Israel the Monster: Mass-murder of Innocents

[BlackAsCoal]

This statement was issued in response to Israel's attack in Gaza by Professor Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories and a longtime member of the Nation editorial board.

27 December 2008

The Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip represent severe and massive violations of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva Conventions, both in regard to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the requirements of the laws of war.

Those violations include:

Collective punishment – the entire 1.5 million people who live in the crowded Gaza Strip are being punished for the actions of a few militants.

Targeting civilians – the airstrikes were aimed at civilian areas in one of the most crowded stretches of land in the world, certainly the most densely populated area of the Middle East.

Disproportionate military response – the airstrikes have not only destroyed every police and security office of Gaza's elected government, but have killed and injured hundreds of civilians; at least one strike reportedly hit groups of students attempting to find transportation home from the university.

Earlier Israeli actions, specifically the complete sealing off of entry and exit to and from the Gaza Strip, have led to severe shortages of medicine and fuel (as well as food), resulting in the inability of ambulances to respond to the injured, the inability of hospitals to adequately provide medicine or necessary equipment for the injured, and the inability of Gaza's besieged doctors and other medical workers to sufficiently treat the victims.

Certainly the rocket attacks against civilian targets in Israel are unlawful. But that illegality does not give rise to any Israeli right, neither as the Occupying Power nor as a sovereign state, to violate international humanitarian law and commit war crimes or crimes against humanity in its response. I note that Israel's escalating military assaults have not made Israeli civilians safer; to the contrary, the one Israeli killed today after the upsurge of Israeli violence is the first in over a year.

Israel has also ignored recent Hamas' diplomatic initiatives to reestablish the truce or ceasefire since its expiration on 26 December.

The Israeli airstrikes today, and the catastrophic human toll that they caused, challenge those countries that have been and remain complicit, either directly or indirectly, in Israel's violations of international law. That complicity includes those countries knowingly providing the military equipment including warplanes and missiles used in these illegal attacks, as well as those countries who have supported and participated in the siege of Gaza that itself has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

I remind all member states of the United Nations that the UN continues to be bound to an independent obligation to protect any civilian population facing massive violations of international humanitarian law – regardless of what country may be responsible for those violations. I call on all Member States, as well as officials and every relevant organ of the United Nations system, to move on an emergency basis not only to condemn Israel's serious violations, but to develop new approaches to providing real protection for the Palestinian people.
Airstrikes in Gaza

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Yup, why I wonder was no such declaration ever penned for the Mass murdering Arabs? Why not a peep from the Un or this dumb shit over HUNDREDS of rockets missiles and mortars fired into civilian areas of Israel?

By the way Israel violated no law nor treaty, she struck at MILITARY targets. Hardly any of the dead are civilians at all. usual bullshit from the UN and the rest of the world. Kill a Jew? No problem, kill an Arab terrorist, by god your a MONSTER.

Past time for us to boot the UN out.

 

[BlackAsCoal]

Asians call on Israel to halt deadly Gaza raids

JAKARTA, Indonesia: Governments across Asia called for an immediate halt to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza that have killed nearly 300 Palestinians, with some accusing the country of crimes against humanity.

Israel has vowed to press ahead with the campaign despite enraged protests across the Arab world and some Asian countries, saying the goal is to protect its citizens from Hamas rocket fire.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attacks and appealed for the cessation of hostilities, saying they violated the U.N. Charter, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

"Violence aggravates conflicts and never solves them," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, expressing fears Israel's incursions would undermine attempts to negotiate a Middle East peace.

In Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, nearly 1,000 students waved Palestinian flags and chanted "Israel is the real terrorist" at the Hotel Indonesian traffic circle in downtown Jakarta.

"The Western countries are the concubines of America and the Jews," said rally coordinator Ferry Putra as the crowd chanted "Free Palestine, destroy Israel."

The Indonesian government, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, pledged $1 million in cash and $200,000 in medical supplies for the victims of the bombings.

The vast majority of Muslims in Indonesia practice a moderate form of the faith. Although most back the creation of a Palestinian state, they do not support violence against Israel.

China, which traditionally supports the Palestinian cause but has been building stronger political and military ties with Israel, said it was shocked by the attack and called for it to end.

The Mideast peace process must continue, Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said in a statement, calling for the adoption of "realistic measures to ease the tension."

Government and opposition leaders of mainly Muslim Malaysia denounced the raids on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as a crime against humanity with Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri saying they were "tantamount to genocide."

Malaysia, a staunch supporter of a Palestinian state that also does not have formal political ties with Israel, said "there is no excuse for the disproportionate, indiscriminate and excessive use of force in Gaza."

India "urges an immediate end to the use of force against Palestinian civilians," a Foreign Ministry statement said. "India hopes that ongoing efforts within the region to restore peace would be supported."

South Korea said Monday it was "seriously concerned" about the worsening security condition in Gaza and asked both Israel and Hamas to stop using military power and initiate dialogue.
Asians call on Israel to halt deadly Gaza raids - International Herald Tribune

 

[Sunni Man]

Yup, why I wonder was no such declaration ever penned for the Mass murdering Arabs? Why not a peep from the Un or this dumb shit over HUNDREDS of rockets missiles and mortars fired into civilian areas of Israel?

By the way Israel violated no law nor treaty, she struck at MILITARY targets. Hardly any of the dead are civilians at all. usual bullshit from the UN and the rest of the world. Kill a Jew? No problem, kill an Arab terrorist, by god your a MONSTER.

Sarge, how many Israelie's were killed by the home made rocket attacks?

 

[WillowTree]

Sarge, how many Israelie's were killed by the home made rocket attacks?

does that matter? What matters is they keep launching them. All they have to do to achieve peace is to simply stop launching rockets!

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Ignore my point all you want. Remind us again why NONE of these Countries cared one bit that HUNDREDS of rockets were raining down on Israel? Where was the outrage then? Where was the call of Monster and the demands for immediant cease fire? Why did NOT a single Country say a thing?

Now Israel protects themselves and attacks legit military targets and they are monsters and murderers. Come on explain it to us?

 

[WillowTree]

Yup, why I wonder was no such declaration ever penned for the Mass murdering Arabs? Why not a peep from the Un or this dumb shit over HUNDREDS of rockets missiles and mortars fired into civilian areas of Israel?

By the way Israel violated no law nor treaty, she struck at MILITARY targets. Hardly any of the dead are civilians at all. usual bullshit from the UN and the rest of the world. Kill a Jew? No problem, kill an Arab terrorist, by god your a MONSTER.

Past time for us to boot the UN out.

Yep!

 

[Sunni Man]

does that matter? What matters is they keep launching them. All they have to do to achieve peace is to simply stop launching rockets!

Yes, it does matter.

How many Israeli's were killed with these home made bottle rockets??

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Sarge, how many Israelie's were killed by the home made rocket attacks?

Ohh I have a solution, since NO ONE cares about those rockets Israel should just random;ly launch as many mortars, rockets and missiles into crowded Arab Towns and Villages. Sounds fair to me. No more of this only attacking Military targets, hell with that, everyone is complaining how dare Israel defend themselves, Appropriate response time, send in the rockets, mortars and missiles.

There ya go Sunniman, fair is after all fair.

 

[DavidS]

Sarge, how many Israelie's were killed by the home made rocket attacks?

hundreds of israeli civilians have been killed by them. so far, only about 50 palestinian civilians have been killed by israel - accidentally. i say we even up the numbers, huh?

 

[WillowTree]

Yes, it does matter.

How many Israeli's were killed with these home made bottle rockets??

I don't know. I don't care. What I care about is that they launch the rockets at Israeli's. They should stop.

 

[RodISHI]

I must say I have neighbors that have had occassion where they shot at me. Fact is at some point I may not continue to be passive about the whole situation.

If Palestine truly wants peace they will need to stop sending any missles into Israel.

 

[BlackAsCoal]

hundreds of israeli civilians have been killed by them. so far, only about 50 palestinian civilians have been killed by israel - accidentally. i say we even up the numbers, huh?

That's an outright lie and you know it.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

That's an outright lie and you know it.

Answer my Questions. Or is it you have none and do not care that NO ONE cared when hundreds of missiles were raining down on those damn Jews.

 

[WillowTree]

That's an outright lie and you know it.

so why don't you tell us why Hamas continues to launch the rockets?? doyathink?

 

[DavidS]

That's an outright lie and you know it.

What's an outright lie? That hundreds of Israeli civilians have died from the rockets?

 

[Sunni Man]

I believe the answer to my question: is that No Israeli was killed during the rocket attacks between the end of the cease fire and up to the massive Israelie air strikes.

Please correct me if I am wrong about this.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

What's an outright lie? That hundreds of Israeli civilians have died from the rockets?

Only 2 died last week, but don't you know? It does not matter how many have died in the past. Who fucking cares they are just dirty Jews anyway?

 

[editec]

hundreds of israeli civilians have been killed by them. so far, only about 50 palestinian civilians have been killed by israel - accidentally. i say we even up the numbers, huh?

In Israel, 17 people have been killed in attacks from Gaza since the beginning of the year, including nine civilians — six of them killed by rockets — and eight soldiers, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry.

source

Israel's defense minister said his military is fighting a "war to the bitter end" against Hamas but is not fighting the residents of Gaza.
The three-day death toll rose to at least 315 by Monday morning, with some 1,400 wounded. The U.N. said at least 51 of the dead were civilians, and medics said eight children under the age of 17 were killed in two separate strikes overnight. Israel launched its campaign on Saturday in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at southern Israeli towns.

source


Now I'm NOT playing the numbers game, here.

I believe that Isreal has the right to defend itself (and even to seek revenge ) from the rocket attacks, and there really is no way to do that other than striking back either by bombing or by invading GAZA.

But DavidS, how are the numbers you are reporting so very different than the number we are getting from the MSM?

Is the MSM anti-Semetic?

Is Yahoo just misinformed?

What's going on?

 

[BlackAsCoal]

International community piles pressure on Israel

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The international community piled pressure on Israel to halt its offensive in the Gaza Strip on Monday, as raids on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas entered their third day.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon added his voice to the 15-member Security Council's call for an immediate end to hostilities and urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the poverty-stricken territory.

"He deplores that violence is continuing today, and he strongly urges once again an immediate stop to all acts of violence," which has already left more than 300 people dead, his spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement.

The Security Council earlier issued a non-binding statement calling for "an immediate halt to all violence" in the Gaza Strip and urged the parties "to stop immediately all military activities."

As Israeli air strikes continued and with tanks massed on the border for a possible land offensive, China called for a halt to the military operation.

"The Chinese side is shocked and seriously concerned over the current military operations in Gaza that have caused a large number of deaths and injuries," Vice Premier Li Keqiang said in a statement.

He called on the Israelis and Hamas to work towards peace, saying both sides "need to resolve differences through dialogue."

Demonstrators in cities around the world marched Sunday in protest against the air strikes, which have wounded more than 600 people.

The largest single protest of about 8,000 people took place in Egypt in the southern city of Assiut, while rallies in the capital Cairo and the port city of Alexandria drew around 4,000 each, a security official said.

Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah urged Egyptians to take to the streets in their "millions" to force their government to open the country's border with Gaza and help save Palestinians from the bombardments.

In Turkey, thousands of people joined demonstrations in about a dozen cities, while in Syria, protesters burned Israeli and American flags as thousands demonstrated in central Damascus.

There were similar scenes in the Jordanian capital Amman, where hundreds of people led by Islamist lawmakers gathered to demand the closure of the Israeli embassy.

With Egypt, Jordan is one of only two Arab governments to have signed peace treaties with Israel.

In Europe, British police made 10 arrests as a demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in London turned violent. Danish police arrested a man on the fringes of a march in Copenhagen after he threw a petrol bomb at officers.

Protest rallies were also held in Paris and Madrid.

Earlier Sunday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called for an "urgent ceasefire and immediate halt to all violence."

A call to "urgently halt" the military action also came from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who spoke to his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni.

Japan, a leading donor to the Middle East peace process, expressed its deep concern, urging both sides to immediately stop the use of force to avoid a further escalation, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said in a statement.

The top diplomats in Italy and Spain, Franco Frattini and Miguel Angel Moratinos, also spoke by telephone with Livni, who said Israel would try "to limit the suffering of the people of Gaza," the Italian foreign ministry said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the European Union presidency, told Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas by telephone of his grave concerns about the escalating violence.

Pope Benedict XVI urged everyone involved in the "tragic situation in the Middle East" to strive for humanity and wisdom.

Canada also appealed for a halt to violence, while mostly Muslim Malaysia accused Israel of using "disproportionate" force and Pakistan condemned the air attacks as "counterproductive."

A top aide to Barack Obama said the US president-elect was committed to achieving peace in the Middle East.

Recognising the special relationship between the United States and Israel, Obama would work closely with the Israelis, David Axelrod said in an interview on CBS television.

"But he will do so in a way that will promote the cause of peace, and work closely with the Israelis and the Palestinians on that -- toward that objective," said Axelrod.

By contrast, the outgoing Bush administration blamed Hamas "thugs" for provoking the offensive by firing rockets into Israel from Gaza.
AFP: International community piles pressure on Israel

It's time for the world to get serious about Israel.

All trade with Israel should be halted.

Oil producing nations should raise the price of oil and cease disrtibution of oil to Israel.

The UN should send a military force to the region to protect the Palestinians and force Israel to return to it's legal borders.