Sunday 2 September 2007

Killing the infants, protecting the zone




"Anything moving in the zone, even a three-year-old, needs to be killed."

Two questions.

When does a state reach the depths of its depravity?
When does the wider 'community of states' demonstrate its own collective depravity?

The answer to the first question can be variously interpreted. But here's a useful suggestion: when it openly instructs and sanctions the murder of innocent children. The answer to the second question might logically follow on, at least to any sane and rational observer: when it fails to highlight, challenge and end that state's depravity.

The practice of children being deliberately shot dead by Israeli soldies in Gaza might seem to the rational person so barbaric as to merit - at the very least - the ending of diplomatic ties with that state. But, of course, we are speaking here of the West's regional friend and ally, a state that can, effectively, kill anyone it likes with impunity.

Rarely does such wickedness even merit cursory media attention. Such is the corporate media's own depravity and complicity in such crimes. Occasionally - when the crime becomes so glaringly obvious - the details of such depravity might seep through, as in this more decent, if still rare, effort from the Sunday Herald.

How many dead children will it take, one wonders, before the crimes of this apartheid regime are responded to not with sanctions on the suffering people of Gaza, but on the perpetrators of this cruel siege and their army of child killers?

John



Palestinians dice with death in search of work

Territory’s stifling conditions lead many to risk crossing Israel’s fatal frontier

From Ed O’Loughlin in Nusseirat

ISRAEL'S BORDER with Gaza is one of the most dangerous frontiers on the planet: 32 miles of fences, watchtowers and free-fire zones guarded by tanks, troops and aircraft with the latest in sensor technology.

Violent deaths are so common here that few even make the local papers. Among those in the past fortnight alone were two armed Palestinians on an attempted raid who passed several hundred metres through the defences before they were shot.

In two other incidents, five Palestinian girls and boys aged 10 to 12 were killed by Israeli missiles in fields near the northern border.

Initially, the Israeli army implied that the children had been recruited by militants to recycle launchers used to fire missiles at nearby Israeli communities, an allegation which Palestinians reject.

And the Israeli army later admitted that three cousins who died in the second attack had only been playing in the area of a used launcher, but had been identified as "suspicious".

In October 2004, Israeli soldiers shot dead a 13-year-old schoolgirl near the Egyptian border. Would-be whistleblowers in the unit leaked communication tapes of the incident in which their commander was heard to say he had finished off the wounded child, ordering his men: "Anything moving in the zone, even a three-year-old, needs to be killed." He was acquitted by a military court, and later promoted.

Clearly, Gazans testing such defences are taking their life in their hands. Yet so deep has Gaza sunk into poverty that some men are prepared to try to cross the fence merely in search of a job.

One such was 22-year-old Nizar al-Adeeb of Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, who was shot dead on August 18 a few metres from the fence. His two companions were arrested.
The Israeli army told reporters the three were militants who had been trying to lay a mine. But one of the detained men, Nizar's cousin, Abdullah Faraj, who was freed three days later, said they were only looking for work.

He added: "The situation here is getting worse and worse, so we said, let's go and check and see if we can cross'. As soon as we got close to the border fence, the Israelis opened fire on him."
The dead man's father, Raji al-Adeeb, 47, claims to know of dozens of people who have managed to cross the fence and find work in Israel. Some, he said, pay 5000 shekels (£600) to professional smugglers. But most take their chances on the fence. The Gaza-based Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights says it knows of 55 unarmed men killed while trying to cross the fence in search of work.

The Israeli Defence Force does not give a breakdown for the number of Palestinian civilians killed while trying to get through the fortified frontier. But it says about 30 Palestinians have been arrested trying to cross in the past month. Most "were not terrorists and were returned to the Gaza Strip".

Another cousin of Nizar al-Adeeb, Abdul Minar, 23, said that the death would not prevent him from trying to cross himself. He said: "What else am I going to do? Sometimes I wake up and ask myself, what am I doing here?' I wake up, I wander around the neighbourhood and then I go to bed again. For me to die is better than staying here. Life? There is no life here."
Ghassan al-Adeeb, 24, the dead man's brother, says he has crossed the border four times in the past few years, at one time managing to escape capture and deportation for more than a year.
Those who do make it across can make up to 200 shekels (£24) a day as labourers in Arab-Israeli communities. Many are also lured by the relative freedom of life away from the overcrowded, authoritarian Gaza Strip.

"It's great over there," said Ghassan al-Adeeb. "In the beginning I was lost, but then I was in another world. Last time, if I hadn't been caught, I would never have come back to Gaza."
Before the Palestinians first rebelled against Israel's military rule 20 years ago, it was normal for people from Gaza to survive off indigenous textile and agricultural industries, by finding menial jobs in Israel, or by working in other Arab countries.

But ever-increasing Israeli restrictions on travel and trade - justified by Israel as "security measures" - have shut off Gaza from the outside world.

The Gaza director of the UN relief agency UNRWA, John Ging, says that what little industry remained in Gaza has been shut down since June, when Hamas took control from the former ruling party Fatah and Israel responded by imposing an almost total blockade.

As a result, he said, most of Gaza's 1.4 million people depend on international food aid. "The sense of imprisonment here is greater than ever before," said Ging. "People feel trapped and desperate people do desperate things."

http://www.sundayherald.com/international/shinternational/display.var.1658562.0.palestinians_dice_with_death_in_search_of_work.php

(My emphases.)



















































































































































































































































































































Palestinians dice with death in search of
work

Territory’s stifling conditions lead many to
risk
crossing Israel’s
fatal frontierFrom Ed O’Loughlin in Nusseirat

ISRAEL'S
BORDER with Gaza is one of the most dangerous frontiers on the
planet:
32
miles of fences, watchtowers and free-fire zones guarded by tanks,
troops
and aircraft with the latest in sensor technology.

Violent
deaths are so
common here that few even make the local papers.
Among
those in the past
fortnight alone were two armed Palestinians on an
attempted raid who passed
several hundred metres through the defences
before
they were shot.

In
two other incidents, five
Palestinian
girls and boys aged 10 to 12 were
killed by Israeli
missiles
in fields near
the northern
border.

Initially,
the Israeli
army implied that the
children had
been recruited by
militants to
recycle launchers used to
fire missiles at
nearby
Israeli
communities, an
allegation which
Palestinians
reject.

And the
Israeli army later admitted that three
cousins who died
in the
second attack had only been playing in the
area
of a used launcher,
but had been
identified as
"suspicious".
In
October 2004, Israeli
soldiers shot dead a
13-year-old schoolgirl near
the Egyptian
border.
Would-be
whistleblowers in the
unit leaked
communication
tapes of the
incident in which their commander was
heard
to say he
had
finished off the
wounded child, ordering his men: "Anything
moving
in the zone, even a
three-year-old, needs to be killed." He was
acquitted
by a military court,
and later promoted.

Clearly,
Gazans testing such defences are taking
their life in their hands.
Yet
so deep has Gaza sunk into poverty that some
men are prepared to
try to
cross the fence merely in search of a
job.

One such
was
22-year-old Nizar al-Adeeb of Nusseirat refugee camp in
central
Gaza,
who
was shot dead on August 18 a few metres from the fence.
His
two
companions were arrested.
The Israeli army told reporters
the
three
were
militants who had been trying to lay a mine. But
one
of the
detained
men,
Nizar's cousin, Abdullah Faraj, who
was
freed
three
days
later,
said they were
only
looking
for
work.

He added:
"The situation
here is
getting worse and
worse,
so we said, let's
go and
check and
see
if
we can
cross'. As soon
as we got close to the border
fence, the
Israelis
opened fire on
him."
The dead man's
father,
Raji
al-Adeeb,
47, claims to
know of dozens of
people
who have
managed to cross
the
fence and
find
work
in Israel.
Some, he
said, pay 5000
shekels (£600) to
professional
smugglers. But
most
take their
chances on the
fence.
The
Gaza-based Al
Mezan Centre
for
Human Rights
says
it knows of
55
unarmed
men
killed
while trying
to cross the
fence in
search of
work.

The Israeli
Defence
Force
does not
give a
breakdown for the
number
of
Palestinian
civilians
killed
while trying to get through
the
fortified
frontier.
But
it
says
about 30
Palestinians
have been
arrested trying
to cross in the
past
month. Most "were
not
terrorists and
were
returned to the
Gaza
Strip".

Another cousin
of Nizar
al-Adeeb,
Abdul
Minar,
23, said
that
the
death
would not
prevent him
from
trying to
cross
himself. He said:
"What
else am I
going
to do?
Sometimes I
wake
up and ask
myself, what am
I doing
here?' I wake
up, I
wander around
the neighbourhood
and then I
go to bed
again.
For
me to die
is
better
than
staying
here. Life? There
is no life
here."
Ghassan
al-Adeeb,
24, the
dead man's brother, says he
has
crossed
the
border
four
times in
the
past few years,
at one
time
managing
to escape
capture and
deportation for more
than a
year.

Those who
do
make it across
can make up
to
200
shekels
(£24) a
day as
labourers in
Arab-Israeli
communities. Many are
also
lured
by the
relative
freedom
of
life away from the
overcrowded,
authoritarian Gaza
Strip.

"It's great
over
there," said
Ghassan
al-Adeeb.
"In the
beginning I was
lost, but
then
I
was
in another
world.
Last time, if I
hadn't been
caught,
I
would
never
have come
back
to
Gaza."

Before
the
Palestinians first
rebelled
against
Israel's military rule 20
years
ago,
it was
normal for
people
from Gaza to survive
off
indigenous textile
and
agricultural
industries, by
finding
menial
jobs in Israel,
or by
working
in
other
Arab
countries.

But
ever-increasing
Israeli
restrictions on
travel and
trade -
justified by Israel as
"security
measures" - have
shut
off
Gaza from the outside
world.

The Gaza
director
of
the
UN
relief
agency
UNRWA, John Ging, says that what
little
industry
remained in
Gaza
has been
shut down since June,
when
Hamas
took
control
from the former
ruling party
Fatah
and
Israel
responded by
imposing an
almost total
blockade.

As a
result,
he said,
most of Gaza's 1.4
million people
depend on
international
food aid.
"The sense
of
imprisonment here is
greater
than ever
before," said
Ging.
"People feel trapped and desperate
people do
desperate
things."










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