Making
Gaza "Scream"
By Stephen Lendman
11 July, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Making Gaza "scream"
is same kind of scheme the Nixon administration planned for Chile after
social democrat Salvador Allende won a plurality of the votes in September,
1970. Before the Chilean Congress confirmed him as president in October,
an infamous Nixon CIA Director Richard Helms handwritten note read:
"One in 10 chance perhaps, but save Chile! ... not concerned with
risks involved ... $10,000,000 available, more if necessary...make the
economy 'scream.' " By it, he meant saving the country from a socially
responsible leader, like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, using his nation's
wealth equitably and not just for its privileged elites. "Scream"
it did through Nixon's "soft line" scheme "to do all
within our power to condemn Chile and Chileans to utmost deprivation
and poverty," in the words of his Chilean ambassador Edward Korry.
It lasted three years until
a "hard line" one replaced it on another September 11 Chileans
won't soon forget in 1973. It was when a CIA-orchestrated military coup
ended the most vibrant democracy in the Americas, replacing it with
the brutal 17 year reign of General Augusto Pinochet.
The US has a notorious record
of imposing economic or political sanctions against any nation daring
to operate outside of Washington Consensus political and market rules.
It's also quick to levy trade sanctions for corporate friends whose
notion of "free trade" is the one-way kind benefitting them.
The Clinton administration was a frequent abuser of these practices
imposing them unilaterally against 35 or more countries during its eight
years in power. They were also in place against the Soviet bloc during
the Cold War and other nations aligned with it. The Bush administration
currently has them in place against such countries as Iran, North Korea,
Cuba, Syria, Burma, Belarus, Sudan, and Venezuela. It's our way of saying
we're boss, what we say goes and no outliers are tolerated even when
they only wish to govern independently from us or are targeted by a
close ally we support.
That's the plight of the
Palestinians who've been "screaming" for six decades following
Israel's "war of independence" they call al-Nakba, the catastrophe.
In May, 1948, they were deprived of four-fifths of their former land
and the remainder for the past 40 years. Conditions then became especially
harsh after January 25, 2006 when they rejected ruling Fatah's institutionalized
corruption and willingness to be Israel's enforcer for the benefits
it afforded its leaders. They defied predictions and democratically
elected a majority of Hamas members to Palestinian Legislative Council
(PLC) seats because they promised to do what Fatah wouldn't--serve their
own people, not the state of Israel against them.
Ever since, they've paid
dearly for their choice. Israel, the US and West ended all outside aid,
imposed an economic embargo and sanctions, and politically isolated
the ruling Hamas government. Repressive Israeli rule was tightened and
harsh intervention and daily attacks in the Territories followed. It
included fomenting internal conflict on Gaza streets leading up to Hamas
defeating the heavily US and Israeli-armed opposition Fatah insurgent
forces, regaining control of its own territory in a surprising show
of strength.
Palestinian Authority (PA)
President Mahmoud Abbas, in league with Israel and the US, then declared
a "state of emergency" June 14 and illegally dismissed Hamas
prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and his national unity government. On
June 15, he appointed former IMF and World Bank official Salam Fayyad
prime minister (whose party won 2% of the 2006 election votes), and
on June 17 swore in a new 13 member illegitimate "emergency"
cabinet with plans for future elections excluding Hamas. On June 16,
the US said it would lift its ban on the Abbas government and did it
formerly on June 18.
On July 1, Israel began releasing
frozen Palestinian tax funds transferring $120 million in a first installment
to Abbas in the West Bank. The amount is one-sixth what Palestinians
say they're owed (around $700 million) from tax revenues Israel illegally
withheld beginning February 1, 2006 after Hamas' election January 25.
Hamas is denied all aid from Israeli and western sources in a continuing
effort to keep its Gaza-led government isolated, economic sanctions
on it in place, and its people kept in desperate need of help not forthcoming.
More on that below. In the
meantime, Israeli prime minister Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin said
"Israel is committed to working with the new Palestinian government.
We hope that together they (meaning the Abbas West Bank self-imposed
government) will be able to build a strong administration which will
give them a better capability to enter into full negotiations."
She neglected to mention
Abbas' "emergency" government has no legitimacy, its US and
Israeli funded and supported action was a brazen coup d'etat against
a democratically elected government, and by "full negotiations"
she means bowing to Israeli demands and abandoning the rights and needs
of the Palestinian people.
Hamas called Israel's disbursement
to Abbas "financial bribery (and) political blackmail" meant
to keep Gaza and the West Bank divided and Palestinians in a state of
internal conflict saving Israel some of the bother of stirring it up
itself. Prime minister Ismail Haniyeh says the Palestinians' only recourse
is "resistance. The Americans won't give us anything. Israel won't
give us anything. Our land, our nation will not come back to us except
with steadfastness and resistance" against what Israeli prime minister
Olmert calls "cooperation (from Abbas in the West Bank that) will....enable
us to make progress on the diplomatic track." Of course, it's to
benefit Israel at the expense of the Palestinian people who aren't likely
to accept the fate its quisling president and Israel have in mind for
them.
Humanitarian Crisis
in Gaza Deepens
Here's how several concerned
NGOs headline Gaza's deepening crisis. It won't improve as long as Israel,
the US and West continue their war against the democratically elected
Hamas government most Palestinians still strongly support.
Oxfam Great Britain is a
member of Oxfam International, a development and relief organization
working to alleviate poverty, human suffering and injustice worldwide,
currently operating in over 30 countries. It highlights the crisis in
Gaza in its June 19 article titled "Locked in Gaza" describing
the "increasing desperation of Gazans as shortages of fuel, water
and food are reported." Israel keeps people there "locked
in Gaza," unable to move even for those desperately needing medical
care in Israel for what's unavailable at home.
It mentions two Palestinians
were shot dead June 18 trying to cross the checkpoint separating Gaza
from Israel, almost a daily occurrence in the Territories. It says water
in Gaza is a major problem as there's little electricity to pump it.
Food is running out as well as all of it comes from outside Gaza city.
Markets are empty, people have little or no money, borders are closed,
the threat of starvation for many is real. Israel allows no international
NGOs to operate in Gaza so the people aren't being helped when their
need is greatest.
On July 6, Oxfam issued an
updated press release. Its assessment of conditions in Gaza was grim
warning "thousands of refugees across Gaza will face imminent cuts
in water and sewage services if more fuel is not provided in the coming
days and weeks." It said the Gaza Coastal Municipality Water Utility
(CMWU) had to cut its water supply in half from eight to four hours
a day because of fuel shortages affecting 65,000 people in the Strip's
largest camp. Fuel is also running out for sewage drainage pumps in
the Saflawi neighborhood. Without it, "sewage (may spill) into
the streets....in days, contaminating the remaining water supply....spreading
life-threatening disease (in) the densely-populated camp."
It continued saying other
parts of Gaza face the same problem, affecting its entire 1.5 million
population. Fuel may be exhausted in days at the hottest time of year
when water demand is highest. In the face of this impending crisis,
the Abbas government in the West Bank is doing nothing to alleviate
it. Gaza is totally dependent on outside help unable to do its job because
Israel closed border crossings and sealed off the entire Territory from
the outside world.
A UN report is no more encouraging
from an article on Media for Global Development June 15. It says the
UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees was forced
to scale back its work while Gaza was in conflict. It "severely
limited its ability to (bring in vitally needed) humanitarian supplies"
to the 80% of Gazans dependent on them. It calls 40% of the population
"food insecure" meaning they could starve without help. It
explained even in the absence of street fighting there are critical
shortages of food, water, medical supplies, fuel and other essentials.
Outside help is critically needed, but Gazans aren't getting it because
Israel closed the entry points between Egypt and the Strip stopping
critically needed supplies from entering.
The Israeli Information Center
for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, raised its alarm
as well June 17 with an article titled "Urgent Appeal from Israeli
Human Rights Groups to Israeli Defense Minister: Open Gaza's Borders
to Prevent a Humanitarian Crisis." It says hundreds of refugees
are trapped between the sealed Erez crossing and Hamas inside Gaza,
including the sick and injured from recent events in the Territory.
It also cites critical food and medical supply shortages and urgently
says: "The state of Israel cannot stand idly by at a time when
the fundamental human rights of Gaza residents are being violated and
the right to life is being threatened."
It mentions eight Israeli
human rights organizations warning of a crisis that will worsen as long
as Israel "continues to close borders and isolate Gaza from the
outside world by preventing the supply of essential goods, trapping
residents inside the Gaza Strip, and preventing Gaza residents who traveled
outside the Strip from returning home" including the chronically
sick and injured.
With essential border crossings
closed, supplies aren't coming in. Fresh food, such as meat, fruit and
dairy products are disappearing. The World Food Program warns of dangerous
food shortages. B'Tselem calls Israel's border closings and disconnect
of Gaza's electricity and water grid an act of collective punishment
against all Gazans in violation of international law. The Israeli human
rights organization calls on the state of Israel to end these actions.
The Palestinian Initiative
for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH) is a Jerusalem-based
NGO "dedicated to fostering democracy and good governance within
Palestinian society." It aims "to serve as a Palestinian platform
for global dialogue and cooperation guided by the principles of democracy,
human rights, gender equity, and participatory governance."
That said, MIFTAH's article
June 23 headlined "Growing Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza." It
warns of a major humanitarian disaster being inevitable unless Israel
eases its border crossing restrictions and allows in vitally needed
supplies. At present, only a two to four week supply of food remains.
Essential food and other supplies "are waiting to enter Gaza"
but have been denied entry by Israel since Hamas' takeover in June.
It mentions the German chapter of UNICEF reporting on the "deteriorating
condition of Gaza's children (from) lack of proper sanitation."
It heightens the risk of diseases and contagion from some of them with
limited medications on hand. So far, Israel is adamant citing "security
considerations" for keeping border crossings closed. By that it
means it intends to keep punishing all Palestinians collectively for
having elected Hamas its government.
The Palestinian Centre for
Human Rights (PCHR) offers the most detailed and harrowing account of
how desperate conditions now are in Gaza. It says how "gravely
concerned" it is since Israel tightened its siege by closing all
border crossings, including the Rafah International Crossing Point on
the Egyptian border. It urgently calls on all states, UN agencies and
all international humanitarian organizations "to immediately take
steps to pressurize (Israel) to allow the normal flow of basic supplies,
including foodstuffs and medical supplies, into the Gaza strip to avoid
an imminent crisis that threatens" 1.5 million Gazans. Three-fourths
of them live in poverty and nearly as many are unemployed and have no
other source of help. Gaza is the most densely populated place on earth.
It's also the world's largest (Israeli-imposed) open-air prison. It's
more locked down than ever with all border crossing points closed and
sealed and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacking the Strip daily.
As long as Israel is unwilling
to open them, food, medicines, fuel and other essential supplies can't
get in. Palestinians desperately needing medical care outside the Strip
can't travel to get it. Gaza hospitals and health centers can't provide
essential medical services. PCHR lists the site closures:
-- the Rafah International
Crossing Point on the Egyptian border through which Palestinians travel
back and forth;
-- the Karni commercial crossing
gravely affecting food and other essential deliveries. Mentioned is
the shortage of wheat with mills running out and having to shut down.
Gaza needs 600 tons of wheat daily;
-- the Sofa crossing through
which raw materials enter halting most construction projects;
-- the Kerem Shalom crossing
through which food and medicines come;
-- the Erez crossing affecting
international and local organizations, patients and commercial traders;
and
-- the Nahal Oz crossing
through which fuel transits.
PCHR calls on Israel to reconnect
Gaza to the outside world and avoid a humanitarian disaster. It wants
the "economic siege" on Gaza ended; human rights to be respected;
and international law obeyed, including the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention
(GCIV--ratified and accepted by 194 countries as of June, 2006) relating
to the rights and protections of civilians in times of war "in
the hands" of an enemy and under occupation by a foreign power.
It further calls for increasing
essential aid from international humanitarian organizations to relieve
the deteriorating conditions in the Territory and human suffering. It
asks that the rights of all Palestinians be respected and that all efforts
be made to ensure them.
PCHR also publishes daily
reports and a weekly summary of events on the ground in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories (OPT). They always center on Israeli Defense
Forces' (IDF) "continue(d) systematic attacks on Palestinian civilians
and property." Its latest weekly summary runs through July 4 and
cites the following violence in Gaza and Fatah-run West Bank from daily
Israeli incursions in both areas.
In Gaza and the West
Bank:
-- 10 Palestinians, including
6 civilians, were killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), 3 by extra-judicial
assassination in Khan Yunis;
-- 27 Palestinian civilians
were wounded by IDF gunfire;
-- IDF conducted 31 incursions
into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 3 others in Gaza;
--IDF conducted a 2-day incursion
into Nablus and neighboring refugee camps;
-- IDF arrested 92 Palestinian
civilians, including 19 children, in the West Bank;
-- IDF continued imposing
a total siege on the OPT;
-- 12 Palestinians trapped
on the Egyptian side of the Rafah International Crossing Point died
for lack of attention to their medical needs;
-- A Palestinian wounded
in a car died as IDF obstructed his evacuation to a hospital; ambulances
attending the sick and wounded are routinely attacked;
-- IDF arrested 6 other Palestinians
at various checkpoints; and
-- In addition to a strict
siege on Gaza discussed above, IDF tightened a similar one on Fatah's
controlled West Bank isolating Jerusalem from the rest of the Territory.
Severe restrictions on movement are in place and additional checkpoints
have been erected on main roads and at intersections. These events are
part of daily life imposed on Palestinians by their Israeli occupiers
making life for them intolerable and the reason they resist.
-- After this report was
released, IDF killed at least 11 Palestinians and wounded 25 others
on July 5 in what Israeli military officials dismissively called "a
routine operation." In response, Hamas officials accused Israel
of provoking conflict while they're trying to end it and maintain law
and order.
The Palestinian people have
endured unbearable hardships and suffering like this for nearly six
decades, the result of cruel unremitting Israeli repression of them.
Yet they endure, resist and continue working for what they want most--to
live freely and securely in peace in their own unoccupied land ruled
by governments they elect to serve them. It's the dream of all oppressed
people--to one day have the equity and social justice they deserve.
By now, Israeli and western governments should know Palestinians won't
ever stop struggling for the rights no nation has the right to deny
them. One day they'll prevail because they won't give up resisting until
they do.
Stephen Lendman
lives in Chicago and can be reached at [email protected].
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