Egypt insists on dissolving the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, Hamas, in the
Gaza Strip. Israel "just" wants to sabotage the yielding/compromise by Hamas to the
Palestinian West Bank Authority. ---- The relevant political context for the present round
begins in November 2012, with the agreement between Israel and Hamas under Egyptian
sponsorship (Hillary Clinton was present as "chaperone"). ---- The November 2012
transaction took care of two things: ---- 1. a cease-fire between the two sides and ----
2. the opening of crossing points for the passage of goods and people (the official
crossing points have been "supplemented" throughout the years by up to 1,500 "illegal"
tunnels dug under the border, which have supplied everything the official crossing points
were unable to supply, together with most of the income to the Hamas regime from funds of
supporters and taxes).
Overall - according to Israeli security officials - Hamas fulfilled its part "nicely": it
did not open fire, and most of the time worked to prevent other organizations from opening
fire. Hamas has sent its men to take action against Palestinian organizations that
intended to open fire against Israel, something not many people know. In exchange, Hamas
expected a significant easing of the closure.
This did, in fact, happen (though less than what was promised and expected, but still
tolerable) as long as the Muslim Brotherhood were in power in Egypt.
But once Sisi took power in Egypt (summer 2013) and abolished the Muslim Brotherhood
government, the crossings were closed again and again and more importantly, the tunnels
from Egypt - which were the greatest source of supply and income for Hamas - were
gradually closed. By gradually cutting off the tunnels beneath the closed border, Sisi has
strangled the Gazan people and Hamas' system of government.
Hamas found itself in a state which progressively got worse: on the one hand it was
providing a type of security for Israel (which the Israeli prime minister Bibi Netanyahu
was so proud of), and on the other hand the closure was getting worse (and reached a level
where Hamas could no longer pay salaries to 43,000 government officials and military force
members who Hamas had recruited to manage the Strip). The Hamas government was thereby on
the verge of collapse. As a result, Hamas gradually decreased their chase after other
organizations and allowed them to increase the rate of shooting mortars, missiles, etc. It
also explains why it has responded to the Israeli provocations with all its power.
This is the context that forced Hamas to make an agreement with the PLO/Fatah in April.
Hamas thereby agreed to turn part of its power over to Abu-Mazen (president of the
Palestinian Authority of the West Bank), mainly the responsibility for government salaries
in Gaza. There is debate between them about which of the 43,000 will continue in their
positions and what the role of the 70,000 Palestinian Authority officials who were removed
from power in the Gaza Strip in the Hamas takeover of 2007 will be. Throughout these
years, they have received salaries from Ramallah to stay at home and should now return to
office. But the hottest unsolved question between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is
the debt of salaries which have not been paid for several months. The status of Hamas'
20,000-strong armed force has not been settled either. Abu-Mazen claims it is not his
responsibility, and that Hamas will have to solve it.
There are all sorts of problems and unfinished business with the agreement, but the most
immediate pressing obstacle is the back payroll. And the minimal condition for Hamas to
stop the fighting is a return to the previous arangement of re-opening all 1,500 or so
tunnels.
Hamas have said they have found who will pay - Qatar. But Israel and the Western powers
together with the various banks involved - each for various reasons, some justified and
some less - have refused to transfer the money.
The UN offered its services to resolve the problem, but Israel decided to block the
involvement of the UN diplomatic envoy and actually put a veto on this channel. The
result: tens of thousands in Gaza, including the security/military wing of Hamas, have not
got their salaries for months on end.
As Hamas did not stop all the shooting by dissident organizations, Israel started to
escalate the confrontation with Hamas and even more so following the kidnapping of the
three settler youths, using it as an excuse (although it has recently declared officially
that Hamas was not involved).
At present, the Egyptians - who seek to annihilate Hamas - are refusing to return to the
arrangements which were in place before Sisi started to strangle the Gaza Strip leading to
Hamas' surrender to the Palestinian Authority (arrangements which Israel, on the other
hand, will probably support).
Panicked by the "unity agreement" that endangered the continuation of divisions among the
Palestinians, Israel started the war in the hope of forcing Hamas to find a different
option. It will probably support such a solution and may even yield to some more
"openness", as it wants the continuation of Hamas' independent rule in Gaza, giving the
public the explanation that the alternative will be chaos or rule by the Jihadists.
Both Israel and the Egyptians do not want the agreement for Hamas' surrender to the
Palestinian Authority to be resolved: Egypt, because it saves Hamas from total collapse
and Israel, because it would diminish the ability of Hamas to split the Palestinians.
In a surrealistic way we can see the war not as one between Israel and Hamas but a war
between Israel and Egypt. Egypt wants to destroy Hamas and Israel wants to restore its power.
---------------------------------------
Anarchists Against the Walls: http://awalls.org
Ahdut (Unity): http://unityispa.wordpress.com
Related Link: http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com/
Posts tonen met het label Israel-Palestine. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label Israel-Palestine. Alle posts tonen
maandag 28 juli 2014
World : Anarkismo.net: Israel/Palestine: Background to the present conflict
zaterdag 19 juli 2014
World : Israel-Palestine: This is how it ends
Dear friends,
As a new round of violence kicks off in Israel-Palestine and more children are killed, it's not enough just to call for another ceasefire. It’s time to take definitive non-violent action to end this decades long nightmare.
Our governments have failed -- while they have talked peace and passed UN resolutions, they and our companies have continued to aid, trade and invest in the violence. The only way to stop this hellish cycle of Israel confiscating Palestinian lands, daily collective punishment of innocent Palestinian families, Hamas firing rockets, and Israel bombing Gaza is to make the economic costof this conflict too high to bear.
We know it works -- when EU countries issued guidelines not to fund the illegal Israeli settlements it caused an earthquake in the cabinet, and when citizens successfully persuaded a Dutch pension fund, PGGM, to withdraw, it created a political storm.
This may not feel like a direct way to stop the current killing, but history tells us that raising the financial cost of oppression can pave a path to peace. Click to call on 6 key banks, pension funds and businesses to pull out -- If we all take smart action now and turn up the heat, they could withdraw, the Israeli economy will take a hit, and we can turn the calculation of the extremists politically profiting from this hell upside down:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/israel_palestine_this_is_how_it_ends_loc/?bEESPab&v=42612
In the last five weeks three Israeli teenagers were murdered in the West Bank, a Palestinian boy was burnt alive, an American kid was brutally beaten up by Israeli police, and now over 40 Gazan kids have died in Israeli air strikes. This is not the “Middle East conflict”, it's becoming a war on children. And we are becoming numb to this global shame.
The media makes out like this is an intractable conflict between two equal warring parties, but it is not. Palestinian extremists' attacks on innocent civilians must be condemned and ended but the root of the conflict lies elsewhere -- in the dispossession of the Palestinian people. Israel currently occupies, colonises, bombs, raids, and controls the water, trade and the borders of a legally free nation that has been recognised by the United Nations. In Gaza, Israel has created the largest open-air prison in the world, and then blockaded it. Now as bombs fall, the families, literally have no way to get out.
These are war crimes and we wouldn't accept that anywhere else, why accept it in Palestine? Half a century ago Israel and its Arab neighbours went to war and Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Occupying territory after war happens all the time. But no military occupation should turn into a decades long tyranny which only fuels and benefits extremists who use terror to target the innocent. And who suffers? The majority of loving families on both sides that just want freedom and peace.
To many, particularly in Europe and North America, calling for companies to withdraw investments from financing or taking part in Israel's occupation of Palestine sounds completely biased. But it’s not -- this is the most potent non-violent strategy to end the ritual violence, ensure Israelis' security and achieve Palestinian freedom. Israel’s power and wealth dwarfs Palestine, and if it refuses to end its illegal occupation, the world must act to make the cost unbearable.
Dutch pension fund, ABP, invests in Israeli banks that help fund the colonisation of Palestine. Massive banks like Barclays invest in suppliers of Israeli arms and other occupation businesses. Computer giant Hewlett-Packard supplies sophisticated surveillance to control the movement of Palestinians. And Caterpillar provides bulldozers that are used to demolish Palestinian homes and farms. If we can create the biggest global call ever to get these companies to pull out, we will show clearly that the world will no longer be complicit in this bloodshed. The Palestinian people are calling on the world to support this path and progressive Israelis support it too. Let’s join them:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/israel_palestine_this_is_how_it_ends_loc/?bEESPab&v=42612
Our community has worked to bring peace, hope, and change to some of the world’s toughest conflicts, and often that means taking difficult positions to address the root cause. For years our community has looked for a political solution to this nightmare, but with this new round of horror unfolding in Gaza, the time has come to turn to sanctions and disinvestment to finally help end the horror for Israelis and Palestinians.
With hope and determination,
Alice, Fadi, Ben, Laila, Anna, Ricken, Jo, Nell, Mais and the entire Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION:
UN independent expert calls for boycott of businesses profiting from Israeli settlements (UN)
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43376#.U7_ynqhMrRI
12 more EU countries warn against trade with Israeli settlements (Haaretz)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.603030
Israelis, Palestinians Pro Peace Process, but Not Hopeful (Gallup)
http://www.gallup.com/poll/161456/israelis-palestinians-pro-peace-process-not-hopeful.aspx
Under pressure, a strong EU-Israel relationship faces uncertain future (Middle East Monitor)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/debate/9675-under-pressure-a-strong-eu-israel-relationshi...
Israel-Gaza conflict: 80 per cent of Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes are civilians, UN report says (The Independent)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelgaza-conflict-80-per-cent-of-palestinians-killed-by-israeli-strikes-are-civilians-un-report-says-9606397.html
Rule 156. Definition of War Crimes (ICRC)
http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_cha_chapter44_rule156
Palestinians: Most Gaza dead are children, women, elderly (Haaretz)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.604443
Caught on Tape: US Teen Allegedly Beaten by Israeli Police (ABC News)
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/caught-tape-us-teen-tariq-abu-khdeir-allegedly-24449873
A policy of displacement (Visualizing Palestine)
http://visualizingpalestine.org/infograhic/a-policy-of-displacement
Exposing the Israeli Occupation Industry
http://www.whoprofits.org/
Additional sources for this campaign:
http://avaaz.org/en/israel_palestine_this_is_how_it_ends_sources_a/?blast
Avaaz.org is a 37-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
You are getting this message because you signed "RIGHTS, NOT DEATH, IN UGANDA" on 2010-02-17 using the email address lucschrijvers@hotmail.com.
To ensure that Avaaz messages reach your inbox, please add avaaz@avaaz.org to your address book. To change your email address, language settings, or other personal information, contact us, or simply go here to unsubscribe.
To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).
 As a new round of violence kicks off in Israel-Palestine and more children are killed, it's time to take definitive non-violent action to end this nightmare.Our governments and companies have continued to aid, trade and invest in the violence, but we can help stop it if we call on key banks, pension funds and businesses to pull out their investments -- add your voice now:  |
Our governments have failed -- while they have talked peace and passed UN resolutions, they and our companies have continued to aid, trade and invest in the violence. The only way to stop this hellish cycle of Israel confiscating Palestinian lands, daily collective punishment of innocent Palestinian families, Hamas firing rockets, and Israel bombing Gaza is to make the economic costof this conflict too high to bear.
We know it works -- when EU countries issued guidelines not to fund the illegal Israeli settlements it caused an earthquake in the cabinet, and when citizens successfully persuaded a Dutch pension fund, PGGM, to withdraw, it created a political storm.
This may not feel like a direct way to stop the current killing, but history tells us that raising the financial cost of oppression can pave a path to peace. Click to call on 6 key banks, pension funds and businesses to pull out -- If we all take smart action now and turn up the heat, they could withdraw, the Israeli economy will take a hit, and we can turn the calculation of the extremists politically profiting from this hell upside down:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/israel_palestine_this_is_how_it_ends_loc/?bEESPab&v=42612
In the last five weeks three Israeli teenagers were murdered in the West Bank, a Palestinian boy was burnt alive, an American kid was brutally beaten up by Israeli police, and now over 40 Gazan kids have died in Israeli air strikes. This is not the “Middle East conflict”, it's becoming a war on children. And we are becoming numb to this global shame.
The media makes out like this is an intractable conflict between two equal warring parties, but it is not. Palestinian extremists' attacks on innocent civilians must be condemned and ended but the root of the conflict lies elsewhere -- in the dispossession of the Palestinian people. Israel currently occupies, colonises, bombs, raids, and controls the water, trade and the borders of a legally free nation that has been recognised by the United Nations. In Gaza, Israel has created the largest open-air prison in the world, and then blockaded it. Now as bombs fall, the families, literally have no way to get out.
These are war crimes and we wouldn't accept that anywhere else, why accept it in Palestine? Half a century ago Israel and its Arab neighbours went to war and Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Occupying territory after war happens all the time. But no military occupation should turn into a decades long tyranny which only fuels and benefits extremists who use terror to target the innocent. And who suffers? The majority of loving families on both sides that just want freedom and peace.
To many, particularly in Europe and North America, calling for companies to withdraw investments from financing or taking part in Israel's occupation of Palestine sounds completely biased. But it’s not -- this is the most potent non-violent strategy to end the ritual violence, ensure Israelis' security and achieve Palestinian freedom. Israel’s power and wealth dwarfs Palestine, and if it refuses to end its illegal occupation, the world must act to make the cost unbearable.
Dutch pension fund, ABP, invests in Israeli banks that help fund the colonisation of Palestine. Massive banks like Barclays invest in suppliers of Israeli arms and other occupation businesses. Computer giant Hewlett-Packard supplies sophisticated surveillance to control the movement of Palestinians. And Caterpillar provides bulldozers that are used to demolish Palestinian homes and farms. If we can create the biggest global call ever to get these companies to pull out, we will show clearly that the world will no longer be complicit in this bloodshed. The Palestinian people are calling on the world to support this path and progressive Israelis support it too. Let’s join them:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/israel_palestine_this_is_how_it_ends_loc/?bEESPab&v=42612
Our community has worked to bring peace, hope, and change to some of the world’s toughest conflicts, and often that means taking difficult positions to address the root cause. For years our community has looked for a political solution to this nightmare, but with this new round of horror unfolding in Gaza, the time has come to turn to sanctions and disinvestment to finally help end the horror for Israelis and Palestinians.
With hope and determination,
Alice, Fadi, Ben, Laila, Anna, Ricken, Jo, Nell, Mais and the entire Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION:
UN independent expert calls for boycott of businesses profiting from Israeli settlements (UN)
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43376#.U7_ynqhMrRI
12 more EU countries warn against trade with Israeli settlements (Haaretz)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.603030
Israelis, Palestinians Pro Peace Process, but Not Hopeful (Gallup)
http://www.gallup.com/poll/161456/israelis-palestinians-pro-peace-process-not-hopeful.aspx
Under pressure, a strong EU-Israel relationship faces uncertain future (Middle East Monitor)
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/debate/9675-under-pressure-a-strong-eu-israel-relationshi...
Israel-Gaza conflict: 80 per cent of Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes are civilians, UN report says (The Independent)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelgaza-conflict-80-per-cent-of-palestinians-killed-by-israeli-strikes-are-civilians-un-report-says-9606397.html
Rule 156. Definition of War Crimes (ICRC)
http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_cha_chapter44_rule156
Palestinians: Most Gaza dead are children, women, elderly (Haaretz)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.604443
Caught on Tape: US Teen Allegedly Beaten by Israeli Police (ABC News)
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/caught-tape-us-teen-tariq-abu-khdeir-allegedly-24449873
A policy of displacement (Visualizing Palestine)
http://visualizingpalestine.org/infograhic/a-policy-of-displacement
Exposing the Israeli Occupation Industry
http://www.whoprofits.org/
Additional sources for this campaign:
http://avaaz.org/en/israel_palestine_this_is_how_it_ends_sources_a/?blast
| Support the Avaaz Community! | |
| We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way. | |
|
Avaaz.org is a 37-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
You are getting this message because you signed "RIGHTS, NOT DEATH, IN UGANDA" on 2010-02-17 using the email address lucschrijvers@hotmail.com.
To ensure that Avaaz messages reach your inbox, please add avaaz@avaaz.org to your address book. To change your email address, language settings, or other personal information, contact us, or simply go here to unsubscribe.
To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to us at www.avaaz.org/en/contact or call us at +1-888-922-8229 (US).
Abonneren op:
Posts (Atom)