Protest Escalation of Gaza Attacks at Pioneer Courthouse Square, 3:30pm Sunday, Jan 4th
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- Written by PPRC PPRC
- Published: 04 January 2009 04 January 2009
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Event: Responding to Israeli Ground Assault, Peace Groups Gather at Pioneer
Courthouse Square to Protest Escalation of Gaza Attacks.
Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill & Broadway, downtown
Portland, Oregon.
Contacts:
Portland Peaceful Response Coalition
(503) 344-5078 voicemail
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.pprc-news.org
Responding to Israeli Ground Assault, Peace Groups Gather at Pioneer
Courthouse Square to Protest Escalation of Gaza Attacks.
“How many hundreds more will be killed, how many thousands injured, how many
hundreds of thousands terrorized, before Israel recognizes that this
conflict will never be resolved with military force?” asked William Seaman,
a volunteer with Portland Peaceful Response Coalition, one of the groups
involved in the emergency demonstration at Pioneer Courthouse Square, set to
take place at 3:30 PM today. “Even if they succeed in stopping the Qassam
and Grad rockets today, there will be other forms of resistance, violent and
nonviolent, legitimate and nonlegitimate, because the underlying cause of
this conflict is the illegal, brutal, violent and entirely illegitimate
occupation.”
For the third time in less than a week, local peace and social justice
organizations will gather, this time at Pioneer Courthouse Square, to
protest the Israeli attacks in Gaza. Among the groups involved in today’s
demonstration are Friends of Sabeel of North America, Americans United for
Palestinian Human Rights, and the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition. As
in the previous two demonstrations, organizers are calling for an immediate
cease-fire and for the United States to pressure the Israeli government to
end it over forty years of occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, which they
believe lies at the root of the ongoing conflict.
For more information, and to set up interviews with organizers of the
demonstration today, please call 503-888-7455.
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Six children among 12 killed in mosque blas
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- Written by Hazem Balousha and Rajeev Syal, The Observer Hazem Balousha and Rajeev Syal, The Observer
- Published: 04 January 2009 04 January 2009
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Scenes of carnage as Israeli shells strike crowd of civilians who were leaving evening prayers
The shells could not have fallen at a worse time. Yesterday's afternoon prayers in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya were unusually busy because worshippers had abandoned their evening prayers in the belief that if the Israelis planned to strike, they would do so at night.
But as the townspeople left the mosque at dusk, the explosions began, killing at least 12 people, six of whom were children. They came only hours before the Israeli ground offensive was launched into Gaza.
Fdil Sobih, 40, an ambulance driver who was one of the first people to arrive at the scene, told the Observer that the sight outside the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque was horrific, and was made worse by the desperation of locals trying to dig out those buried under the rubble with their hands. "I saw people cut to pieces," he said. "No one expected this here. The mosque is a few hundred metres from the hospital and it is heavily populated and is surrounded by houses.
Israel steps up offensive on Gaza, 13 killed at mosque filled with people
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- Written by BBC News BBC News
- Published: 03 January 2009 03 January 2009
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The Israeli military has stepped up its attacks on Gaza, as the offensive on Hamas enters its second week.
Israeli artillery and tanks bombarded the territory for what is thought to be the first time during the offensive, and further air strikes were launched.
Later, a column of military vehicles crossed into northern Gaza, Palestinian witnesses said.
In an earlier raid, at least 13 people were killed when a missile hit a mosque in Beit Lahiya, medical officials said.
Witnesses said more than 200 people had been inside the Ibrahim al-Maqadna mosque for evening prayers when it was struck.
Palestinian medics and Hamas officials said they believed dozens were injured. Four boys were among the dead, hospital officials told the AFP news agency.
The BBC's Katya Adler in Jerusalem says the Israeli military has destroyed a number of mosques since it began its Gaza campaign a week ago. Israel says Hamas uses them to store weapons.
The Israeli government insists its military offensive will continue until the group's infrastructure is sufficiently weakened to stop all attacks on Israeli civilians.
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired more rockets into southern Israel on Saturday, one of which hit the port of Ashdod, injuring two people.
Israel has now carried out more than 800 strikes on Gaza since launching the offensive a week ago, including 40 on Saturday.
The UN has warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis, and believes 25% of more than 400 Palestinians killed by Israel so far were civilians. Four Israelis have been killed by rocket fire from Gaza.
Hamas defiant
Plumes of black smoke rose from northern and eastern Gaza as night fell on Saturday after Israeli artillery and tanks massed near the border bombarded the coastal territory for what is thought to be the first time in the offensive.
Israeli media said the military was targeting Hamas infrastructure, personnel and rocket-launching sites along the entire length of the frontier.
A BBC correspondent on the border says increasing numbers of aircraft had also been pounding targets in Gaza City all day.
The main road through the Gaza Strip was bombed in three different places, making travel from one side to the other almost impossible, reports say.
Another two commanders of Hamas's military wing, Abu Zakaria al-Jamal and Mohammed Maaruf, were also killed in separate Israeli air strikes. Their deaths came only two days after the death of a top military leader, Nizar Rayyan.
In another strike, at least one person was killed as large parts of the American International School in Beit Lahiya were destroyed. The Israeli military said the school had been used to launch rockets.
The Hamas government in Gaza said on Saturday that the Israeli military action would not "change realities" in the territory.
"Whoever thought a change in the political area could come through the bombs of planes and the tanks and without dialogue is an illusionist," it said in a statement.
BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen says that because a week of aerial bombardment has not been able to stop militant rocket attacks, the Israeli military now has to decide whether to send in its ground troops.
But Israel's Deputy Defence Minister, Matan Vilnai, played down speculation that Saturday's artillery fire heralded an ground offensive.
"I don't think this is the next stage. This is part of a military campaign being waged and now artillery cannons have joined in," he said.
Earlier, the exiled political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, warned a "black destiny" awaited Israel if it launched a ground war.
"We will not break, we will not surrender or give in to your conditions," he said in a speech from the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Ceasefire calls
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have meanwhile been protesting worldwide against Israel's military operations in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The biggest was in Paris where more than 20,000 people gathered.
About 10,000 people joined a rally in London, during which hundreds of shoes were thrown at the entrance to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's residence, echoing the protest of an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush last month.
Protests also took place in Brussels, The Hague, Amsterdam, Ankara and Cyprus.
In Israel itself, tens of thousands of Israeli Arabs staged a protest against Israel's actions in the town of Sakhnin. One politician, Jamal Zahalka, said it had been the biggest demonstration by Israel's Arab minority in the past 10 years.
President Bush, however, blamed the violence firmly on Hamas.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7809699.stm
Published: 2009/01/03 18:36:08 GMT
© BBC MMIX
Congressman Earl Blumenauer: A Call for Ceasefire and Engagement
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- Written by Earl Blumenauer Earl Blumenauer
- Published: 03 January 2009 03 January 2009
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Oregonians have long watched the momentous changes in the Middle East with hope and concern. One fundamental lesson has emerged: without political processes that aim for peace, violent events and the acts of extremists can overpower the desire of people across the region to live in security.
With daily rocket attacks ever deeper into Israel and hundreds already killed in what Israel calls the start of a multi-stage offensive, forceful U.S. diplomatic re-engagement to support peace is critical. Yet, nearly a decade of failed Bush policies has left America in a weakened position abroad. I was particularly discouraged that the U.S. did not try to broker an extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas or improve the humanitarian situation on the ground. An out-of-touch U.S. leadership has made America, Israel, and the region less safe.
The Bush administration should use its remaining days to renew our commitment to this region and forcefully advocate for a path towards peace.
Although a secure Israel and an independent Palestinian state living side by side seems less likely at the moment, I have high hopes that the new Obama administration will exhibit a strong reversal of course and re-engage the region. To make this path ready I strongly urge all parties to usher in the New Year with a renewed ceasefire agreement. We must continue to work for a peace process that recognizes the legitimate needs of both Israelis and Palestinians. This is the only hope for a better future.
Congressman Earl Blumenauer is the Democratic representative of Oregon's 3rd district.
Propaganda war: trusting what we see? BBC correspondent analyzes Israeli propaganda.
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- Written by Paul Reynolds, BBC News Paul Reynolds, BBC News
- Published: 03 January 2009 03 January 2009
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By Paul Reynolds
World affairs correspondent, BBC News website
Israel has tried to take the initiative in the propaganda war over Gaza but, in one important instance, its version has been seriously challenged.
The incident raises the question of how to interpret video taken from the air.
Israel released video of an air attack on 28 December, which appeared to show rockets being loaded onto a truck. The truck and those close to it were then destroyed by a missile.
This was clear evidence, the Israelis said, of how accurate their strikes were and how well justified. A special unit it has set up to coordinate its informational plan put the video onto YouTube as part of its effort to use modern means of communications to get Israel's case across.
The YouTube video has a large caption on it saying "Grad missiles being loaded onto the Hamas vehicle." As of Saturday morning UK time, more than 260,000 people had watched it.
Different version
It turned out, however, that a 55-year-old Gaza resident named Ahmed Sanur, or Samur, claimed that the truck was his and that he and members of his family and his workers were moving oxygen cylinders from his workshop.
This workshop had been damaged when a building next door was bombed by the Israelis and he was afraid of looters, he said.
The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem put Mr Sanur's account on its website, together with a photograph of burned out oxygen cylinders.
Mr Sanur said that eight people, one of them his son, had been killed. He subsequently told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz: "These were not Hamas, they were our children... They were not Grad missiles.".
The Israeli response was that the "materiel" was being taken from a site that had stored weapons. The video remains on You Tube.
But the incident shows how an apparently definitive piece of video can turn into something much more doubtful.
It is reminiscent of an event in the Nato war against Serbia over Kosovo in 1999. In that case, a video taken from the air seemed to show a military convoy which was then attacked.
On the ground however it was discovered that the "trucks" were in fact tractors towing cartloads of civilian refugees, many of whom were killed.
Israel effort
The Israeli propaganda effort is being directed to achieve two main aims.
The first is to justify the air attacks. The second is to show that there is no humanitarian calamity in Gaza.
Both these aims are intended to place Israel in a strong position internationally and to enable its diplomacy to act as an umbrella to fend off calls for a ceasefire while the military operation unfolds.
Israel has pursued the first aim by being very active in getting its story across that Hamas is to blame. The sight of Hamas rockets streaking into Israel has been helpful in this respect.
It has also allowed trucks in with food aid and has stressed that it will not let people starve, even if they go short.
Israel appears to think its efforts are working.
One of its spokespeople, who has regularly appeared on the international media, Major Avital Leibovich, said: "Quite a few outlets are very favourable to Israel."
Ban on foreign media
Israel has bolstered its approach by banning foreign correspondents from Gaza, despite a ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court.
The Arab television news channel Al Jazeera is operating there and its reports have been graphic and have affected opinion across the Arab world. The BBC also has its local bureau hard at work.
But the absence of reporters from major organisations has meant, for example, that Mr Samur's story has not been as widely told as it probably would have been, or his account subject to an on-the-spot examination.
Meanwhile Israel has received good coverage of the threats and damage to its own towns and communities.
Whether Israel retains any propaganda initiative is not all certain. Pictures of dead and wounded children have undermined its claim to pinpoint accuracy and the longer this goes on, the greater the potential for world public opinion to swing against it, with diplomatic pressure building for a cessation.
Its presentational problems would be hugely increased if it engaged in a ground operation, which would bring with it more pictures of death and destruction.
Update: several readers have e-mailed to ask whether I believe Hamas. One said I had "bought into" Hamas propaganda. Another that I should have dealt with Hamas' claims: "What's missing speaks volumes about your one-sidedness."
I do not believe anyone's "propaganda." We seek to verify all claims, from whatever source. One of the main claims in Gaza at the moment is the serious situation for the population. Having reported from Gaza many times over the years, I know how crowded parts of it are and how dependent the people are on food aid from the UN. This means they have no other source of supply but equally, if the system is working, they should be getting enough to get by on. The problem is that foreign correspondents cannot get in to establish the exact situation for themselves.
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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7809371.stm
Published: 2009/01/03 14:20:30 GMT
© BBC MMIX