Israel targets Hamas compound 19 november 2012

Israeli missiles hit the headquarters of the Palestinian National Security Forces. The air strike caused a huge explosion, leaving one building in flames. Elsewhere in Gaza City on Monday, an air strike leveled two houses belonging to a single family, killing at least 11 civilians, including four children and toddlers.  This was before, Anderson Cooper did his report on CNN.

rana Gaza 18 November 2012

listen to ‘Nov. 18 Report. #Gaza ’ on Audioboo

Death In Gaza: Documentary Pt. 2/6

Here are smaller portions of the documentary film Death in Gaza by James Miller, who was killed in Rafah, Gaza while shooting (no pun intended) this film. For background on this film view this post (and/or the full documentary!) I included this for those who do not have fast internet, like myself!   


Death in Gaza Full Documentary and explanation
Death In Gaza Pt.1/6
Death In Gaza Pt. 2/6 
Death in Gaza Pt. 3/6
Death in Gaza Pt. 4/6  
Death in Gaza Pt. 5/6
Death in Gaza Pt. 6/6

Radio Blog: Listen to Gazan Sounds every day

17 November 2012

 RanaGaza posts Gaza sounds every day on her Audioboo Blog

listen to ‘Summary of today (Nov 17) and the past few days. #Gaza’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Loudest buzzing since Wednesday now recorded #Gaza’ on Audioboo

  Click Here to Listen to her previous posts Blog

Gaza Now: Short Documentary Film

Gazan Analysis

17 November 2012
These are not just images...they are real, they are real bombs landing on human souls.

I spent over four years covering the Palestinian/Israeli Intifada II...it became "my war" as an ex photojournalist, the conflict between the two still remains in my heart.  This is one reason that I focus on this region throughout most of my blog.

I would like to see the area return to how it once was, when I first laid eyes on the region almost 14 years ago.  When Israeli's would take a Shabbat day and shop in Ramallah or Gaza, or the nearby Moshaviim would go and eat a nice fresh fish dinner in Gaza, or the Israeli companies would hire Palestinians like normal people and provide work and a dicent living.  I remember when the Intifada first started many Israeli's and Palestinians would tell me about "the other" friends that they grew up with and families would eat dinner together.

As time grew in the conflict, it was not good for either to visit each other any more because of societal pressure.  Please do all that you can to generate a voice and put pressure on our global leaders to stop this killing and taking of the land and livelihoods.

Here is a great email I received reposted:

For Gaza friends and others: How to stay connected if the internet is shut
down
http://www.movements.org/how-to/entry/how-to-prepare-for-an-internet-connection-cut-off/
have a rooted android phone? You can install this app to make mesh network
calls when the cell towers go down.
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/communication/the-serval-mesh_bgstt.html

Actions: Emergency global actions for Gaza
https://docs.google.com/a/qumsiyeh.org/document/d/1Iq4XZx9Vj0BDIiWzlHi2mUS0VUOn_t-prgtGGCzatQw/mobilebasic?pli=1

Israel forces have been attacking Gaza, destroying power grids, destroying
infrastructure and killingcivilians. They intensified the brutal attack
after two home made rockets landed in Tel Aviv. Hospitals in Gaza are at
the breaking point trying to deal with casualties while under siege for
years. But resistance forces in Gaza also reported downing an Israeli jet.
Israeli authorities are caught lying to their own people about the extent
of damage coming from the resistance (e.g. saying the rockets were
intercepted and did not fall while Israeli citizens see them fall, fires
breaking and ambulances rushing in). I myself heard the sirens blaring in
the settlements of Gush Etzion and heard the thud of one large rocket
(presumably of the long range Fajr type). But now for an analytical comment.

Is history repeating itself? The Israeli attack on Gaza this week is
happening between the US Presidential elections and the Israeli (early)
elections. The attack on Gaza four years ago also happened after the US
elections and before Israeli elections. Some Israeli citizens thus put an
advertisement in an Israeli paper titled "No to the election war!"
Netanyahu and company today are trying to repeat what Olmert and company
tried to do four years ago: pound Gaza into submission while gaining
right-wing votes….. [To read more of the analysis, go to
http://popular-resistance.blogspot.com/2012/11/gaza-redux.html ]

Egypt Must take Measures to deter Israeli Agression on Gaza

17 November 2012

Reposted email:  By Khalid Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem

As expected, Israel resumed its Nazi-like atrocities in the Gaza Strip, striking homes, mosques and other civilian buildings. Until the time of writing this piece, as many as 12 Palestinians have been murdered, and more than 150 injured, many sustaining serious injuries and burns.

Israel, the main terrorist state of the Middle East, is using the most advanced technology of death in order to murder and maim Palestinian civilians, many of them refugees expelled from their homes and villages in what is now Israel. The Israeli death machine used in this unqualified war, includes, inter alia, F-16 and F-15 jet fighters as well as killer unmanned aircrafts such as Predators.

Needles to say, these state-of-the-art weapons were originally manufactured to fight powerful armies, not murder poor peasants and workers who can hardly feed their kids, which shows the cowardly nature of Israeli criminality and brutal ugliness of the Israeli mentality.

Indeed, for a regional super power, which also tightly controls the government of the only super power in the world, the United States, to gang up on thoroughly impoverished, thoroughly tormented, thoroughly besieged and thoroughly starved people is akin to attacking and murdering Jewish refugees in Nazi-occupied Europe at the hands of the SS, Gestapo and Wehrmacht.

Yes, the bulk of the world may not view Israel as the modern Nazi Germany. But Israel is the Nazi Germany of our times whether we like or not. Israel is Nazi Germany from every conceivable aspect, militarily, politically, ideologically and even economically. In the final analysis, there is more to Nazism than just the national socialist ideology. The brutal ugliness and murderous fascist nature of Zionism would have made the Nazis want to emulate Israel and learn more from it. Israel would have been the perfect model for the Nazis to follow and mimic.

Israel utterly mendaciously claims that it is only responding to rocket attacks launched by Palestinians demanding repatriation to their homes and villages from which they were uprooted at the hands of barbarian Jewish invaders coming from Eastern Europe, with the help of the imperialistic powers of the time.

Israeli hasbara agents would give inflated numbers of Palestinian projectiles landing in Palestinian territories occupied in 1948.

However, the Israeli propaganda is mainly based on lies and disinformation, especially in light of the extremely low number of casualties among Israelis.

Indeed, If Palestinians were truly aiming to kill Israeli civilians, they would have tried to kill many.

On the other hand, thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children, have been mercilessly killed by the Nazis of our time.

Israel claims it doesn't murder innocent civilians intentionally. But this claim is as valid and credible as claims by Bashar Assad's regime that it doesn't target Syrian civilians deliberately.

Added to this is the fact that Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic liberation organization which Israel calls a terrorist group, has repeatedly maintained a difficult truce despite Israel's continual murderous attacks on Palestinian farmers and fishermen.

In truth, Israel is in no position to accuse its victims of terror. Israel stole Palestine from its legitimate and lawful owners, destroyed their homes and towns, bulldozed their fields and orchards and then expelled them at gunpoint all over the globe. Hence, the Jewish state is effectively committing fornication with truth, history and language by accusing its victims, the Palestinians, of terror. 

Having been expelled from their ancestral homeland by violent and brutal force, the Palestinians have an inalienable moral and legal right to fight their tormentor and oppressors. Hence, there is no such a thing as Palestinian attacks against Israel. Israel is thief and murderer. Hence, the Palestinians are only exercising their legitimate right to resist their oppressors and grave-diggers.

The ongoing Israeli assassinations and other acts of murder against Gaza are also meant as a test of the new Egyptian leadership's will.

The recalling of the newly-appointed Egyptian ambassador to Israel is a positive step. However, the Nazi insolence of the terrorist state of the Middle East warrants a more stringent response from Egypt.

A few days ago, Egypt tried to arrange another truce between the forces of resistance and the terrorist Zionist Wehrmacht.

According to news reports, Egypt got the impression that Israel had agreed to a ceasefire. Hence, Egyptian diplomats and other officials were surprised by the Israeli aggression, including the murder of Ahmed Ja'abari, the leading security man in Gaza .

In light, Egypt must make Israel pay a price for this deception.

We know that the Israeli Egyptian relations are a delicate matter and connected with Egyptian-American relations.

But it is also true that the Nazi state of Israel is still and will remain Egypt 's number-one enemy.

Therefore, Egypt must introduce an entirely new pattern of dealing with Israel. A pattern that goes beyond the innocuous practice of recalling ambassadors. 

Yes, rash measures could always backfire. But Egypt, for its own national security interests, must show Israel that the post-Mubarak Egypt is different from defunct Mubarak's Egypt.

The current Islamic leadership in Cairo should go ahead with efforts to renegotiate and amend the unbalanced peace treaty with Israel. Egypt should also make it abundantly clear to Israel that Egypt would make its compliance by and commitment to the Camp David peace treaty contingent upon Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

Egypt should also build a striking military force, including a nuclear deterrent, in preparation for any contingency.

Egypt is a poor nation financially and economically. But Pakistan is even poorer than Egypt, yet the former nation of 190 million successfully built a nuclear deterrent that made India think twice before devouring the second most populous Muslim nation.

Indeed, it is a strategic anomaly for Egypt to remain at the "mercy" of Israel nuclear arsenal for so long. Needless to say, had Egypt succeeded in developing a nuclear deterrence, the thuggish prime minister of Israel Avigdor Leiberman wouldn't have dared to talk about bombing the Aswan Dam.

Finally, it is nice to walk in the path of peace and invest one's efforts and energy to fight poverty and promote economic development. However, when you live in a jungle, one has to be either a wolf, or a fox or a venomous cunning snake in order to survive,

Unfortunately this is the only language that murderous Jewish cutthroats and supremacists such Netanyahu and Leiberman understand.

Yes, President Mursi is no Husni Mubarak. But, the Egyptian, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim peoples expect him to show real resolve vis-à-vis Israel, the terrorist state, par excellence, of the Middle East.

Or else, the very people who voted him in will ultimately vote him out.

Act: 64 ways to Act Gaza under attack

17 November 2012

reposted email:  by Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD


People are subjected to massive well-funded propaganda trying to sell a
"product" that "Israel is defending itself" by massacring civilians in Gaza
(again) and engaging in extrajudicial executions of resistance fighters.
The truth is hard to hide as are the statistics: Over the last four days,
16 Palestinian civilians were killed including several children (while 3
Israelis were killed), and over 170 Palestinian civilians were injured
(very few Israelis). Over 140 military excursions by the most
sophisticated US supplied war planes and navy ships on 1.5 million people
in a large open-air prison. Anyone can find the pictures on the internet
of burned Palestinian babies, mutilated children, devastated neighborhoods,
and destroyed power plants and infrastructure. The Gaza strip is one of the
most densely populated areas on earth thanks to the Israeli ethnic
cleansing creating the largest post-WWII refugee population on earth.
2/3rd of the 1.6 million people in this arid strip are refugees. All
Israeli human rights violations are done by US funded horrific weapons for
which native Palestinians have no defense. Home-made native projectiles
fair poorly as a response to the massacre by advanced technologies. Yet,
the US administration still sides with apartheid colonial Israel against
the native Palestinians and so are the governments of Britain and France
that are trying to live-up to their colonial activities. Israeli
authorities intensified their attacks tonight after home-made projectiles
fired by resistance forces in Gaza landed in Rishon Le Zion (first colonial
settlement here) and Tel Aviv (first time since the gulf war that sirens
were heard in Israel's de facto capital). People of all backgrounds are
speaking out against these Israeli initiated attacks. Here in Palestine,
we had demonstrations including against the silly bickering that the
factions go through. There are also demonstrations around the world
demanding Israel end its aggression against this impoverished strip of land
full of refugees. But we must do more than demonstrate and hold vigils.

Pictures from Gaza under attack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIpBnbnraCY

Timeline of the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza
http://imeu.net/news/article0023227.shtml

There are names to these murdered civilians
"The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that among those killed on Wednesday
evening are Ahmad Misharawi, 11 months old; Ranan Arafat, 7 years old;
Issam Abu Izah, 23; and Mohamed Al Kasih, 19. "
http://imemc.org/article/64557

Reports from AlJazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/2012111419500140191.html

Take action:
1) 64 ways to act http://qumsiyeh.org/whatyoucando/
2) 1.2 million signed petition and took other actions to give Palestinian a
state and give Palestinians our rights. I signed as a prelude to the
inevitable and logical and only durable solution: one democratic secular
state for all its people.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/palestine_worlds_next_nation_b/?kPZnccb

Attached picture from a hospital in Gaza as a man is handed his martyred son

Also come visit us in Palestine (including Gaza)

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
In Beit Sahour
Palestine

Sign Open Letter to Obama: Gazan attack 15 November 2012

25,000 signatures is needed to request Obama  to condition US aid to Israel on compliance with the law which states that it cannot be used to violate the rights of Palestinians. 

Dear President Obama, 

We are Americans from small towns and big cities, and we are Palestinians and Israelis a world away. We are the women, men, and children who are suffering every single day in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, and we are the people from across the world who seek to end that suffering. We are mothers of soldiers and children of refuseniks. We are Jews and Muslims, Christians and atheists, and people of the many other traditions of the world. 

And we are all united by our determination to see a truly just peace take root in Israel and Palestine. That goal became even more elusive during your first term, but the American voters have just given you a second chance to make history. 

Our request is simple. 

Fifteen church leaders have bravely spoken out in a letter to Congress--stating a principle that should be obvious: Israel, the biggest long-term recipient of US aid, should not be above the law. Mr. President, please condition US aid to Israel on compliance with US and international law. It must not be used to violate the rights of Palestinians. 

Anything less is a danger to Palestinians, to Israelis, to Americans and to the entire world.

Sign Here

Israel Protest Gazan Attack 15 November 2012 Video

Gaza Video under attack 15 November 2012

Behind the Scenes: Operation Cloud Pillar: 16 nov 2012

16 November 2012

News Excerpts:

Blog Smithsonian

The Israelis began their raids of Gaza on Thursday. Gaza responded with strikes of their own, and today Israel called up 16,000 army reservists to fight. In Gaza, a man suspected of collaborating with Israel was executed:

The brazen nature of the execution suggested that Hamas, which governs Gaza, intended it as a blunt message to other possible collaborators with Israel, which is believed to have an extensive network of informants here as part of its underlying battle with the group. But the shooting evoked mixed feelings.

“There were kids and children on the street,” said the witness, Mr. Mohammed. “They should have executed him in a far place.”

Air raid sirens are going off in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem – and the people on both sides are trying to keep from becoming casualties of the conflict.

Online, the IDF has been keeping the world appraised of their thoughts and tactics via social media in a way no one has ever done before. Motherboard writes:

Lifestyle journos live-blogging an awards ceremony, sure. Politicos pushing a social media campaign to during a debate, yeah. But a major military live-tweeting its war effort? Is that where we are now?Apparently:

“The verified social media accounts of the Israeli Defense Forces are providing live updates on a concerted military effort against Hamas. Using the hashtag #PillarOfDefense, the verified Twitter account @IDFSpokesperson is posting ominous messages, headline-style updates, and YouTube videos of strikes.”

 “brilliant, in its way.” Yes, it’s “brilliant” in the way that the most effective war propaganda tends to be—colorful, uber-patriotic, Manichean, assertive—just more powerful, since they’re controlling the wartime PR channels and shaping public perception with a series of live updates.

And it was working extraordinarily well. The ten second clip of the IDF taking out Ahmed Jabri has been viewed over 2 million times. Of course, Gaza retaliated online as well. Slate writes:

But then @IDFspokesperson and @AlqassamBrigade began trading insults over Twitter, while deploying missiles at each other. The chest-thumping reminded me of the competitive e-sports. This is real life, though, with real people dying. In fact, as the BBC noted, making threats of violence is actuallyagainst Twitter’s terms of service, meaning it is within Twitter’s right to shut down both accounts if it feels so inclined.

While @IDFspokesperson’s Twitter followers may have grown exponentially, it hasn’t had the same success in hashtags. Israel’s hashtag, #Pillarofdefense, received 808 mentions by Wednesday evening, while #GazaUnderAttack—used by Hamas, Palestinian supporters, and civilians—was tweeted 120,000 times, reported the Washington Post.

The Guardian

If you click here, you can listen to the Israeli attacks on Gaza. You can hear explosions, drones and ambulances. This is the soundtrack of the lives of Palestinians there now. They're recording it and transmitting it, and their friends all over the world – particularly the Arab world – are listening to it live.

We are also reading the tweets and blogs the young Gazans are putting out, and taking a good look at the images they're posting – like the one of Ranan Arafat, before and after. Before, she's a pretty little girl with green eyes, a green halter-neck top and green ribbons in her hair. After the Israeli bomb, she's a charred and shrunken figure. Her mouth is open. A medic lifts – for just a moment – her blue hospital shroud.

In that hospital, Shifa in Gaza City, we watched the Egyptian prime minister, Hisham Kandil, this morning. For the first time in 42 years an Egyptian prime minister was where we Egyptians wanted him to be. For the first time a government official was telling the truth when he said he spoke for the Egyptian people. And he was spot on when he referred to the Egyptian people first, before the Egyptian president.

Since he won the presidency, Mohamed Morsi has tried to be a pragmatic politician. He pressed on with "security co-ordination" with Israel in Sinai; he started sealing up the tunnels that provide a lifeline to the besieged Gazans; he rejected the proposal of a free trade area on the borders between Egypt and Gaza; and he sent an ambassador to Tel Aviv with a fulsome letter to Shimon Peres. And so he found himself uncomfortably cosied up with remnants of the Mubarak regime and aficionados of the military government.

From Gaza

Update of the Biblical war of Israel against occupied Gaza Strip Photo from the Web... London, (Pal Telegraph) – An Israeli full-scale war was launched yesterday against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The war was announced by Israel to be as a military operation that took a biblical name “Pillar of the Clouds”. So far, 15 Palestinians killed whom of which 8 civilians including 5 children, three women and an old man. Israeli army launched a number of 160 air raids from Air, Ground and Naval forces. Palestinian armed factions retaliated to heavy Israeli attacks which also left 100 Palestinians physically wounded. A status of fear and panic spread across Gaza where children are caught in Trauma. Dozens of Palestinian children were brought to hospitals in north and south Gaza. Palestine Telegraph reporter in Gaza confirmed that food supplies became scarce in Gaza. People are in fear that a ground invasion is due. Rania, 22, said "We are in fear of Israeli bombing. My cousin was killed as he tried to go out to buy bread. Gaza seems like ghost town."