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The Destruction of Rafah
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| Palestinian |
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Israel launches Gaza offensive
Israeli tanks and bulldozers have been moving into part of the Rafah refugee camp as the army begins a new offensive against Palestinian militants.
Palestinians say overnight 12 people died in missile strikes and fighting.
Thousands of panicking residents have been fleeing, fearing that the Israelis will demolish more homes in the camp.
Israel's operations have caused an international outcry, but the Israelis say their aim is to destroy tunnels used by militants to smuggle weapons.
"This operation, which is aimed at ending once and for all the smuggling of arms through the tunnels around Rafah, will continue until our mission is accomplished," an Israeli military official told AFP.
Palestinian officials have called for more international pressure on Israel to stop what they describe as an escalation in Rafah camp.
RAFAH REFUGEE CAMP
Population: 90,000
Largest of several camps near city of Rafah, southern Gaza
Established in 1949 to house 41,000 refugees from newly-founded state of Israel
Expanded in 1967 when Gaza occupied by Israel
About 1,800 houses demolished by Israeli army since 2000
"We now require the international community and the UN in particular to take the necessary practical steps to stop this Israeli campaign of killing Palestinians and demolishing their houses," said Labour Minister Ghassan Khatib.
Correspondents say Israeli moves early on Tuesday appeared to signal an effort to widen a military patrol road between Rafah and the Egyptian border.
The army launched its operations last week after Palestinians blew up an armoured vehicle, killing five soldiers.
The Israeli military has since destroyed almost 100 houses in the camp, located at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, leaving 1,100 people homeless.
Israeli forces have threatened to bulldoze more houses, but deny plans for a systematic destruction of homes.
Amnesty International has said Israel's demolition of homes is a war crime.
In the vast majority of cases, it's wanton destruction - unnecessary, disproportionate, unjustified, and deliberate
Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International
Witnesses in the outlying district of Tel Sultan reported on Tuesday morning that tanks and bulldozers were in operation there, digging a trench to separate it from the rest of Rafah. They said troops had taken over high buildings and were conducting house-to house searches.
Overnight, helicopter gunships launched two attacks, including one which hit a mosque in Tel Sultan. The BBC's Alan Johnston, reporting from Rafah, said the gunships were continuing to circle the area during the morning.
Palestinians said at least 12 people died in the missile strikes and fighting overnight.
Israel says the missile strikes targeted armed militants. Medical sources said two of the three men killed in the first attack were gunmen, while the militant group Hamas said three of those killed in the second strike were its members.
But civilians were also injured in the attacks. Palestinian security sources also told AP news agency two ambulances came under fire from Israeli snipers, and one was hit by three bullets.
A 13th man was reported killed on Tuesday morning when a bomb he was planting exploded prematurely.
Scramble to save homes
Forty-five Palestinians have presented an appeal to the Israeli supreme court against the destruction of their homes.
Lawyer Ussama Saadi said representatives of the families had contacted the army to ask what they intended to do with their houses but the army had "refused to respond".
On Monday, Rafah residents prepared frantically to leave the camp, fearful that their homes might be among those marked for destruction.
Through the afternoon they raced to save their possessions. The BBC's Alan Johnston describes donkey carts being loaded with old fridges, carpets and cupboards.
Thousands left the camp, until the Israeli army sealed it off, saying it wanted to prevent militants slipping out among the fleeing civilians.
There is no place for me to go. I don't think I will return
Rafah resident S'ham Abu Libdeh
About 400 tents set up last week in schools and public squares in Rafah camp are already filled with those made homeless over the weekend.
Israel's Supreme Court lifted a temporary injunction on Sunday that banned the military from destroying any more homes in Gaza, saying the army was entitled to act in self-defence.
The army says buildings marked for demolition are used to launch attacks by Palestinian militants, who also smuggle weapons through tunnels under the border.
'War crimes'
The human rights group Amnesty International has released a report in which it accuses Israel of destroying more than 3,000 homes in the last few years of violence, making thousands of Palestinians homeless.
The organisation says that some of Israel's house demolitions amount to grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention and are war crimes.
"In the vast majority of cases, it's wanton destruction," said Donatella Rovera, from Amnesty's Middle East programme. "It's unnecessary, disproportionate, unjustified, and deliberate."
There has been widespread international condemnation of the demolitions, described by the Palestinian cabinet as tantamount to "ethnic cleansing".
The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unwra), Peter Hansen, said he was "extremely alarmed" at the "collective punishment".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/3723375.stm
Published: 2004/05/18 09:15:56 GMT
© BBC MMIV
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| borron |
Sad... it's all over the news here...
I wonder if the images we see here are broadcasted in american television? I saw a palestinian kid get shot in the ass (might sound funny, but not funny at all to see).
On related news, Israel's Supreme Court just legalized the destruction of palestinian homes indiscriminately! Now isn't Israel a good example of a democracy, with a clear separation from the juridic powers, executive powers, and religion... :haha: |
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| Some One |
Please don’t tell me that you never saw it coming.
It was never a matter of how they would do it, but WHEN, and this response is a little delayed.
How are these people getting a hold of rocket propelled grenades? They obviously cant manufacture those weapons, so they smuggle them(I’m not going to elaborate on this, you know how its done). This is what this whole operation is about.
I was reading the same story on MSNBC and here is a quote that is pretty self explanatory:
Yaalon, the Israeli army chief, said Tuesday that the aim of the operation is to destroy arms-smuggling tunnels. He said homes would only be demolished if gunmen used them as firing positions or to cover up tunnels. However, earlier this week, Yaalon was quoted as telling the Israeli Cabinet that hundreds of houses were marked for demolition, if weapons smuggling and violence in Rafah persisted.
From: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4998918/
Read the last sentence…
As long as violence will persist there will always be an Israeli presence because if Palestinians can’t police themselves, Israelis will do it for them(this is not something they want to be part of). If you want to blame someone, blame the militant groups, they are surely not losing their homes, well maybe some, but for most, all they have to do is come out shoot some soldiers and then next thing you know there is a big offensive, houses are getting demolished and Palestinians die. Even some Palestinians know that, I’ve heard of local clerics and other people saying that they should not attack Israel in retaliation because it will only aggravate Israel more.
In my opinion, let the locals deal with these “freedom fighters” if they want to be safe from “occupations.” |
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| Palestinian |
Eleven Israeli soldiers killed and this is what Rafah gets. Over a thousand made homeless and hundreds of homes demolished. What's wrong with you? Why do you support collective punishment? You haven't mentioned that the Gaza Strip has been under occupation for the past 37 years. Let me give you a quote that is pretty self-explanatory: as long as occupation will persist, there will always be militant action and resistance. Those Israeli soldiers that got killed shouldn't have been there in the first place. Home demolitions in Rafah have been happening for the past three years so you shouldn't be surprised when Israeli soldiers get killed.
Amnesty International has called the home demolitions a violation of international law and a war crime. |
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| Palestinian |
From Coalition of Women for Peace:
Friends,
We need your help.
There is an emergency situation right now in the Gaza Strip and the
town of Rafah, in particular, with scenes that bring to mind Israel's
invasion of Jenin and Nablus in the spring of 2002. So far today, 18
Palestinians were killed, but the action continues. Last weekend, 116
homes were destroyed, making over a thousand people homeless
(www.btselem.org). Hundreds more are slated for destruction. Amira
Hass, filing dramatic daily reports from inside Rafah, describes the
scenes of people grabbing their children and whatever comes to hand and fleeing their homes, anticipating the entry of the bulldozer-tanks
(www.haaretzdaily.com). Even Yossi Sarid from the Yahad Party
(formerly called Meretz), normally a staunch defender of the IDF,
described actions in Rafah as "war crimes". My friend In'am called me
from Gaza trembling with fear, and reported that the Palestinian news
broadcaster broke down in tears as he spoke.
Many -- Israelis, internationals and Palestinians -- are desperately
trying to halt the bloodshed. The Israeli women's peace movement just
placed an ad in Ha'aretz calling for an immediate halt to the violence
and renewal of negotiations for a peace agreement that will extract us
from all the occupied territories ("True and enduring solutions," we
wrote, "are attained by negotiation, not destruction, revenge or
humiliation"). This morning, forty women drove to Gaza to see if they
could intervene physically, but they are being prevented from entering
Gaza by the army. The women have set up an encampment at the Sufa
checkpoint and say they will not leave until the army stops its actions there. Other peace and human rights organizations have placed
newspaper ads, and many are organizing a larger delegation to join the
women on Friday.
International figures have begun to speak out, but we need more, and
quickly. Can you please take a moment to write a letter (email or fax) or make a phone call to any or all of the list below? A sample letter is appended.
Please take a minute to try to save someone's life or home. Imagine
that you had to walk out the door of your home at this very moment,
with nothing but what your arms can carry, and you would never see your home or its contents ever again. Please make a couple of calls.
Gila Svirsky
Coalition of Women for Peace:
http://www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org
Sample letter text:
There is an emergency situation in the Gaza Strip right now. Please
demand that Prime Minister Sharon halt the death and destruction
wrought there by the Israeli army. The cycle of bloodshed must end.
Contact people (First try the US, European and UN officials. All the
fax numbers work):
(1) President George W. Bush -- Tel (202) 456-2461; Fax (202) 456-2461.
(2) Secretary of State Colin Powell -- Tel (202) 261-8577; Fax (202)
261-8577.
(3) US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer -- Tel in Israel: (+972-3)
519-7575
[email protected][/email]
(4) Your member of Congress:
Call the Capital switchboard toll-free: 1-800-839-5276 and ask to be
connected to your member of Congress.
For your information, you can send a free fax by internet (to certain
places only, but definitely area code 202 in the US) at
http://www.tpc.int/sendfax.html. Note that this is a service provided
for free, but is not to be used for bulk fax mailings because they can
only handle a relatively limited number of faxes at once. [Thanks, Mike Wolfson, for this info.]
(5) UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, [email protected]
(6) Council of the European Union, [email protected][/email]
(7) European Union, [email protected]
(8) Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Fax (+972 2) 670-5361
[email protected]
(9) Minister of Defense Shaul Mofaz, Fax (+972 3) 691-6940
[email protected]
(10) Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid, Fax: (+972 2) 628-5438
[email protected]
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Appeal for Rafah City
18 May 2004
Dear Madam/Sir,
I write to you today with the high hopes that your consistent support
to the Palestinian People and commitment to the peace process as the
only way out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would translate into
immediate and decisive actions to alleviate the suffering of the
devastated Rafah families. As you are certainly aware, the Israeli
aggression against Rafah and its refugee camps has been unabated for
the past three years and a half, resulting in the dispossession as well as economic and psychological ruination of hundreds of Palestinian families. This ethnic cleansing campaign has literally altered the demographic and population concentrations in Rafah.
Given the latest escalation of the Israeli violence and aggression
against the Palestinian People every where and in particular what is
happening to Rafah city and Rafah People, we take this opportunity to
appeal to you for immediate action.
In the past week, Israeli Tanks, Buldozers, have gone deep into the
city killing 25 People, 15 of them were killed this morning in Tal
Sultan area in Rafah and the other 10 were killed three days ago when
the Israeli tanks and buldozers destroyed and demolished houses in
Rafah, and injuring more than one Hundred , some of which are very
seious. More that 160 families were left without shelter following the
destruction of 120 houses sheltering 1170 persons, now living in tents, playgrounds, squares. The total Number of Houses demolished completely in Rafah since the start of the current Intifadah is about 1750 houses. Agricultural land and green houses were also buldozed. Roads, Water and waste water networks were destroyed. There is also a humanitarian crisis , where food, water, milk and medical supplies are not available in the city as it is isolated from the rest of the Gaza Strip for more than a week.
With these latest and dangerous developments in mind, we appeal to you
to save and protect what is left of Rafah City and its infrastructure.
We view the current situation with grave concern and we are certain
that you share the same view. We appeal to help the alleviate the
suffering of Rafah People, and help restore the destroyed
infrastructure as soon as you can.
We trust that you will take the appropriate measures to ensure that the latest Israeli aggressive actions against the Palestinian People seize and desist.
Best Regards,
Dr. Emad S. Sha’at
Deputy Mayor
Rafah City
Mobile 059 411 850
[email][email protected]
[email][email protected] |
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| malek |
| well... if they won't be able to get their weapons from Egypt, they'll fall back on their second source... buying them from Jews in Israel:stongue: |
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| Some One |
| quote: | Originally posted by Palestinian
Eleven Israeli soldiers killed and this is what Rafah gets. Over a thousand made homeless and hundreds of homes demolished. What's wrong with you? Why do you support collective punishment? You haven't mentioned that the Gaza Strip has been under occupation for the past 37 years. Let me give you a quote that is pretty self-explanatory: as long as occupation will persist, there will always be militant action and resistance. Those Israeli soldiers that got killed shouldn't have been there in the first place. Home demolitions in Rafah have been happening for the past three years so you shouldn't be surprised when Israeli soldiers get killed.
Amnesty International has called the home demolitions a violation of international law and a war crime. |
Amnesty International is a biased organization with one sided views.
First of all these are not occupied terretories as Palestinians have declared war in 1967 and LOST. What do you get for losing a war? Lets see after WW2, USSR has gained control of 1/2 of Germany and about 1/3 of Berlin, and almost all of Eastern Europe. Countries in the old days used to wage wars for the sole reason of conquering land, sometimes for personal reasons (ie. Troy).
This was the sole idea behind the 1967 war. Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine wanted Israel, they wanted it all. Now look what happened, they lost, brutally lost, Lebanon lost the mountains, Egypt lost Sinai, Jordan lost the west bank and Palestinians lost Palestine.
Sorry to say this, but bluntly speaking YOU waged a war and YOU LOST. Now suffer the consequences. This is also not the first time that this happened, look at the previous wars prior to the 6 day war. Do you honestly think that if you continue to attack a country and lose it will be ok?
Don’t be saying these are occupied territories, they are now Israel's land and your people are living on it.
Now since it is Israel's land, Israel will always have its soldiers patrolling its land. Until Palestine is declared a state there will always be soldiers there, and by looks of the effort that Palestinians are showing this will not happen any time soon.
11 soldiers have died because of some "freedom fighters" are trying to get their land back, and this concept seems very stupid as the only way to gain your "freedom" or land is purely by diplomatic means because if your military is not as big as Israel’s this will never happen.
Anyways to keep a long story short, Israel policy was to always retaliate for attacks on its citizens, whether military or civilian and Palestinians have ALWAYS known that. Don’t forget that these attacks happen on Israeli land.
Demolishing hundreds of homes might seem immoral but in the fight against terror Israelis sometimes have to go down to the terrorist levels, which are un ethical (i.e. killing a mother with her young children, blowing up in a bus, etc...)
And unethical attacks on ones country will be responded with the same retaliation, although Israel’s demolishing of the homes is justified by weapons smuggling, which is true, how would those militants get a hold of Rocket propelled grenades if they did not have tunnels that were dug to Egypt. By showing that they are smuggling weapons Israel has to now demolish these homes to protect its Citizens (soldiers and civilians)
To keep a long story short, you people brought it on yourself so don’t try and blame the fire when you were the one who set it ablaze. |
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| Palestinian |
| quote: | Originally posted by Some One
Amnesty International is a biased organization with one sided views.
First of all these are not occupied terretories as Palestinians have declared war in 1967 and LOST. What do you get for losing a war? Lets see after WW2, USSR has gained control of 1/2 of Germany and about 1/3 of Berlin, and almost all of Eastern Europe. Countries in the old days used to wage wars for the sole reason of conquering land, sometimes for personal reasons (ie. Troy).
This was the sole idea behind the 1967 war. Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine wanted Israel, they wanted it all. Now look what happened, they lost, brutally lost, Lebanon lost the mountains, Egypt lost Sinai, Jordan lost the west bank and Palestinians lost Palestine.
Sorry to say this, but bluntly speaking YOU waged a war and YOU LOST. Now suffer the consequences. This is also not the first time that this happened, look at the previous wars prior to the 6 day war. Do you honestly think that if you continue to attack a country and lose it will be ok?
Don’t be saying these are occupied territories, they are now Israel's land and your people are living on it.
Now since it is Israel's land, Israel will always have its soldiers patrolling its land. Until Palestine is declared a state there will always be soldiers there, and by looks of the effort that Palestinians are showing this will not happen any time soon.
11 soldiers have died because of some "freedom fighters" are trying to get their land back, and this concept seems very stupid as the only way to gain your "freedom" or land is purely by diplomatic means because if your military is not as big as Israel’s this will never happen.
Anyways to keep a long story short, Israel policy was to always retaliate for attacks on its citizens, whether military or civilian and Palestinians have ALWAYS known that. Don’t forget that these attacks happen on Israeli land.
Demolishing hundreds of homes might seem immoral but in the fight against terror Israelis sometimes have to go down to the terrorist levels, which are un ethical (i.e. killing a mother with her young children, blowing up in a bus, etc...)
And unethical attacks on ones country will be responded with the same retaliation, although Israel’s demolishing of the homes is justified by weapons smuggling, which is true, how would those militants get a hold of Rocket propelled grenades if they did not have tunnels that were dug to Egypt. By showing that they are smuggling weapons Israel has to now demolish these homes to protect its Citizens (soldiers and civilians)
To keep a long story short, you people brought it on yourself so don’t try and blame the fire when you were the one who set it ablaze. |
HAHAHAHA, Amnesty International is biased AHAHAHAH.
The whole world agrees that they are occupied territories whether you you like it or not, frankly, including the US and the government of Israel.
International Law states that it is inadmisible to aquire territory by war. Whoever captures territory by war is gravely mistaken to think that this is still acceptable today under International Law and humanitarian institutions.
1967 War was started by Israel as much as it was started by any Arab country. Same goes for the previous wars. Regardless of who started it, the territories are still occupied whether you like or not.
If it is Israel's land, then clearly, Israel should go about annexing it. Otherwise, what the is it doing colonizing and destroying it?
Annex the land if it's yours. Don't go about causing suffering to its population and abusing human rights unless you want violence.
Diplomatic means are one way, armed resistance is another. Attacking soldiers is legitimate and praised. This is a war of independence.
You said it yourself, if the attacks are unethical, they will be paid by in kind. Unethical settlements and abuse of human rights were happening way before suicide bombing attacks from the territories took place. But unethical attacks by a government and the fourth strongest military power in the world is unacceptable and there is no excuse for it. A power like that shouldn't be breaking International Law and abusing human rights.
Demolishing hundreds of homes because of weapons smuggling is not an excuse and is despicable and a war crime. You advocates of collective punishment and deniers of occupation make me sick. End the occupation if you want peace. Otherwise, annex the in land already. If you're afraid of us becoming the majority, then leave it alone. It's that simple. |
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| Flotser |
You know what??
International Community Stinks
what a giant issue is being made about this & other israeli actions.
In comparison to Russia's acts in Chechnya - Israel is an angel, and you know what? The International Community, EU, UN and and the Vatikan lol, didnt give a damn about Chechnya... :wtf:
you also want to compare the amount of Terror and Suffer inside Israel, with the one in Russia leading to the war? Russia is like Heaven of interior security.
you dont believe the world is hypocrite ? :eek:
read some...
War Crimes In Chechnya and the Response of the West
http://hrw.org/wr2k4/7.htm#_Toc58744956
“Glad to be Deceived”: the International Community and Chechnya
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/russia...r-testimony.htm
p.s. i'm not stupid, i'm not saying israel is doing nothing wrong - world's reaction to it is what amazes me. |
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| malek |
| yes yes... everyone else is wrong except yourself:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: |
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| occrider |
| quote: | Originally posted by Palestinian
1967 War was started by Israel as much as it was started by any Arab country. |
I would disagree with this statement. The 1967 war may have been inadvertantly started by Egypt and Syria, however, it was still their doing. |
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| Cyrus King |
| quote: | Originally posted by Palestinian
HAHAHAHA, Amnesty International is biased AHAHAHAH.
The whole world agrees that they are occupied territories whether you you like it or not, frankly, including the US and the government of Israel.
International Law states that it is inadmisible to aquire territory by war. Whoever captures territory by war is gravely mistaken to think that this is still acceptable today under International Law and humanitarian institutions.
1967 War was started by Israel as much as it was started by any Arab country. Same goes for the previous wars. Regardless of who started it, the territories are still occupied whether you like or not.
If it is Israel's land, then clearly, Israel should go about annexing it. Otherwise, what the is it doing colonizing and destroying it?
Annex the land if it's yours. Don't go about causing suffering to its population and abusing human rights unless you want violence.
Diplomatic means are one way, armed resistance is another. Attacking soldiers is legitimate and praised. This is a war of independence.
You said it yourself, if the attacks are unethical, they will be paid by in kind. Unethical settlements and abuse of human rights were happening way before suicide bombing attacks from the territories took place. But unethical attacks by a government and the fourth strongest military power in the world is unacceptable and there is no excuse for it. A power like that shouldn't be breaking International Law and abusing human rights.
Demolishing hundreds of homes because of weapons smuggling is not an excuse and is despicable and a war crime. You advocates of collective punishment and deniers of occupation make me sick. End the occupation if you want peace. Otherwise, annex the in land already. If you're afraid of us becoming the majority, then leave it alone. It's that simple. |
SOME ONE just got owned |
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