Mini Tru -- Perhaps the miasmas of our condition is the result of 300 million propagandized zombified Americans just following the dizzying corporate direction to go shopping and trust in Geo (in Washington). But the illusion wears thin with torture and millions dead for oil greed (and still we get higher prices, even so - those Iraqis died for what?)

Out of this contrived but powerful vector of created and shared (cognitively dissonantly ringing) illusion, the short term prospect of Democracy is apparently negligible, but we need to recall Gandhi's taunt to note the feet of clay of the falsely powerful - that no despot in history has ever succeeded over time.

When the techo-corporate apparatu$ (billions each year) of maintaining the SOMA-like-drug injected into the USA's sub-consciousness FAILS, as it must, there will be so large of a backlash that perhaps feature children will learn that bushism has taken on that meaning.

That is what I see and declare as my reality, which I prefer to leaving the country of my people (and dreams). As long as one of us remains, the dream is forever alive
Namaste

It wouldn't hurt to point out how many Israelis have been killed EVER by these rockets. I think it's far less than Palestinian children killed over the past month.

They killed over a 100 Palestinians for one jew. Hitler would have been proud

Bolton: " the live of one jew is worth 10 non-jew" (or something to that effect)..

"For the time being, negotiations are suspended because we have so many funerals."

**
Apparently having some funerals because of Israeli aggression is ok for peace negotiations, according to Saeb Erekat.

With leaders like this...

Message from Free Palestine Alliance:

Urgent - Call for International Palestine Tribunals
March 2, 2008

Please print and forward widely!

Below is a concise and direct declaration that calls for holding international tribunals for those guilty of the successive campaigns of terror against the Palestinian people. It is unique in that it is the first international public effort to hold guilty Arab regimes, Palestinians, Israelis, and US officials fully responsible for the ongoing Zionist crimes. By signing this declaration and by passing it through as much as possible worldwide, where all signatories are sought and welcomed, we will be initiating the first real steps to holding war tribunals internationally. This is also a tangible step to returning Palestine to its international position as a flagship for justice and self-determination. We urge you to actively support this declaration wherever you are, on every continent. Take it to your protests, ask your organization to sign on, engage everyone about who is responsible, and help build a momentum that will go well beyond protests and temporary reactions into sustained efforts and full accountability. We look forward to forming international tribunal committees soon after.

Please sign and pass it on. Time is critical!

"We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, regard what is taking place against the Palestinian people, particularly those of the Gaza Strip, not only as a war crime but also as a crime against humanity. While we hold the Zionist Israeli government directly responsible for these murderous campaigns, we also hold guilty Arab regimes, including the Palestinian Authority and the office of Mahmud Abbas, as accessory to these crimes in collaboration with the US administration. Through this declaration, we are taking the first steps to begin the process of holding international tribunals for all those guilty, either directly or as an accessory through their deadly silence, irrespective of who they are. The unbelievable and seemingly unending suffering of the Palestinian people requires that those responsible are forthwith brought to justice under international criminal law."

To sign on to this declaration, please send a message to: PalTribunal@gmail.com.

Signatories and updates will be sent out periodically.

Jacob was a liar and a thief. Esau was a nice fellow. But God saw Jacob as his chosen one and called him Israel. The old testament has a mind set that says nice guys finish last. When you have given up on having good relations with others, this becomes your mantra.

"Nothing will prevent us from continuing operations to protect our citizens..."

Apparently so. Israel is a tumor for which the world has not yet discovered a cure.

Sad to say, but Israel does not want and never has wanted peace, it wants the land.

The cure to the tumor lies in the actions of the US. Israel is an American and European creation to destabilize and control the Middle East. It does its job superbly. When those who promote this stop promoting it, Israel will have to find another way to make a living.

Israel is paid a MINIMUM of 6 billion dollars each year to do its job.

For karlbaba:

Since 2005 there have been EIGHT Israelis killed by Qassam rockets - the IDF murdered more Palestinian women and children than that IN THE PAST WEEK.

Thank god Hitler existed one palestinian women was showing on her makeshift plackard. And I don't blame her. The life of one Palestinian child worth 10 jew according to Bolton. Stop the nonsense. Retake the hollyu land and give it to the palestinian. Remove all border No country and no religion too, remember those word. That is exactly what we need to do.

chet,
I think karlbaba was pointing exactly the same thing as you. Read his post again.

"the IDF murdered more Palestinian women and children than that IN THE PAST WEEK."

More like the past hour...

"Israel Defiant As Gaza Toll Rises"

Is Isreal in fact defiant or is it the same case we have here, where the leaders don't share the values and goals of it's citizenry? By looking at our defacto foreign policy one might assume American's are blood thirsty imperialist's. But then look at Bush's approval ratings of somewhere around 20%. A lot of people might have been suckered for a while but I don't think making a statement that would seem to imply the citizenry of a nation [Isreal,US] condone the policies being implemented by their respective governments.

The world is beginning to realize that Israel has lost it's right to Exist.

The right to exist has its limitations like any other Right!

Justice always comes after the crime and is hardly swift.... but it comes.

according to the prophecy

We're Israel, goddammit! We're entitled. The German holocaust gives us an eternal free pass.
Notice how the world community pussyfoots around any concemnation of Israel? The UN secretary general referred to the pinprick Palestinian rocket attacks as "terrorism," but did not so label Israel's wanton use of state terrorism.

"David Miliband, the foreign secretary, said: "Israel's right to security and self-defence is clear and must be reiterated and supported. But measures taken in response to rockets must be in accordance with international law, minimising the suffering for innocent civilians and maximising the scope for political negotiations to be restarted.""

I can't imagine how these people can sleep at night, it's definitely beyond my imagination.

The Jewish people are just another tribe of beings scrambling about on this tiny rock floating in the illimitable cosmos.You are not chosen by God nor is my neighbour or the lady I chatted with at the grocery store today. We are simply people and everyone is struggling to understand the nature of this experience we are having called life. Religion is man´s curse and if we are truly made in ¨"his image" then I am afraid the joke is on God.

Meke

willo

Read this
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/03/7423/#comment-221134

It doesn't really look like the citizens don't agree

The Bible Old Testament says that Abraham purchased the burial place of his family (in Hebron) from a Hittite. That small detail says it all---The Egyptians to the south and Hittites from the north had been taking turns raping the Middle East for centuries. In between were many kinds of Canaanites, and by the very decade in which we first see "Israel" in demonstrable historical records, the Philistines were also already there, well-settled into the Palestine seacoast where they'd been trading and interacting for centuries too (as Minoan Cretans: the original name of Gaza was Minoa). In the aftermaths of imperial campaigns there were always people of both sides who stayed around, got married, tried to plant somewhere---and acquired one kind or another of local land rights. So Abraham's whole story was of course taking place WITHIN A LARGER HUMAN CONTEXT, and the claim in the hands of descendants suddenly (unlike any of their neighbors') became absolutely culturally exclusive. Where can a story go from there? The answer's before our eyes. Time to "go back" and change everybody's story, get it in harmony with the facts of life (Earth : Multiculture) http://ancientgreece-earlyamerica.com

pax4all March 3rd, 2008 12:25 pm ....PalTribunal@gmail.com. It's not working.

Edwin Black wrote a great book entitled "The Transfer Agreement" that details the Zionist Nazi collaboration prior to WWII. It also tells of the heroic efforts - sabotaged by those Zionists - to boycott Nazi Germany. There is much valuable info that is never told by our textbooks or media.
In fairness it should be pointed out that it was not even all Zionists. Stephen Wise for example was an American Zionist who was strongly against the Nazis and led the efforts to have a world wide boycott. Sadly the Zionists who created Israel won that struggle and now act like they own the holocaust that they actually participated in making by encouraging other countries to deny entry to fleeing jews, so that Israel would be their only choice. The transfer agreement agreed that Germany would allow them to go to Israel with 2000 dollars, in exchange for Israel buying everything they could to build Israel, from Germany.
As David Ben-Gurian put it, "If I had the choice of saving all the (Jewish) children by having them go all over the world, or saving half the children by having them emigrate to Israel, I would choose the later" This quote is from memory, probably not all correct.
In other words he would rather see half the Jewish children die, then see Israel not built. He got his wish and then some. As we see from the news, the children (this also includes non-Jewish children) are not done dying.

Today's Holocaust continues.

willo: Sad to say that if anything, Israelis are furious that Olmert didn't strike harder. If you want to see what Israelis think of the Palestinians--both in the Occupied Territories and in Israel proper--just take a look at this poll: http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3480345,00.html

> While we hold the Zionist Israeli government directly responsible for these murderous campaigns, we also hold
> guilty Arab regimes, including the Palestinian Authority and the office of Mahmud Abbas, as accessory to these
> crimes in collaboration with the US administration..

In other words, everyone except Hamas who is firing the rockets and daring Israel to attack them.
That couldn't possibly be a problem.

"Perhaps we will also be affected by the Gazans who refuse to submit to their oppressors, be they from outside or within... I hope we'll choose to stand in solidarity with them" - Jen Marlowe
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/25/7268/

Afraid not. We'll just pick a side, declare it innocent of all sin and put the blame for all bloodshed on the other groups. If you're not on my side then you're completely evil thus any attack by me is righteous and any attack by you is a crime against not just against me, but humanity. War is good, negotiation is bad. I learned that from here but it could've just as easily been from Cheney, the mindset is no different.

The latest Israeli actions once again show clearly that they are out of control, that they recognize no International Laws or Conventions, that they work on the premise that their means are always justified as long as they serve their ends (the creation of a Greater Israel that includes part of Lebanon and no Palestinians).

Israel is a rogue nation, one created by America for its own advantage. Both must be stopped in their tracks, must be isolated and condemned!

www.dangerouscreation.com

A light unto the World? The only light that Israel provides is that caused by the the bombs it uses to murder innocent Palestinian children.

Israel was created for the European (Ashkenazi) Jewry, not the Sephardim(who are discriminated against in Israel) native to Mediterranean lands.

European guilt, Zionist manipulation - who cares!

It's all about stealing the land and water of the area referred to in ancient times as greater Syria (Syria, Jordan,Palestine, Lebanon) and pretending its about religion.

Real believing Jews do not really condone the ungodly Zionist policies cloaked as ancient 'rights'.

a White House spokesman said: "The violence needs to stop and the talks need to resume."

This is code for "regroup for later assault". We all know violence is the only tool in the White House's toolbox, despite our penchant for self-delusion.

Dr. Steve Niva; Member of the Faculty, Middle East Studies, The Evergreen State College offers:

Some Questions and Answers About the Current Israeli Escalation in Gaza

1. There seems to be a massive upsurge in violence in Gaza these past few days; what is happening?

The violence is completely one-sided. On the one side, Israel is conducting an extraordinarily violent military operation into the Northern Gaza Strip that includes ground forces, bombings and missile-strikes in crowded residential neighborhoods. It has also fired upon ambulances and destroyed many civilian homes. On Saturday (March 1), Israeli operations killed over 60 Palestinians, some of them were reported to be Hamas fighters and at least half of them were civilians, including 10 children and three women. Since Wednesday (February 27) the Israeli assault has killed around 80 people and injured over 150. Israel claims this is only the first phase of the operation; the next phase will involve more ground troops.

On the other side, Palestinian rocket fire on Israel from Gaza killed one Israeli and injured scores of others and two Israeli soldiers have been killed in this operation.

2. Israel claims that its actions are defensive and necessary to end Palestinian rocket fire into Israel that kills Israeli civilians. Doesn't Israel have the right to defend itself?

Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza killed one Israeli citizen last week in addition to scores of longer range missiles fired on a major city (Ashkelon) and have killed over 15 Israelis and wounded hundreds more since 2001. Palestinian rocket attacks contravene international law and should stop immediately.

However, there are many ways a country can defend itself and Israel's current military operation is completely unjustified for two main reasons.

First, Israel's actions themselves are war-crimes. Attacks on residential areas (Gaza is one of the most crowded areas in the world) and the targeting of civilians, including homes and medical teams, represent war crimes according to the provisions of international humanitarian law. The use of disproportionate and lethal force against a civilian population even in response to the unlawful rocket attacks carried out by Palestinian armed groups is a blatant violation of the laws of war, enshrined in customary international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Second, if Israel's goal is to end rocket attacks from Gaza, the most logical and beneficial step it could take would be to respond positively to Hamas' repeated cease-fire proposals for a complete end to rocket fire on Israel, most recently, on February 23rd, when Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that Hamas will consider any initiative that will bring about a ceasefire. Hamas claims it has secured the agreement of all factions to halt rocket fire and promised to impose the cease-fire provided that Israel reciprocates. Israel's Prime Miniser Ehud Olmert immediately rejected the cease-fire offer, even though a growing number of Israeli politicians and security officials are calling for Israel to accept a cease-fire. Israel's current operations are clearly about much more than securing Israeli civilians lives. Israel could easily end the rocket fire by accepting a cease-fire.

3. What would a cease-fire include?

Hamas has proposed a cease-fire many times and has been clear that it would have to include a cessation of all hostilities: Hamas would cease and impose a halt to all rockets and mortar shells from Gaza provided Israel would end its "targeted liquidations", military incursions and its siege of Gaza. The negotiations should be conducted by Egypt, particularly since it would have to open the border between the Gaza Strip and Sinai to end the siege of Gaza and give it back its freedom of communication with the world by land, sea and air.

4. But how can one reach a cease-fire settlement with a violent organization that declares that it will never recognize Israel?

Israel's demand that it cannot negotiate a cease-fire because Hamas does not "recognize Israel's right to exist" is nothing more than a pretext for avoiding an end to violence on anything other than Israel's terms. Even though Hamas has been responsible for many reprehensible and violent attacks on Israel, it is the main power in Gaza and has a track record of living up to its agreements. The claim about recognition is faulty for the following reasons:

· First, the lack of recognition has never stopped states from negotiating with its adversaries; history is replete with negotiations between sworn enemies.

· Second, such recognition is traditionally reciprocal; in order for Israel to receive recognition it would have to simultaneously recognize the state of Palestine, which it refuses to do.

· Third, Israel has refused to declare its own borders and is currently in military occupation of another people and has planted massive settlement colonies on their land, both in violation of international law, so which state and which borders are supposed to be recognized?

· Fourth, and most importantly, in practical terms, if one state or group makes an agreement with another state, then it has recognized that state. So if Hamas were to agree to a cease-fire, it is meaningless whether or not it has formally recognized Israel because in fact, it has.

5. What then are the political reasons why the Israeli government rejects a cease-fire and chooses massive military invasions and violence in Gaza as its preferred policy?

The immediate reason is that the current Israeli government is under severe domestic pressure to take major actions against rocket attacks, and since it will not accept a cease-fire and knows it cannot reoccupy the Gaza strip without major casualties, it is choosing to unleash intense violence upon Palestinians-both fighters and civilians--in order to pressure Hamas to halt rocket attacks. This is a form of collective punishment; it has never worked in the past and contravenes international law.

The deeper reason Israel chooses violence over a cease-fire is that Israel wants to avoid negotiations with a united Palestinian government that holds firm to basic Palestinian rights to a full and sovereign Palestinian state in the lands occupied by Israel in 1967. It wants to impose an agreement upon a weakened and divided Palestinian people who could be pushed to accept a deal that allows for Palestinian rule in truncated territorial enclaves under complete Israeli control, with most of the Israeli settlements remaining on Palestinian land. Dividing Hamas-ruled Gaza from the West Bank and refusing to negotiate any deal with Hamas helps it do this.

6. But do all Israelis oppose a Cease-Fire?

No. According to a recent poll, a majority of the Israeli public (64%) support direct talks with Hamas to achieve a mutual ceasefire. Moreover, Knesset Member Yossi Beilin called for an agreed ceasefire with Hamas; Israel's public security minister, Avi Dichter, has criticized Israel's military escalation, saying, "Whoever talks about entering and occupying the Gaza Strip, these are populist ideas which I don't connect to, and in my opinion, no intelligent person does either."; and the former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, Efraim Halevy, calls for Israel and the US to negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas.

7. What should American policy be regarding the situation in Gaza?

The U.S. Government should demand that all attacks in either direction between Gaza and Israel cease now, permanently. It should support a resolution to that effect in the UN Security Council. It should pressure Israel to accept a cease-fire

A cease-fire should be welcomed by all who truly want to see the violence stop, the siege of Gaza end, Israeli civilians secure and see a new basis for negotiations that will lead to full political rights for Palestinians according to international law and peace for Israel. Call for an immediate cease-fire now.
_________________________________________________________________

MY FAX of March 2, 2008

Dear President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Rice, Senator Martinez and Senator Nelson,

ONLY A BILATERAL CEASEFIRE, DIALOGUE WITH THE 'ENEMY' AND AN END TO THE BLOCKADE OF GAZA CAN PROVIDE SECURITY FOR ISRAEL.

119 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians and 982 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis since September 29, 2000.

1,031 Israelis and at least 4,528 Palestinians have been killed since September 29, 2000.

6,845 Israelis and 31,815 Palestinians have been injured since September 29, 2000.

During Fiscal Year 2007, the U.S. gave more than $6.8 million per day to Israel and $0.3 million per day to the Palestinians.

Israel has been targeted by at least 65 UN resolutions and the Palestinians have been targeted by none.

1 Israeli is being held prisoner by Palestinians, while 10,756 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel.

0 Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 18,147 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since 1967

The Israeli unemployment rate is 9%, while the Palestinian unemployment is estimated at 40%.

Israel currently has 223 Jewish-only settlements and 'outposts' built on confiscated Palestinian land. Palestinians do not have any settlements on Israeli land.-http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

ONLY A BILATERAL CEASEFIRE, DIALOGUE WITH THE 'ENEMY' AND AN END TO THE BLOCKADE OF GAZA CAN PROVIDE SECURITY FOR ISRAEL. PLEASE DO SOMETHING NOW!

With hope and sincerity,

Eileen Fleming, Reporter and Editor WAWA
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "Keep Hope Alive" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer "30 Minutes with Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu" freely streaming on WAWA:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

On nearly a weekly basis, I phone Guss, a Civil Engineer who has lived in Gaza for the last ten years. He informed me:

"The Abbas government in Ramallah pays us to stay home. If we go into work, they will cut our salary and prices keep going up, the black market is taking over. Flour, sugar and beans have gone up 35% and there is never enough petrol. It's been freezing last five days and all we have is charcoal and we burn old shoes for warmth.

"The only ones who are going into work are in the Ministries of Health and education. Hamas pays them with assistance from charities and individual support. Doctors make less than $1,000.00 a month and teachers around $300.00. Minimum wage is $200.00 and there is not much work anyway; just clerks and low level positions. Our infrastructure is hell and everyone is upset and angry, but not at Hamas.

"The Ministry of Power is paid by Hamas, but Israel never allows enough gas and supplies in to keep up the maintenance. Our infrastructures are bankrupt and Israel allows barely a trickle of gas into Gaza a day. We have been living under siege for two years now. We live like primitives in third world conditions, like in Africa. The International world needs to understand we are human beings under siege and all we want is what every human being wants; we want to have dreams, but Gaza is a nightmare."

_________________________________________________________________

The Independent reported today, by Donald Macintyre in Jabalya, northern Gaza

Monday, 3 March 2008

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, rejected international calls yesterday to end the "excessive" and "disproportionate" military operation in Gaza which has claimed the lives of 101 Palestinians – including many children and other civilians –since Wednesday.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, called on Israel to halt the air and ground attacks which on Saturday alone claimed the lives of at least 54 Palestinians in the most lethal single day of violence since the beginning of the second intifada more than seven years ago. The Slovenian EU presidency – while condemning the rocket attacks from Gaza which Israel says it is trying to stop – condemned the "recent disproportionate use of force by the Israel Defence Forces against the Palestinian population of Gaza, noted the death of "innocent children" and said that such acts of "collective punishment" were against international law.

But as the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, announced that he was breaking off US-brokered negotiations with Israel as long as its "aggression" continued, Mr Olmert told the weekly meeting of the Israeli Cabinet: "Israel has no intention of stopping the fight against the terrorist organisations even for a minute." He declared: "With all due respect ... no one has the right to preach morality to Israel for employing its elementary right of self-defence."

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Israel's most important ally in the Muslim world, also decried the "disproportionate force" used in attacks which were killing "children and civilians" and complained that Israel was rejecting a "diplomatic" solution to the conflict.

In Washington, the White House spokesman, Gordon Jondroe, said the violence, which also claimed the lives of two Israeli soldiers on Saturday and a 47-year-old Israeli mature student in a rocket attack on Wednesday, "needs to stop and the talks need to resume". The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, said he was "deeply concerned" by the Palestinian decision to halt negotiations.

In Gaza, medical officials said a 21-month-old Palestinian girl, two other civilians and three militants were killed yesterday. The Israeli military said four soldiers had been hurt and two Israeli civilians were slightly injured after 21 rockets were launched by militants, including three longer range Katyushas, one of which directly hit a house in Ashkelon.

Among those buried yesterday were six members of one family including its head, Abd el-Rahman Mohammad Ali Atallah, and his 60-year-old wife, Suad, two sons and two daughters, who were killed late on Saturday afternoon when their house was destroyed by three aerial bombs which residents near by said also injured four children including a two-day-old infant. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which documents all Palestinian deaths, and is opposed to all attacks on non-combatants including in Israel, said 49 of the dead since Wednesday were civilians.

As thousands of Gazans streamed on foot through streets abnormally empty of cars because of severe fuel shortages to and from near-continuous funerals in Beit Lahiya and Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan cemetery, Fatima Abed Rabbo, 23, told how she was shot in the left shoulder as she stood by her one-year-old daughter, Doha, at her home in Jabalya during the bloody first hour of the Israeli incursion shortly after midnight on Saturday.

Lying on her bed at the Kamal Odwan hospital, where the first 40 dead victims of the assault were brought on Saturday morning, Mrs Abed Rabbo said the shot had come through the door of her balcony at about the same time as her friends and neighbours Jaqueline and Eyad Abu Shbak, a teenage brother and his sister, were killed in their home.

She said Jaqueline, 16, who she said had been hit by shrapnel after an Israeli missile hit a parked car outside the home, was an especially good student in the science department of her high school. Eyad, 14, who was struck by a bullet, had just started high school.

"They were excellent people," she said. "Our family and theirs were always in and out of each other's houses. Two ambulances came at the same time to take us away. They were dead and I was alive."

Mrs Abed Rabbo was close to tears how she described how she was still breastfeeding Doha but had had no contact with her or her two-and-half-year-old son, Anas, both of whom were being cared for by relatives, since being taken to hospital because of the military closure of the area after the incursion. "The phones are not working and my husband who came with me in the ambulance has not been able to get back." A spokesman for the Red Cross confirmed yesterday evening that Palestinian ambulances were still unable to reach parts of the area of the incursion to pick up injured persons.

Mrs Abed Rabbo, the wife of a policeman employed by the Fatah-dominated administration in Ramallah, which has outlawed Hamas, said her extended family in that district had nothing to do with the armed factions and insisted that her street was not used for firing rockets. "There are no orange groves here for people to hide in. I don't know how the Arab world is standing by while this is happening. I feel they are giving the green light to what is happening here. We are sick of denunciations, denunciations. We want people to come and change this situation. I hope you will take this reality to the Arabs, the whole world and especially the Americans."

Mrs Abed Rabbo insisted that although Hamas and other militants may have fired at IDF troops after she was taken to hospital, there had been no firing beforehand. "If the resistance had been firing the ambulance would never have got to me," she said. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights claimed the Israeli forces "fired indiscriminately as they advanced".

Nearby houses and apartment blocks were evacuated early yesterday after two missiles inflicted limited damage on the ground floor and top floor of the offices of de facto Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, in what a Hamas security guard at the site said had been a "message". He added: "My guess is that [the Israelis] will come back and hit it again."

Hamas gunmen could be seen at street corners in doorways in the Al Journ and Masoud districts of Jabalya yesterday, apparently ready to fight against Israeli forces deployed a few hundred metres away.

After nightfall, two loud explosions could be heard from Israeli air strikes, including on a building in the Beach refugee camp where Mr Haniyeh lives.

In the West Bank town of Hebron, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by troops during a protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

A military spokesman said that youths had thrown firebombs in a "violent demonstration" which had put soldiers at risk.

Voices from the Gaza blogs:

"I had a long day, an awful day, taking photos and writing from on the ground in Gaza City and northern Gaza. I met with two children who survived Wednesday's Jabalya soccer bombing: the other four kids were, as you likely know, killed. One of the children I saw had no flesh on their legs, had burns all over their bodies." - Rafah Today – Daily Life in Palestine, Mohammed Omer in Rafah, Gaza

"We celebrated Yousuf's fourth birthday today. We ate cake. And we counted the bodies. We sang happy birthday. And my mother sobbed. We watched the fighter jets roar voraciously on our television screen, pounding street after street. Yousuf tore open his presents, and asked my mother to make a paper zanana, a drone, for him with origami; And we were torn open from the inside, engulfed by a feeling of impotence and helplessness; fear and anger and grief; despondence and confusion." - Raising Yousuf, Unplugged: diary of a Palestinian mother, Laila El-Haddad in Gaza City

"Walking to the Red Crescent Society (I do not have fuel in my car), I can hear successive explosions, from different parts of the city, and the drone in the sky. I can also clearly see the security forces soldiers, outside their headquarters, as it is under threat of bombing by the Israeli military forces. I had to walk very fast , expecting the worst. Arriving at work, I find we do not have enough fuel for the ambulance and other vehicles. No fuel has entered Gaza for 17 days , our store has been exhausted. Oh my God, this situation will have its disastrous impact on our health facilities." - From Gaza, With Love, Dr Mona El-Farra, Gaza City

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/day-of-grief-and-defiance-790464.html

US and Arab states clash at UN Security Council

By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor
Monday, 3 March 2008

America and Arab states will lock horns again today in the UN Security Council as Libya seeks an immediate ceasefire and a formal condemnation of the escalation of violence in Gaza.

The 15-member council agreed yesterday on the terms of a statement read to the press, after a five-hour emergency session. But the US delegation managed to tone down the language and it failed to match the unusually strong denunciation issued by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who condemned the "disproportionate and excessive use of force" by Israel "that has killed and injured so many civilians, including children". He also condemned Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli towns as "acts of terrorism" and called for an end to the attacks by both sides.

Libya has now circulated a draft resolution which is due to be discussed by the council members today and would constitute their first formal response if adopted. But in a closed session, some delegations, including Britain's, rejected the text for failing to point out that Israeli military attacks were launched in response to militants firing missiles. The US ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, said: "It's not a balanced resolution, certainly."

Diplomats said yesterday that Libya, representing the Palestinians and Arab countries on the council, may retain its original draft to attract a US veto at a public meeting of the council as the US has frequently used its veto to block resolutions condemning Israel.

"We don't know yet what the Libyans want to achieve," said one Security Council diplomat. "It could take a fair bit of negotiating."

The draft resolution calls for "an immediate cessation of all acts of violence, including military attacks and the firing of rockets, and calls upon all parties to respect the ceasefire".

The US and Libyan delegations clashed during the lengthy discussions on Saturday night which produced the press statement read by the Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin . Libya objected to US support for describing the Palestinian attacks as "acts of terrorism", in line with Mr Ban's statement to the council. The US, meanwhile, rejected a reference to the council's concern about the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza, caused by the "excessive use of force." In the end, the press summary expressed appreciation for Mr Ban's participation and simply "takes note of his statement".

The Palestinian permanent observer to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to "war crimes", an accusation rejected by the Israeli deputy ambassador, Daniel Carmon.

Eileen Fleming,
Reporter and Editor WAWA
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

"The sanctimonious demand that the Qassams must be stopped is a deliberate lie intended to make you forget that the Qassams provide a near fool-proof pretext for grabbing more of Gaza and setting more of it to ruin; and that the Qassams are the result of systematic national torture and evisceration, borne themselves of occupation, caused by it, improved upon by periods of siege, sadism and mass killing."

The Day the Earth and Sky Traded Places: Gazan Holocaust By JENNIFER LOEWENSTEIN
http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein03042008.html

WAKE UP AMERICA!

"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave...a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils."-George Washington's Farewell Address - 1796

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that, among these, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. -July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence

"On the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations." - May 14, 1948. The Declaration of the establishment of Israel

IMAGINE WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD IT WILL BE, WHEN ISRAEL AND USA KEEP THEIR WORDS.

Eileen Fleming,

Reporter and Editor WAWA:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/

Author "Keep Hope Alive" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"

Producer "30 Minutes With Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu"

voxclamantis -
Yes there IS a cure for a tumor called Israel. The cure is called massive doses of radiation.

There is a near monopoly media ban on covering Gaza.

We need to create more media outlets so information is available in our democracy.

Clinton or Obama are sure to condemn Israel's aggression on the campaign trail, right? Oh, that's right, no imperialist politician will dare touch the third rail of offending the Jewish Lobby.

The people in Gaza do no good for themselves by violent opposition to Israel. This is what Israel wants and uses the slightest excuse to kill more people claiming self defense. I would have the urge to be violent as well if I was oppressed by an occupier. MEDIA COVERAGE is necessary, violence makes it easier to prevent coverage.

Seaweed

"voxclamantis -
Yes there IS a cure for a tumor called Israel. The cure is called massive doses of radiation."

Let me see if I understand you correctly 1) Genocide directed against Palestinians - Bad. 2) Genocide directed against Israelis - Good.

Is that correct? Do you actually consider yourself a liberal, a progressive and you think committing genocide on any group of people (however unpopular) is okay?

I haven't noticed anyone actually suggesting that that Palestinians stop firing rockets. Would not that remove Israel's cause celebre?

The Gazans remind me of an angy old man sitting in the corner and poking himself in the eye with a fork. He knows it will feel better if he stops, he just can't help himself. The Israelis walked out of Gaza and took all their people with them. The first thing the Palestinians did was riot and trash everything - buildings, hydroponic farms, infrastructure - everything. Then came the rockets.

You know, it really doesn't matter if the most extreme anti-zionist viewpoints, expressed on this board are completely and wholly correct (a matter of some debate). Firing rockets into Israel is like walking up to someone who is ten times your size, kicking him in the shins, and then wondering why you got your ass kicked. It simply makes no sense.

Eileen Fleming. i do not find it easy to believe these figures. The number of Israelis killed seems way too high. 119 Israeli childen killed since 2000? I don't believe it. Who said so? Can anybody confirm this?

just another article giving me the same reason to "dig-in". meaning, NOT driving a car, not working for the govt., going green, etc. etc. and so forth.

"I haven't noticed anyone actually suggesting that Palestinians stop firing rockets"
Did you read Eileen Fleming's post, re: cease fire?

I hereby call on the Palestinians to cease fire.
I call on Israel to obey international law, which they have not been doing for over 40 years. If they don't obey int'l law, then I rescind my call for cease fire.

Lest you forget, one rationale for the invasion of Iraq was to force Iraq to obey UN Security Council resolutions. Why is Israel not subject to the law?

Hey Gang...Let's keep score, huh?
How about leaving the warring fools to their own murderous devices and spend your energy worrying about how to right things at home! Something the politicians should be doing too. WE NEED TO MEND OUR OWN FENCES!

To a certain extent, I agree with Kendpotter, and what he says about the situation being comparable with going up to a giant and kicking him in the shins. I wish that Hamas would stop firing rockets, but having been aware of these vents for the past forty years, I know that the Palestinians have not received any help from the outside World.
They do not have an army, they are not sponsored by the US, the mainstream media has never really looked at their plight in an unbiased way. The UN make sympathetic noises, but they have their hands tied by the US and the power of veto. Israel have never stuck to UN resolutions, and the UN have never pressed the case. The Palestinians have never had their occupied lands returned, and I suspect that Israel, as long as they are backed by the US, will never return this land.
The fact is, that Israel are playing this game with a handful of aces, and until the pack or the dealer are changed, then the status quo will be maintained.

Do people have a right to resist an illegal occupation? Do people have a right to resist an immoral government which does not follow their dictates?

The answer of the imperialists is no. They always blame all violence on anyone who does not submit to them. There's this constant mantra that the people who are being killed or tortured are actually the cause of the problem. If only they would submit, then they would stop being murdered.

We've seen the same logic from all evil governments. But the question is, do the people have a right to resist and fight for their own rights and to have their own government?

Remember the asymmetric attack on Lebanon in summer, 2006.

39 Israelis killed. 1190 Lebanese (mostly civilian) killed. (Amnesty Intl). This doe not include the 240 Lebanese killed by unexploded cluster munitions since the Israelis retreated.

I see that Rice and the American State Department is blaiming this Holocaust on the Palestineans. What is it? Aren't their children Roundup Ready?

Our foreignpolicy sucks! Remember John Prime's great song, there's a hole in daddy's arm where all the $ goes? Well, the sweat of our labor goes down the hole of Israeli, Saudi, Egyptian(the bastards that plugged the Gaza freedom hole), and, yes, and this might become really big, Colombia, the Genocidal Democracy (read it by Javier Giraldo). Chavez is so right on (credit Chomsky; remember Chavez waved a Chomsky book when he correctly labeled W El Diablo at the UN) when he calls Colombia the Israel of Latin America. While Iraq languishes in a horrifying miasma, be vigilant and active against the the Bush crime family's efforts w/the NED, CIA, USAID, military aid, etc. in Latin America. The Bush/McCain/Clinton/notsolite leads the world to destruction(if global warmin dont do us first; if the thunder dont get you the lightin will). The Empire annihilated Kucinich(whose bumper sticker my car has worn proudly for years) and even Edwards. But, Obama is a force that even Fox and CNN(fox-lite) might not be able to stop.WE are mad as hell,etc. He will actually meet w/the faux monsters who tho not perfect, might actually be better than our "allies." Maybe solutions (Hillary!) might be reached if we actually talk with Hamas, Hezballah, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, & Cuba. After all, they are (like us), merely, and wonderfully, human beings!

It usually requires two or more to have a fight.

It's OK, though, because the US is putting on a distracting sideshow at the Security Council sanctioning Iran for activities its own National Security Estimate says ceased 5 years ago. Ahmedinejad is having a great time enjoying adulation and influence in Iraq, thanks to our invasion and support of Israel's aggressive behavior in its illegally occupied territories. Americans just can't figure out that for every terrorist we kill or capture, we create 100 through our ham-handed, brutal and short-sighted foreign policy. Bush, Cheney and Rice are the salafis' star recruiters.