On Thursday, November 13, the UN agency UNRWA announced that because of Israel’s continued tight closure of the border with Gaza, it would have to stop the distribution of basic foodstuffs on which fully half of Gaza’s 1.5 million people have long been forced to rely.
The Gaza-Israel border has also, over the past ten days, seen an escalation of military action between the two sides. Between November 6 and 12, Israeli armed forces killed four Palestinians, injured seven more. Rockets launched by Hamas against Israel injured one elderly Israeli woman.
Of course, the armed actions by each side also sowed terror among the members of the communities targeted.
These armed actions by both sides seem to undermine the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire that went into operation between Israel and Hamas back in June– though not all observers agree about that (see below.)
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has continued to perpetuate the US-originated myth that what is happening between Israel and Gaza is only Palestinian armed action versus Israeli blocading. In that statement Ban quite ignored the fact that Israel has also been engaging in armed action along that border, and has thereby played its part in fueling the cycle of direct armed violence while it has also continued to perpetrate extreme ‘structural’ violence against all the Palestinians of Gaza.
Ban’s subservience to Washington on the Palestinian question still seems quite extreme. I did, however, note what might have been one small glimmer of hope: When he was in Egypt on November 8-9 he met with leading representative of the other three members of the “Quartet”: Russia’s foreign minister, the US Secretary of State; and no fewer than three leading representatives of the EU (Solana, Ferrero-Walodner, and Kouchner.) At the press conference the Quartet reps held after their meeting, it was Ban who got to read out their statement.
Does this mean that leadership within the Quartet is quietly passing from Washington to the UN? I certainly hope so! It wouldn’t be a day too late. Unlike the US, the UN has the full weight and legitimacy of the international community behind it in its actions towards the Middle East. Its work is fully based on international norms and is not biased towards any one country in the region.
Regarding the status of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire, meanwhile, Haaretz’s Amos Harel and Ami Issacharoff write in Sunday’s paper that:
- As things looked Saturday night, it seems Hamas can confidently tack on a few advantage points recently accumulated in its conflict with Israel in the Gaza Strip. The massive barrage of Qassam rockets (as well as, in recent days, Katyushas and Grads) completely removed from Palestinian discourse criticism of the organization, which recently left reconciliation talks with Fatah.
Hamas has successfully conveyed the message that it has overpowered Israel and will soon be able to return to the cease-fire [tahadiyeh] from an advantageous position.
On Saturday night, after 24 hours without rockets, it seems that chances are growing of the cease-fire going back into effect. Still, in light of similar estimates being proven false in recent days, it is still too early to determine whether Hamas will remain loyal to its word and impose discipline on its members and the smaller Palestinian factions.
For its part, the Chinese news agency Xinhua now carries a “news analysis” piece datelined Gaza November 16, that quotes a number of Palestinian analysts who judge,
- that the aim of the recent wave of fighting between Israel and Hamas following four months of complete calm, is to test each other’s power in case the truce, which expires on Dec. 19, was not extended.
“I believe that both Hamas and Israel are interested in keeping the truce in the Gaza Strip because the last four months of clam had served both Hamas and Israel’s interests,” said Jamal Abu Halima, a Palestinian academic from Gaza.
I am intrigued to note the degree to which Xinhua has beefed up its English-language coverage of Middle East affairs in recent years. Check out their latest offerings on this portal page.
I take this as an indication that China’s CP rulers are investing quite a lot in trying to understand the region much better– as well to educate their own public about it, and to disseminate a made-in-China version of the news from the Middle East to a broader global public.
Sounds like a possible precursor to deeper diplomatic involvement in the affairs of the region, don’t you think? Let’s hope so. All the non-US members of the UN’s veto-wielding P-5 group need to start taking a lot more active responsibility for the peace of the whole Middle East.
Our reign of terror, by the Israeli army
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/our-reign-of-terror-by-the-israeli-army-811769.html
The situation in Gaza gets more and more like the Warsaw Ghetto every day. Now the plan is to starve them out. And there’s lots of talk in Israel about military elimination.
And do you believe it, those naughty Jewish terrorists in Warsaw used to dare to resist the Germans as well! Quite unacceptable! (irony alert for those who are weak of understanding)
Gaza – the world’s biggest ‘gulag’!!!
Israel, it seems to me, only exists as an extention of US imperialism.
I think the Jewish orthodox group – Neturei Karta, have got the whole Israeli situation pretty much summed up correctly. (Check it out at nkusa.org)
Because Zionism is not compatible with true Judaism, I believe the Israeli State will one day, come to an appropriate end – but probably not before the US Empire becomes bankrupt through financing its over bloated global militarism.
As long as US Presidents and would-be Presidents continue to feel it necessary to genuflect to AIPAC and bow to the ‘military industrial complex’ in obeisance, we can only expect things to worsen.
‘Down with militarism and Empire building, and good riddance’, that’s what I say.
Unfortunately I think the Rubicon’s been crossed so things have to play themselves out.
Until then, well Gaza is just one of many ‘hell on earths’
GISHA has an excellent press release on the Gaza situation-
News Release – For Immediate Release – Nov. 16, 2008
As civilians in the Gaza Strip begin another dark week, an urgent call:
The Time Has Come to Stop Targeting Civilians
Gisha: International Law forbids rocket fire on civilian targets in Israel – and it forbids deliberately depriving civilians in Gaza of vitally needed electricity.
Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008: Civilians in the Gaza Strip this morning began another week of blackouts, as Israel blocked supplies of industrial diesel to the embattled Strip for a fourth consecutive day, preventing Gaza’s power plant from resuming operations. Israeli officials also announced that they would keep Gaza’s overland crossings closed for a 12th consecutive day.
On Wednesday, Nov. 5, following Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip and ensuing rocket fire on civilian targets in southern Israel – Defense Minister Ehud Barak closed the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip – the only crossings through which Gaza residents are permitted to receive goods. Israel does not permit goods to enter Gaza via the Strip’s airspace and territorial waters, and goods are not permitted to enter via the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
The closure has prevented supplies of industrial diesel from reaching Gaza’s power plant, causing long blackouts throughout the Gaza Strip. The industrial diesel, paid for by the European Union, is used exclusively for Gaza’s power plant and can only be pumped in via the Israeli controlled Nahal Oz terminal. Cooking gas, needed for the operation of Gaza’s bakeries as well as for domestic use, has also not been transferred. Several residents in Gaza have told Gisha that they have already started to cook over natural fires because they have no gas to operate their cooking stoves.
Since the beginning of November – i.e. 16 days – Israel has permitted just 1,345,430 liters of industrial diesel to be pumped into Gaza – less than 20% of what the power plant needs to operate at its current capacity and just 30% of the minimal, insufficient quantities that the state promised the Israeli Supreme Court it would allow be transferred to Gaza. Since October 2007, Israel has restricted the transfer of fuel to Gaza, exhausting the reserves of industrial diesel at the power plant and rendering it vulnerable to any interruptions in supply.
The Gaza Strip needs approximately 220-240 megawatts (MW) electricity daily. One hundred twenty MW are purchased from Israel and 17 MW from Egypt, while the remaining amount is supposed to be produced by the power plant. However, because of damage from an Israeli air strike and restrictions on fuel supply since October 2007, it has been producing on average less than 65 MW. Since Thursday, the power plant has closed completely due to the fuel stoppage, depriving Gaza of 32% of its electricity source.
The remaining electricity is re-distributed throughout the Strip, subject to technical and geographical constraints. Since Thursday evening long power outages have been experienced as follows:
Central and Northern Gaza, including Gaza City, surrounding refugee camps and Deir al Balah: rolling 8 hour power outages;
Khan Yunis area: 4-8 hours of power outages per day;
Rafah Area: 6 hours of power outages per day.
In response to the deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip, “Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement” has called on Israel “to immediately restore the transfer of fuel to the Gaza Strip, in order to prevent further electricity blackouts and harm to the civilian population. Israel’s policy of closure constitutes collective punishment, forbidden by international humanitarian law, which also prohibits the firing of rockets towards Israeli civilian areas. Both sides must refrain from harming civilians, instead of deliberately targeting them”.