Since June 2007 the Israeli
government has imposed almost complete closure over the Gaza Strip.
The siege prevents nearly all movement of people or goods to and from
the coastal region with only minimal amounts of humanitarian provisions
inconsistently allowed in. With the exception of a small amount of carnations
allowed out earlier this year, there has been a virtual ban on all exports
from Gaza since 2007.
A new set of
revelations by soldiers who participated in the Israel
Defense Forces' (IDF) operation in Gaza offers a disturbing picture of the actions carried
out in that territory. Testimony regarding their conduct in Gaza by Breaking the Silence, an organization of Israeli soldiers, confirms previous denunciations by
human rights organizations and signals that urgent
attention must be paid to the economic and medical needs of a repeatedly abused
civilian population.
Nearly six months have passed since the Israeli army ceased pounding the tiny stretch of land that is the Gaza Strip. Since then, Gaza continues to appear on the news once in a while, as a recurring subject of human misery.
The tireless efforts of British MP George Galloway, and the courageous endeavors of the Free Gaza movement have managed to push Gaza back into the spotlight, even if momentarily and with political context which is lacking at best.
CAIRO — About 100 U.S. activists arrived in Egypt Sunday on their
way to Gaza, hoping to deliver medical aid, trucks and support for
lifting a 2-year old Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the territory.
Much can be said to explain,
or even justify Hamas' recent political concessions, where its top
leaders in Gaza and Damascus agreed in principle with a political settlement
on the basis of the two-state solution.
When
our governments refuse to act to stop the 22 month illegal and inhumane
siege, blockade, quarantine of Gaza, citizens have stepped in to
challenge the blockade.
This week, a former President
and now citizen activist, came to Gaza as other citizen activists have,
to witness and speak about the destruction of Gaza. On June 16,
2009, former President Jimmy Carter spoke in unflinchingly blunt terms
of devastating damage caused by the 22 day Israeli military assault
on Gaza and the failure of the international community to help the citizens
of Gaza after the military destruction of homes, government offices
and industries.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was making a major foreign policy speech at Tel Aviv university on June 14, 2009, Israeli police outside the university attacked international protesters of Israel's invasion of Gaza, illegal settlements and the apartheid wall.
Heavy handed police treatment of the CODEPINK: Women for Peace delegation began immediately after members of the group unfurled several pink banners that read "Free Gaza" and "End the Occupation." CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin and New York activist Zool Zulkowitz were physically dragged across t
You had to see it to believe it: Hunter “Patch” Adams,
MD, fully decked out in his clown outfit, and a retired Israeli
military general standing together in an enormous pair of red silk
underwear. Patch calls it his “underwear security,” a play upon
“undercover security.” It’s an ingenious device which encourages
egotistical disarmament. You can’t climb into Patch’s underwear if you
are overly-defended.
His room is ready; the walls
have fresh paint and my kids prepared a basket of chocolates and other
treats to place beside his bed. They hung a poster on his door that
has been decorated with colored pens and glitter that says “Welcome
Shobhi!” I have taught them that “Sobhi” actually means the “morning
light”, and that during his visit, he will not be treated as a visitor,
but as a brother. They have compiled a list of fun places to visit,
parks, the beach and maybe a ferry ride.
