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Som Helle Klein skriver vem kommer ihåg Gaza ett år senare?  Israels krigsförbrytelser och brott mot mänskligheten tystades effektivt i Sverige med anklagelser om antisemitism från Israel vänner både till höger och vänster.

De bombade den centrala grönsaksmarknaden i Gaza stad för två timmar sedan. 80 skadade, 20 dödade, alla kom hit till Shifa. Hades! Vi vadar i död, blod och avslitna lemmar. En massa barn. Gravida kvinnor. Jag har aldrig upplevt något så fruktansvärt. Nu hör vi tanks. Berätta för andra, skicka vidare, ropa det vidare. Eller gör något. GÖR MER! Nu lever vi i historieboken allihop! Mads 3 januari Gaza stad.”

Detta förtvivlade sms kom till min mobil för ett år sedan. Jag var då liksom nu på retreat där tystnad och kontemplation gäller. Det gick förstås inte att vara tyst. Sms-ropet måste vidare.

Mads Gillbert och Erik Fosse var de norska läkare som blev några av västvärldens få ögonvittnen inifrån Gaza under de israeliska bombningarna då operation ”Gjutet bly” pågick.

Vittnesmålen från Gaza handlar om barn som slits sönder av målsökande raketer, barn som skjuts med handeldvapen när de är ute och leker, barn som mister sina syskon och sina föräldrar, barn som av ockupationsmakten betecknas som ”Hamas-barn”, presumtiva terrorister, men som är just bara barn.

Under Gazakriget dödades över 300 barn och fler än 1600 skadades. Tusentals hem förstördes, alla polisstationer bombades liksom flera sjukhus, skolor, FN-byggnader och livsmedelslager. El- och vattenförsörjningen slogs ut. I dag råder ännu isolering och nöden är skriande.

”Glöm inte Gaza” | Helle Klein | Ledarkrönika | Ledare | Aftonbladet

Är det inte just Israels roll  som demokratiskt exempel som alltid förs fram av Israel lobbyn i Sverige. Samt förstås att ‘territorierna’ inte är under ockupation.

Sedan antisemitism debatten i Sverige har det blivit tyst om både Palestinier och Gaza. Vilket väl var avsikten från de israel vänner till höger och vänster som startade den.

Palestinier krävs ofta på svar om de accepterar en Israelisk stat. Är det någon som ställt krav på Israel om de accepterar en Palestinsk. Något den Israeliska staten uppenbarligen inte gör.

Den veckolånga festivalen som arrangerats i samarbete med det brittiska kulturrådet British Council och FN-organet Unesco, gästades vid invigningen av flera kända internationella författare, däribland Henning Mankell, Michael Palin och Ahdaf Soueif.

Men strax innan invigningsceremonien skulle börja, intogs den palestinska teatern i östra Jerusalem av ett dussintal israeliska gränspoliser som krävde att teatern skulle stängas, skriver the Guardian.

– Tappa inte hoppet, uppmanade den svenska författaren publiken.

Poliserna hade med sig ett brev från Israels säkerhetsminister som sade att arrangemanget inte kunde genomföras eftersom det ansågs vara en politisk aktivitet med kopplingar till det palestinska styret.

Hela publiken och de åtta talarna beordrades att lämna lokalen. Evenemanget genomfördes bara en liten stund senare, i mindre skala, i trädgården utanför det franska kulturcentret.

Där jämförde Henning Mankell stormningen av evenemanget med livet i Sydafrika under apartheid.

– Vad som verkligen gör oss till människor, är vår förmåga till dialog. Det enda sättet på vilket vi kan rädda oss sjävla, är vår förmåga till dialog med varandra, sa Henning Mankell.

Men även där väntade den israeliska polisen utanför.

– Vi är så förvånade. Det här är en fullständigt, helt fullständigt obernende aktivitet, sa författaren Ahdaf Soueif, talare och general för evenemanget.

Israel gör regelbundna försök att förhindra politiska aktiviteter i östra Jerusalem, men har på senare tid även slagit till mot kulturevenemang i sina försök att ta kontroll över staden.

För mindre än en månad sedan stängde israelisk polis ett palestinskt presscenter som hade gjorts i ordning med anledning av påvens besök i östra Jerusalem.

Samtidigt växer omvärldens oro över att israeliska regeringen fortsätter att riva palestinska hem medan de judiska bosättningarna växer.

Mankell stoppades av israelisk polis | Utrikes | SvD

Visst finns det ett samförstånd mellan USA-Israel-Egypten-PLO som Nathan Shachar skriver nedan. Den Israeliska invasionen av Gaza sker för att uppnå ett politiskt mål. Krossa Hamas. Det behöver man inte vara konspiratorisk lagd för att förstå.

Det är en upprepning av Libanon kriget 2006 med terrorism som ursäkt återigen. Israel kunde ha säkrat sin gräns med ett erkännande av Hamas utan att man för den skull gett avkall på något. Och om nödvändigt med selektiv militärt våld. Hamas är också om något ett värre problem för regimerna i Egypten, Jordanien och Syrien där Hamas kusiner i det muslimska brödraskapet finns. Speciellt om de framgångsrikt styrt i Gaza.

Hamas gav ju också fingret till Egypten 2008 med Moubarak och hans underrättelsechef och trolige eftrträdare om inte makten bakom tronen för Moubarak junior General Omar Suleiman.  Det är samma Suleiman som nu tillsammans med Jordanien och andra arabländer ska se till att Hamas upplöses som militär styrka när Israel är klara med grovjobbet.

Förutsatt att Hamas erkänner sig besegrade.

I bakgrunden finns även det pågående kalla kriget mellan Iran och UA och kampen av kontrollen över mellanöstern där USA och väst har den militära kontrollen idag över en stor del av världens oljetillgångar.

Och Israels roll som den dominerande militära kraften i regionen. Något som utmanas av Iran.

Sen finns det förstås de rena poltiska målen för den tvistande Israeliska ledningen och rivalerna till att bli premiärminister i februari. Och viljan att åter upprätta IDFs rykte efter att de besegrats i Libanon.

Den minsta betydelsen har det som officiellt framförts som ursäkt misstänker jag. Att skydda befolkningen i södra Israel från raketbeskjutning.

Vad Nathan Shachar nedan nästan lyckas säga  är att Hamas var en legitimt vald regering i demokratiska val. Något ganska unikt i hela arabvärlden. Från det korrumperade Fatah vars president lär fortsätta styra med dekret till de väst-allierade i regimerna i Jordanien och Egypten handlar det om brutala envåldsärskare som styr i övriga i arab-världen. Alla förstås allierade med det väst om gärna talar om att lära ut demokrati och mänskliga rättigheter till arabvärlden.

Om det var Hamas eller ej som bröt en vapenvila som brutits många gånger tidigare av både Israel och Hamas har ingen betydelse. Det var bara starten till ett krig som plannerats i ett halvårt av Israel.

Notera även att Israel aldrig släppte sin ekonomiska och politiska blockad av Gaza.

För att vända på ett ofta hört argument nuförtiden om t ex Ryssland hade blockerat alla sveriges gränser och förklarat Sverige satt i ekonomisk blockad hade Sverige då haft rätt att skjuta på de ryska trupperna eller in mot ryssland över östersjön?

Sen är det ju alltid intressant att läsa de borgerliga politiker likt KDs bokstavstrogna kristna ledamot och Israelvännen Annelie Enochson som tydligen redan bestämt sig för att allt är Hamas fel. Att Israel tvingas bomba småbarn i småbitar är förstås för att Hamas envisa med att använda dessa som sköldar mot de Israeliska bomberna. 

Hamas använder barn som sköldar – Debatt – Expressen.se

Flyganfallen från Israel och markinvasionen i lördags från Israel är i linje med varje nations självklara rätt att försvara sitt land och sina invånare. Dilemmat med Gaza är att Hamas inte för krig på samma sätt som Israel. Hamas söker döda civilbefolkningen i Israel och det är det som kallas terrorism. Hamas förlägger med flit sina militära högkvarter mitt inne i civila palestinska kvarter i Gazaremsan och använder alltså oskyldiga personer – inklusive kvinnor och barn – som sköldar mot möjliga israeliska angrepp. På samma sätt gjorde Hizbollah i Libanonkriget sommaren 2006.
Hamas använder också sjukhus, skolor, moskéer och privatbostäder som ammunitionslager.
En ledare från terrororganisationen Izz al-Din al-Qassambrigaderna sa under lördagen att Hamas har mängder av självmordsbombare redo att möta de israeliska soldaterna i Gaza. Vilka är dessa självmordsbombare? Är det hjärntvättade barn och ungdomar?
Hamas har under många år mycket aktivt bedrivit en hatpropaganda med barnprogram, skolböcker, ungdomsläger där man glorifierat dödande av judar och indoktrinerat det uppväxande släktet med hat mot sina grannar i öster. Är det dessa barn och ungdomar som nu Hamas ska offra i sitt vansinniga hat och mediekrig?
Faktum kvarstår och måste beaktas i mediernas rapportering och det är att internationell rätt ger staten Israel rätten att försvara sig mot terrorism och direkta bombangrepp.
Israel har inte startat detta krig. Det är ett försvarskrig mot terrorbombningar.
Hamas vägrar att erkänna Israels existens och talar öppet om att utplåna staten Israel.
Hamas vägrar att upphöra med sina granatattacker och hotar med nya självmordsbombningar inne i Israel.
Israel har vid upprepade tillfällen sökt fred med Hamas genom att som enda villkor kräva att Hamas upphör med sina terroraktioner.
Hamas bygger sina raketramper i bostadsområden och i civila byggnader.
Gaza är idag en militärdiktatur enväldigt styrd av Hamas.

Nedan kan man förövrigt  se en demonstration från 2006 för Israels rätt till självförsvar i Libanon med deltagande av Annelie Enochson där argumentet förs fram att de civila dödsoffren kommer för att vid det tillfället var det Hezbollah som gömde sig bakom kvinnor och barn.

Mer i media:
Nytt blodbad vid FN-skola i Gaza,Minst 40 döda i attack mot skola, Abbas vill inte ta makten i Gaza, Danska folkkyrkan upprörs över bomber mot fältsjukhus, Anna Dahlberg: Irans skugga över Gaza – Anna Dahlberg, 30 döda i attacker mot Gazaskolor – Världen, Israel har rätt att försvara sig mot Hamas, Hamas använder barn som sköldar, Egyptens president Mubarak och Frankrikes president Sarkozy har lagt fram förslag, Israel lovar humanitär korridor, ”Handlingsförlamat FN – och ett EU som spelar för gallerierna”, a,

Barometern

Bloggat:
Att vilja bomba skiten ur Araber är inte liberalt, Avtal på g, Roya – Intersektiona…, Forum För Frihet, Bland rosor och törn…, Israel i Sverige, MKs Blogg, Anna-Lena Lodenius, Röda Malmö, Traditio et renovatio, meritwager.wordpress… , Tragedin i Gaza (BIOLOGY & POLITICS), Judiska protester mot Israels massaker i Gaza (Svensson), Kriget är Hamas ansvar, Magnus (Pophöger), Annelie Enochson (kd) förespråkar folkmordFörsvar för folkmord av kristdemokrat, Jag vill se riktiga liberaler demonstrera på lördag

USA i samförstånd med Israel, Egypten och PLO

Det är det första riktiga krig Hamas någonsin utkämpat, och det svåraste Israel stått inför på länge. När Hamas efter vapenvilans slut den 19 december återupptog raketelden mot Israel var det inte för att nedkalla denna förödelse, med 3.000 hem, 18 moskéer och nästan alla myndighetskontor i spillror.

Hamas spelade ett högt spel för sin legitimitet. Inte sin formella legitimitet. Sedan valet 2006 har rörelsen större legitimitet än någon annan regering i arabvärlden. Hamas ville vinna garantier från omvärlden i fråga om de sex gränsövergångarna, som Egypten och Israel öppnar och stänger som de vill.

Det har talats mycket om Hamas beroende av Iran, som är enormt räknat i pengar och vapen. Men Hamas valde inte Iran. Efter att Saudiarabien övergav Hamas fanns ingen annan sponsor. Iran ser Hamas som ett verktyg för att destabilisera Egypten och angripa Israel. Men Hamas ser sig inte som något verktyg. Hamas vill slå vakt om sin regim i Gaza, inte offra den för Irans skull.

Det är som i Libanon, där Iran nu gärna skulle se Hizbollah i en mer aktiv roll. Men rörelsen har blicken riktad mot de libanesiska valen i vår, och vet att ett nytt krig mot Israel skulle skada det inrikespolitiskt. Det har fått något att förlora.
[..]

Hamas förstod inte hur Israel fungerar. En lika stor blunder var att man missbedömde Egypten. På krigets andra dag spolierade president Hosni Mubarak alla Hamas kalkyler när han lovade att aldrig ge Hamas, utan bara PLO, kontrollen över gränsövergången Egypten-Gaza.

Undertecknad är ingen vän av konspirationsteorier, men på allt fler ställen tycker man sig se spåren av ett samförstånd USA-
Israel-Egypten-PLO.

Det skulle, bland mycket annat, förklara de envetna ansträngningarna att hålla EU på avstånd och vika huvudrollen i en diplomatisk uppgörelse för Egypten.

Med tanke på att det officiella motivet för Israels angrepp mot Gaza var självförsvar mot Hamas missiler är det intressant att läsa hur man från officiellt Israeliskt håll struntade i att införa ett anti-missil system som hade skyddat mot just Qassam raketer från Gaza!

Att Israel sade nej till att testa införandet av det amerikanskt anti-missil system till en kostnad av en miljon dollar för att istället satsa en miljard NIS till att utveckla ett eget inom den israeliska statliga försvarsindustrin är väl ytterligare en del av den politisk militära rutenheten och korruptionen inom Israel. Det militärindustriella komplexet i israel är en av de starkaste inhemska maktfaktorerna.

Inkompetensen hos de politiska ledarna i Israel har sedan dragit in landet i ett krig man inte kan vinna där de olika politiska ledarna kämpar om vem som kan dra mest fördel vid valurnorna om en månad av den massaker som nu sker på palestinier i gaza.

The message yesterday from Jerusalem was that it is
impossible to end Operation Cast Lead without an achievement, and if in the next two days there is no satisfactory diplomatic solution, Israel will have to broaden the operation.

?Broadening the operation? could mean moving from house to house as in Operating Defensive Shield in 2002 in the West Bank, aiming to kill or capture as many Hamas fighters as possible. Or it could mean surrounding Gaza City, similar to the way the Egyptian Third Army was cut off in 1973, or like the siege of Beirut in 1982, until Hamas? leaders emerge from their hideouts with their hands up. This could take several weeks.

	t

Political sources are denying reports of a disagreement at the top over the future of the operation, and insist that Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni are united in their understanding that under the current circumstances Israel should continue until there are diplomatic gains. Other sources say there are problems. Barak believes that rejecting the French offer for a cease-fire last week was a mistake that made Israel miss a good opportunity to end the operation; now he wants to go on. Olmert, according to some reports, is pushing for a broadening of the
offensive. Livni is worried that any international developments may grant Hamas legitimacy.

Israel is in a bind. If it pulls out now from Gaza, it will appear
to have cut and run at the first sign of trouble in battling Hamas. And if it goes on to a full occupation of the Strip, it may pay a heavy economic and political price without achieving its political goals.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053122.html

Israel är nu på väg efter att ha backat in sig i ett hörn att återockupera Gaza till priset av tusentals palestinska liv och troligtvis 100000-tals flyktingar. Allt annat än ett fullständigt krossande av Hamas är en seger för organisationen vilket Israel förlorar ansiktet på. Alltså måste Israel fortsätta in i Gaza är den logik som gäller. IDF är förstås också ivriga att visa att man lärt sig från förlusten i Libanon 2006. Något jag undrar över.

Återigen, om folk nu inte fattat det. Talet om självförsvar och bekämpa terrorister är en lögn från Israels sida för att rättfärdiga ett angrepp som förberets lika länge som den vapenvila man valde att bryta från båda sidor.

Mer i media:
SVD, SVD2, DN, AB, HD, Newsmill1, Newsmill2, Newsmill3, Newsmill4, Newsmill5

Vad israel tackade nej till för Sderot som försvarssystem:

Ballistic expert: Israel ignoring option of U.S. anti-rocket system – Haaretz – Israel News

Ballistic expert: Israel ignoring option of U.S. anti-rocket system
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Iron Dome, Israel, Qassam

Dr. Nathan Farber is a ballistic expert who has been persistently trying, to no avail, to present to the Defense Ministry what he sees as a possibly imminent solution to Qassam fire from Gaza.

Farber’s suggestion is to deploy American artillery batteries called Phalanx around the Qassam-battered town of Sderot, to intercept the rockets fired by Palestinians.

The U.S. army has been successfully operating the system in Iraq, where it provides its bases with protection from rockets and mortar shells. Canada is also considering deploying it in Afghanistan.

Farber told Haaretz his suggestion should not be rejected out of hand. He said that the system could be tested with a budget of no more than $1 million, even in the ”battlefield” itself, by deploying one or two Phalanx batteries near Sderot.

But for some reason the Defense Ministry maintains his suggestion is impracticable, although it has never been tested.

Farber is not an eccentric – his credentials include vast knowledge of and experience in shells and ballistics. He is an accredited aeronautical engineer, a lecturer at the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology, and a veteran of the Israel Military Industries (IMI).

When his tenure as the IMI missile department’s chief scientist ended, he worked as an advisor to the Israel Air Force and the American Missile Defense Administration. Previously, he had been an IAF anti-aircraft officer and later senior intelligence officer.

The Phalanx anti-aircraft artillery system, manufactured by the American Reytheon company, was initially developed for battleships.

A Phalanx battery includes four 20mm-wide shells and radar that tracks the missile, assesses its trajectory and intercepts it from a range of up to a 1.5 km.

Unlike any other system, Phalanx is capable of firing up to 6,000 shells per minute, which are twice as fast as a Qassam rocket (with a speed of more than a kilometer per second). As of today, the system is installed in some IDF battleships.

Farber claims that five batteries will adequately cover the western Negev, and will not cause environmental damage. ”Because of their exceptionally high speed, the shells that don’t hit Qassams will land in the sea,” he said, ”although the chances of a direct hit are high.”

For years the security establishment has stymied any initiative to develop short- and medium-range missile interception systems, claiming they were wasteful and of questionable efficiency.

Even after the Second Lebanon War, during which the missile threat on Israel’s home front materialized, the Defense Ministry remained resolute. An expert panel, headed by then Defense Ministry director general Gaby Ashkenazi (the incumbent Chief of Staff), was eventually set up, following pressure exerted by then defense minister Amir Peretz.

The panel decided to commission Rafael Arms Development Authority to develop two interception systems: Iron Dome, for short-range rockets (like Qassams and Katyushas) and Magic Wand for long-range missiles (up to 200 km), to be developed in conjunction with Reytheon.

A shadow of malpractice was cast on the decision to allocate a development budget of over NIS 1 billion to Rafael, as one of the panel members, Yedidya Yaari, was the former managing director of the authority.

The problem remains that Iron Dome will be operative within three years at the earliest.

”Why not deploy Phalanx batteries in the meanwhile, and protect the residents of Sderot?” asks Farber.

”It will be cheaper, no less efficient, and above all provide immediate protection. If it’s good enough for the Americans in Iraq, why can’t it be good for us?”

The Defense Ministry provided no definite answer as to why Farber’s suggestion hasn’t been considered.

A spokesman said that ”while the development of Iron Dome is underway, the security establishment continues to consider other options, including the American LUWD system. So far, we haven’t found a system that meets our demands, but we continue to look into newly developed as well as existing systems.”

Former deputy defense minister Ephraim Sneh said that the Ashkenazi Commission considered every available option and made its decision on a ”purely professional basis. The allegations that financial motives were at issue are malicious.”

Phalanx Versus The Palestinians

Phalanx Versus The Palestinians
by James Dunnigan
June 1, 2008
Discussion Board on this DLS topic

Although Israel is desperate for a weapon that will defend key targets from Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza, last year they turned down the one system known to work. That’s because the system is foreign. It’s a modified version of the U.S. Phalanx ship defense system. The Israeli government is still under tremendous pressure to do something, and they don’t want to invade and take over Gaza.

There are already two Israeli anti-rocket systems in the works, but it will be several years before these are available for service. Meanwhile, Hamas has greatly increased the number of rockets and mortar shells fired into southern Israel. It’s up to several hundred a month.

Two years ago, some Israelis noted that the American and British were already using an effective anti-rocket system; C RAM. This is a modified version of the U.S. Navy Phalanx system, which was originally designed to protect warships from anti-ship missiles. As originally designed, you turned Phalanx on whenever the ship was likely to have an anti-ship missile fired at it. The Phalanx radar can spot incoming missiles out to about 5,000 meters, and the 20mm cannon is effective out to about 2,000 meters. With incoming missiles moving a up to several hundred meters a second, you can see why Phalanx is set to automatic. There’s not much time for human intervention, which is why the Phalanx has to be turned on and set to automatically detect and shoot at incoming missiles. But weapons engineers discovered that Phalanx could take out incoming 155mm artillery shells as well. This capability is what led to C-RAM. Now Israel is bringing one of these system to Israel, to see how well it performs in actually defending against Palestinian Kassasm rockets.

Since 2003, there have been two major Phalanx mods. In one, the Phalanx was adapted to use on land, to shoot down incoming rockets. This was done by using a larger artillery spotting radar, which directs Phalanx to fire at incoming mortar shells and rockets. Not all the incoming stuff is hit, but nearly 80 percent of it is, and every little bit helps. The second mod is for shipboard use, and changes the software so the Phalanx can be used against small boats, especially those of the suicide bomber variety.

Two years ago, Israel examined C RAM for possible use in defending northern Israel against another Hizbollah rocket attack. That’s where Israelis apparently became aware of how C RAM could be used against Palestinian attacks using more primitive rockets. For defending northern Israel, C-RAM lacked the range to cover a long border against a variety of rocket types. But the home made Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza were another matter. Then, about a year ago, Britain bought a C RAM system to protect its air base in southern Iraq. A C-RAM Phalanx system, which can cover about four kilometers of border, costs $8 million.

C-RAM uses high explosive 20mm shells, that detonate near the target, spraying it with fragments. By the time these fragments reach the ground, they are generally too small to injure anyone. At least that’s been the experience in Iraq. The original Phalanx used 20mm depleted uranium shells, to slice through incoming missiles. Phalanx fires shells at the rate of 75 per second. Another advantage of C-RAM, is that it makes a distinctive noise when firing, warning people nearby that a mortar or rocket attack is underway, giving people an opportunity to duck inside if they are out and about.

The first C-RAM was sent to Iraq in late 2006, to protect the Green Zone (the large area in Baghdad turned into an American base). It was found that C-RAM could knock down 70-80 percent of the rockets and mortar shells fired within range of its cannon. Not bad, since it only took about a year to develop C-RAM. Meanwhile, another version, using a high-powered laser, instead of the 20mm gun, is in development.

Israel has several small targets it wants to defend in southern Israel. The most frequent target is the town of Sderot. Since 2001, over 2,000 Kassam (homemade) Palestinian rockets have been fired at Sderot. Ten people have been killed, and over fifty injured. The Israeli army has developed a radar system that provides 10-15 seconds warning, which is enough time to duck into a shelter. But Sderot only has 80 bomb shelters, most of them built 20-30 years ago and in need of repair. If you want to reduce the casualties in Sderot (about one dead or wounded per 30-40 rockets fired), you need to reduce the number of rockets landing. One C RAM system can defend an area about four kilometers in diameter. This makes it possible to defend Sderot with one or two Phalanx guns, and one early warning radar. There’s also a power plant and air force base in the south that could eventually be within range of larger Kassam rockets. One or two C RAM Phalanx guns at each would greatly reduce the risk of a Kassam doing any damage.

There are nearly 900 Phalanx systems in use, including some on Israeli warships. Most have not gotten these software mods, that enable the cannot to knock down rockets and shells, as well as incoming anti-ship missiles.

Några av de videoclip du hittar på AlJazeera English youtube kanal här.

Gazans flee homes and seek refuge in UN schools – 05 Jan 09

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens,
many families are being displaced. About 13,000 people have fled their
homes because of Israel’s continuing assault on Gaza. Many lived on the
outskirt

En fråga man kan  ställa är om proportionalitet i det som Israel nu gör mot Gaza. När övergår självförsvar till att bli ett agressivt anfall?

En stor del av det som skjutits mot Israel före den vapenvila som bröts är hemmagjorda Quassam raketer vilket i stort är icke styrbara metallrör fyllda med gödnings baserade explosiva material. Något som kan sättas ihop i en handvändning av hantverkskunniga människor. Det är en milsvid skillnad mot de katyusha raketer som Hezbollah regnade ner över hela norra Israel. Svaret har blivit att Israel sätter in hela sin militärmakt mot Gaza. Precis som vid otaliga andra tillfällen i historien handlar det om militärt terror våld mot i stort civila och civilinfrastruktur. En av världens mest avancerade militärmakter har nu satts in för att bekämpa handeldvapen och järnrör fyllda med explosiv gödning.

Som den norska doktorn Mads Gilbert säger nedan till Sky News handlar det om ett angrep där ingen hänsyn tagits till den civila befolkningen i Gaza. Vilket precis som i Libanon 2006 handlar om krigsförbrytelser från Israels sida.

Hur ser då läget ut för den israeliska befolkningen. Är södra Israel evakuerat eller sitter i skydsrum som skedde i norra Israel under under Libanonkriget 2006. Nej. Läget är inte allvarligare i Sderot än att som McClatchys Jerusalem byrå beskriver det befolkningen kan gå ut och varje morgon från en kulle nära staden beskåda Israels bombardemang av Gaza.  Även om det skulle råka flyga förbi en Qassamn raket. Det finns tydligen gradskillnader i terror.

Det finns ingen ursäkta för angrepp mot civila från någon part. Men den starkare partern i en konflikt har alltid ett val. Israel gjorde sitt och valde att gå till angrepp mot Gazas samhällsstruktur. Återigen som i Libanon 2006 försvaras detta av högerinriktade med Israels rätt till självförsvar. Något som i så fall även gäller för hamas regeringen i Gaza som då borde ha en rätt att svara på Israels angrepp?

Vilket kommer fram till proportionalitet i Israels agerande. Israel hade inte behövt angripa och invadera Gaza om målet enbart hade varit att stoppa raketbeskjutningar. Det hade räckt med ett politiskt erkännande av Hamas när de vann valet i Gaza.

Mer i McClatchy om utsikten från en trädgårdstol mot Gaza nedan.

Bloggat:

Mer i Media:
”Operationer utan bedövning”, ”Israel hindrar hjälpen”, Svenska Diana är instängd i Gaza med sin familj: ‘Vårt öde är att dö’, Fem barn dödade av israelisk eld, Anna Dahlberg: Ett onödigt krig – Anna Dahlberg, Nödrop från norsk läkare i Gaza stad nådde Dagen, ”Barnen har hemska skador”,
Det är verkligheten – detta är krigets helvete i Gaza, AB,
På en yta lika stor som Orust lever 1,5 miljoner instängda i livsfara

McClatchy blog: Checkpoint Jerusalem

They gather every morning on the southern Israeli hilltop as the pairs of Apache helicopters on attack runs swoop over the Mediterranean coast and air strikes send charcoal clouds curling over the Gaza Strip skyline.

They don’t seem to be bothered by the occasional Qassam rockets and mortar rounds that explode in the surrounding fields.

They have come to watch the war.

They come from Sderot, the southern Israeli town hardest hit years of persistent Palestinian rocket attacks that are the casus belli for the Israeli military campaign to destabilize Hamas.

The journalists have come too. Lugging their tripods and long lenses, carrying their cameras and binoculars, this is as close as reporters can get to covering the devastating nine-day-old Israeli military campaign meant to destabilize Hamas.

While the residents of Sderot gather on one hillside, the journalists gather on another one closer to the border.

The war has been underway for nine-days, and Israel still won’t let reporters into Gaza to cover the fighting.

So journalists by the dozens are setting up shop on distant hillsides like this one, the one with the billowy pine tree and the children’s wood swing hanging from worn rope.

En annan faktor i en den Israeliska invasionen av Gaza är som Nytimes skriver nedan om är att man nu från Israels sida kan etablera faktum på marken före den nya amerikanska presidenten tillträder. Precis som de palestinier Svd citerar nedan tror jag inte Obama har en egen åsikt om hela den Israelisk-Palestinska konflikten.

Tvärtom tror jag Obama är en kylig pragmatiker som kommer att agera efter vad han anser USAs och hans administrations intressen. Det inkluderar förstås även att hålla den starka Israel lobbyn i USA på gott humör. Vill Obama driva igenom ett starkt inrikespolitiskt program med åtgärder måste han få med sig den amerikanska kongressen och de stora antalet ledamöter där som AIPAC kan påverka positivt eller negativt.

Lite mer om AIPACs inflytande i youtube videon nedan från 2006 när mycket av dagens politik drogs upp av Israel och USA för hur Hamas valseger skulle hanteras. Det handlar knappast om judiska konspirationsteorier från de två professorerna nean utan en kritik mot ett ensidigt stöd för Israel i USA. Vilket förstås genast bemötes med anklagelser om antisemitism. Precis som i Sverige används antisemitism ankalgelsen mot allt som inte är blint stöd för Israel. Oftast  kommer denna kritik från höger. Att den finns en stark anti-krigs opinions mot staten Israels agerande i själva Israel brukar oftast bara nämnas i förbigående om det inte avvisas med att det bara handlar om självhatande judar.  

Obama är heller inte och har aldrig varit den idealist som han beskrivits som. Det kan vara värt att återigen se det  tal Obama höll till AIPACs kongress för ett halvår sedan. Jag tror inte det kommer att ske några radikala förändringar i en amerikanka utrikespolitiken under Obama.

Till det kommer den vapenlobby och IDF som i stort fungerar som en filial till pentagon. Den Israeliska militären är en integrerad inofficiell del av både den amerikanska militär organisationen och förstås NATO. Även sverige har väl samövat med Israel i medelhavet

Poängen är förstås att väst-europeiska regeringar inklusive den svenska och USA är direkt knutna till Israel militärt och säkerhetspolitiskt. Vilket också kanke förklara bristen på konkreta åtgärder eller vilja att göra något åt vad som är rena krigsförbrytelser från Israels sida. Mer än enstaka fall av mild kritik för Israels ‘överagerande¨ Israel har i stort fått fria händer att göra vad de gör.

– Denna dånande tystnade sänder ett väldigt starkt budskap om att Obama inte har någon egen hållning. Han ärver givetvis amerikansk utrikespolitik. Men att han inte har någon egen åsikt om konflikten gör mig illa berörd, säger en väl placerad palestinsk källa på Västbanken.

Palestiniernas president Mahmoud Abbas och hans myndighet, PA, är inte en direkt part i kriget. Men striderna påverkar även Abbas och PA. Bilderna av barn i Gaza som är inringade och skyddslösa, som inte har någonstans att fly till, berör varje palestinier. Även Västbankspalestinier som kritiskt hävdar att Hamas provocerade fram striderna med Israel – sedan den halvårslånga vapenvilan inte gett Gazaborna några lättnader i blockaden – talar om Israels offensiv som riktad mot hela det palestinska samhället.

–Det vi ser är att Israel inte vill ha någon fred, säger Västbankskällan och tillägger apropå de förhandlingar mellan PA och Israel som nu är lagda på is:

–Den dag de återupptas kommer klimatat i de fortsatta samtalen att bli väldigt ansträngt.

EU-trojkans resa till Mellan- östern, som inleddes igår när utrikesminister Carl Bildt och hans kolleger från Tjeckien och Frankrike begav sig till först Egypten och därefter Israel i ett försök att utverka eldupphör, tog knappast någon notis om i närmast berörda områden.

Carl Bildt anmärkte kritiskt på sin blogg före avresan mot Kairo att Israels markoperation i Gaza med all sannolikhet inleddes ”för att den skulle vara i gång innan det diplomatiska trycket för en snabb vapenvila skärptes.”

Försöken i FN:s säkerhetsråd att få igenom en resolution som kräver omedelbart eldupphör och humanitärt bistånd till Gaza har misslyckats sedan USA lagt in sitt veto. En tidigare vädjan från rådet om eldupphör, som även USA stod bakom, har mycket svagare status än den resolution som majoriteten rådsmedlemmarna ville få fram.

http://www.svd.se/nyheter/utrikes/artikel_2277891.svd

Mer i media:
Mellanöstern
En tredje intifada?
Bitte Hammargren
,

Israeliska soldater nära Gaza city. Runt tio svenskar vill nu lämna området., Mona Sahlin., Fredrik Reinfeldt., Invånarna försöker fly Gaza

Bloggat:
It takes two to tango- Hamas är inte oskyldiga (Magnus Andersson), ?De dör i våra armar!? (Esbatis kommentarer), en skammens dag (Maria Ferm), Massmordet kallas krig och extremhögern hejar på. (Scaber Nestor), Nödvändig läsning om massakern i Gaza (Jakop Dalunde), annarkia, Alliansfritt Sverige…, Våra
tårar hjälper inte men det gör vår frustration
och vrede så kämpa istället för gråta! (Reza
Javid), Svensson,  Helvetet på jorden (Anna Wester), Röda Malmö, Jag blir gråtfärdig

News Analysis – For Israel, Chance to Strike Before an Ally Departs – NYTimes.com

Many Middle East experts say Israel timed its move against Hamas, which began with airstrikes on Dec. 27, 24 days before Mr. Bush leaves office, with the expectation of such backing in Washington. Israeli officials could not be certain that President-elect Barack Obama, despite past statements of sympathy for Israel’s right of self-defense, would match the Bush administration’s unconditional endorsement.

“Obviously Bush, even by comparison with past U.S. presidents, has been very, very pro-Israel,” said Sami G. Hajjar, a longtime scholar of Middle East politics and a visiting professor at the National Defense University. “Despite Obama’s statements, and his advisers who are quite pro-Israel, the Israelis really didn’t know how he’d react. His first instinct is for diplomacy, not military action.”

Mr. Hajjar said that in addition to relying on the backing of Mr. Bush, Israeli officials may not have wanted to begin their relationship with the new president by forcing him to respond to their military action. On Dec. 19, just one month before Mr. Obama’s inauguration, Hamas declared an end to an Egyptian-mediated truce with Israel that had taken effect in June, and rocket attacks from Gaza have been increasing since then.

Mr. Obama has disappointed many commentators in the Muslim world by steadfastly declining to condemn the Gaza operation, and he maintained his silence over the weekend as Israel began a ground invasion. “President-elect Obama is closely monitoring global events, including the situation in Gaza, but there is one president at a time,” said Brooke Anderson, chief national security spokeswoman for Mr. Obama, repeating what has become a mantra for the incoming administration.

Självklart står det alla fritt att okritiskt hylla Israel. Vem bryr sig om att att ett annat folk fördrevs och dödades för att ge plats åt en judisk stat. Är inte det värt att hylla att det gått 60år sedan händelsen då 448 palestinska byar förstördes och övergavs samt de 700000 människor som fördrevs från sina hem.

Nakba Day (Arabic: يوم النكبة yawm al-nakba — 15 May) meaning ”day of the catastrophe” is an annual day of commemoration for the Palestinian people of the ”anniversary of the creation of Israel”^{[1][2][3][4][5]} which marks the beginning of the 1948 Palestinian exodus, the resulting defeat in the 1948 Palestine War, the loss of land that followed from the war^[6] and their displacement and dispossession as a result ^[7].
While for Israelis, the 1948 war gave them independence and this day
represents the ”fulfilment of a historic ideal of the Jewish people” to
establish a homeland for the Jewish people,
for Palestinians, the day represents ”the dispossession of hundreds of
thousands of their people who were made homeless as Israel was born.”^[8] The events in Palestine during the British mandate prior to Israel’s declaration of independence, as well as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that erupted following the invasion by neighbouring Arab states, resulted in the flight or expulsion of an estimated 700,000 Palestinian refugees,^[9] and the destruction and abandonment of up to 418 Palestinian villages.^[10] Palestinian Arabs call these events al-Nakba
(”The Catastrophe”). Prior to its adoption by the Palestinian
Nationalist movement, the term more commonly referred to the 1920 Battle of Maysalun, in which France invaded Syria and deposed Arab Revolt leader King Faisal I.^[11]

Ett av många resultat av staten Israels skapande i bilder nedan. Personligen tycker jag det är en sak att försvara Israelers rätt att leva i fred och säkerhet lika mycket som palestiners rätt till det. Och en annan att okritisk med total historielöshet hylla vad som i praktiken var en folkfördrivning.

Men visst kommer Federley även att ordna en hyllning till det Palestinska folkets rätt till självbestämmande och kultur?

Efter att i årtusenden varit slavar eller förtryckta fick judarna sin fristad i Israel. Vi vill arrangera en fest som är rolig och som har Israeliskt tema. Vi ser det som en gåva från alla dem som har ett engagemang för Israel, judarna och mot antisemitismen som lever och frodas i Sverige liksom i de flesta andra länder.

Vi vill kunna visa på en del av den judiska spirande kulturen, maten och vinet i en festlig miljö.För att kunna realisera detta behöver vi ditt stöd. Bidra till Israels firande med ditt bidrag på bankgiro 315-6270.
Federley

Washington Note är en intressant amerikansk blogg kring amerikanska utrikes och säkerhets politik. Här intervjuas Mustafa Barghouti om tillståndet på västbanken och reaktionen på Barak Obamas tal i Israel.

The Washington Note

Mustafa Barghouti is one of Palestine’s real gems — a former doctor turned political leader who previously ran for the presidency of Palestine. He now heads the Palestinian National Initiative and is an advocate of non-violent resistance against Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

I interview Barghouti in my office yesterday, July 24, and found that while he was and remains an enthusiast for Barack Obama — his hope is being replaced by ‘disappointment.’

This for me was an incredible five minute exchange — but particularly disturbing was his comment that road blocks and barriers to movement before the Annapolis process started number 521. Today, there are 607. Settlements are growing at a faster pace after Annapolis than before. This is wrong.

För den som är intresserad har Sverige faktiskt en plan för Västbanken och Gaza. Det är bara synd att vad som sägs där inte framförs officiellt av Sverige.

Situationen för den palestinska befolkningen har förvärrats under de
senaste åren. Den tilltagande israeliska avspärrningspolitiken innebär
stora begränsningar i rörelsefriheten för den palestinska befolkningen,
med betydande negativa sociala, ekonomiska och humanitära effekter
som följd. I Gaza råder en humanitär kris. Den humanitära krisen
förvärras av våld från båda sidor, inklusive oproportionerliga israeliska
våldshandlingar och palestinska terroristdåd.

Samarbetsstrategi för utvecklingssamarbetet med Västbanken/Gaza (pdf 357 kB)

Samarbetsstrategi för utvecklingssamarbetet med Västbanken/Gaza, juli 2008 – december 2011
Sammanfattning

Ett framgångsrikt utvecklingssamarbete med Västbanken och Gaza förutsätter en politisk fredsprocess som baseras på folkrätten och syftar till en permanent lösning på den israelisk-palestinska konflikten och upprättandet av en palestinsk stat. De svenska specifika målen för utvecklingssamarbetet med Västbanken och Gaza är därför att främja fredsbyggande och fredsprocessen, samt att främja ett demokratiskt palestinskt statsbyggande.

Gå och läs hela inlägget hos Rawia. Det är det värt. Att våld föder våld och evig hämnd går genom hela historien. Israels politik med riktade mord går tillbaka genom hela den Israeliska statens historia och förhistoria. Men har Israel vunnit något? Lika lite som palestinierna vunnit med mord och terrordåd hade jag sagt. Istället är det en evig cykel som fortsätter med nya generationer.

Hjälten och terroristen « Rawia Morras Blog
Historien började på Sadatgatan, i Beirut, inte långt från den ökända al-Hamragatan, i början av 1970-talet. Som ledare för en mördargrupp smög sig Barak in och dödade tre ledande palestinier, Kamal Odwan, Kamal Naser och Abu Youssef al-Najjar, i deras egna hem. Han blev hjälte för hela Israel.

Den 11 april 1978 var det dags för hämnd. Dalal ledde en grupp män som tog en gummibåt och satte kurs mot hennes älskade Jaffa. Hon var född 1958 i flyktinglägret Shatila, tio år efter fördrivningen från Palestina. Där satt hennes föräldrar, far- och morfärldrar och grät och sörjde flykten från Jaffa. Någon gång hade hon fattat beslutet att hon skulle återvända, minsann.

Vinden ville inte föra henne till Jaffa den ödesdigra natten. Någonstans mellan Haifa och Jaffa landsteg hon och gruppen och kapade en buss. Enligt arabiska källor var det en buss full med militärer. Enligt israelerna var den full med barnfamiljer. Från bussen sköt hon och gruppen mot alla mötande militära bussar. Och Barak var den som ansvarade för att stoppa hennes och hennes kamraters färd.

När deras ammunition tog slut gav Dalal order om sprängning av bussen. Det sägs att 30 människor dödades den dagen och 70 skadades.

Det berättas att Barak hade undrat vem gruppens ledare var. När han fick reda på att det var tjejen, grpes han av ursinne och gav sig på kroppen. Jag går inte in på några detaljer därför att jag inte minns själv vad jag såg för bilder då. 12 år gammal var jag och jag tyckte att det hela var fasansfullt. Särkilt när Israels hämnd blev en invasion av hela södra Libanon som var en förfärlig upplevelse för mig och mina små syskon.

Det jag undrar idag är vad han tänkte när han hörde att hela operationen hette: Kamal Odwan, efter ett av hans offer i Beirut.

Några berättelser av många nedan om vad som kan hända om man har fel bakgrund och vill resa in till Israel. Har du fel etniska bakgrund eller bara är kritisk mot Israel är chansen stor att du får se insidan av Bengurion airport detention. Uppenbarligen anses alla från 18årig palestinsk-amerikanska studenter till 50åriga judiska professorer som hot mot Israel.

Number of people denied entry into Israel up 61 percent since 2005 – Haaretz – Israel News
The Entry to Israel Law grants the Interior Minister extensive powers to prevent foreigners from entering the country. It does not require the minister to elaborate on the reason for the refusal, but it is assumed that most people refused entry were those the authorities feared would remain here illegally either to seek work or join family members from the former Soviet Union.

It is also possible that some people were suspected of planning protests. During the second intifada, groups of human rights activists were turned away.

For example, in the summer of 2002, 300 people from Italy were planning to take part in a human chain in Jerusalem, but were denied entry. The first 40 were turned away at Ben-Gurion International Airport, and the rest chose not to come.

At the end of May, an American political science professor, Norman Finkelstein, was not allowed into the country, although he is Jewish and would be allowed in by the Law of Return. The Interior Ministry explained the decision by saying it had followed the instructions of the Shin Bet security service. Finkelstein, a harsh critic of Israel, had met in Lebanon with Hezbollah activists and visited the graves of members of the group.

Har det någon betydelse i det stora hela. Ja Det är inte bara oliktänkande och kritiska judar och palestinier utifrån Israel man slår ner på. Som historien med den judiskt ägda radiostationen vars anställda slängdes i fängelse visar.

Police release 7 peace radio staffers after night in detention – Haaretz – Israel News

Police release 7 peace radio staffers after night in detention

Seven employees of Jewish-owned RAM-FM radio were released from detention Tuesday, a day after Israel Police closed down the station’s Jerusalem office, seizing its transmission equipment.

The Foreign Press Association branch in Israel and the Palestinian territories condemned the police for holding the journalists overnight and demanded their immediate release.

Owned by Jewish South African businessman Issy Kirsh, RAM-FM is an English-language station whose mission statement is to encourage Israeli-Palestinian dialog. The station has headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, as well as a Jerusalem office with a local transmitter on another frequency.

Det är heller inte länge sedan Israel slutade färgkoda bagage som tillhörde icke-judiska resenärer som passerade via Ben Gurion. Nu ska bara ett nummer användas.

Poängen med alla berättelser är att Israels verkliga ansikte sällan syns i västmedia. Och att de Israeler och judar utanför Israel som verkar för fred får väldigt lite stöd. Istället är det de mest brutala sidorna av Israel som hyllas och rättfärdigas med att Israel ‘måste’ göra så för den andra sidan är värre. Om inte annat varför inte läsa vad den judiska organisationen btselem har att säga. Palestinierna har ju ingen röst alls annars i västmedia.

Colored tags for Arabs’ luggage at Ben Gurion airport discontinued – Haaretz – Israel News

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz announced on Tuesday that Ben Gurion International Airport security would no longer mark the luggage belonging to non-Jews with colored tags, in order to spare these passengers embarrassment.

Instead, Mofaz explained, the luggage of non-Jewish passengers will be stamped with the same color sticker as the Jewish passengers, only with a different number. In the past, the color of the sticker on the passenger’s luggage would indicate to airport security personnel the level of security check they must administer.

This practice mainly affected Arab passengers.

The security checks at Ben Gurion have been denounced by many in the Arab sector as degrading. ”We’re talking about frequent degradation of Arab passengers, which causes great anger and frustration,” MK Nadia Hilou (Labor) said in January, adding, ”I won’t leave this subject alone until it has been resolved.”

Though the colored stickers have been discontinued since the beginning of August, the luggage belonging to Arab passengers still undergoes a more thorough security check than that of Jews. The Arabs’ luggage is sent to an X-ray scanner with higher resolution.

According to Transportation Ministry spokesman Avner Ovadia, ”the institution of uniformly colored stickers for all passengers aims to prevent a sense of discrimination among various sectors.”

Ovadia added that the numbers on the stickers indicating a more comprehensive security check will change periodically in order to prevent the identification of Arab passengers, and thus prevent a feeling of discrimination.

However, an Arab resident of Nazareth who frequently flies out of Ben Gurion airport said he had no trouble at all identifying the marked luggage. ”This is the exact same system, with a slight change in stickers. In the past, an Arab passenger would receive a red sticker, and now the Arab passenger receives a sticker with the number 5 on it,” the man explained.

Mofaz presented to local authority heads from the Arab sector a plan to minimize the gap between the treatment of Jews and non-Jews and to promote equality. The plan was presented at a conference held at Haifa University.

Mer berättelser:

IMEU: Detention offers students new outlook on Israel
But unlike Jewish Americans who breeze through customs in seconds, we are
Palestinian-Americans. In treatment reminiscent of the Jim Crow South,
we stand in a separate line, are harassed and intimidated. In Israel,
the principles we cherish as Americans disappear; we are suspect
because we are not the ”right” religion or ethnicity.

During my interrogation, an Israeli officer grills me about everything from what
classes I took last semester to what my parents do for a living.
Another shows me pictures of people – my cousin in California, and my
great-grandmother – and asks if I know them. When she shows me a woman
I don’t know, she yells at me: ”Don’t lie!” When I am allowed to leave
the airport, I am advised to make this my ”last trip to Israel.”

But this wasn’t a trip to Israel. I will spend my summer at Bir Zeit
University in the Palestinian West Bank. Israel has militarily occupied
the West Bank and Gaza for 41 years and controls all border crossings.
Nothing gets into or out of Palestinian territory without Israel’s
approval – not students wishing to learn, business people planning to
invest in the Palestinian economy, parents hoping to visit their
children; not food, medicine, or fuel.

Routine harassment

Israel routinely harasses Palestinian Americans traveling to the West Bank or
Gaza. The State Department notes numerous reports of ”American
citizens, of Arab descent, subjected to harsh and degrading treatment
at border crossings.” Many are denied entry altogether. Last month, a
Palestinian-American filmmaker was prevented by Israel from attending
the West Bank opening

Israel denies entry to high-profile critic Norman Finkelstein

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0806/S00474.htm
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/08/296237.html

http://www.alexawad.org/details.php?ID=9

http://www.ifamericaknew.org/cur_sit/letterfromprison.html

http://www.opendemocracy.net/conflict-middle_east_politics/article_1238.jsp

S.F. Jewish activist held as security threat in Israel / Social …

http://www.hcef.org/index.cfm/mod/news/ID/16/SubMod/NewsView/NewsID/1899.cfm

Fighting Israel’s Wall

intended
to join a march organized by the International Solidarity Movement, a
Palestinian-led movement working for Palestinian self-determination and
to end the Israeli occupation. Through nonviolent actions, the ISM
volunteers bear witness to the effects of military occupation. We act
where our governments fail to act. We report what the international
media fail to report.

For daring to witness and report the
brutal effects the wall is taking on the Palestinian population, I have
been deemed a ”security threat” by the State of Israel, denied entry to
both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, and threatened
with expulsion. My first appeal to challenge my deportation was denied
yesterday. However, because I know that my efforts to stand against
human rights violations like the construction of the wall are supported
by international law, I am appealing this decision to the Israeli
Supreme Court and will remain in prison until my case is reviewed there.

From
Ben Gurion’s detention center I have experienced first-hand a
scaled-down version of the system of injustice experienced daily by
Palestinians, who call on us to pay attention to the prison walls being
built around them. In light of the decision made by the International
Court of Justice, and in light of America’s ongoing support of Israel’s
defiance of international law, I urge people to answer the call and
participate in bringing to the world the Palestinian voices calling for
freedom and justice.

Stolen days in Israel « Stolen Words Stolen Days
Stolen days in Israel

This is a long and mostly detailed rendition of what happened to me after my arrival in Tel Aviv. I would like to submit this information to the media and any NGOs or organizations that can use the information. By not doing anything I feel I will have more stolen from me. I hope you reading this can also use the information, submit it to the media, etc. I give you permission to do so, just do not use my full name and keep the integrity of the story. It would help me if you could spread this information around, submit it to organizations and the media and would make it easier for me.

On June 16th, 2008 I set out for a trip to Israel and Palestine that I had planned three weeks prior. I had planned to meet a friend whom I had worked with previously at a non-governmental organization (NGO). She was going to show me the various sites such as Jerusalem, Ramallah, and her home town of Jenin. I wanted to see Palestine, and my friends. In addition, after starting a new internship in June in Geneva at a human rights institute I had obtained a contact in Tel Aviv who was a professor that I was hoping to meet as well and discuss matters related to my internship in addition to touring a different side of Israel related to the pursuit of human rights. I also was planning on meeting a friend from college that was in the area studying Arabic and teaching English. In addition I kept in mind a possibility of visiting Egypt during my last week of my planned three week stay. Clearly, I was hoping to meet many people and see many things during my stay in the Middle East. Unfortunately, though, I was unable to see anyone or anything besides the Ben Gurion airport and the guards at Tel Aviv immigration.

I hadn’t anticipated the problems that I was eventually confronted with after arriving at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv the morning of June 17th at 4:25am. I asked so many people, so many questions concerning possible problems I would be confronted with and how to avoid them. Due to the fact that I was born in Iran, and this is reflected on my passport, I anticipated some questioning at the airport. I also anticipated difficulties when entering and exiting Palestine. What I did not expect was being denied entry into Israel completely. I also did not expect the inhumane and degrading treatment that I received while being detained for three days while waiting for my return flight.

What follows is a detailed account of what happened to me during my arrival and detention in Tel Aviv:

After exiting the plane I entered the line for those with non-Israeli passports. When I approached the kiosk the woman asked me my father’s name. After I said Mohammad Reza I was pretty sure I would be questioned further. She then asked me my grandfather’s name, I didn’t know, I didn’t have relations with him. She told me to stand to the side of the counter. I waited while others walked around me without problem to the counters and through to customs with their stamps. At that time I noticed that all the kiosks were occupied by women who behaved and appeared quite different from the passport control that I was accustomed to, they were rather informally dressed and casual in their attitude. I was then taken to an office to be questioned. The woman asked me why I was coming to Israel, where I was coming from, what I was doing there, who I knew here, how I knew them, did I have family here, what I studied, where I studied, my contact info, my friends’ contact info and even more questions. Then I was asked to wait in an open waiting room. I was then questioned again, but by a different woman and this time more aggressively. The woman again asked me the same questions, in addition to questions about my flights. I had a stack of papers with my flight info in addition to other information about Palestine and Israel. She saw these papers and asked to see them. Some of my papers were about volunteering in Nablus. I had a friend volunteering there that sent me these papers as it had information on how to get to Jerusalem and Israel. The woman accused me of lying, saying I wanted to volunteer instead of sight see or visit friends. She wanted me to log into my email so she could go through it because she didn’t believe me and said since I received the papers through an email that she needed to see my emails. I refused, saying I couldn’t, “as an American,” and this was a violation of my privacy. She stated that I was not cooperating in an angry and aggressive tone.

I asked her how could I have time to volunteer in three weeks, and she replied that I could extend my ticket. She continuously asked if I was going to volunteer or attend Arabic classes. I told her repeatedly no and she replied that I was lying. She also threatened to call the university that was in Nablus that put together the papers to ask if they knew about me, and I told her to go ahead as they would not know whom I was, yet she did nothing but continued to call me a liar. Even though I was going to sightsee and visit friends, I do not see how a possibility of volunteering at a university in Nablus to teach English would be a possible reason to deny me entry. She appeared to refuse to listen to my plans but was just assaulting me with “questions” that were really more like statements or assumptions of what she thought I would be doing, regardless of what I said.

This period of interrogation was then followed by her taking my papers and then me being told to wait more in the same room. Then I was taken to find my bag, but first a man questioned me again, with the same questions as I had been previously asked, standing outside of baggage claim. After finding my bags a group of men and women took me to a room and proceeded to x-ray then search through all my things, dump my things out of my bags, and wipe them down for explosives. This was without my permission or without explaining to me even the reasoning for such an intrusive search. I was also taken to a separate room and padded down, or frisked. They x-rayed my jacket and shoes. Then after this humiliation I was made to wait again in the same room I was constantly told to wait in. At this point I was still told nothing about my status. I tried asking some people in an office how long I would be waiting, they told me they didn’t know. I asked another woman who questioned me earlier and she said I wasn’t getting into Israel. I asked her why and she replied that I lied, when I asked what I lied about she just told me to sit in the room. The vast majority of employees were women it appeared. There was a tone of high arrogance exuded by the employees that exemplified the prejudiced nationalism that motivated their actions. Their ignorant behavior also reflected the robotic militaristic culture that ran Israel.

They fingerprinted me and photographed me at the airport. I wish that I resisted, but I thought by cooperating I would just get everything over with easier and I would have fewer problems. It turned out it really didn’t matter either way. During the whole time of interrogation I was not offered any food, and only once offered something to drink while my things were being x-rayed but only a hot drink and in the sweltering airport I could not drink anything that would only make me warmer.

After being interrogated for more than eight hours at the airport, from the time of landing, at 4:25am till around 1:00pm, I was taken with a German tourist and two Palestinian-American sisters to a van where they packed up our things and then drove us to Tel Aviv immigration. This building was supposedly on the grounds of Ben Gurion airport. During this time we were still told nothing. One of the sisters asked where we were going, that is how we found out we were going to Tel Aviv immigration. The German girl wasn’t very cooperative during the whole process and didn’t want to enter as she stated she didn’t want to be put in jail. I was maybe too cooperative as I thought being so would just get the process over quicker, I just wanted to go home at that point. Fortunately for the American-Palestinian girls their mother had called the airport and the place where we were and they were able to speak with her and were going to be flown out that day to London. We were made to put our bags in a room and we couldn’t take any pens, cameras, glass objects, or our phones with us. At this point I still didn’t understand that we would be put into detention, or why. They put us in a cell that had six beds, and was already occupied by four women. We were also four, which made a total of eight in the small cell.

I thought at the most we would just have to wait till the end of the day for our flights. After the American-Palestinian girls left I inquired about when my flight was. The guard told me I was to leave on the 20th. At this point I completely broke down crying and upset because I did not want to be there for three days. I actually thought it was four days because I had forgotten I arrived on the 17th and not the 16th, but this day difference that I resolved later made little change in how difficult it was to be there or how slow the time passed. I was told the reason why I had to stay till the 20th was because I was to be flown back to the same city I flew into Tel Aviv from and on the same airline. Earlier flights were apparently booked.

I wasn’t allowed out of the cell and just sat on a bed and cried. No one knew where I was. I was not allowed to call my mother, or the American embassy. I asked to call my mother and they would refuse or tell me later and later never happened. I had fortunately sent a text message through my mobile phone to my mother and some friends at the airport and told them I was being interrogated, but my phone was taken from me before they put me in the cell, my only means of communication.

The only time they would open the door, besides to call people out when their flights were ready and to give us food was during cigarette breaks. The next day there was a cigarette break where the guard left the door open, I used that chance to walk over to the office which was about 20 feet away from my cell and ask again about my flight and why I could not leave earlier. I was shouted at and told that there were no other flights. I asked to call my mother or the American embassy again and the woman again started to yell at me saying I could not call anyone. I asked what about my rights, and I referred to a placard that was by my cell of the rights of deportees, but she told me I was not being deported because I never entered Israel. Then she stated that I was arrested (even though I wasn’t), without stating the crime. I also pleaded in a feeble attempt apparently, stating that I knew people at the United Nations and other organizations, and asked about international law and human rights. Her response was to grab my arm and scream “put her back in her cell.” This experience jolted me further into a depression that lasted till the next day. I had no appetite during this period, and probably ate a handful of bread and a cup of tea just to keep the hunger pains from becoming overwhelming.

It was quite strange to be in the position I was, as my specialty is migration and I study international affairs. Having read so many stories of other people being detained, it is quite a strange experience being in that position. To be living it is another thing.

I had never felt so invisible, powerless and worthless. I was never told why I was there, no one told me anything. I never felt so alone. They treated us like criminals.

If we complained about our conditions they would scream at us. The cell was dirty, the blankets they gave us were old, and nothing was cleaned, and with people coming in and out from different countries who knows what was in the blankets. They barely took out the trash, which would pile up and cause the cell to smell. When someone complained about the dirty cell the “big boss,” as they called him, started screaming at the woman and threw the broom and dust pan into the room and told her to clean it. There was a cleaning lady but she didn’t clean really well and made the room dirtier. She was also yelled at. The “big boss” said that he cleaned his office so we should clean up after ourselves. There was an attitude that we were in some kind of hotel. Even one girl was told at the airport that she was being taken to a “mini-hotel.”

Every night and day new people would come, 3-5 women. Sometimes they would come at around 2:00am. The room had 6 beds but often there would be 7 of us. It was a room of maybe 8×10; there was a bathroom and two showers. The bathroom looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time. There was little air circulation. There was a window but the way the building was made no breeze came in and it had two layers of “bars” that also impeded air circulation. They would put on the air conditioning at night, not during the day, and it would get so cold, almost 50°F, and caused us to get sick. I started wanting to vomit, probably because of the stress and the conditions. The only time we were able to leave the cell was to smoke a cigarette, which would be at the most three times a day. No exercise, fresh air or sunshine. The cigarette breaks were taken simply in the hallway in front of our cells in front of an open window. I would pretend to smoke just to leave the cell.

The new women that would arrive were mostly migrant workers who had been living and working in Israel with expired visas. One Palestinian-American girl came who was also denied entry. There were women from the Philippines, Georgia, Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Nepal etc. They were all shocked when I told them I was American and just a tourist. They wondered why I was there. A lot of the migrant workers would be sent to jail, which was called Ramle, before they came to the immigration detention center. A woman from Nepal stayed in Ramle for six months just because she was waiting to get paid by her employer, then she came to the detention center to get deported. She didn’t want to leave. I doubt there are any inquiries as to what situation these people are deported back to, or if their lives are at risk from torture, etc. According to the migrant workers it appeared that Ramle was better than the detention center, as they had a small garden, were allowed to walk around and had better food.

A Filipino woman said: “This place makes you crazy. You’ll see. They tell you that you will leave tomorrow, then two more days, then more. You go crazy in here.” I probably would have gone crazy if I stayed any longer than I did.

They barely gave us water, maybe twice during my whole stay. They told us to drink from the tap when it wasn’t potable; it tasted like paint and was hot. They had intense lighting in the room. Three large circular lights on the ceiling, that were probably 1-1.5 feet in diameter, with a high intensity, almost as a fog light, and then by each bed there was a large light, the shape of a football, attached to the wall, twice as big as a football, also with a high intensity. They would leave these lights on into the night till maybe midnight or 2:00am, and sometimes during the day. They would also sometimes turn them on further into the middle of the night when they were bringing in new people. I asked for a Band-Aid for a sore I had on my foot and I was given some tape and gauze that wasn’t even packaged. I just used a napkin and taped it onto my foot.

When I asked if we could go outside to get sun and fresh air I had to tap on the small window on the door to get the guard’s attention and he said to stop tapping because it made him crazy, then yelled at me to open the window then walked away. We couldn’t leave the windows open at night because of mosquitoes. I had bites all over my body from them and maybe other bugs. The worst part though was that they didn’t let us call anyone. No one knew we were there.

My mother had called the American embassy in Israel apparently and someone from the embassy called me. They sometimes told us when someone called for us, I was allowed to speak to the woman who called from the embassy, her name was Eve Zuckerman, but she was of no help. She told me that my mother had contacted her but she did not help me speak to her and did not state that should do anything further for me besides re-examine my flight schedule. All she would tell me was what Israel had the right to do; she never mentioned my rights even though I was an American citizen and she was calling from the American embassy. She only confirmed that I had to leave on the 20th to Barcelona, even though it was not even my original city of departure but a transit connection, as I was flying from Geneva, Switzerland.

I couldn’t sleep because of the lack of ventilation, unsanitary conditions, the harsh lighting and the heat. They gave us thick blankets one would use in the winter even though it was in the middle of June. I felt things crawling on my body and biting me when I covered myself with one. I couldn’t eat because of depression. I had definitely lost weight in that short period. When I came back I weighed myself and I had lost five pounds. I had no appetite even though I was hungry. I would eat maybe once or twice a day very small amounts of food just so the hunger pains wouldn’t hurt as much. I saw about 18 people come and go because 6 new people would arrive every day and about the same number would leave that day. Some people were very depressing to be around. One lady wouldn’t stop complaining, all day and all night. It was increasing my stress. The guards would constantly yell at us. They would scream at everyone for whatever reason.

I was wearing the same clothes for two days that I had already sweated through. When I asked to get a change of clothes because I couldn’t sleep, the guard replied that “this is not perfection” in terms of the conditions. Later I was allowed to get a change of clothes, this is when I smuggled my phone in my jacket sleeve back to my room. I then sent a text message to my mom and friend again telling them I was in detention. I had almost no credit on my phone though and almost no battery so I could only send two text messages. I also used my phone to take pictures of the cell. They had hidden cameras in the room, but I don’t know how they didn’t catch me, maybe because I was really discreet or they were not paying attention.

When it came time to finally be taken to my flight I was still treated as a criminal, escorted up to the plane and the driver, who turned out to be a policeman, handed my passport to the male cabin crewmember and just said “deport.” He said who are you, and the man said “policeman” only and the cabin crewmember asked for id. The cabin crew person gave my passport to the captain, which furthered my treatment as if I was a criminal. Insult to injury. The cabin crewmember said he didn’t know what to do because he wasn’t given a letter and this had never happened before. It was “all new” to him, he stated.

After I arrived in Barcelona I called my mother with an emergency phone card I luckily had. I also had to change my plane ticket from Barcelona to Geneva to get back home which cost me 247 Euros. I ended up spending a total of almost $1000 on this nightmare.

Three days of my life were taken away from me. How am I supposed to be compensated? Who will compensate me? No one should have to go through this, or be treated like this.

I was treated like an animal. Put in a cage, yelled at, not allowed out, not allowed to call anyone. I fear traveling alone now, and question my rights and the ability for the American government to protect me, even though I am a citizen. This was a very traumatic time for me that I will never be able to forget.

After being back in Geneva and speaking to my friends and my mom I found out even more disturbing information regarding my detention. When my mother or my friend that I was to visit in Palestine would call any Israeli authority they would not tell them where I was or that I was even being detained. They told my friend in Palestine that I was not even there and they told my mom that I was no longer being detained. This lack of information is even more violating.

AB DN1, DN2 DN3

En bild säger mycket. Notera var Jerusalem hamnar. Den blåa linjen är den ’separations’ mur som nu byggs av Israel. Och mängden av bosättningar. Hur många svenskar är medvetna om att väst-banken varit ockuperad sedan 1967 av Israel? Det framtida ‘palestina’ kommer att bestå av 54% av västbanken. Inte helt olikt de syd-afrikanska hemländer som planen inspirerats av. På så sätt kan man säkra att den arabiska majoriteten i det som var det brittiska mandatet palestina aldrig kommer till makten.

Det finns en myt i den svenska debatten kring Israel-Palestina, om att konflikten enbart skulle vara mellan Palestiner och Israeler. En tredje part är den amerikanska regeringen under både Bush och Clinton administrationerna.

Vanity Fair artikel här beskriver USAs roll i de palestinska territorierna och inte minst Georg Bush misslyckade politiska manövrar att första kräva ett palestinskt val och sedan underkänna resultatet. Och sovjetexperten Condi Rices inkompetens på allt som har med mellanöstern att göra. Efter det ‘misslyckade’ valresultatet 2006 valde sedan USA, Israel och ett alltid lydigt Europa att isolera segraren Hamas. För att sedan organisera ett kuppförsök av Fatah under Abbas och Dahlan. Det USA finansierade kuppförsöket är förstås inkompetent organiserat och leder till Hamas övertagande av Gaza.  Att USA medvetet provocerar fram ett palestinskt inbördeskrig för att krossa Hamas och detta får effekten att Hamas stärks hör till de svarta ironierna i historien. Att kuppförsöket lade grunden till dagens situation i Gaza och den ännu mer destabiliserade regionen borde få några realister att undra det inte hade varit bättre att leva med Hamas som en faktor i regionen.

Vanity Fair has obtained confidential documents, since corroborated by sources in the U.S. and Palestine, which lay bare a covert initiative, approved by Bush and implemented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, to provoke a Palestinian civil war. The plan was for forces led by Dahlan, and armed with new weapons supplied at America’s behest, to give Fatah the muscle it needed to remove the democratically elected Hamas-led government from power. (The State Department declined to comment.)

But the secret plan backfired, resulting in a further setback for American foreign policy under Bush. Instead of driving its enemies out of power, the U.S.-backed Fatah fighters inadvertently provoked Hamas to seize total control of Gaza.

Det kan även vara värt att uppmärksamma vilka det är som Sverige och inte minst EU vill stödja i den pågående Annapolis processen. Med Abu Mazen som utvald härskare över över några få enklaver i det som återstår av en Palestinsk stat och Dahlan som hans ’säkerhetschef’. Att Condi Rice kan flyga in till mellanöstern och ge direkta order om hur Aby Mazen ska agera säger mycket. Inte minst hur falsk hela den ‘fredsprocess’ är som Sverige via EU stöder. Det har aldrig varit tal om en riktig oberoende palestinskt stat. Istället handlar det om Bantustans eller hemländer efter syd-afrikansk modell. Styrda med järnhand av en USA och Israel kontrollerad hemlig polis.

En hemlig polis som regelbundet torterar folk. Historien nedan är heller inte unik. Samma säkerhetspolis och tortyr av politiska motståndare finns i alla de ‘moderata’ arabländer som stöds av väst. Med Egypten och Jordanien som det ‘bästa’ exemplen.

On January 26, 2007, abu Dan, a student at the Islamic University of Gaza, had gone to a local cemetery with his father and five others to erect a headstone for his grandmother. When they arrived, however, they found themselves surrounded by 30 armed men from Hamas’s rival, Fatah, the party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. “They took us to a house in north Gaza,” abu Dan says. “They covered our eyes and took us to a room on the sixth floor.”

The video reveals a bare room with white walls and a black-and-white tiled floor, where abu Dan’s father is forced to sit and listen to his son’s shrieks of pain. Afterward, abu Dan says, he and two of the others were driven to a market square. “They told us they were going to kill us. They made us sit on the ground.” He rolls up the legs of his trousers to display the circular scars that are evidence of what happened next: “They shot our knees and feet—five bullets each. I spent four months in a wheelchair.”

Abu Dan had no way of knowing it, but his tormentors had a secret ally: the administration of President George W. Bush.

A clue comes toward the end of the video, which was found in a Fatah security building by Hamas fighters last June. Still bound and blindfolded, the prisoners are made to echo a rhythmic chant yelled by one of their captors: “By blood, by soul, we sacrifice ourselves for Muhammad Dahlan! Long live Muhammad Dahlan!”

Det säger en del om hur långt från verkligheten diplomaterna i den s.k fredprocess är när de använder sig av en person som Dahlan. Med tanke på hans ytterst nära kontakter med både Shabak och CIA under den tid USA byggde upp de palestinska säkerhetsstyrkorna som Arafat kontrollerade kan man undra vilken av organisationerna som formellt rekryterade honom?

Troligen är det amerikanarna som kontrollerar Dahlan med tanke på hur nära kontakterna varit. Att CIA hade en direkt närvaro på västbanken och Gaza efter order från President Clinton och var den organisation som hjälpte till att bygga upp och organisera Arafats styrkor är välkänt. Dahlan har mött både Presidenterna Clinton och Bush där Geroge Bush var den som förövrigt förklarade att Dahlan var ‘our guy’ efter att ha titta honom djupt i ögonen precis som Putin. Det var USAs man Dahlan som organiserade tortyr scener som den nedan.

They forced me to accompany them to the home of Aman abu Jidyan,” a Fatah leader close to Dahlan. (Abu Jidyan would be killed in the June uprising.)

The first phase of torture was straightforward enough, al-Jasser says: he was stripped naked, bound, blindfolded, and beaten with wooden poles and plastic pipes. “They put a piece of cloth in my mouth to stop me screaming.” His interrogators forced him to answer contradictory accusations: one minute they said that he had collaborated with Israel, the next that he had fired Qassam rockets against it.

But the worst was yet to come. “They brought an iron bar,” al-Jasser says, his voice suddenly hesitant. We are speaking inside his home in Gaza, which is experiencing one of its frequent power outages. He points to the propane-gas lamp that lights the room. “They put the bar in the flame of a lamp like this. When it was red, they took the covering off my eyes. Then they pressed it against my skin. That was the last thing I remember.”

—–

In 2001, President Bush famously said that he had looked Russian president Vladimir Putin in the eye, gotten “a sense of his soul,” and found him to be “trustworthy.” According to three U.S. officials, Bush made a similar judgment about Dahlan when they first met, in 2003. All three officials recall hearing Bush say, “He’s our guy.”

They say this assessment was echoed by other key figures in the administration, including Rice and Assistant Secretary David Welch, the man in charge of Middle East policy at the State Department. “David Welch didn’t fundamentally care about Fatah,” one of his colleagues says. “He cared about results, and [he supported] whatever son of a bitch you had to support. Dahlan was the son of a bitch we happened to know best. He was a can-do kind of person. Dahlan was our guy.”

Avi Dichter, Israel’s internal-security minister and the former head of its Shin Bet security service, was taken aback when he heard senior American officials refer to Dahlan as “our guy.” “I thought to myself, The president of the United States is making a strange judgment here,” says Dichter.

The Gaza Bombshell: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

After failing to anticipate Hamas’s victory over Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, David Rose reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever.
________________
“Everyone was against the elections,” Dahlan says. Everyone except Bush. “Bush decided, ‘I need an election. I want elections in the Palestinian Authority.’ Everyone is following him in the American administration, and everyone is nagging Abbas, telling him, ‘The president wants elections.’ Fine. For what purpose?”

The elections went forward as scheduled. On January 25, Hamas won 56 percent of the seats in the Legislative Council.

Few inside the U.S. administration had predicted the result, and there was no contingency plan to deal with it. “I’ve asked why nobody saw it coming,” Condoleezza Rice told reporters. “I don’t know anyone who wasn’t caught off guard by Hamas’s strong showing.”

“Everyone blamed everyone else,” says an official with the Department of Defense. “We sat there in the Pentagon and said, ‘Who the fuck recommended this?’ ”

In public, Rice tried to look on the bright side of the Hamas victory. “Unpredictability,” she said, is “the nature of big historic change.” Even as she spoke, however, the Bush administration was rapidly revising its attitude toward Palestinian democracy.

Some analysts argued that Hamas had a substantial moderate wing that could be strengthened if America coaxed it into the peace process. Notable Israelis—such as Ephraim Halevy, the former head of the Mossad intelligence agency—shared this view. But if America paused to consider giving Hamas the benefit of the doubt, the moment was “milliseconds long,” says a senior State Department official. “The administration spoke with one voice: ‘We have to squeeze these guys.’ With Hamas’s election victory, the freedom agenda was dead.”

The first step, taken by the Middle East diplomatic “Quartet”—the U.S., the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations—was to demand that the new Hamas government renounce violence, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and accept the terms of all previous agreements. When Hamas refused, the Quartet shut off the faucet of aid to the Palestinian Authority, depriving it of the means to pay salaries and meet its annual budget of roughly $2 billion.

_______

Washington reacted with dismay when Abbas began holding talks with Hamas in the hope of establishing a “unity government.” On October 4, 2006, Rice traveled to Ramallah to see Abbas. They met at the Muqata, the new presidential headquarters that rose from the ruins of Arafat’s compound, which Israel had destroyed in 2002.

America’s leverage in Palestinian affairs was much stronger than it had been in Arafat’s time. Abbas had never had a strong, independent base, and he desperately needed to restore the flow of foreign aid—and, with it, his power of patronage. He also knew that he could not stand up to Hamas without Washington’s help.

At their joint press conference, Rice smiled as she expressed her nation’s “great admiration” for Abbas’s leadership. Behind closed doors, however, Rice’s tone was sharper, say officials who witnessed their meeting. Isolating Hamas just wasn’t working, she reportedly told Abbas, and America expected him to dissolve the Haniyeh government as soon as possible and hold fresh elections.

Abbas, one official says, agreed to take action within two weeks. It happened to be Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast during daylight hours. With dusk approaching, Abbas asked Rice to join him for iftar—a snack to break the fast.

Afterward, according to the official, Rice underlined her position: “So we’re agreed? You’ll dissolve the government within two weeks?”

“Maybe not two weeks. Give me a month. Let’s wait until after the Eid,” he said, referring to the three-day celebration that marks the end of Ramadan. (Abbas’s spokesman said via e-mail: “According to our records, this is incorrect.”)

Rice got into her armored S.U.V., where, the official claims, she told an American colleague, “That damned iftar has cost us another two weeks of Hamas government.”

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Intressant diskussion från amerikanska synvinkel men ändå aktuell även för Sverige tror jag. Även i Sverige finns det en slentrianmässig och i många fall okunnig syn på mellanöstern där Israel presenteras som det ständiga offret. Något som jag hade hävdat inte stämmer med verkligheten. Varför kan Israel granskas och kritiseras i Israelisk media på ett sätt som inte förekommer i väst. I israel finns om inte annat en debatt över politiken som de svenska Israel vännerna inte klarar av. Eller finns det en tyst grupp som tänker annorlunda men inget säger av rädsla för att framföra offentlig kritik mot Israel?

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The underlying assumption of this article is that the present situation is disastrous
not only for Israel and the Palestinians but also for U.S. national interests.
There is a wealth of information and critical commentary, much of it by
Israelis, on the terrible consequences of Israel’s policies and behavior toward
the Palestinians—and not just for the Palestinians but also for Israeli security,
society, civil culture, and even the future of Israeli democracy.
What is less understood—or even denied—is that U.S. support of Israeli policies
is gravely endangering critical U.S. national interests: it exacerbates the
expanding threat of Islamic fanaticism; it undermines what remains of Middle
Eastern stability and, in particular, threatens the conservative Arab regimes
(especially Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan) with which the United States has
de facto alliances; and should radicalism spread, it could threaten U.S. access
to oil.

This article argues that a major explanation for this widespread but erroneous
U.S. consensus is the largely uninformed and uncritical mainstream and
even elite media coverage in the United States of Israeli policies, a consequence
of which is that alarm bells that should be sounded loudly and clearly
are muted. In contrast, the debate in Israel is much more far-ranging, and includes
a substantial body of dissenting opinion—especially among the elites—
arguing that Israel bears a considerable share of the responsibility for the
Israeli-Palestinian conºict. Although this is still a minority view, candid criticisms
of Israeli policy appear regularly in the Israeli press and news magazines,
as well as in public statements by leading scholars, writers, retired
military ofªcers, intelligence ofªcials, and even some politicians.