wish they would take me
I want to be with her
She is my only mom
She loves me and I love her too!
I do not understand
I am little boy
Without school and books
Without a playground,
With a sister who cannot blink
Because they took away her hand.
I am only a child from Gaza
My home is gone
My only mom is gone
People look at me and cry
I look at the sky
Crying
I ask God
Why?
Give me back my mom.
He does not answer me
I am all alone
I hurt
I am hungry and cold.
I am only a child from Gaza ,
I want my mom,
I want my toy.
source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/articles/39/A_child_from_Gaza.html#
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Gaza Residents Hunker Down - LA Times
Gaza City Residents Hunker Down
Monday 05 January 2009
»
by: Richard Boudreaux and Rushdi abu Alouf, The Los Angeles Times
Damage to a home caused by a Hamas rocket in the Israeli border town of Sderot.
Damage to a home caused by a Hamas rocket in the Israeli border town of Sderot. Israel says it will continue the current military operation in Gaza until the rocket attacks on Israel stop. (Photo: Rina Castelnuovo / The New York Times)
Five civilians die when shells hit a market, while most residents stay indoors to avoid Israeli shelling. "Anyone who survives this wave, it will be like they were born again," said one man.
Gaza City and Jerusalem - As Israeli forces closed in on Gaza City, Mohammed Barbari joined the scramble by its most intrepid residents Sunday for dwindling supplies of food they would need while hunkering down at home.
The first explosion tore through the central Firas Market at 11:30 a.m. as he approached from adjacent Palestine Square. Unable to turn his yellow Volkswagen Golf around in traffic, he kept driving toward the hail of shrapnel and the screams of scattering shoppers.
Trapped on Omar Mokhtar Street, which bisects the sprawling complex, Barbari felt a second blast shake his car and shatter its back right window.
He saw a man lying in the street with both legs severed.
"God protect us!" the 31-year-old father of five recalled thinking.
Medical workers said two Israeli tank shells struck the market a minute apart, killing five Palestinian civilians.
An additional 40 wounded people were bundled into private cars for a harrowing drive to the city's Shifa Hospital, which has been overwhelmed by victims of Israel's offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Israeli leaders say the ground assault they began late Saturday, after eight days of airstrikes, is meant as a lesson to Hamas: The Jewish state does not shrink from confronting its enemies; it fully intends to halt the militant group's near-daily rocket fire at southern Israeli communities.
But to Gaza's 1.5 million residents, the advance of thousands of troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships carries a different message: No place in the densely populated 140-square-mile enclave, about one-third the size of Los Angeles city, is safe.
The ground fighting has imposed not only mortal danger, but also a new level of hardship on a people who already were suffering from shortages of electricity, water, cooking gas and other basic supplies amid an Israeli blockade.
"Anyone who survives this wave, it will be like they were born again," said Mahmoud Musa, 55, a first-grade teacher in Deir al Balah.
As the front line moved ever closer, ambulance sirens wailed and the sky filled with smoke. With nowhere to flee, most of the city's 400,000 residents huddled indoors.
Firas Market, normally jammed at midday, held only about 100 shoppers at the time of the shelling, a factor in the relatively low casualty toll.
Afterward, the market's few functioning shops promptly closed. The city's streets emptied, save for long lines of people outside the few bakeries with enough flour and generator fuel to make bread.
Medical workers said 18 civilians were killed in Gaza on Sunday by Israeli shelling and airstrikes. Israel insisted that it was hitting Hamas targets and was not aware of any shelling in Gaza City.
The civilian toll is likely to rise, along with international protests, as the offensive puts Israeli soldiers, Hamas fighters and civilians in ever closer proximity. Military analysts say Israel's leaders and commanders fully considered that risk before launching the assault.
"The guiding principle behind the ... operation is ... we are moving in with full force, shooting everything we have, including artillery," Alex Fishman, an Israeli military affairs correspondent, wrote Sunday in the newspaper Yediot Aharonot. "We'll pay the international price later for the collateral damage and the anticipated civilian casualties."
Many in Gaza said they felt helpless because Israel had so far resisted calls for a cease-fire and an easing of its crippling blockade on the territory.
"The world knows we are running out of everything, and no one moves a finger," said Ahmed Dalloul, who was cooking over a trash fire on the balcony of his Gaza City apartment. "Let them feel what we feel. Let the whole silent, unfair world suffer as we suffer."
Sewage is spilling into Gaza's streets and more than half a million residents have no water supply after bombardments destroyed electricity lines, shutting down pumping stations, officials said. The phone company said 90% of Gaza's cellular service is down.
Doctors at Shifa Hospital said its generators barely have enough fuel to last through the week and run the machines that keep 30 infants and 40 other patients alive in the ICU.
Like the doctors, nearly everyone in Gaza is scrounging for scarce fuel.
Determined to find a distraction, teenagers Abdul Aziz Bulan and Karim Ali begged cash from their neighbors in Deir al Balah. They bought enough generator fuel to power the television set in Ali's parents house for Sunday's Spanish league soccer match between Barcelona and Majorca.
Abu Alouf is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Ahmed Burai in Deir al Balah contributed to this report.
Monday 05 January 2009
»
by: Richard Boudreaux and Rushdi abu Alouf, The Los Angeles Times
Damage to a home caused by a Hamas rocket in the Israeli border town of Sderot.
Damage to a home caused by a Hamas rocket in the Israeli border town of Sderot. Israel says it will continue the current military operation in Gaza until the rocket attacks on Israel stop. (Photo: Rina Castelnuovo / The New York Times)
Five civilians die when shells hit a market, while most residents stay indoors to avoid Israeli shelling. "Anyone who survives this wave, it will be like they were born again," said one man.
Gaza City and Jerusalem - As Israeli forces closed in on Gaza City, Mohammed Barbari joined the scramble by its most intrepid residents Sunday for dwindling supplies of food they would need while hunkering down at home.
The first explosion tore through the central Firas Market at 11:30 a.m. as he approached from adjacent Palestine Square. Unable to turn his yellow Volkswagen Golf around in traffic, he kept driving toward the hail of shrapnel and the screams of scattering shoppers.
Trapped on Omar Mokhtar Street, which bisects the sprawling complex, Barbari felt a second blast shake his car and shatter its back right window.
He saw a man lying in the street with both legs severed.
"God protect us!" the 31-year-old father of five recalled thinking.
Medical workers said two Israeli tank shells struck the market a minute apart, killing five Palestinian civilians.
An additional 40 wounded people were bundled into private cars for a harrowing drive to the city's Shifa Hospital, which has been overwhelmed by victims of Israel's offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Israeli leaders say the ground assault they began late Saturday, after eight days of airstrikes, is meant as a lesson to Hamas: The Jewish state does not shrink from confronting its enemies; it fully intends to halt the militant group's near-daily rocket fire at southern Israeli communities.
But to Gaza's 1.5 million residents, the advance of thousands of troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships carries a different message: No place in the densely populated 140-square-mile enclave, about one-third the size of Los Angeles city, is safe.
The ground fighting has imposed not only mortal danger, but also a new level of hardship on a people who already were suffering from shortages of electricity, water, cooking gas and other basic supplies amid an Israeli blockade.
"Anyone who survives this wave, it will be like they were born again," said Mahmoud Musa, 55, a first-grade teacher in Deir al Balah.
As the front line moved ever closer, ambulance sirens wailed and the sky filled with smoke. With nowhere to flee, most of the city's 400,000 residents huddled indoors.
Firas Market, normally jammed at midday, held only about 100 shoppers at the time of the shelling, a factor in the relatively low casualty toll.
Afterward, the market's few functioning shops promptly closed. The city's streets emptied, save for long lines of people outside the few bakeries with enough flour and generator fuel to make bread.
Medical workers said 18 civilians were killed in Gaza on Sunday by Israeli shelling and airstrikes. Israel insisted that it was hitting Hamas targets and was not aware of any shelling in Gaza City.
The civilian toll is likely to rise, along with international protests, as the offensive puts Israeli soldiers, Hamas fighters and civilians in ever closer proximity. Military analysts say Israel's leaders and commanders fully considered that risk before launching the assault.
"The guiding principle behind the ... operation is ... we are moving in with full force, shooting everything we have, including artillery," Alex Fishman, an Israeli military affairs correspondent, wrote Sunday in the newspaper Yediot Aharonot. "We'll pay the international price later for the collateral damage and the anticipated civilian casualties."
Many in Gaza said they felt helpless because Israel had so far resisted calls for a cease-fire and an easing of its crippling blockade on the territory.
"The world knows we are running out of everything, and no one moves a finger," said Ahmed Dalloul, who was cooking over a trash fire on the balcony of his Gaza City apartment. "Let them feel what we feel. Let the whole silent, unfair world suffer as we suffer."
Sewage is spilling into Gaza's streets and more than half a million residents have no water supply after bombardments destroyed electricity lines, shutting down pumping stations, officials said. The phone company said 90% of Gaza's cellular service is down.
Doctors at Shifa Hospital said its generators barely have enough fuel to last through the week and run the machines that keep 30 infants and 40 other patients alive in the ICU.
Like the doctors, nearly everyone in Gaza is scrounging for scarce fuel.
Determined to find a distraction, teenagers Abdul Aziz Bulan and Karim Ali begged cash from their neighbors in Deir al Balah. They bought enough generator fuel to power the television set in Ali's parents house for Sunday's Spanish league soccer match between Barcelona and Majorca.
Abu Alouf is a special correspondent. Special correspondent Ahmed Burai in Deir al Balah contributed to this report.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Protest TODAY - 4Pm - Atlanta - 1/5/09
GAZA protest, MON. 4pm
Friends,
As this message is being sent, it is reported that the Israeli ground forces have cut Gaza in half, isolating the inhabitants of Gaza City from any escape from the military ground invasion.
Late Saturday night, the US blocked the the UN Security Council from passing a resolution calling for an immediate cease fire, giving a green light to Israel to continue its war crimes against the Palestinian people.
Over the past week of intense aerial bombardment, thousands of Palestinians have been severely injured and more than 400 have been killed. The destruction of government, educational, religious and civilian buildings has been widespread and the population suffers from lack of electricity, food, water and medicines.
Across the globe, every day, thousands of people have come out onto the streets in protest, demanding an immediate end to the military attacks and the lifting of the economic siege of Gaza.
Yesterday in Atlanta, more than 500 people massed in front of CNN, took to the streets in a spirited march and rallied at Woodruff Park.
Then, the protesters, determined to have their message heard, again filled Marietta St and returned to the CNN building to continue the demonstration for another half hour.
This action was preceeded by protests at the Israeli Consulate on Sunday, Dec. 28 and Tuesday, Dec.30.
Act Now in Solidarity with the People of Gaza
Join us on Monday, January 5th at 4pm in front of the Israeli Consulate (1100 Spring St.) as we continue to demand an end to state-sponsored terrorism!
4:00 pm- 5:00 pm-- Demonstration in front of Israeli Consulate
5:00-5:30-- March to 14th and Peachtree St.
5:30-6:00-- Rally at Colony Square
6:00-6:30-- March back to Israeli Consulate
Contact Shireen Judeh at 678-643-9196 or Vanessa Faraj at 404-405-7703 with any questions!
Sponsored by Emory Advocates for Justice in Palestine, Athens Justice for Palestine and the International Action Center.
If you are unable to attend, please make calls, write letters or send e-mails to elected officials, media outlets, the Israeli Consulate. Donate funds. Stay informed.
White House: comments@whitehouse.gov
State Department: 202-647-4000 and 202-647-6575
Israeli Consulate: 404-487-6500
Congressional DC Switchboard: 202-224-3121 and ask for your representative
CNN Comment Line: 404-827-0234 CNN email for comments: www.cnn.com/feedback
Senator Chambliss: http://chambliss.senate.gov
Senator Isakson: http://isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Barack Obama-click on American Moment to send a message: http://change.gov
Congressman John Lewis: 404-659-0116 or email john.lewis@mail.house.gov
Congressman Hank Johnson: 770-987-2291 or in DC 202-225-1605
DONATE:
Medical Aid for Palestinians: www.map-uk.org
Interpal: www.interpal.info
United Palestinian Appeal: www.helpUPA.com
RESOURCES:
Electronic Intifada: www.electronicintifada.net
U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation: www.endtheoccupation.org
If Americans Knew: www.ifamericansknew.org
Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign: www.stopthewall.org
United Nations Relief and Works Agency: www.un.org/unrwa
The Free Gaza Movement: http://freegaza.org
Friends,
As this message is being sent, it is reported that the Israeli ground forces have cut Gaza in half, isolating the inhabitants of Gaza City from any escape from the military ground invasion.
Late Saturday night, the US blocked the the UN Security Council from passing a resolution calling for an immediate cease fire, giving a green light to Israel to continue its war crimes against the Palestinian people.
Over the past week of intense aerial bombardment, thousands of Palestinians have been severely injured and more than 400 have been killed. The destruction of government, educational, religious and civilian buildings has been widespread and the population suffers from lack of electricity, food, water and medicines.
Across the globe, every day, thousands of people have come out onto the streets in protest, demanding an immediate end to the military attacks and the lifting of the economic siege of Gaza.
Yesterday in Atlanta, more than 500 people massed in front of CNN, took to the streets in a spirited march and rallied at Woodruff Park.
Then, the protesters, determined to have their message heard, again filled Marietta St and returned to the CNN building to continue the demonstration for another half hour.
This action was preceeded by protests at the Israeli Consulate on Sunday, Dec. 28 and Tuesday, Dec.30.
Act Now in Solidarity with the People of Gaza
Join us on Monday, January 5th at 4pm in front of the Israeli Consulate (1100 Spring St.) as we continue to demand an end to state-sponsored terrorism!
4:00 pm- 5:00 pm-- Demonstration in front of Israeli Consulate
5:00-5:30-- March to 14th and Peachtree St.
5:30-6:00-- Rally at Colony Square
6:00-6:30-- March back to Israeli Consulate
Contact Shireen Judeh at 678-643-9196 or Vanessa Faraj at 404-405-7703 with any questions!
Sponsored by Emory Advocates for Justice in Palestine, Athens Justice for Palestine and the International Action Center.
If you are unable to attend, please make calls, write letters or send e-mails to elected officials, media outlets, the Israeli Consulate. Donate funds. Stay informed.
White House: comments@whitehouse.gov
State Department: 202-647-4000 and 202-647-6575
Israeli Consulate: 404-487-6500
Congressional DC Switchboard: 202-224-3121 and ask for your representative
CNN Comment Line: 404-827-0234 CNN email for comments: www.cnn.com/feedback
Senator Chambliss: http://chambliss.senate.gov
Senator Isakson: http://isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Barack Obama-click on American Moment to send a message: http://change.gov
Congressman John Lewis: 404-659-0116 or email john.lewis@mail.house.gov
Congressman Hank Johnson: 770-987-2291 or in DC 202-225-1605
DONATE:
Medical Aid for Palestinians: www.map-uk.org
Interpal: www.interpal.info
United Palestinian Appeal: www.helpUPA.com
RESOURCES:
Electronic Intifada: www.electronicintifada.net
U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation: www.endtheoccupation.org
If Americans Knew: www.ifamericansknew.org
Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign: www.stopthewall.org
United Nations Relief and Works Agency: www.un.org/unrwa
The Free Gaza Movement: http://freegaza.org
Sunday, January 4, 2009
These Horrors From a Friend In Bethlehem
Folks, please don't let up!
Hello Eva,
I hope you are fine ... I was traied to put this material on the web that you give me the e-mail and password ...but I cann't and I prefer you see these material befor put it on the web ... I know this take more time from you ...but you allowas do the best as you can ... that what I know about Eva ...and I told my all friends about the site and they become happy and surprised when they know an American do like these websites to prevent about Palestine ...
Last news here is that ...the attack become more and more ...the Isreal falls the bombs on the Palestinain from the skies and from the sea and last night they began with the ... War on Land they killed at this moment at least 25 people on this day and unknown number of injures .... and the broders was closed full closed I mean no medicen no food no fuel ...
But we still have the right to prevent and defend abouot ourselvies ...
I hope in a very near time can send to you happy and good news and tell you this sentense
"""""" THE WAR IS END FOR EVER """""""
................................................................who know ...I hope it is sooooooon
Bye with full meaning of Respect and appreciation for your efforts
Peace - a friend in Palestine - Bethlehem
Palestinians Under Attack
Palestinians are exposed for horrible unfairness at the hands of Israeli forces.
The siege by Israel lasted for months..
Power blackout has lasted for months..
Potable water has been disconnected for months.. Starvation has been spread along
the Gaza Strip among children and elderly
The biggest crime and is the one that comes to complete the unfairness ( the attack ) Besides the starvation and blocking any life resources from getting into the Strip Israel is killing, attacking any remaining lives in Gaza.
We want the whole world to be informed what is Israel!!!
We want the whole world to know the reality of Israel Its reality is The killing of defenseless, helpless and poor people by this Brutal and inhumanity
So, Where is the truth
where is the humanity
Look below at the photo attached as a result of the Israeli attack against Palestinians
..
Attack at many different places in Gaza Strip
Hello Eva,
I hope you are fine ... I was traied to put this material on the web that you give me the e-mail and password ...but I cann't and I prefer you see these material befor put it on the web ... I know this take more time from you ...but you allowas do the best as you can ... that what I know about Eva ...and I told my all friends about the site and they become happy and surprised when they know an American do like these websites to prevent about Palestine ...
Last news here is that ...the attack become more and more ...the Isreal falls the bombs on the Palestinain from the skies and from the sea and last night they began with the ... War on Land they killed at this moment at least 25 people on this day and unknown number of injures .... and the broders was closed full closed I mean no medicen no food no fuel ...
But we still have the right to prevent and defend abouot ourselvies ...
I hope in a very near time can send to you happy and good news and tell you this sentense
"""""" THE WAR IS END FOR EVER """""""
................................................................who know ...I hope it is sooooooon
Bye with full meaning of Respect and appreciation for your efforts
Peace - a friend in Palestine - Bethlehem
Palestinians Under Attack
Palestinians are exposed for horrible unfairness at the hands of Israeli forces.
The siege by Israel lasted for months..
Power blackout has lasted for months..
Potable water has been disconnected for months.. Starvation has been spread along
the Gaza Strip among children and elderly
The biggest crime and is the one that comes to complete the unfairness ( the attack ) Besides the starvation and blocking any life resources from getting into the Strip Israel is killing, attacking any remaining lives in Gaza.
We want the whole world to be informed what is Israel!!!
We want the whole world to know the reality of Israel Its reality is The killing of defenseless, helpless and poor people by this Brutal and inhumanity
So, Where is the truth
where is the humanity
Look below at the photo attached as a result of the Israeli attack against Palestinians
..
Attack at many different places in Gaza Strip
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Lebanon Rescues Cynthia McKinney
Lebanon Rescues Cynthia McKinney
From Cynthia McKinney:
We Lived to Tell the Story; Lebanon Rescued Us
Thursday, January 1, 2009
http://lists. allthingscynthia mckinney. com/
Yesterday, we met with the President of Lebanon, the Chief of the
Military, and the Interior Minister who all thanked us for responding
and risking our lives on a mission of mercy; we profusely thanked
them for rescuing us.
What would we have done, stranded out at sea, prohibited from
reaching our destination, low on fuel, with a badly damaged boat if
Lebanon had not accepted us? Lebanon sent their ships to find us.
Lebanon rescued us. Lebanon welcomed us. And we are truly thankful.
It's official now. We've been told that the sturdy, wood
construction of our boat, Dignity, is the reason we are still alive.
Fiberglass would probably not have withstood the impact of the
Israeli attack and under different circumstances, we might not be
here to tell the story. Even at that, the report that came to us
yesterday after the Captain and First Mate went back to Sour (Tyre)
to inspect the boat was that it was sinking, the damage is extensive,
and the boat will take, in their estimation, at least one month to
repair. Tomorrow, we will bring the Dignity from Sour to Beirut.
And now, we must decide what to do and from where we will do it and
how we are to get back to wherever that might be.
My personal, and I know the group's, thanks must go to Al Jazeera,
that allowed three of their reporters to be onboard with us on our
voyage. As a result, Al Jazeera carried the story of the Dignity
live, from castoff in Cyprus when our spirits were high, right up
through the manacing maneuvers of the huge, super fast Israeli ships
before they rammed us, the Israeli calls on the ship phone after the
ramming calling us terrorists and subversives and telling us to
return to Cyprus (even though the Israelis later claimed that they
didn't know who we were, they knew enough about us to tell us where
we had come from), and the fact that we didn't have enough fuel to
follow their instructions, right up to their threat to fire at us if
we didn't turn around, ending with our beaten-up boat limping into
Sour harbor in Lebanon. Al Jazeera carried our story as "breaking
news" and performed a real service to its audience and to us. Al
Jazeera called the Israelis to inquire about the incident right as it
was happening and I am sure the Israelis were prepared to leave none
to tell the story. Al Jazeera told the story and documented it as it
was happening.
One of those Al Jazeera reporters with us was Sami El-Haj, who was
detained in Guantanamo by the United States for six incredibly long
years. What an honor to even exchange glances with such a humble man
who had endured so much pain at the hands of the U.S. government. I
apologized to him that my tax dollars were being used in such a
despicable way. And Sami's crime according to the U.S.? Born in
Sudan, and reporting for Al Jazeera in Afghanistan, Sami was the
wrong color, the wrong nationality, the wrong religion, reporting for
the wrong news outfit, telling us the truth about a wrong war. And
for that he survived incarceration for six long years. Sami El-Haj,
Guantanamo prisoner number 345.
Another incredibly committed journalist who was with us was CNN's
Karl Penhaul. Karl reported the truth even when his own station was
repeating Israeli disinformation. The fact that we were traveling
with these alert journalists added to the flat-footedness and obvious
crudeness of the Israeli response. Sadly, Israel has changed its
story too many times to count, and that's because they are not
telling the truth.
We lived to tell the story. Karl's incredible reporting, just a
portion of our story, can be seen on CNN at:
http://www.cnn. com/2008/ WORLD/meast/ 12/30/gaza. aid.boat/ index.html
where there's also video and a photo of our damaged boat.
This video and the photos of Karl's report is particularly
interesting given that Israel claims that our boat was only scratched
and that, in actuality, our captain, while trying to outmaneuver
them, damaged their warship.
I'm told that CNN only played my full statement once--and that's the
time that it aired live. Of course, they cut the reference to the
U.S.S. Liberty. What are they afraid of?
Last night I was on PressTV.com, along with others who were on the
Dignity, and we debated a representative from WINEP, the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy. I reminded the audience that the
Palestinians don't have nuclear weapons, depleted uranium munitions,
white phosphorous, or F-16s, but the Israelis do. The facts,
however, tend to get garbled after being processed by the "Grand
Wurlitzer" organ of state-sponsored disinformation utilizing the
world's press.
With the truth clearly on our side, Israel has been reduced to
releasing the ridiculous bombast below, given to me by a reporter who
came to our hotel in Beirut for a visit. With their multiple,
conflicting stories, it is clear that the Israelis did not expect us
to live to tell the truth.
On the drive from Sour through Saida to Beirut, we were welcomed like
heroes because our ordeal had been seen by everyone on Al Jazeera.
The mayor of Sour came to welcome us. The mayor of Saida insisted
that we stop there, on our way to Beirut, for a special ceremony.
But there was something else that was visible along our drive, and
that is the devastation that Lebanon, itself, has received as a
result of the Israeli war machine. The scars of the war are still
evident everywhere. I will write more on that tomorrow.
And one final note, President-elect Obama roared like a mighty lion
onto the political scene, but now he is as silent as a lamb in the
face of the death and destruction that is happening in Gaza. As we
approach the birthday celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. let
us remember what Dr. King said:
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the
silence of our friends."
And after five days of aerial bombardment by Israel, the carnage in
Gaza continues.
Here is the palaver that the Israelis put out for public
consumption. It is pitiful that a powerful and mighty country like
Israel would be reduced to publishing something so petty and weak as
the following press release dated December 30, 2008:
seal
Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast
Press Release
Office of Media Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12.30.2008
Israel continues to take its humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza
seriously. Border crossings into Gaza remain open, and every effort
is being made to deliver aid to the Palestinian people. Nearly 100
trucks carrying relief supplies entered Gaza on the 28th & 29th of
December and additional shipments are arriving. Israel is working
closely with UNSCO, UNRWA, the Red Cross, and WHO to ensure the entry
of the required aid, especially food and medical equipment.
Unfortunately, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has taken it
upon herself to commit an act of provocation, leading a small boat of
supposed assistants into the conflict zone. She endangered herself,
her assistants, and the vessel's crew. The Israeli navy hailed Ms.
McKinney but the former Congresswoman failed to respond, thereby
leading to the incident. We regret that during this time of crisis,
while Israel is battling with the terrorist organization of Hamas and
defending its citizens, that we are forced to deal with Ms.
McKinney's irresponsible behavior.
Consulate General of Israel
to the Southeast
1100 Spring St NW, Ste 440
Atlanta, GA 30309-2823
Michael Printy Arthur
Director of Media Affairs
404.487.6511
media@atlanta. mfa.gov.il
For additional information, please visit our website.
===
Gaza relief boat damaged in encounter with Israeli vessel
A little more of the story and film of the extensive damage can be
seen at:
http://www.cnn. com/2008/ WORLD/meast/ 12/30/gaza. aid.boat/ index.html# cnn
STCVideo
NEW: Israel scolds former congresswoman for being on Gaza-bound boat
Israeli naval vessel, boat with medical volunteers collide
in Mediterranean
Boat's crew contends naval vessel rammed it intentionally
Israel denies intentionally hitting boat carrying journalists,
medical supplies
(CNN) -- An Israeli patrol boat struck a boat carrying medical
volunteers and supplies to Gaza early Tuesday as it attempted to
intercept the vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, witnesses and
Israeli officials said.
The Dignity arrives in Tyre, Lebanon, after it was
reportedly rammed by an Israeli military vessel Tuesday.
CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul was aboard the 60-foot
pleasure boat Dignity when the contact occurred. When the boat later
docked in the Lebanese port city of Tyre, severe damage was visible
to the forward port side of the boat, and the front left window and
part of the roof had collapsed. It was flying the flag of Gibraltar.
The Dignity was carrying crew and 16 passengers -- physicians from
Britain, Germany and Cyprus and human rights activists from the
Free Gaza Solidarity Movement -- who were trying to reach Gaza
through an Israeli blockade of the territory.
Also on board was former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney.
Penhaul said an Israeli patrol boat shined its spotlight on
the Dignity, and then it and another patrol boat shadowed the Dignity
for about a half hour before the collision.
One patrol boat "very severely rammed" the Dignity, Penhaul said.
The captain of the Dignity told Penhaul he received no warning. Only
after the collision did the Israelis come on the radio to say they
struck the boat because they believed it was involved in terrorist
activities, the captain said.
But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor denied that and
said the patrol boat had warned the vessel not to proceed to Gaza
because it is a closed military area.
Palmor said there was no response to the radio message, and
the vessel then tried to out-maneuver the Israeli patrol boat,
leading to the collision.
The captain and crew said their vessel was struck intentionally,
Penhaul said, but Palmor called those allegations "absurd."
"There is no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram
anybody," Palmor said.
"I would call it ramming. Let's just call it as it is," McKinney said
after the boat docked in Lebanon. "Our boat was rammed three times,
twice in the front and one on the side.
Watch Cynthia McKinney discuss the collision »
http://www.cnn. com/2008/ WORLD/meast/ 12/30/gaza. aid.boat/ index.html# cnn
STCVideo
"Our mission was a peaceful mission to deliver medical
supplies and our mission was thwarted by the Israelis -- the
aggressiveness of the Israeli military," she said.
The incident occurred in international waters about 90 miles
off Gaza. Israel controls the waters off Gaza's coast and routinely
blocks ships from coming into the Palestinian territory as part of an
ongoing blockade that also applies to the Israel-Gaza border. Human
rights groups have expressed concern about the blockade on Gaza,
which has restricted the delivery of emergency aid and fuel supplies.
Tuesday's collision was so severe, Penhaul said, that the passengers
were ordered to put on their life vests and be ready to get in
lifeboats. The Dignity began taking on water, but the crew managed to
pump it out of the hull long enough for the boat to reach shore.
"It could have ended with people drowning if they hit us more square
on," Dignity's captain, Denis Healey, said. "It could have gone down
in minutes."
Palmor said the vessel refused assistance after the incident.
The boat was carrying boxes of relief supplies, volunteers and
journalists to Gaza, the Palestinian territory that has been subject
to an intense Israeli bombing campaign since Saturday.
Israel Tuesday lambasted McKinney -- the Green Party's 2008 candidate
for the U.S. presidency and a former Democratic congresswoman from
Georgia -- for taking part in the maritime mission.
In a written statement, the Consulate General of Israel to the
Southeast, based in Atlanta, Georgia, said McKinney "has taken it
upon herself to commit an act of provocation, " endangering herself
and the crew.
"We regret that during this time of crisis, while Israel is
battling with the terrorist organization of Hamas and defending its
citizens, that we are forced to deal with Ms. McKinney's
irresponsible behavior," the statement read.
The trip was the Free Gaza Solidarity Movement's sixth in as
many months. Israel launched airstrikes against Gaza on Saturday in
what Defense Minister Ehud Barak called an "all-out war" against the
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has ruled the territory since
2007. The Israeli military says its goal is to stop a recent barrage
of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel.
Watch the chaos in Gaza and Israel »
The Palestinian death toll has topped 375, most of them Hamas
militants, Palestinian medical sources said Tuesday. At least 60
civilians have been killed in Gaza, U.N. officials said.
Hamas has continued to fire rockets at southern Israeli towns since
the airstrikes began, Israel says. Six Israelis have been killed --
five of them civilians.
Hamas has vowed to defend Gaza in the face of what it calls continued
Israeli aggression. Each side blames the other for violating an
Egyptian-brokered cease-fire, which formally expired December 19,
but had been weakening for months.
===
McKinney relief boat hit by Israeli ship
By CRAIG SCHNEIDER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitutio n
Monday, December 29, 2008 http://www.ajc. com/metro/ content/metro/ dekalb/stories/ 2008/12/29/ cynthia_mckinney _gaza.html? cxntlid=brkng_ nws_bnr
A boat carrying international activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.
The crowds on the docks in the Lebanese port city of Tyre were jubilant and cheering as they welcomed the vessel.
Cynthia McKinney is aboard the yacht Dignity, which set sail from Cyprus on Monday.
The boat, which set off from Cyprus Monday wanted to make a statement and deliver medical supplies to embattled Gaza. The trip’s organizers said the boat was clearly in international waters, 90 miles off the coast of Gaza, at the time of its close encounter with the Israeli navy.
“Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side,” McKinney told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our mission was a peaceful mission. Our mission was thwarted by the aggressiveness of the Israeli military.”
Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, denied there had been any shooting although the two ships had made “physical contact.”
Palmor said there was no response to a radio warning to the Dignity, and the vessel then tried to out-maneuver the Israeli patrol boat, leading to the collision.
Cyprus state radio said the Cypriot government would seek explanations from Israel over the incident.
McKinney called on President-elect Obama to address the Gaza crisis, saying the weapons being used by Israel were supplied by the United States.
McKinney denied that the incident was an accident. “What the Israelis are saying is outright disinformation,” she said. “What happened to us last night was a direct threat to our mission, but not our cause.”
Palmor called those allegations “absurd.”
“There is no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram anybody,” Palmor said.
In a press release, the Free Gaza movement stated, “Contrary to international maritime law, the Israelis are actively preventing the Dignity from approaching Gaza or finding safe haven in either Egypt or Lebanon. Instead, the Israeli navy is demanding that the Dignity return to Cyprus — despite the fact that the ship does not carry enough fuel to do so.”
McKinney is a high-profile member of a boatload of activists that set sail Monday from Cyprus to deliver medicine to war-torn Gaza.
McKinney, who ran as the Green Party candidate for president, sees the voyage as a humanitarian mission, said her father, former Georgia state Rep. Billy McKinney.
“Her mother did not want her to go,” he said, referring to concerns at home for her safety.
“But I think that certain people have missions in life and you can’t deter them.”
The activists, organized by the Free Gaza Group, said their 66-foot yacht called “SS Dignity” would defy an Israeli blockade of Gaza and ferry 16 activists and three tons of Cypriot-donated supplies. The supplies are intended to help treat the wounded from Israeli bombings against targets in Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns.
Israel’s aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued for a third day on Monday. By Monday, the death toll rose to 364, with some 1,400 reported wounded, according to Palestinian medical officials.
McKinney had sent an e-mail days ago to friends and supporters saying she intended to go to Gaza, said Hugh Esco, a Decatur resident who ran her presidential campaign Web site.
“She has stood with people all over this planet against oppression,” said Esco.
McKinney said she will petition President-elect Barack Obama to speak out against the attacks on Gaza.
The Free Gaza group has made five deliveries of aid by boat to Gaza since August, defying a blockade imposed by Israel when Hamas won control of the territory in June 2007. Organizers say they are aware they may be stopped this time.
“I don’t know if she’ll get off the boat,” her father said. “I hope she gets back safely.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
===
Oh What a Day!
Cynthia McKinney
December 30, 2008
I'm so glad that my father told me to buy a special notebook and to write everything down because that's exactly what I did.
When we left from Cyprus, one reporter asked me "are you afraid?" And I had to respond that Malcolm X wasn't afraid; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn't afraid. But little did I know that just a few hours later, I would be recollecting my life and mentally preparing myself for death.
When we left Cyprus, the Mediterranean was beautiful. I remember the time when it might have been beautiful to look at, but it was also filthy. The Europeans have taken great strides to clean it up and yesterday, it was beautiful. And the way the sunlight hit the sea, I remember thinking to myself that's why they call it azure. It was the most beautiful blue.
But sometimes it was rough, and we got behind on our schedule. We stayed on course, however, despite the roughness of the water and due to our exquisite captain.
There were no other ships or boats around us and night descended upon us all rather quickly. It was the darkest black and suddenly, out of nowhere, came searchlights disturbing our peace. The searchlights stayed with us for about half an hour or so. We knew they were Israeli ships. Who else would they be?
They were fast, and they would come close and then drop back. And then, they'd come close again. And then, all of a sudden there was complete blackness once again and all seemed right. The cat and mouse game went on for at least one half hour. What were they doing? And why?
Calm again. Black sky, black sea. Peace. And then, at that very moment, when all seemed right, out of nowhere we were rammed and rammed again and rammed again the last one throwing me off the couch, sending all our food up in the air; and all the plastic bags and tubs--evidence of sea sicknesses among the crew and passen gers--flew all over the cabin and all over us. We'd been rammed by the Israelis. How did we know? Because they called us on the phone afterwards to tell us that we were engaging in subversive, terroristic activity. And if that if we didn't turn around right then and return to Larnaca, Cyprus, we would be fired upon. We quickly grabbed our lifevests and put them on. Then the captain announced that the boat was taking on water. We might have to evacuate. One of my mates told me to prepare to die. And I reflected that I have lived a good and full life. I have tasted freedom and know what it is. I was right with myself and my decision to join the Free Gaza movement.
I remembered my father's parting words, "You all will be sitting ducks." Just like the U.S.S. Liberty. We were engaged in peaceful activity, a harmless pleasure boat, carrying a load of hospital supplies for the people of Gaza, who, too are sitting ducks, currently being bombarded in aerial assault by the Israeli military.
It's been a long day for us. The captain was outstanding. Throughout it all, he remained stoic and calm, effective in every way. I didn't know how to put my life jacket on. One of the passengers kindly assisted me. Another of the passengers pointed out that the Israeli motors for those huge, fast boats was U.S. made--a gift to them from the U.S. And now they were using those motors to damage a pleasure boat outfitted with three tons of hospital supplies, one pediatrician, and two surgeons.
I have called for President-elect Obama to say something. The Palestinian people in the Gaza strip are seeing the worst violence in 60 years, it is being reported. To date, President-elect Obama has remained silent. The Israelis are using weapons supplied to them by the U.S. government. Strict enforcement of U.S. law would require the cessation of all weapons transfers to Israel.&nbs p; Adherence to international law would require the same. As we are about to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, let us remember that he said:
1. The United States is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world, and
2. Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent about things that matter.
I implore the President-elect to not send Congress a budget that contains more weapons for Israel. We have so much more to offer. And I implore the Congress to vote "no" on any budget and appropriation bills that provide more weapons transfers, period.
Israel is able to carry out these intense military maneuvers because taxpayers in the U.S. give their hard-earned money to our Representatives in Congress and our Congress chooses to spend that money in this way. Let's stop it and stop it now. There's been too much blood shed. And while we still walk among the living, let us not remain silent about the things that matter.
We really can promote peace and have it if we demand it of our leaders.
===
Eyewitness account of Israeli terror in Gaza
12/31/08
From: iristulip@gmail. com
Marna house, Gaza city, Vittorio Arrigoni, Volunteer,
International Solidarity Movement
An acrid smell of sulphur fills the air while the sky is shaken by earth-shattering rumbles. My ears are now deaf to the explosions, while my eyes are all out of tears from all the corpses. I stand in front of Al Shifa hospital, Gaza's main hospital, and we've just received Israel's terrible threat that they intend to bomb its wing under construction. This would be nothing new, as Wea'm hospital was bombed just yesterday, along with a medicine warehouse in Rafah, the Islamic university, which was also destroyed, along with various mosques scattered along the Strip. Not to mention many CIVILIAN structures.
Apparently, they can no longer find "sensible" targets, the air force and the navy is targeting places of worship, schools and hospitals. It's another 9/11 every single hour, every minute around here, and tomorrow is always a new day of mourning, always identical to the previous one. You notice the helicopters and airplanes constantly overhead, you see a flash, but you're already a goner and it's too late to take flight.
There are no bunkers against the bombs in the Strip and no place is really safe. I can't contact my friends in Rafah, not even those who live North of Gaza City, hopefully because the phone lines are overloaded. Hopefully. I haven't slept in 60 hours, and same goes for every Gazan. Yesterday three other ISM members and I spent the entire night at the al Awda hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp. We were there because we were fearing the much dreaded ground raid that never happened. But the Israeli tanks are posted all along the Strip's border, and their corpse-hungry creaks will apparently form a funeral march tonight. Around 11:30 PM a bomb fell about 800 metres from the hospital, the shock wave blow several windows apart, injuring the injured.
An ambulance arrived, then they blew up a mosque, thankfully empty at that time. Unfortunately, though it actually has nothing to do with bad luck but with the criminal and a terrorist will to massacre civilians, the Israeli bomb has also struck the building adjacent to the mosque, which was also destroyed. We watched as the tiny bodies of six little sisters were pulled out of the rubble – five are dead, one is in life-threatening conditions.
They laid the little girls out on the blackened asphalt, and they looked like broken dolls, disposed of as they were no longer usable. This wasn't a mistake, but a voluntary, and cynical horror. We're at a toll of 320 dead, more than a thousand wounded and, according to a doctor at Shifa, 60% of these are destined to die in the next few hours or days, after prolonged agony.There are many missing, and for the last two days despairing wives have been searching for their husbands or children in hospitals, often to no avail. The morgue is a macabre spectacle. A nurse told me that after hours of searching, a Palestinian woman recognized her husband from his amputated hand. All that's left of her husband, and the wedding band on her finger from the eternal love they had sworn one another.
Out of a house inhabited by two families, very little has remained of their bodies. They showed their relatives half of one bust and three legs. Right now, one of our Free Gaza Movement boats is leaving the port in Larnaca, Cyprus. I spoke to my friends on board. They've heroically amassed medicine and steeped it everywhere in the boat. It should reach the port of Gaza tomorrow around 8:00 AM. [NOTE: Israel rammed the boat and forced it back to Cyprus.] Here's to hoping that the port will still exist after another night of endless bombing. I'll be in touch with them for the entire night. Please, someone stop this nightmare. Choosing to remain silent means somehow lending support to the genocide unfolding right now. Shout out your indignation, in every capital of the "civilized" world, in every city, in every square, covering our own screams of pain and terror. A slice of humanity is dying in pitiful in a useless listening.
From Cynthia McKinney:
We Lived to Tell the Story; Lebanon Rescued Us
Thursday, January 1, 2009
http://lists. allthingscynthia mckinney. com/
Yesterday, we met with the President of Lebanon, the Chief of the
Military, and the Interior Minister who all thanked us for responding
and risking our lives on a mission of mercy; we profusely thanked
them for rescuing us.
What would we have done, stranded out at sea, prohibited from
reaching our destination, low on fuel, with a badly damaged boat if
Lebanon had not accepted us? Lebanon sent their ships to find us.
Lebanon rescued us. Lebanon welcomed us. And we are truly thankful.
It's official now. We've been told that the sturdy, wood
construction of our boat, Dignity, is the reason we are still alive.
Fiberglass would probably not have withstood the impact of the
Israeli attack and under different circumstances, we might not be
here to tell the story. Even at that, the report that came to us
yesterday after the Captain and First Mate went back to Sour (Tyre)
to inspect the boat was that it was sinking, the damage is extensive,
and the boat will take, in their estimation, at least one month to
repair. Tomorrow, we will bring the Dignity from Sour to Beirut.
And now, we must decide what to do and from where we will do it and
how we are to get back to wherever that might be.
My personal, and I know the group's, thanks must go to Al Jazeera,
that allowed three of their reporters to be onboard with us on our
voyage. As a result, Al Jazeera carried the story of the Dignity
live, from castoff in Cyprus when our spirits were high, right up
through the manacing maneuvers of the huge, super fast Israeli ships
before they rammed us, the Israeli calls on the ship phone after the
ramming calling us terrorists and subversives and telling us to
return to Cyprus (even though the Israelis later claimed that they
didn't know who we were, they knew enough about us to tell us where
we had come from), and the fact that we didn't have enough fuel to
follow their instructions, right up to their threat to fire at us if
we didn't turn around, ending with our beaten-up boat limping into
Sour harbor in Lebanon. Al Jazeera carried our story as "breaking
news" and performed a real service to its audience and to us. Al
Jazeera called the Israelis to inquire about the incident right as it
was happening and I am sure the Israelis were prepared to leave none
to tell the story. Al Jazeera told the story and documented it as it
was happening.
One of those Al Jazeera reporters with us was Sami El-Haj, who was
detained in Guantanamo by the United States for six incredibly long
years. What an honor to even exchange glances with such a humble man
who had endured so much pain at the hands of the U.S. government. I
apologized to him that my tax dollars were being used in such a
despicable way. And Sami's crime according to the U.S.? Born in
Sudan, and reporting for Al Jazeera in Afghanistan, Sami was the
wrong color, the wrong nationality, the wrong religion, reporting for
the wrong news outfit, telling us the truth about a wrong war. And
for that he survived incarceration for six long years. Sami El-Haj,
Guantanamo prisoner number 345.
Another incredibly committed journalist who was with us was CNN's
Karl Penhaul. Karl reported the truth even when his own station was
repeating Israeli disinformation. The fact that we were traveling
with these alert journalists added to the flat-footedness and obvious
crudeness of the Israeli response. Sadly, Israel has changed its
story too many times to count, and that's because they are not
telling the truth.
We lived to tell the story. Karl's incredible reporting, just a
portion of our story, can be seen on CNN at:
http://www.cnn. com/2008/ WORLD/meast/ 12/30/gaza. aid.boat/ index.html
where there's also video and a photo of our damaged boat.
This video and the photos of Karl's report is particularly
interesting given that Israel claims that our boat was only scratched
and that, in actuality, our captain, while trying to outmaneuver
them, damaged their warship.
I'm told that CNN only played my full statement once--and that's the
time that it aired live. Of course, they cut the reference to the
U.S.S. Liberty. What are they afraid of?
Last night I was on PressTV.com, along with others who were on the
Dignity, and we debated a representative from WINEP, the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy. I reminded the audience that the
Palestinians don't have nuclear weapons, depleted uranium munitions,
white phosphorous, or F-16s, but the Israelis do. The facts,
however, tend to get garbled after being processed by the "Grand
Wurlitzer" organ of state-sponsored disinformation utilizing the
world's press.
With the truth clearly on our side, Israel has been reduced to
releasing the ridiculous bombast below, given to me by a reporter who
came to our hotel in Beirut for a visit. With their multiple,
conflicting stories, it is clear that the Israelis did not expect us
to live to tell the truth.
On the drive from Sour through Saida to Beirut, we were welcomed like
heroes because our ordeal had been seen by everyone on Al Jazeera.
The mayor of Sour came to welcome us. The mayor of Saida insisted
that we stop there, on our way to Beirut, for a special ceremony.
But there was something else that was visible along our drive, and
that is the devastation that Lebanon, itself, has received as a
result of the Israeli war machine. The scars of the war are still
evident everywhere. I will write more on that tomorrow.
And one final note, President-elect Obama roared like a mighty lion
onto the political scene, but now he is as silent as a lamb in the
face of the death and destruction that is happening in Gaza. As we
approach the birthday celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. let
us remember what Dr. King said:
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the
silence of our friends."
And after five days of aerial bombardment by Israel, the carnage in
Gaza continues.
Here is the palaver that the Israelis put out for public
consumption. It is pitiful that a powerful and mighty country like
Israel would be reduced to publishing something so petty and weak as
the following press release dated December 30, 2008:
seal
Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast
Press Release
Office of Media Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12.30.2008
Israel continues to take its humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza
seriously. Border crossings into Gaza remain open, and every effort
is being made to deliver aid to the Palestinian people. Nearly 100
trucks carrying relief supplies entered Gaza on the 28th & 29th of
December and additional shipments are arriving. Israel is working
closely with UNSCO, UNRWA, the Red Cross, and WHO to ensure the entry
of the required aid, especially food and medical equipment.
Unfortunately, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has taken it
upon herself to commit an act of provocation, leading a small boat of
supposed assistants into the conflict zone. She endangered herself,
her assistants, and the vessel's crew. The Israeli navy hailed Ms.
McKinney but the former Congresswoman failed to respond, thereby
leading to the incident. We regret that during this time of crisis,
while Israel is battling with the terrorist organization of Hamas and
defending its citizens, that we are forced to deal with Ms.
McKinney's irresponsible behavior.
Consulate General of Israel
to the Southeast
1100 Spring St NW, Ste 440
Atlanta, GA 30309-2823
Michael Printy Arthur
Director of Media Affairs
404.487.6511
media@atlanta. mfa.gov.il
For additional information, please visit our website.
===
Gaza relief boat damaged in encounter with Israeli vessel
A little more of the story and film of the extensive damage can be
seen at:
http://www.cnn. com/2008/ WORLD/meast/ 12/30/gaza. aid.boat/ index.html# cnn
STCVideo
NEW: Israel scolds former congresswoman for being on Gaza-bound boat
Israeli naval vessel, boat with medical volunteers collide
in Mediterranean
Boat's crew contends naval vessel rammed it intentionally
Israel denies intentionally hitting boat carrying journalists,
medical supplies
(CNN) -- An Israeli patrol boat struck a boat carrying medical
volunteers and supplies to Gaza early Tuesday as it attempted to
intercept the vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, witnesses and
Israeli officials said.
The Dignity arrives in Tyre, Lebanon, after it was
reportedly rammed by an Israeli military vessel Tuesday.
CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul was aboard the 60-foot
pleasure boat Dignity when the contact occurred. When the boat later
docked in the Lebanese port city of Tyre, severe damage was visible
to the forward port side of the boat, and the front left window and
part of the roof had collapsed. It was flying the flag of Gibraltar.
The Dignity was carrying crew and 16 passengers -- physicians from
Britain, Germany and Cyprus and human rights activists from the
Free Gaza Solidarity Movement -- who were trying to reach Gaza
through an Israeli blockade of the territory.
Also on board was former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney.
Penhaul said an Israeli patrol boat shined its spotlight on
the Dignity, and then it and another patrol boat shadowed the Dignity
for about a half hour before the collision.
One patrol boat "very severely rammed" the Dignity, Penhaul said.
The captain of the Dignity told Penhaul he received no warning. Only
after the collision did the Israelis come on the radio to say they
struck the boat because they believed it was involved in terrorist
activities, the captain said.
But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor denied that and
said the patrol boat had warned the vessel not to proceed to Gaza
because it is a closed military area.
Palmor said there was no response to the radio message, and
the vessel then tried to out-maneuver the Israeli patrol boat,
leading to the collision.
The captain and crew said their vessel was struck intentionally,
Penhaul said, but Palmor called those allegations "absurd."
"There is no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram
anybody," Palmor said.
"I would call it ramming. Let's just call it as it is," McKinney said
after the boat docked in Lebanon. "Our boat was rammed three times,
twice in the front and one on the side.
Watch Cynthia McKinney discuss the collision »
http://www.cnn. com/2008/ WORLD/meast/ 12/30/gaza. aid.boat/ index.html# cnn
STCVideo
"Our mission was a peaceful mission to deliver medical
supplies and our mission was thwarted by the Israelis -- the
aggressiveness of the Israeli military," she said.
The incident occurred in international waters about 90 miles
off Gaza. Israel controls the waters off Gaza's coast and routinely
blocks ships from coming into the Palestinian territory as part of an
ongoing blockade that also applies to the Israel-Gaza border. Human
rights groups have expressed concern about the blockade on Gaza,
which has restricted the delivery of emergency aid and fuel supplies.
Tuesday's collision was so severe, Penhaul said, that the passengers
were ordered to put on their life vests and be ready to get in
lifeboats. The Dignity began taking on water, but the crew managed to
pump it out of the hull long enough for the boat to reach shore.
"It could have ended with people drowning if they hit us more square
on," Dignity's captain, Denis Healey, said. "It could have gone down
in minutes."
Palmor said the vessel refused assistance after the incident.
The boat was carrying boxes of relief supplies, volunteers and
journalists to Gaza, the Palestinian territory that has been subject
to an intense Israeli bombing campaign since Saturday.
Israel Tuesday lambasted McKinney -- the Green Party's 2008 candidate
for the U.S. presidency and a former Democratic congresswoman from
Georgia -- for taking part in the maritime mission.
In a written statement, the Consulate General of Israel to the
Southeast, based in Atlanta, Georgia, said McKinney "has taken it
upon herself to commit an act of provocation, " endangering herself
and the crew.
"We regret that during this time of crisis, while Israel is
battling with the terrorist organization of Hamas and defending its
citizens, that we are forced to deal with Ms. McKinney's
irresponsible behavior," the statement read.
The trip was the Free Gaza Solidarity Movement's sixth in as
many months. Israel launched airstrikes against Gaza on Saturday in
what Defense Minister Ehud Barak called an "all-out war" against the
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has ruled the territory since
2007. The Israeli military says its goal is to stop a recent barrage
of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel.
Watch the chaos in Gaza and Israel »
The Palestinian death toll has topped 375, most of them Hamas
militants, Palestinian medical sources said Tuesday. At least 60
civilians have been killed in Gaza, U.N. officials said.
Hamas has continued to fire rockets at southern Israeli towns since
the airstrikes began, Israel says. Six Israelis have been killed --
five of them civilians.
Hamas has vowed to defend Gaza in the face of what it calls continued
Israeli aggression. Each side blames the other for violating an
Egyptian-brokered cease-fire, which formally expired December 19,
but had been weakening for months.
===
McKinney relief boat hit by Israeli ship
By CRAIG SCHNEIDER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitutio n
Monday, December 29, 2008 http://www.ajc. com/metro/ content/metro/ dekalb/stories/ 2008/12/29/ cynthia_mckinney _gaza.html? cxntlid=brkng_ nws_bnr
A boat carrying international activists, including former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.
The crowds on the docks in the Lebanese port city of Tyre were jubilant and cheering as they welcomed the vessel.
Cynthia McKinney is aboard the yacht Dignity, which set sail from Cyprus on Monday.
The boat, which set off from Cyprus Monday wanted to make a statement and deliver medical supplies to embattled Gaza. The trip’s organizers said the boat was clearly in international waters, 90 miles off the coast of Gaza, at the time of its close encounter with the Israeli navy.
“Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side,” McKinney told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our mission was a peaceful mission. Our mission was thwarted by the aggressiveness of the Israeli military.”
Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, denied there had been any shooting although the two ships had made “physical contact.”
Palmor said there was no response to a radio warning to the Dignity, and the vessel then tried to out-maneuver the Israeli patrol boat, leading to the collision.
Cyprus state radio said the Cypriot government would seek explanations from Israel over the incident.
McKinney called on President-elect Obama to address the Gaza crisis, saying the weapons being used by Israel were supplied by the United States.
McKinney denied that the incident was an accident. “What the Israelis are saying is outright disinformation,” she said. “What happened to us last night was a direct threat to our mission, but not our cause.”
Palmor called those allegations “absurd.”
“There is no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram anybody,” Palmor said.
In a press release, the Free Gaza movement stated, “Contrary to international maritime law, the Israelis are actively preventing the Dignity from approaching Gaza or finding safe haven in either Egypt or Lebanon. Instead, the Israeli navy is demanding that the Dignity return to Cyprus — despite the fact that the ship does not carry enough fuel to do so.”
McKinney is a high-profile member of a boatload of activists that set sail Monday from Cyprus to deliver medicine to war-torn Gaza.
McKinney, who ran as the Green Party candidate for president, sees the voyage as a humanitarian mission, said her father, former Georgia state Rep. Billy McKinney.
“Her mother did not want her to go,” he said, referring to concerns at home for her safety.
“But I think that certain people have missions in life and you can’t deter them.”
The activists, organized by the Free Gaza Group, said their 66-foot yacht called “SS Dignity” would defy an Israeli blockade of Gaza and ferry 16 activists and three tons of Cypriot-donated supplies. The supplies are intended to help treat the wounded from Israeli bombings against targets in Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns.
Israel’s aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued for a third day on Monday. By Monday, the death toll rose to 364, with some 1,400 reported wounded, according to Palestinian medical officials.
McKinney had sent an e-mail days ago to friends and supporters saying she intended to go to Gaza, said Hugh Esco, a Decatur resident who ran her presidential campaign Web site.
“She has stood with people all over this planet against oppression,” said Esco.
McKinney said she will petition President-elect Barack Obama to speak out against the attacks on Gaza.
The Free Gaza group has made five deliveries of aid by boat to Gaza since August, defying a blockade imposed by Israel when Hamas won control of the territory in June 2007. Organizers say they are aware they may be stopped this time.
“I don’t know if she’ll get off the boat,” her father said. “I hope she gets back safely.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
===
Oh What a Day!
Cynthia McKinney
December 30, 2008
I'm so glad that my father told me to buy a special notebook and to write everything down because that's exactly what I did.
When we left from Cyprus, one reporter asked me "are you afraid?" And I had to respond that Malcolm X wasn't afraid; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wasn't afraid. But little did I know that just a few hours later, I would be recollecting my life and mentally preparing myself for death.
When we left Cyprus, the Mediterranean was beautiful. I remember the time when it might have been beautiful to look at, but it was also filthy. The Europeans have taken great strides to clean it up and yesterday, it was beautiful. And the way the sunlight hit the sea, I remember thinking to myself that's why they call it azure. It was the most beautiful blue.
But sometimes it was rough, and we got behind on our schedule. We stayed on course, however, despite the roughness of the water and due to our exquisite captain.
There were no other ships or boats around us and night descended upon us all rather quickly. It was the darkest black and suddenly, out of nowhere, came searchlights disturbing our peace. The searchlights stayed with us for about half an hour or so. We knew they were Israeli ships. Who else would they be?
They were fast, and they would come close and then drop back. And then, they'd come close again. And then, all of a sudden there was complete blackness once again and all seemed right. The cat and mouse game went on for at least one half hour. What were they doing? And why?
Calm again. Black sky, black sea. Peace. And then, at that very moment, when all seemed right, out of nowhere we were rammed and rammed again and rammed again the last one throwing me off the couch, sending all our food up in the air; and all the plastic bags and tubs--evidence of sea sicknesses among the crew and passen gers--flew all over the cabin and all over us. We'd been rammed by the Israelis. How did we know? Because they called us on the phone afterwards to tell us that we were engaging in subversive, terroristic activity. And if that if we didn't turn around right then and return to Larnaca, Cyprus, we would be fired upon. We quickly grabbed our lifevests and put them on. Then the captain announced that the boat was taking on water. We might have to evacuate. One of my mates told me to prepare to die. And I reflected that I have lived a good and full life. I have tasted freedom and know what it is. I was right with myself and my decision to join the Free Gaza movement.
I remembered my father's parting words, "You all will be sitting ducks." Just like the U.S.S. Liberty. We were engaged in peaceful activity, a harmless pleasure boat, carrying a load of hospital supplies for the people of Gaza, who, too are sitting ducks, currently being bombarded in aerial assault by the Israeli military.
It's been a long day for us. The captain was outstanding. Throughout it all, he remained stoic and calm, effective in every way. I didn't know how to put my life jacket on. One of the passengers kindly assisted me. Another of the passengers pointed out that the Israeli motors for those huge, fast boats was U.S. made--a gift to them from the U.S. And now they were using those motors to damage a pleasure boat outfitted with three tons of hospital supplies, one pediatrician, and two surgeons.
I have called for President-elect Obama to say something. The Palestinian people in the Gaza strip are seeing the worst violence in 60 years, it is being reported. To date, President-elect Obama has remained silent. The Israelis are using weapons supplied to them by the U.S. government. Strict enforcement of U.S. law would require the cessation of all weapons transfers to Israel.&nbs p; Adherence to international law would require the same. As we are about to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, let us remember that he said:
1. The United States is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world, and
2. Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent about things that matter.
I implore the President-elect to not send Congress a budget that contains more weapons for Israel. We have so much more to offer. And I implore the Congress to vote "no" on any budget and appropriation bills that provide more weapons transfers, period.
Israel is able to carry out these intense military maneuvers because taxpayers in the U.S. give their hard-earned money to our Representatives in Congress and our Congress chooses to spend that money in this way. Let's stop it and stop it now. There's been too much blood shed. And while we still walk among the living, let us not remain silent about the things that matter.
We really can promote peace and have it if we demand it of our leaders.
===
Eyewitness account of Israeli terror in Gaza
12/31/08
From: iristulip@gmail. com
Marna house, Gaza city, Vittorio Arrigoni, Volunteer,
International Solidarity Movement
An acrid smell of sulphur fills the air while the sky is shaken by earth-shattering rumbles. My ears are now deaf to the explosions, while my eyes are all out of tears from all the corpses. I stand in front of Al Shifa hospital, Gaza's main hospital, and we've just received Israel's terrible threat that they intend to bomb its wing under construction. This would be nothing new, as Wea'm hospital was bombed just yesterday, along with a medicine warehouse in Rafah, the Islamic university, which was also destroyed, along with various mosques scattered along the Strip. Not to mention many CIVILIAN structures.
Apparently, they can no longer find "sensible" targets, the air force and the navy is targeting places of worship, schools and hospitals. It's another 9/11 every single hour, every minute around here, and tomorrow is always a new day of mourning, always identical to the previous one. You notice the helicopters and airplanes constantly overhead, you see a flash, but you're already a goner and it's too late to take flight.
There are no bunkers against the bombs in the Strip and no place is really safe. I can't contact my friends in Rafah, not even those who live North of Gaza City, hopefully because the phone lines are overloaded. Hopefully. I haven't slept in 60 hours, and same goes for every Gazan. Yesterday three other ISM members and I spent the entire night at the al Awda hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp. We were there because we were fearing the much dreaded ground raid that never happened. But the Israeli tanks are posted all along the Strip's border, and their corpse-hungry creaks will apparently form a funeral march tonight. Around 11:30 PM a bomb fell about 800 metres from the hospital, the shock wave blow several windows apart, injuring the injured.
An ambulance arrived, then they blew up a mosque, thankfully empty at that time. Unfortunately, though it actually has nothing to do with bad luck but with the criminal and a terrorist will to massacre civilians, the Israeli bomb has also struck the building adjacent to the mosque, which was also destroyed. We watched as the tiny bodies of six little sisters were pulled out of the rubble – five are dead, one is in life-threatening conditions.
They laid the little girls out on the blackened asphalt, and they looked like broken dolls, disposed of as they were no longer usable. This wasn't a mistake, but a voluntary, and cynical horror. We're at a toll of 320 dead, more than a thousand wounded and, according to a doctor at Shifa, 60% of these are destined to die in the next few hours or days, after prolonged agony.There are many missing, and for the last two days despairing wives have been searching for their husbands or children in hospitals, often to no avail. The morgue is a macabre spectacle. A nurse told me that after hours of searching, a Palestinian woman recognized her husband from his amputated hand. All that's left of her husband, and the wedding band on her finger from the eternal love they had sworn one another.
Out of a house inhabited by two families, very little has remained of their bodies. They showed their relatives half of one bust and three legs. Right now, one of our Free Gaza Movement boats is leaving the port in Larnaca, Cyprus. I spoke to my friends on board. They've heroically amassed medicine and steeped it everywhere in the boat. It should reach the port of Gaza tomorrow around 8:00 AM. [NOTE: Israel rammed the boat and forced it back to Cyprus.] Here's to hoping that the port will still exist after another night of endless bombing. I'll be in touch with them for the entire night. Please, someone stop this nightmare. Choosing to remain silent means somehow lending support to the genocide unfolding right now. Shout out your indignation, in every capital of the "civilized" world, in every city, in every square, covering our own screams of pain and terror. A slice of humanity is dying in pitiful in a useless listening.
Sign a Petition! Please!
IAC | About the IAC | IAC Books and Resources | Contact Us | Donate
Urgent Appeal for Israel to Immediately Cease Its Murderous Bombing, Siege and Threatened Invasion of Palestinian Gaza!
To: President George W. Bush, President-Elect Barack Obama, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State Designate Hillary Clinton, Vice President Richard Cheney, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Congressional leaders, U.N. Secretary General Ban, U.N. General Assembly President d'Escoto-Brockmann, members of the U.N. Security Council, U.N. member states, the President, Prime Minister, Cabinet and Opposition leader of Israel, and Major media representatives:
For 60 years, Israel has persecuted the Palestinian people with impunity in defiance of United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Security Council Resolutions, orders of the International Court of Justice, International Law and fundamental human rights.
Throughout the years, Israel has proclaimed itself the victim as it grew richer, more powerful and more violent, while
Palestinians were abused, impoverished, divided and demeaned.
A consistent tactic of Israel through all the years has been to divide Palestinians against their most effective organizations. Through most of the recent years Israel has attacked Fatah. Now it is Hamas that Israel attacks. But there is only one Palestinian people and there can be only one Palestinian State. This has been the guiding principle of the PLO. Israel's policy has always been to destroy the possibility of a Palestinian State. Its criminal assault on Hamas is in truth Israel's continuing assault on the possibility of a Palestinian State: divide and conquer.
Now in the waning days of the disastrous Bush Administration, the government of Israel with its Prime Minister under criminal indictment, is testing whether world opinion will permit it to escalate its isolation and impoverishment of Palestine and selective and systematic assassination of Palestinian leadership in Gaza to a genocidal, indiscriminate assault and invasion of Palestinian Gaza, knowing full well its acts will inflame passions throughout the Middle East and Arab and Muslim worlds risking conflict of disastrous magnitude in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, even between India and Pakistan.
Beyond crushing Gaza's capacity to resist and imposing its final solution on Palestinians, Israel is seeking confrontation that will lead to war with the U.S., the European Union, and NATO fighting for Israel against Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan to impair their ability to prevent expansion of Israel's domination of the region while the "only one President at a time" the U.S. has, George W. Bush, will support Israel, finding all fault with Gaza.
In these dangerous and difficult days and hours the undersigned call upon the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, NATO members, and European countries independently, the governments of Asia, foremost China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, the nations of Africa, and the Americas to demand an immediate ceasefire throughout Israel and Palestine and the assurance of peace. All borders to Gaza, Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, must be opened for humanitarian relief and a complete arms and trade embargo on Israel until it fully complies with all the requirements of permanent peace.
We call upon all the people, the ultimate power in every nation when organized and energized, to take to the streets where they live and demand that their governments do all in their power to cause Israel to stop its war of aggression against Palestine and for all parties to pursue peace and for Israel, the U.S. and other nations who have provided material support for Israel's aggression to be held accountable for the deaths, injuries and damage Israel has inflicted.
We call upon governments and humanitarian agencies to provide all needed emergency relief to Palestine - medical care, food, humanitarian supplies, shelter; and on all the media that truly seeks peace, justice and respect for the equal dignity of every child, woman and man on earth to headline the demand that Israel stop its aggression immediately. All parties must engage in continuous negotiation with all Palestinians until a one state solution is agreed or the state of Palestine as mandated not later than October 1948 in UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947) is created, fully implemented, and Palestine thrives.
Sincerely,
Initiated and signed by
Ramsey Clark, winner, 2008 U.N.Human Rights Award and Founder, International Action Center
As of Friday morning, more than 360,000 petitions have been sent!
Please add your voice to the thousands who are demanding: Stop the massacre in Gaza!
Please help get the word out - pass this message along, post it on local bulleting boards & Indymedia,
Please add your voice to the thousands who are demanding: Stop the massacre in Gaza!
Please help get the word out - pass this message along, post it on local bulleting boards & Indymedia,
Sign the Petition Online Now - http://www.iacenter.org/gazapetition
Join the ONLINE PETITION initiated by Ramsey Clark - sign on and send the message to President Bush, President-Elect Obama, VP Cheney, VP-Elect Biden, Secretary of State Rice, Secretary of State designate Clinton, Congressional leaders, the U.N. Secretary General, Security Council, the Israeli President, Prime Minister and cabinet, and members of the world media appealing for Israel to Immediately Cease Its Murderous Bombing, Siege and Threatened Invasion of Palestinian Gaza
Urgent Appeal for Israel to Immediately Cease Its Murderous Bombing, Siege and Threatened Invasion of Palestinian Gaza!
To: President George W. Bush, President-Elect Barack Obama, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State Designate Hillary Clinton, Vice President Richard Cheney, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Congressional leaders, U.N. Secretary General Ban, U.N. General Assembly President d'Escoto-Brockmann, members of the U.N. Security Council, U.N. member states, the President, Prime Minister, Cabinet and Opposition leader of Israel, and Major media representatives:
For 60 years, Israel has persecuted the Palestinian people with impunity in defiance of United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Security Council Resolutions, orders of the International Court of Justice, International Law and fundamental human rights.
Throughout the years, Israel has proclaimed itself the victim as it grew richer, more powerful and more violent, while
| URGENT! The International Action Center is mobilizing for demonstrations across the U.S. to stop the attack on Gaza, and we are networking with activists across the globe who are taking to the streets against U.S./Israeli war crimes. To view a roundup of the growing number of international actions, see: http://www.iacenter.org/palestine/gazademos123108. Please consider making an emergency donation at http://www.iacenter.org/donate to help with the costs of organizing and mobilizing. NYC: Gaza Massacre: Emergency Demonstration - Sat. Jan. 3, 1 pm, Times Square Emergency Demo in Boston, Sat, Jan 3: Stop the US/Israeli Attack on Gaza! LA event Friday at 4:30 pm at the Israeli Consulate at 6380 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles Solidarity with heroic Gaza: Statement from the International Action Center - Dec. 27, 2008 / also en Español Video: Support for Gaza! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4hejAqOUMY&feature=channel_page |
A consistent tactic of Israel through all the years has been to divide Palestinians against their most effective organizations. Through most of the recent years Israel has attacked Fatah. Now it is Hamas that Israel attacks. But there is only one Palestinian people and there can be only one Palestinian State. This has been the guiding principle of the PLO. Israel's policy has always been to destroy the possibility of a Palestinian State. Its criminal assault on Hamas is in truth Israel's continuing assault on the possibility of a Palestinian State: divide and conquer.
Now in the waning days of the disastrous Bush Administration, the government of Israel with its Prime Minister under criminal indictment, is testing whether world opinion will permit it to escalate its isolation and impoverishment of Palestine and selective and systematic assassination of Palestinian leadership in Gaza to a genocidal, indiscriminate assault and invasion of Palestinian Gaza, knowing full well its acts will inflame passions throughout the Middle East and Arab and Muslim worlds risking conflict of disastrous magnitude in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, even between India and Pakistan.
Beyond crushing Gaza's capacity to resist and imposing its final solution on Palestinians, Israel is seeking confrontation that will lead to war with the U.S., the European Union, and NATO fighting for Israel against Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan and Afghanistan to impair their ability to prevent expansion of Israel's domination of the region while the "only one President at a time" the U.S. has, George W. Bush, will support Israel, finding all fault with Gaza.
In these dangerous and difficult days and hours the undersigned call upon the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, NATO members, and European countries independently, the governments of Asia, foremost China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, the nations of Africa, and the Americas to demand an immediate ceasefire throughout Israel and Palestine and the assurance of peace. All borders to Gaza, Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, must be opened for humanitarian relief and a complete arms and trade embargo on Israel until it fully complies with all the requirements of permanent peace.
We call upon all the people, the ultimate power in every nation when organized and energized, to take to the streets where they live and demand that their governments do all in their power to cause Israel to stop its war of aggression against Palestine and for all parties to pursue peace and for Israel, the U.S. and other nations who have provided material support for Israel's aggression to be held accountable for the deaths, injuries and damage Israel has inflicted.
We call upon governments and humanitarian agencies to provide all needed emergency relief to Palestine - medical care, food, humanitarian supplies, shelter; and on all the media that truly seeks peace, justice and respect for the equal dignity of every child, woman and man on earth to headline the demand that Israel stop its aggression immediately. All parties must engage in continuous negotiation with all Palestinians until a one state solution is agreed or the state of Palestine as mandated not later than October 1948 in UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947) is created, fully implemented, and Palestine thrives.
Sincerely,
Initiated and signed by
Ramsey Clark, winner, 2008 U.N.Human Rights Award and Founder, International Action Center
Add your signature to this letter now - go to http://www.iacenter.org/gazapetition
Mercy Corps Responds to Gaza Crisis
Mercy Corps Responds to Gaza Crisis
December 29, 2008
Country: West Bank/Gaza
Topic: Emergencies
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| A Palestinian boy walks over a destroyed Hamas security building after Israeli missile strikes against Hamas security compounds in Gaza City on Saturday. Photo: Ali Ali/epa/Corbis | ||
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Mercy Corps plans to ship four tons worth of rice, canned tuna, dates and soy oil into Gaza to alleviate humanitarian needs stemming from recent conflict.
Mercy Corps has already purchased the provisions from a Jerusalem distributor, and is negotiating with Israeli officials to gain access to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Israel. We expect distributions to begin Monday.
Your donation to our Gaza Crisis Fund will help us expand distributions of humanitarian relief items for families besieged by the military action in Gaza.
Mercy Corps is monitoring evolving humanitarian needs in the embattled Gaza Strip as our programs there — which offer psychosocial assistance to children and provide vulnerable residents with short-term jobs such as sewing hospital linens and baking for kindergartens — are on hold as Israel continues its military offensive.
The Red Cross calls the humanitarian situation in Gaza "alarming," with rapidly rising commodities prices and "chaotic" scenes at hospitals. The UN reports long lines at functioning bakeries and power outages up to 16 hours throughout the territory.
Even before the military action, Mercy Corps programs were struggling to operate because of Israel's frequent closure of the Gazan border, which led to fuel rationing and electricity and water shortages.
For example, our program that employs out-of-work Gazans to sew gowns and linens for local hospitals has slowed due to a lack of electricity to run the sewing machines. Staff are also paying two to two-and-a-half times more for fabric that's of a lower quality than was available before the closure.
Mercy Corps currently offers members of the most vulnerable Gazan families short-term jobs in clothesmaking, food production, and education. Our presence in Gaza dates to 2005, when we distributed much-needed medical supplies, food packages, cooking fuel, and kitchenware to families affected by border closures.
Our programs also offer recreational activities to children to help them deal with conflict-related trauma, build self-esteem and interactive skills. We also reach Gazans through our Middle East youth exchange program, Global Youth Connection, which connects hundreds of Palestinian youth in Gaza and the West Bank with their U.S. peers at high schools in the American Northwest.
Make a gift to our Gaza Crisis Fund >
Friday, January 2, 2009
END THE WAR ON GAZA - ANOTHER MOBILIZATION OF PROTEST***
**END THE WAR ON GAZA - ANOTHER MOBILIZATION OF PROTEST***
The Israeli war machine, bought & paid for with U.S. tax dollars, is continuing it's war, & suffocation of the Palestinian people. We must continue to mobilize our protest.
SATURDAY JAN. 3rd, 2009
from 2pm - 5pm
CNN Building - downtown Atlanta, GA
Assalaamu Alaykum, This is a statement just released by the Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Verdicts : on the Palestinian crisis. If there is good in the translation then it is from Allaah, and if there are mistakes then it is from me and the shaytaan; and your advise would be appreciated inshaAllaah.
All perfect praise is for Allaah The Lord of All that exists, and may His blessings and good mention be upon the best of His Prophets and Messengers; our Prophet Muhammad, and also his family and his companions and those who follow them upon good; upto the Last Day.
To Proceed:
The Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Verdicts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has followed – with all sorrow and pain- what has occurred, and is still going on against our Muslim brethren in Palestine – and specifically in Gaza. That which is [actions] of oppression, and killing of children, and women and old people! And [it is] transgression on that which is sacred [innocent], and the destruction of infrastructure and institutions, and the terrorizing of innocent people. And there is no doubt that this is a crime and oppression on the rights of the Palestinian nation.
And at this sorrowful event; it is an obligation on the Muslims to be with their Palestinian brethren, and to help and aid them, and to make an effort to lift the oppression against them – through any means which is of their reach – so as to actualize the Islamic bond, and the ties of 'Eeman.
Allaah The Exalted said:
"The believers are indeed brothers [in Islâmic religion]." (Al-Hujuraat: 10)
And He The Most Mighty, The Most Majestic said:
"The believers, men and women, are Auliyâ' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another…" (At-Tawba : 71)
And The Prophet (sallahAllaahu alayhi wasallam) said :
"The believer to another believer is like the structure [like a wall] ; each part strengthens the other,' and then he co-enjoined his fingers." (Agreed upon)
And he (may Allaah's blessings and good mention be upon him) also said:
"The example of the believers in their relationship, and their love, and their having mercy upon each other ; is like the example of one body part to the rest of the body; if one part is affected then the whole body complains of fever and pain." (Agreed upon)
And he (may Allaah's blessings and good mention be upon him) also said:
"The Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he does not oppress him, nor does he deceive him, nor does he give him up to the enemy, nor does he look down on him." (Narrated by Muslim)
And help comprises of many things –according to the ability, and depending on the situations – whether it is intellectually or physical [things], or whether it is from the general Muslims through wealth, and food, and medicine, and clothing, and other things. Or whether it is from the Islamic Arab nations through making it easy and possible that the aid reaches them, and by taking a sincere position in regards to their [the Palestinian Muslims] matter, and by supporting their case in the gatherings, and seminars, and the international conferences: And all of these are from the ways of co-operation upon good and piety – which is something that is ordered- in the statement of The Exalted :
"Help you one another in virtue, righteousness and piety…" (Al-Maaida : 2)
And also from those ways is: to direct sincere advice to them [the Muslims in Palestine], and to direct them to that which is of good and of benefit to them. And from the greatest of those is to make du'aa for them -at all times – so that their tribulation is lifted, and their affliction is raised, and that their situation is rectified, and that their statements and actions become good.
Upon this, we also advise our Muslim brethren in Palestine to have fear of Allaah – The Exalted- and to return to Him, just as we advise them to be united; upon the truth, and to leave off divisions and splitting up, and not to give a chance to the enemy – who has taken advantage of it – and will continue to use it in enmity and oppression.
And we also encourage and emphasize our brethren to take the causes which will lead to lifting the oppression directed at their land – while having complete sincerity to Allaah The Exalted – in [those and all other] actions, and to seek His pleasure, and to seek His assistance – through righteous actions, and prayers, and consulting the scholars and people of wisdom; in all their matters – indeed that is a way of being facilitated [to that which is good] and establishment.
Just as we call on to the intellectuals in the world and the international meetings; to have an open look at this catastrophe – with a look of insight, intellect, and equality – so that the Palestinian community can be given its rights. And so that the oppression be lifted from it: such that they live in a honourable life. And at the same time we thank all -the nations and individuals- who have initiated in aiding and helping them.
We ask Allaah by His Beautiful Names and His Lofty Attributes; that He lifts the despair on this Ummah, and that He strengthens its religion, and to raise its statement, and to aid His allies, and to disgrace His enemies -and to return back their plots against themselves- and to save the Muslims from their evil, Indeed He is the Patron, and the One who is Most Able of all that. And may His blessings and good mention be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and also his family and his companions and those who follow them upon good; upto the Last Day.
His eminence; the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia,
President of the Council of Senior Scholars,
Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Ibn 'Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaykh.
Member of Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Verdicts .
Translation by Abu Waheeda As-Salafi
5th Muharram 1429.
Source : The Madeenah Journal
http://www.al- madina.com/ node/89303
Note : As you can see this call is of no way an announcement of violence or terrorism. Rather it is a sincere advise to all those involved – in their respective- categories.
And InshaAllaah it will be followed by our next article – in this series – of the Palestinian affair; by an article exposing the cause of the problem, and those who endorse it, and the solution.
Please forward to all.
All perfect praise is for Allaah The Lord of All that exists, and may His blessings and good mention be upon the best of His Prophets and Messengers; our Prophet Muhammad, and also his family and his companions and those who follow them upon good; upto the Last Day.
To Proceed:
The Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Verdicts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has followed – with all sorrow and pain- what has occurred, and is still going on against our Muslim brethren in Palestine – and specifically in Gaza. That which is [actions] of oppression, and killing of children, and women and old people! And [it is] transgression on that which is sacred [innocent], and the destruction of infrastructure and institutions, and the terrorizing of innocent people. And there is no doubt that this is a crime and oppression on the rights of the Palestinian nation.
And at this sorrowful event; it is an obligation on the Muslims to be with their Palestinian brethren, and to help and aid them, and to make an effort to lift the oppression against them – through any means which is of their reach – so as to actualize the Islamic bond, and the ties of 'Eeman.
Allaah The Exalted said:
"The believers are indeed brothers [in Islâmic religion]." (Al-Hujuraat: 10)
And He The Most Mighty, The Most Majestic said:
"The believers, men and women, are Auliyâ' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another…" (At-Tawba : 71)
And The Prophet (sallahAllaahu alayhi wasallam) said :
"The believer to another believer is like the structure [like a wall] ; each part strengthens the other,' and then he co-enjoined his fingers." (Agreed upon)
And he (may Allaah's blessings and good mention be upon him) also said:
"The example of the believers in their relationship, and their love, and their having mercy upon each other ; is like the example of one body part to the rest of the body; if one part is affected then the whole body complains of fever and pain." (Agreed upon)
And he (may Allaah's blessings and good mention be upon him) also said:
"The Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he does not oppress him, nor does he deceive him, nor does he give him up to the enemy, nor does he look down on him." (Narrated by Muslim)
And help comprises of many things –according to the ability, and depending on the situations – whether it is intellectually or physical [things], or whether it is from the general Muslims through wealth, and food, and medicine, and clothing, and other things. Or whether it is from the Islamic Arab nations through making it easy and possible that the aid reaches them, and by taking a sincere position in regards to their [the Palestinian Muslims] matter, and by supporting their case in the gatherings, and seminars, and the international conferences: And all of these are from the ways of co-operation upon good and piety – which is something that is ordered- in the statement of The Exalted :
"Help you one another in virtue, righteousness and piety…" (Al-Maaida : 2)
And also from those ways is: to direct sincere advice to them [the Muslims in Palestine], and to direct them to that which is of good and of benefit to them. And from the greatest of those is to make du'aa for them -at all times – so that their tribulation is lifted, and their affliction is raised, and that their situation is rectified, and that their statements and actions become good.
Upon this, we also advise our Muslim brethren in Palestine to have fear of Allaah – The Exalted- and to return to Him, just as we advise them to be united; upon the truth, and to leave off divisions and splitting up, and not to give a chance to the enemy – who has taken advantage of it – and will continue to use it in enmity and oppression.
And we also encourage and emphasize our brethren to take the causes which will lead to lifting the oppression directed at their land – while having complete sincerity to Allaah The Exalted – in [those and all other] actions, and to seek His pleasure, and to seek His assistance – through righteous actions, and prayers, and consulting the scholars and people of wisdom; in all their matters – indeed that is a way of being facilitated [to that which is good] and establishment.
Just as we call on to the intellectuals in the world and the international meetings; to have an open look at this catastrophe – with a look of insight, intellect, and equality – so that the Palestinian community can be given its rights. And so that the oppression be lifted from it: such that they live in a honourable life. And at the same time we thank all -the nations and individuals- who have initiated in aiding and helping them.
We ask Allaah by His Beautiful Names and His Lofty Attributes; that He lifts the despair on this Ummah, and that He strengthens its religion, and to raise its statement, and to aid His allies, and to disgrace His enemies -and to return back their plots against themselves- and to save the Muslims from their evil, Indeed He is the Patron, and the One who is Most Able of all that. And may His blessings and good mention be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and also his family and his companions and those who follow them upon good; upto the Last Day.
His eminence; the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia,
President of the Council of Senior Scholars,
Shaykh 'Abdul-'Azeez Ibn 'Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaykh.
Member of Permanent Committee for Islaamic Research and Verdicts .
Translation by Abu Waheeda As-Salafi
5th Muharram 1429.
Source : The Madeenah Journal
http://www.al- madina.com/ node/89303
Note : As you can see this call is of no way an announcement of violence or terrorism. Rather it is a sincere advise to all those involved – in their respective- categories.
And InshaAllaah it will be followed by our next article – in this series – of the Palestinian affair; by an article exposing the cause of the problem, and those who endorse it, and the solution.
Please forward to all.
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