[Reader-list] Gaza Massacre

[Paul D. Miller]

Hello people - a quick look at:
http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=49933&s2=27

sends wave after wave of anguish, and you simply have to wonder - what do the Israeli's think this will do? As with the Mumbai attacks, one can see an asymmetric response: massive casualties within a framework of comprehensive 'retaliation' acts as a justification for the nation state. I tend to see these kinds of tit-for-tat scenarios as a kind of brushfire war with no end in sight. One can only wonder what the end result will be. When you look at Ireland (another war torn, occupied, and divided country), or places like Colombia (which has a much weaker nation state infrastructure than Israel), you can see some kind of resolution. But with Israel, it simply seems that a state of permanent warfare just short of all out conflict, is the basis of every day life. What a world...

With the Mumbai attacks central questions remained: why? Who? What? There was no one to lash out at in retaliation (yet).The main actors remain at the edge of ambiguity. 

With the Gaza attacks, the state is the principal actor. State-terror is the essential component - again, with no end in sight. To send a signal of eternal occupation and to remain in a permanent state of war only leads to an eternal demand for peace. No resolution, no sense of clarity. 
Paul


The Gaza Massacre

Four Items

1) Arabs Plan Emergency Summit 
2) The Gaza Massacre in Sound & Sight 
3) South African Trade Unions Condemn Attack
4) West Bank Protests Call for Palestinian Unity

(1)

Arabs are seeking an emergency summit: US does not call
on Israeli forces to stop

Palestine News Network - PNN 
December 27, 2008

http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4299&Itemid=1

Cairo

The Arab League, Jordan and Egypt are among those
issuing urgent condemnations of the Israeli air strikes
that killed 195 people in the Gaza Strip on Saturday
and said it would continue its efforts to 'restore
calm.'

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is holding Israel
responsible for the tens of dead and wounded in today's
air attacks. 'Egypt has condemned the Israeli military
aggression on the Gaza Strip.'

Egypt issued a warning to the Israeli administration
against further attacks on the Gaza Strip saying the
repercussions would be severe.

The European Union called on Saturday for an immediate
cease in the Gaza Strip, while Javier Solana EU Foreign
Policy Chief said, 'We are deeply concerned by the
events in Gaza.'

The United States urged Israel on Saturday to 'avoid
civilian casualties in air strikes on the Gaza Strip.'
The US also said Hamas must control the armed
resistance and stop projectile launches. The US did not
call for an end to the Israeli air attacks and referred
to Hamas of engaging in 'terrorist activities.'

Amr Mousa, the Secretary General of the League of Arab
States, said that Arab foreign ministers will hold an
emergency meeting in Cairo on Sunday or Monday to take
a unified stand against the Israeli raids killed 195
people at least in Gaza.

The Arab League referred to the Israeli raids as a
"massacre." The League demanded the United Nations
Security Council to take immediate action to 'stop the
Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.'

(2)

The Gaza Massacre in Sound and Sight

http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=49933&s2=27

(3)

COSATU condemns Israeli assault on Gaza

December 27, 2008

http://www.cosatu.org.za/

The Congress of South African Trade Unions vehemently
condemns today's murderous Israeli attack on the people
of Palestine, when Israeli warplanes and combat
helicopters killed at least 155 people and wounded
around 200 more in Gaza. It is reported that in Gaza
City the dead and wounded lay scattered on the ground
after more than 30 airstrikes destroyed several
security compounds, including two where Hamas was
hosting graduation ceremonies for new recruits.

Today's death toll is even worse than on the five-day
Israeli offensive in March, which killed more than 120
people. It is the highest loss of life in a single day
in more than 20 years. And yet the Israeli government
says that today's attack is 'just the beginning' of
their offensive against the people of Gaza!

Among the dead, according to medical workers' reports,
are police chief, Tawfiq Jabber, the head of Hamas's
security and protection unit, and the governor of
central Gaza. Contrary to the Israeli claim that it had
only targeted "terrorist infrastructure", TV footage
clearly shows wounded children being carried to
hospital. Yet again civilians are bearing the brunt of
the bombings and shootings.

COSATU endorses the view of Palestinian President,
Mahmoud Abbas, that this Israeli air campaign was
"criminal" and backs his call for the international
community to intervene.

The federation reaffirms more strongly than ever its
demand that Israel must immediately withdraw all
occupation forces from Gaza and end the occupation of
all Palestinian land. It must abide by international
human rights law, and refrain from imposing collective
punishment on Palestinian civilians (as per the UN
Human Rights Council declaration issued on 6 July
2006), which it has blatantly contravened today.

All workers and freedom-loving people of South Africa
and the world should intensify the boycott of Israeli
goods. COSATU reiterates its call for the government of
South Africa to break diplomatic ties with Apartheid
Israel and institute sanctions against it until it ends
its 40 years of military occupation of Palestine and
recognise the people's right to sovereignty and self-
determination.

Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
Congress of South African Trade Unions

(4)

Protests Call for Palestinian Unity

AlJazeera.net 
December 27, 2008

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/12/20081227122748912382.html

Palestinians in the West Bank have demonstrated for
unity between the rival factions, Fatah and Hamas,
after Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip killed more
than 155 people and wounded 200 others.

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the centre of
Ramallah in the West Bank on Saturday, some carrying
banners reading: "We will not forget you, Gaza."

The Israeli bombardment also sparked rallies across the
Arab world, including in Amman, the capital of Jordan,
and Damascus in Syria.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese movement which fought a 33-day
war against Israel in the summer of 2006, called for a
demonstration in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese
capital, Beirut, later on Saturday.

Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in neighbouring
Jordan, said: "This is probably one of the most violent
Israeli air campaigns against Gaza."

"Politically speaking, this is devastating... We can
see people in Ramallah coming out on the streets,
calling on the leaderships in the Palestinian
territories to unite, and set aside their differences
knowing that that will be difficult, as it has been for
the past year and a half.

"It will certainly be very embarrassing for Mahmoud
Abbas [the Palestinian president], who is engaged in a
peace process with Israel, trying to convince a very
sceptical public that a political process with Israel
can yield results while these bombs are raining on
Gaza.

"Yasser Abed, an adviser to Abbas speaking in the West
Bank said: "In this moment we express our solidarity
with all the victims of this aggression.

"And we call for an immediate halt and ending of this
aggression against the Gaza Strip.

"Our leadership and our government are taking measures
now in order to help the victims of the aggression."

Abbas said he was in "urgent contact" with numerous
countries over the raids.

Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister in the
West Bank, said: "I strongly condemn the Israeli
military attack on the Gaza Strip and demand its
immediate end.

"I am making a series of calls to try to stop the
Israeli attack and have called an emergency cabinet
meeting."

The meeting is to be held at 1300GMT in Ramallah.

The Palestinian ministry of health in Ramallah called
on its employees to immediately head to government
hospitals in the Gaza Strip to help, following
statements from Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence
minister, saying that the operation "will last as long
as necessary".

Regional condemnation

Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League,
said that Arab foreign ministers would be meeting in
the Egyptian capital either on Sunday or Monday to take
a common position on the raids.

Moussa told reporters that Libya, the only Arab country
on the UN Security Council, would also be seeking an
urgent meeting of the council.

"It will take a joint Arab position on what is
happening and at the same time agree on the steps to be
taken," he said.

Egypt condemned Israel's raids and said it would keep
trying to restore a truce between Israel and Gaza.

A presidential statement quoted by the MENA news agency
said Egypt held Israel responsible for the deaths and
injuries that result from the raids.

"Egypt will continue its contacts to prepare an
atmosphere conducive to restoring the period of calm
and achieving reconciliation between the Palestinian
groups."

Ahmed Abu Ghait, the Egyptian foreign minister,
summoned the Israeli ambassador to express Egypt's
rejection to the attacks.

Egypt called publicly for restraint by both sides on
Thursday when Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign
minister, came to Cairo for talks with Hosni Mubarak,
the Egyptian president.

International condemnation

Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, is also
calling for an immediate ceasefire.

"We are very concerned at the events in Gaza," he said.
"We call for an immediate ceasefire and urge everybody
to exert maximum restraint."

For his part, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president,
called for an immediate halt to the "escalation".

"The President of the Republic ... strongly condemns
the irresponsible provocations which led to this
situation as well as the disproportionate use of
force," the Elysee Palace said.

The statement added that there was "no military
solution in Gaza" and called for the "conclusion of a
lasting truce".

A statement from the Russian foreign ministry said:
"Russia believes it is necessary to halt immediately
the large-scale acts of force against the Gaza Strip,
which have already caused considerable victims and
suffering amongst the Palestinian population.

"At the same time, we call on the leadership of Hamas
to stop firing rocket on Israeli territory," it said,
adding that the most important priority now was for the
parties to restore a truce.

Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, said:
"Today is a holocaust and a massacre day, that Tzipi
Livni had publicly campaigned on the regional and
international level so she can commit to this Holocaust
and this massacre.

"This is a group massacre for our Palestinian people in
Gaza."