free gaza

Palestinian Revolution?

On Friday I went to the anti-separation wall demo in Ni'lin in the West Bank, the same village where International Solidarity Movement activist Tristan Anderson was critically wounded last week. Several hundred villagers were accompanied by Jewish Israeli activists (most with Anarchists Against the Wall ) and ISMers, plus a few journalists like me. The IDF started firing tear gas at us even before we got close to the wall.

Posted in civil disobedience, resistance movement, free gaza, Israel/Palestine

Will Israel be Brought to Book?

Evidence of the scale of Israel's war crimes in its January onslaught on Gaza is becoming unanswerable.

Posted in war crimes, free gaza, Israel/Palestine

Israel's War Crimes

For the first time since the establishment of Israel in 1948 the government is facing serious allegations of war crimes from respected public figures throughout the world. Even the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, normally so cautious about offending sovereign states - especially those aligned with its most influential member, the United States - has joined the call for an investigation and potential accountability.

Posted in war crimes, free gaza, Israel/Palestine

With The Women of Gaza On International Women’s Day: We Will Not Be Silent!

Would women in Gaza really celebrate International Women's Day?" was the question members of our 58 person delegation from United States, Canada, Pakistan, France, Australia, Egypt, Dubai and Turkey asked as we travelled from Cairo to the Gaza border.

In less than three weeks, the delegates had responded to an appeal by Codepink: Women for Peace to join an international delegation to try to go into Gaza at the invitation of the United Nations Works and Relief Agency of Gaza (UNWRA).

Women of Gaza have so little to celebrate.

Posted in women's rights, free gaza, Israel/Palestine

Israeli Airstrikes Continue to Haunt Gaza Children

Steve Matthews, an aid worker with World Vision Canada, has been to some of the world's most violent and troubled regions, including Darfur, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

But even after years in the field, Matthews still has difficulty comprehending the devastating affects of war on children. In February, he returned from Gaza, where he had spent a month listening to Palestinian children describe in graphic detail what they saw, heard and felt during this winter's Israeli airstrikes.

Posted in children, Human Rights, ptsd, free gaza, Israel/Palestine

Gaza Reconstruction Has a Political Price-Tag

CAIRO - A conference held this week in Cairo devoted to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip succeeded in raising more than 5 billion dollars from international donors. But some critics say the issue is being used as a means of isolating Gaza-based resistance faction Hamas.

"Reconstruction efforts are being exploited to further weaken Hamas and coerce it into changing its position vis-à-vis the Zionist occupation," Essam Al-Arian, leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition movement, told IPS.

Posted in free gaza, Israel/Palestine

Sustaining Global Solidarity After Gaza

The Israeli invasion of Gaza, which has now claimed more than 1,400 lives, generated serious popular backlash the world over. The overwhelmingly weak official positions and statements, especially in the Arab world, stood in stark contrast to the outpouring of rage that was witnessed in the streets of capitals, cities, and towns across the globe.

Posted in BDS/Israel, free gaza, Israel/Palestine

Medical Mission Heroes in the Middle East

The Obama Administration should help war and occupation’s victims receive humanitarian assistance, and they should help the injured travel abroad for medical care. Moreover, the Obama Administration should help all medical professionals who travel to war torn areas, so they can care for the victims and train local doctors.

Recently, the Human Rights Program of the University of Chicago, Amnesty, along with Students for Justice in Palestine hosted a panel discussion of medical professionals who care for the victims of war and occupation.

Posted in free gaza, Israel/Palestine

International Criminal Court Faces Big Test With Israel

It should look into the allegations, not the least to refute the assertion that the court is an instrument of the West.

The International Criminal Court soon faces a big test-a test that could reveal whether it is truly an independent institution.

The Palestinian Authority has asked the court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to examine if Israel was guilty of war crimes during its recent Gaza operation. Moreno-Ocampo should take a look into the allegations, not the least to refute the assertion that the court is an instrument of the West.

Posted in icc, war crimes, free gaza, Israel/Palestine

The Israeli Smashing of Gaza and International Silence

I travelled to Gaza last week with Medea Benjamin and Tighe Berry of Codepink: Women for Peace. We were allowed by the Egyptian government to enter Gaza for only 48 hours.

I knew that 1026 of the 1330 who were killed in the Israeli attacks on Gaza were civilians. Of the 1026 civilians, 282 were children, 111 women, 168 civilian policemen and 501 civilian men died in Israeli bombings. 274 have been classified as combatant deaths.

Posted in free gaza, Israel/Palestine