Headlines for 01-03-09

A Stand For Justice

Israeli airstrike kills a top Hamas leader Eighteen other people, including all four of Rayan's wives and nine of his 12 children, also were killed, Palestinian health officials said. A man cradled the burned, limp body of a child he pulled from the rubble


Children among the casualties in Gaza - Israel-Palestinians The United Nations has said the death toll includes 34 children


'Critical emergency' in Gaza after air strike every 20 minutes Much of Gaza's public infrastructure has been destroyed and the territory is in a "critical emergency" after seven days of devastating bombing with air strikes averaging one every 20 minutes, the UN said yesterday.


In Urgent Letter, Amnesty International USA Appeals to Secretary Rice to End 'Lopsided US Response' to Gaza Crisis "Amnesty International USA is particularly dismayed at the lopsided response by the U.S. government to the recent violence and its lackadaisical efforts to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," the human rights organization states in its letter to Secretary Rice.


UN: 25% of those killed in Gaza civilians At least 42 of those killed have been children


Israel imposes general closure on West Bank Israel's defense establishment on Thursday night decided to seal off the West Bank for two days, as the ongoing deadly assaults in Gaza Strip has strained relations between Jews and Arabs.


Israel keeps ban on foreign journalists in Gaza Israel is barring foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip despite a Supreme Court decision this week to allow a limited number to enter the territory. There'll be no witnesses to the slaughter.


Shortages Put Gaza's Hospitals on the Brink of Collapse for several months Israel has allowed only limited supplies of humanitarian goods into Gaza and no other imports or exports. That has left Gaza's health system in a state of crisis, according to Physicians for Human Rights, an Israeli group


Israel Rejects Truce Calls, Presses on With Gaza Offensive At least 25 percent of those killed have been civilians, the United Nations said.


Gazans fight cold and hunger as supplies run dry


US blocks UN Security Council action on Gaza The United States late Saturday blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel and expressing concern at the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas.


World must intervene in Gaza, Christian leaders say Christian leaders in Jerusalem called on Tuesday for global intervention to stop the Gaza conflict and urged Israelis and Palestinians to "return to their senses".


Israeli Violates International Humanitarian Law By Prof. Richard Falk
United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories


Attacks Condemned as Supplies Dwindle and Deaths Rise While women and children comprise 25 per cent of the fatalities, they make up 40 per cent of the wounded. "Civilians are the targets, they are the victims," said Dr Gilbert.


Israel ordered to allow international media into Gaza


A United States flag defaced with a star of David and a swastika is held during a protest in Rome January 3, 2009
US gets lumped in with Israel thanks to the work of Israel's lobby - which has made us a party in their war against the Arabs, whether or not us taxpayers like it.


Jewish Organisations Call for End to Gaza Bombings rather than unquestioning support of Israel's latest military venture in the decades-long conflict, four major Jewish organizations here are calling for an immediate end to the bombings, and for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.


Hamas accuses senior Palestinian aides of spying for Israelis


MSNBC Video: Zbigniew Brzezinski schools Joe Scarborough on the Israeli-Palestinian situation Watch to the very end. Classic!


Gaza secondary war being fought on the internet It is part of an attempt by Israel's political leaders to use the internet to spread their message and has seen the country's Army, the IDF, becoming the first ever national force to set up their own YouTube channel


European protesters urge end to offensive on Gaza Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in European cities on Saturday against Israel's bombardment of Gaza, including protesters who hurled shoes at the tall iron gates outside the British prime minister's residence in London.


Dubai calls off New Year's Eve extravaganza Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of the Gulf state, called off festivities late last night. He said "all public New Year's celebrations" should be stopped "in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are currently enduring death, suffering and destruction in Gaza".



Bolton's Still Bonkers Having returned to his civilian perch at the American Enterprise Institute, Bolton is now reduced to attempting, unofficially, to precipitate an illegal (under international law) attack by someone ? anyone ? on those Iranian IAEA-Safeguarded facilities. .....Bonkers Bolton goes on to urge Obama to do absolutely the last thing he should do: assist Israel, "should it decide to strike Iran's nuclear facilities"!


Israel Drafts YouTube, Netanyahu to Woo World Opinion on Gaza Israel's public-relations campaign stands in marked contrast to 2006, when spokesmen scrambled to explain the bombardment of Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon and Beirut. The goal this time is to keep international pressure at bay for as long as possible, allowing Israel's military to operate without outside interference. That's why it is up to us ordinary folks - every chance we get - to dispel the BS that is blasting out of the Israeli propaganda machine.


How Hypocrisy on 'Terrorism' Kills


Hezbollah-like tactic used by Hamas against Israel Since taking control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas has adopted the rocket tactics used by Lebanese Hezbollah, shifting away from its reliance on suicide bombers in attacks on Israel.


Letter to Bush on Gaza Crisis By Ralph Nader


U.S. should stay removed from the Gaza conflict Raimondo believes the Israelis are sending this message to the incoming administration: "The whole point of this exercise in futility - which will not create a single iota of security for Israel, will not topple Hamas, and will not prove any more successful than the second Lebanese war - is to set the terms by which the Israelis will deal with the incoming U.S. president." The Bush administration immediately backed the Israeli action, which only reinforced the political aspects of this incursion


Party to Murder


What will the blowback be The idea that America isn?t implicated, and won?t pay a price, for Tel Aviv?s slaughter of innocents is terribly naive


Recognizing the Recognition Lag In a recent piece I tried to lower the expectations of some of my friends in the reality-based community of foreign policy realists that a President Obama would place the Israel/Palestine issue on the top of his policy agenda.


Present at the Destruction This is just to remind you (in case you?ve forgotten) that we have to thank the Bush Administration for mess in Gaza, and in particular for its decision to push for the election that brought Hamas to power and which then was followed by the decision to punish the Gazans for the outcome of their vote. The major reason why Palestinians elected Hamas in Gaza was because of the corruption of the Fatah party.


If I were Israel's PM. . .


Middle East nations condemn Israel's Gaza invasion


From the ashes of Gaza


Israel, U.S., Arab nations discuss international force for Gaza After a week of Israeli bombardment of the Gaza strip, Israel, Arab countries and the United States are discussing how to create an international force that would safeguard an eventual cease-fire, diplomats said Friday.


Spokesman's Unit hails 'fair' coverage Israel Meanwhile, the IDF has been in regular contact with over 50 major American blogs covering the fighting. 'Fair' = pro-Israel.


Roseanne Barr Israel is a 'Nazi state' Former television star Roseanne Barr has denounced Israel's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, labeling Israel a "Nazi state." In a post on her personal blog, which appears at her Web site, Roseanne World, the comedienne, who is Jewish, wrote on December 30 that she had planned to travel with pro-Palestinian activists on a protest boat sailing from Cyprus to Gaza.
Roseanne is a very ballsy woman. Tell it like it is.


Robert Fisk: The self delusion that plagues both sides in this bloody conflict the Israelis have usually shown a dangerous propensity to believe their own propaganda. Calling up more than 6,000 reservists and sitting them round the Gaza fence is one thing; sending them into the hovels of Gaza will be quite another. In 2006, Israel claimed it was sending 30,000 troops into Lebanon. In reality, it sent about 3,000 ? and the moment they crossed the border, they were faced down by the Hizbollah. In some cases, Israeli soldiers actually ran back to their own frontier.


Americans Closely Divided Over Israel?s Gaza Attacks Forty-four percent (44%) say Israel should have taken military action against the Palestinians, but 41% say it should have tried to find a diplomatic solution to the problems there, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.


Protests against Gaza attack sweep across the world


Presidents Conference Silent on Hebron The incidents in Hebron included settlers setting fire to Palestinian-owned olive trees, stoning vehicles and pedestrians, and defacing Muslim graves with the Star of David. A Palestinian father and son were shot (reports on their condition are unavailable).


More Oddities in the U.S. Debate over Israel-Gaza


Minority Arabs seethe as bombing intensifies


Different Strokes by Philip Giraldi Readers of my columns in TAC and at antiwar might recall that I have been inquiring about the status of Israeli spy Ben-Ami Kadish, who was arrested in April and has since fallen into a black hole, with no record of any continuing judicial process and no mention in the MSM


The Huffington Post Israeli-Occupied Territory- by Justin Raimondo When Arianna nabbed $25 million from Oak Investment Partners, of Palo Alto, California, she was acquired by a financial network that also has significant investments in the Israeli arms industry ? an industry, I might add, directly subsidized and controlled by the Israeli government.