LUISTER NAAR DE JOODSE STEMMEN OVER

DE ISRAELISCHE MEGA-MISDRIJVEN TEGEN

HET INTERNATIONAAL HUMANITAIR RECHT

JEGENS DE PALESTIJNEN !

THE JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE - JVP

  LEES "THE WIRE" !

BERICHTEN NA 31-08-2024 STAAN HIER

OSPACA NIEUWSDIENST 2

VOORPAGINANIEUWS NRC 1 OKTOBER 2024 - EEN STINKENDE LEUGENBENDE;

NIET KLAAR IS KEES, MAAR KLAAR MÉT KEES !

1 oktober 2024

L.S.

Geen menstype is zo – weliswaar besmuikt geremd – bloeddorstig als de kleinburgerij. De stank van deze kleinburgerlijke bloeddorst walmt ons NRC-lezers elke morgen weer tegemoet als we de NRC openvouwen. Maar vandaag, 1 oktober 2024, was die stank meteen al heel verdacht extra penetrant. Direct zomaar eens vagelijk wat snuffelend, zo links en rechts aan aan de tekst van deze voorpagina van 1 oktober, was het meteen al duidelijk waar - op de bladspiegel van deze eerste pagina - die extra walgelijke geur nu opeens vandaan kwam.

Allereerst viel duidelijk te ruiken dat de scribent van deze voorpagina -  een zekere Kees Versteegh – zijn geurvlag voor zijn artikel ditmaal extra sterk had willen afgeven. Maar echt niet te harden was die extra stank, als het vluchtige gesnuffel zich verplaatste naar de 4e kolom op de frontpagina. Daar waar deze Kees echt toch ook maar even extra heeft willen benadrukken hoe ongenadig bloeddorstig die Hezbollah-strijders nu eenmaal zijn. In tegenstelling natuurlijk tot Israëlische, Amerikaanse en ook nog zelfs Franse legertroepen. Die uiteraard nooit het internationaal recht en internationaal humanitair recht schenden. Want komt het aan op beschaving, dan moet je natuurlijk bij hen zijn: Amerikaanse en Franse legerbendes, die staan daar pal voor, die beschaving. Deze tezamen met, maar ook als verlengstuk van, de Westerse macht in het Midden-Oosten fungerend: de Israëlische genocidale barbaren. Eveneens altijd niets anders dan in vuur en vlam staande voor onze beschaving.

En vanuit deze invalshoek plaatst Kees dan ook zijn stronthoop als extra geurvlag. En schrijft over een Hezbollah-strijder, die – en nu komt het: “..betrokken zou zijn geweest bij de zeer bloedige bomaanslag in 1983 op de Amerikaanse ambassade in Beiroet waarbij driehonderd Amerikaanse en Franse militairen omkwamen.”

Zo, die zit!  Daar hebben jullie het niet van terug, hè? Zoveel dooie Amerikaanse en Franse militairen. 300! Wat een schande is dat! Dat doen Israëlische militairen nooit hoor, zulke slachtingen uitvoeren! Maar het rare is dat deze Kees hier precies heeft omschreven hoeveel dooie Amerikaanse en ook nog Franse militairen hier zouden zijn gevallen. Namelijk precies 300! Dat zou dan wel heel stom toeval zijn, als hier Hezbollah precies 300 slachtoffers zou hebben gemaakt! Of bij 300 zou zijn opgehouden met verder slachtoffers te maken.

En dus was het vanmorgen, 1 oktober 2024, meteen ook zaak om eens uit te zoeken hoe en wat er, in 1983, nu precies zou zijn gebeurd. Allereerst was het een kleine moeite om hier even Wikipedia bij te halen. Wikipedia schrijft in dit verband, onder de kop “Aanslag op de Amerikaanse ambassade in Beiroet op 18 april 1983”:

“De aanslag op de Amerikaanse ambassade in Beiroet vond plaats op 18 april 1983. Daarbij kwamen meer dan zestig mensen, vooral stafmedewerkers van de ambassade en Amerikaanse mariniers om het leven. De aanslag werd gepleegd door de Islamitische groep Hezbollah. Belangrijkste reden voor de aanslag was de interventie van verschillende westerse landen, waaronder de Verenigde Staten in de Libanese burgeroorlog met als doel de orde te herstellen en een centrale regering te vormen. Ook wordt het gezien als een vergelding vanwege de aanval in 1982 van christelijke fracties, met steun van Israël, op de vluchtelingenkampen Sabra en Shatila. De aanslag werd gepleegd met een vrachtwagen waarin meer dan negenhonderd kilo aan explosieven lagen. Een zelfmoordenaar zorgde dat deze afgingen.”

In de on-voor-stel-ba-re bloedbaden van Sabra en Shatila werden in september 1982 in luttele dagen 1300 tot 3500 Palestijnse vluchtelingen door het Israëlische leger in koelen bloede vermoord.

En het Reformatorische Dagblad schrijft op 13 oktober 2000 dan hier op zijn beurt in het kort:

“April 1983: Een autobom maakt de ambassade in de Libanese hoofdstad Beiroet met de grond gelijk. Ruim zestig personen komen om het leven, onder wie zeventien Amerikanen.”

 En dan is daar tenslotte ook nog NRC Handelsblad van 19 april 1983, Met als kop:

“Aanslag ambassade VS in Beiroet:39 doden

Een met explosieven volgepakte bestelauto heeft gistermiddag de zeven verdiepingen hoge voorzijde van de Amerikaanse ambassade in Beiroet opgeblazen, waardoor ten minste 39 mensen, onder wie zes Amerikanen omkwamen.  (...) Volgens een Amerikaanse functionaris in Washington worden nog twee Amerikanen vermist en volgens een Libanese zegsman in Beiroet raakten 22 Amerikanen en 98 Libanezen bij de aanslag gewond. Er werd vanmorgen rekening mee gehouden dat zich nog 20 slachtoffers in de puinhopen bevinden.”       

In minder dan 10 minuten heeft deze factchecking dezerzijds zich, zonder verdere problemen, voltrokken. Waarvan akte!  Maar onze Kees was helemaal niet uit op factchecking, nooit geweest ook!

Want het beeld is hier dus volmaakt duidelijk. NRC liegt hier, opzettelijk en doelgericht, zo maar even minstens 200 verzonnen dodelijke slachtoffers van Hezbollah bij elkaar.

Waarom? Het door mainstream-media toch al als duivels voorgestelde gezicht van Hezbollah moet, bij de niet aflatende zucht naar het bloed van gehate delen van de mensheid van de kant van het smachtende NRC-cliëntenbestel, nog maar even een extra boost uitdelen waardoor die bloeddorst nog verder kan worden aangescherpt.

Want zo zijn dus de manieren van de mainstream media. Die zijn dus gewoon schofterig. Dagelijks ploertig. Steeds opnieuw.

Mr. M. S. K.  Ten Doesschate

30 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #224
Gaza Strip

Makeshift shelters leaving internally displaced persons in in Gaza exposed to the rain. Photo by UNRWA

Key Highlights

• Addressing the critical needs of over 2.1 million people during the rainy season cannot happen without unimpeded humanitarian access into and across Gaza.
• Many of the 215 temporary learning spaces serving nearly 34,000 children now risk being severely affected by upcoming floodings, the Education Cluster warns.
• Humanitarian organizations are providing about 600,000 daily meals across Gaza, but over 1.4 million people did not receive their food rations in September, due to dwindling supplies, the Food Security Sector reports.
• Only four out of 37 olive presses remain functional throughout the Strip and more than one million olive trees have been uprooted since October 2023, according to the Food Security Sector.
• Close to 100 per cent of Gaza’s population now live in poverty, compared with 64 per cent before the onset of escalated hostilities, according to the World Bank.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, south of Gaza city, in and around An Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah also continue to be reported.
• Between the afternoons of 26 and 30 September, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 81 Palestinians were killed and 267 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, at least 41,615 Palestinians were killed and 96,359 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are some of the deadly incidents reported between 26 and 29 September:
  • On 26 September, two children and their parents were reportedly killed and others injured, when a house was hit in Jabalya, in North Gaza.
  • On 26 September, three Palestinian men were reportedly killed and others injured, when a house was hit in An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 27 September, four Palestinian men were reportedly killed and others injured, when they were hit in An Nuseirat New camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 27 September, at least three Palestinians, including one woman, were reportedly killed and four others injured, when a house was hit in Al Mawasi area, in western Rafah.
  • On 27 September, at least two children and their parents were reportedly killed and others injured, when a house was hit in An Naser area, in northern Rafah.
  • On 29 September, three Palestinian men were reportedly killed and six others injured, when a house was hit near Ash Shabia area in Ad Daraj neighbourhood, in Gaza city.
• Between the afternoons of 27 and 30 September, no Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,546 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 346 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,298 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• As the rainy season approaches, the already dire living conditions in Gaza will deteriorate further, putting hundreds of thousands of people at heightened risk of additional displacement, asset loss, health hazards, and limited access to essential services. The UN and its humanitarian partners have developed a Winterization Plan, which aims to address the critical needs of over 2.1 million people in Gaza during the winter months, including more than 850,000 people across 49 neighbourhoods living in flood-prone areas. The plan, which is a subset of the Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), requires US$242 million to implement a wide array of urgent interventions, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups including female-headed households, children, persons at risk of violence including gender-based violence, the elderly, disabled and chronically ill people. These include, among other things: enhancing conditions in shelters to protect people from the cold and flooding; distributing warm clothing, blankets, tarpaulins, heating materials to displaced households; installing temporary drainage systems to redirect floodwaters away from critical infrastructure, including dumping sites; and establishing winter-proof baby-friendly tents for breastfeeding and provision of nutrition services. However, the implementation of planned interventions cannot happen in the absence of unimpeded entry of required humanitarian items into Gaza, the availability of adequate quantities of fuel and facilitation of safe humanitarian movement between warehouses and distribution points. The ongoing challenges faced by humanitarian actors in accessing northern Gaza are particularly concerning, as some parts, historically, have a high potential for flooding.
• The ongoing crisis in Gaza will set children’s education “back by up to five years and risks creating a lost generation of permanently traumatized Palestinian youth,” according to a new study by the University of Cambridge, the Centre for Lebanese Studies and UNRWA. The report, the first to comprehensively quantify the toll of the crisis on learning, lays out three different scenarios for Gaza’s younger generation, depending on when the crisis ends and how promptly the education system is restored. The most optimistic projection – assuming an immediate ceasefire and rapid efforts to rebuild the education system – is that students will have lost competencies equivalent to two or three years of schooling. Beyond the ongoing crisis which has now lasted for over 11 months, this calculation also factors in the impact of COVID-19 and of the previous escalation of hostilities in May 2021. If formal classes do not resume until 2026, the losses could stretch for up to five years. This does not account for the additional impacts of trauma, malnutrition and forced displacement, which are further eroding children’s physical, cognitive and emotional wellbeing.

• The Education Cluster warns that many of the 215 established temporary learning spaces (TLSs), which serve nearly 34,000 children, now risk being severely affected by upcoming floodings. Geospatial analysis by the cluster reveals that eight TLSs are directly located within flood-prone areas, another 24 TLSs benefiting nearly 5,800 students are less than 100 metres away from such areas, and an additional 14 TLSs serving almost 3,000 students are near the coastline. With the destruction of essential drainage infrastructure due to the ongoing hostilities, expected heavy rains can cause significant damage and force the suspension of informal learning in these sites. The cluster stresses that ongoing restrictions by the Israeli authorities on the entry of educational materials and prefabricated structures, logistical and movement challenges for cluster partners, as well as severe overcrowding in sites hosting internally displaced persons, all risk hindering the implementation of urgent risk mitigation measures. The cluster also faces severe resource limitations preventing investments in infrastructural improvements.
• The ability of humanitarian partners to provide food assistance is increasingly shrinking across the Strip. The Food Security Sector (FSS) reports that, in September, due to continuous food supply shortages, more than 1.4 million people did not receive their monthly food rations across Gaza. Meanwhile, due to insecurity, damaged roads, the breakdown of law and order and access limitations along the main humanitarian route between the Kerem Shalom Crossing, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, as well as the suspension of humanitarian aid entries to northern Gaza via the Jordan Corridor since the security incident of 8 September, at least 100,000 metric tons of food commodities, equivalent to two months of food parcels for the whole population, await entry outside the Strip; these goods must urgently be brought in to prevent further interruptions in life-saving distribution. FSS partners also continue to face challenges in keeping kitchens and bakeries operational; as of the third week of September, about 600,000 cooked meals prepared in more than 150 kitchens were provided daily to families across the Strip, but this level of meal production is expected to decrease in October due to dwindling supplies. Moreover, while 14 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners are presently operational, the continued functionality of the six bakeries in northern Gaza is contingent on securing yeast or shifting to the production of yeast-free bread. In its latest analysis concerning August, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) indicated that humanitarian assistance is only partially mitigating the severity of acute food insecurity and people are expected to continue enduring “large to extreme food consumption deficits, malnourishment, and hunger-related mortality” until “safe, consistent humanitarian access” facilitates both an increase in the quantity of aid delivered and effective distribution to people in need.
• The agricultural sector continues to suffer from increasing damage. FSS reports that recent military operations in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, have led to the additional destruction of more than 50 dunums (five hectares) of agriculture land and agriculture assets, including fields planted with eggplants, oranges, peppers and other vegetables owned by at least ten farmers. The latest satellite imagery collected in September 2024 shows that approximately 68 per cent (102 square kilometres) of permanent crop fields in Gaza exhibit a significant decline in health and density, compared with the average of the previous seven years. FSS warns that, while the olive harvest season has started in the Strip, there is a sharp decrease in olive production due to mass destruction of olive orchards, with more than one million olive trees uprooted since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023. Only four out of 37 olive presses remain functional throughout the Strip, but challenging access to fuel represents a key obstacle hampering the use of even this remaining equipment.
• The fishing sector, which used to be a primary source of livelihoods in Gaza, has similarly not been spared by the impact of nearly 12 months of escalated hostilities. According to a recent report by the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), since October 2023, 150 fishermen have died and 87 per cent of fishing boats have been damaged or destroyed, including 96 motorized boats and 900 unmotorized ones. Gaza’s port and other key fishing infrastructure have also been reportedly destroyed, with indirect losses estimated by PNGO at about $7 million per month. This, compounded by ongoing fishing restrictions, lack of equipment and fuel, is resulting in thousands of fishermen losing their livelihoods, stresses PNGO.
• The Palestinian economy is “nearing economic freefall, amidst a historic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip” according to a report by the World Bank published on 23 September. Gaza’s economy has contracted by 86 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, with the overall GDP in the OPT declining by 35 per cent, “marking its largest economic contraction on record.” The report further highlights that the halt of most commercial operations and disruption of supply chains have caused the price of basic commodities to surge to about 250 per cent in August 2024 compared with August 2023. Moreover, severe damage to the agri-food economy has compounded the humanitarian crisis and devastated livelihoods; prior to 2020, 13 per cent of Gaza’s workforce were employed in the agricultural sector that also offered informal employment to over 90 percent of the population. Gaza’s sinking economy has led the World Bank to assess that close to 100 per cent of Gaza’s population now live in poverty, compared with 64 per cent before the onset of escalated hostilities.

593.

28 september 2024

De afgelopen dagen werden we overstelpt met berichten van vrienden uit Libanon. De paniek en angst zijn groot na de terroristische aanslagen die Israël daar deze week heeft gepleegd.

In heel Libanon ontploften piepers en portofoons van Hezbollah-leden. Gevolg: tientallen doden en duizenden gewonden, waarvan honderden in kritieke toestand.

De aanval is niet alleen beestachtig wreed. Met vreselijke verwondingen en levenlange verminkingen voor duizenden mensen. Maar is tevens in strijd met het internationaal recht. En maakt ook nog eens geen onderscheid tussen burgers en strijders op de koop toe.

Onder de doden en gewonden zijn kinderen, ambulancemedewerkers en andere onschuldige burgers. Vrienden beschreven de paniek en de afschuwelijke verwon-dingen, die ze in het ziekenhuis zagen.

De NRC van 21 september 2024 schreef in dit verband:

“Enkele seconden later explodeerden de piepers in hun gezicht, handen, broekzakken of tassen met als resultaat duizenden gewonden en een twaalftal doden. Sommigen moesten ogen missen, anderen hadden gapende wonden in hun zij of misten vingers.”

En voorts ook nog:

“Anonieme veiligheidsbronnen zeggen tegen de New York Times dat de batterijen van de piepers waren omhuld met een kleine hoeveelheid zeer explosieve stof, genaamd PETN (pentaerythritoltetranitaat), ook wel pentriet genoemd. ‘Het is een vrij gevoelige springstof’, zegt explosievendeskundige Ad van Riel telefonisch. ‘Als je tweetiende gram in je hand af laat gaan, is je hand spaghetti’.” 

Nou, vooral dat laatste zinnetje is voor de NRC wel even kicken!  NRC-redacteur Floris van Staten, de bloeddorst zelve, schrijft in dit kader

- je ziet zijn ogen hierbij glinsteren. En als je beneden, naar zijn broek zou hebben gekeken, toen hij dit aan het schrijven was, nou ja, je weet wel wat je dan gezien zou hebben... – : 

“Hoewel er meteen juristen waren die de pieperaanval veroordeelden als een schending van het internationaal humanitair oorlogsrecht (...) toonden veel deskundigen uit de inlichtingenwereld zich onder de indruk van het technische vernuft van de operatie. ‘Het is waarschijnlijk de indrukwekkendste kinetische inlichtingenoperatie die ik ooit heb gezien’, verklaarde Marc Polymeropoulos, een voormalige CIA-medewerker die nu voor The Atlantic Council werkt, tegenover de website Vox”.

Al-Jazeera, op zijn beurt, schreef die week van september in een artikel over al die zogenaamde deskundologen die zich juichend en vol loftuitingen uitlieten over de hoogwaardigheid van hier toegepaste technologie, steeds weer zonder ook maar een sprank van gevoel voor de slachtoffers:

Stemgedrag van Nederland tijdens de Algemene vergadering van de Verenigde Naties in flagrante strijd met het internationale humanitaire recht en met de Nederlandse Grondwet

Inmiddels nam de Algemene Vergadering van de Verenigde Naties enkele weken terug een uiterst belangrijke resolutie aan. Deze resolutie eist dat Israël zijn ‘illegale aanwezigheid’ in de bezette Palestijnse gebieden binnen twaalf maanden beëindigt. Nederland onthield zich van stemming. Maar deze resolutie werd niettemin met een overweldigende 2/3e meerderheid van staten aangenomen.

Maanden lang heeft dit jaar, verspreid over de hele wereld - vanuit massa-demonstraties tot en met in het kader van dagelijks allerhande andere acties – wereldwijd overal de strijdleus weerklonken:

      “FREE, FREE PALESTINE !!” 

Als belangrijkste onderdeel van de hierboven bedoelde uitspraak van de Algemene Vergadering van de Verenigde Naties geldt dat daarin voorop wordt gesteld dat de Israëlische landrovers de bezette gebieden van Palestina volledig moeten ontruimen, en wel ZO SNEL MOGELIJK.  Binnen de tijdspanne van een jaar zal de totale verdwijning van de Israeli’s van Palestijnse bodem zich moeten voltrekken. Aldus hebben de hoogste rechters van de wereld verklaard. Aldus hebben meer dan 2/3 van de 139 VN-staten vastgesteld. Slechts 12 van de beide machten van het kwaad, de V.S. en Israël, laten zich op dit gebied door het kwaad meezuigen. Vooral ook omdat ze daarvoor grif worden betaald.

Maar Nederland, dat blanco heeft gesteld in de bovenstaande kwestie, behoort, wereldwijd beschouwd, tot de Westerse landen – in getal een steeds geringere minderheid, maar in macht nog steeds een meerderheid –, die er op uit zijn het internationale en internationale humanitaire recht zo grondig mogelijk te blokkeren, te saboteren, en uiteindelijk ook zoveel mogelijk geheel te ondergraven, zoals dit nu geconstitueerd is. Wat hun betreft moeten, als vermeende Westerse belangen, naar hun gevoelen, op het spel dreigen te komen staan, het wereldomvattende internationale en internationale humanitaire recht desnoods geheel verpulverd worden.   

Nederland onthield zich dus van stemming in de Algemene Vergadering van de Verenigde Naties.  De verklaring die Nederland afgaf voor zijn onthouding van steun aan de VN-resolutie staat bol van oneigenlijke argumenten. Zo stelde de Nederlandse vertegenwoordiger bij de VN dat ‘een duurzame tweestatenoplossing meer dan ooit nodig is’, maar dat ‘unilaterale oproepen voor een internationaal opgelegde oplossing of een tijdspecifieke terugtrekking niet behulpzaam zijn’. Het oogmerk van onze regering is dus: doe niks, lulhannes alleen af en toe wat in gezamenlijkheid met andere staten, en bewerkstellig op die manier uitstel tot in het oneindige van het nu ook door het Internationaal Gerechtshof met een meer dan 2/3e van Algemene Vergadering van de Verenigde Naties opgelegde meerderheid van stremmen tot het uitvoeren van de internationaalrechtelijke verplichtingen, die noodzakelijk zijn voor de totstandkoming van een                                  

 “FREE, FREE PALESTINE

NU !!"

En wel de totstandkoming, BINNEN EEN JAAR , van een aan de Israelische  landrovers geheel onttrokken bevrijd Palestina.

Maar de Westerse neo-koloniale kapitalistische landen, met daarbij Israël als voorpost van de Westerse macht, die hun heerschappij over het Midden-Oosten, kosten van het kost vanuit geopolitiek oogmerk en vanwege winstbejag met de fossiele brandstoffen ad infinitum in stand willen houden, doen het, net als ons land, voorkomen alsof ze het Palestijnse recht op zelfbeschikking erkennen, waaronder ‘het ‘recht op een onafhankelijke, democratische, aaneengesloten, soevereine en levensvatbare staat’, maar dat dit alles slechts verwezenlijkt kan worden middels ‘gesprekken’ met Israël.

En dat is wel het laatste waartoe Israël ooit ook maar een grein van bereidheid zou willen betonen!!.

En ook hier weer is het parool voor ieder met een grein verstand dus: sint-juttemis.

Na 57 jaar bezetting, en gezien de rampzalige situatie in de Palestijnse gebieden, is een dergelijke verklaring zowel onzinnig als vilein.

Het internationaal recht en internationaal humanitair recht is het hoogste recht dat de landen van de wereld kennen. Zonder het bestaan hiervan is de wereld overgeleverd aan totale barbarij. En zal het weer niets anders zijn dan het recht van de sterkste dat de toon zet. Zonder enig voorbehoud. Een uitkomst van de totale en genocidale vernietigingen die Israël in het Midden-Oosten aanricht, is niet te vinden buiten het rechtsstatelijk kader dat door internationale en internationale humanitaire recht wordt geboden.

Echt in het krijt treden voor de realisering van het recht op zelfbeschikking, en een daadwerkelijke inzet om daartoe jegens de Schurkenstaat Israël geëigende dwangmaatregelen te gaan nemen, zoals het invoeren van vergaande sancties, boycots op nationaal niveau en grootschalige verbrekingen van diplomatieke contacten jegens Israël - maatregelen waarmee het kapitalistische Westen Rusland te lijf is gegaan en welke dus eerder al bewezen zijn om zonder meer bestaansrecht te hebben op het internationaal rechtelijke niveau – daarover zwijgt de Westerse kapitalistische neo-koloniale wereld als het graf.
De westerse krachten en machten, die elke op waarachtige effectiviteit gerichte acties jegens Israël en de V.S. terzake van de uitspraken van het Internationaal Gerechtshof en van de Algemene Vergadering van de Verenigde Naties blokkeren, ondermijnen of zelfs alleen maar zo veel mogelijk ontlopen of doodzwijgen, moeten daarbij zo veel mogelijk gestigmatiseerd worden. Als de grafdelvers van het internationaal en internationaal humanitair recht. En als de openlijke verkondigers van een reveil voor totale barbarij. 

NATIONALE DEMONSTRATIE GAZA

In de Gazastrook heeft Israëls nietsontziende geweld een jaar lang ongehinderd kunnen voortduren. Intussen zijn ruim 41.000 Palestijnen gedood, onder wie ten minste 15.000 kinderen. Minstens tienduizend slachtoffers liggen nog onder het puin. Experts vrezen dat het dodental zal oplopen tot 200.000.

Sluit je aan!
We weten dat de regering zijn kop diep in het zand heeft als het om Israël gaat. Daarom roepen we alle Nederlanders op om onze eisen kracht bij te komen zetten. Alleen met een massale opkomst worden we gehoord!

De manifestatie wordt georganiseerd door PAX, Oxfam Novib, Amnesty International, Save the Children, SOMO, Terre des Hommes, Kifaia en The Rights Forum.

Wij roepen andere organisaties, vakbonden, (afdelingen van) politieke partijen en hun jongerenorganisaties nadrukkelijk op zich solidair te verklaren, en met hun achterban zichtbaar aanwezig te zijn op 13 oktober.

Zondag 13 oktober
14:00 – 15:00
De Dam, Amsterdam

592.

27 september 2024

This week, a ProPublica investigation exposed that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken knew Israel was intentionally blocking humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza—yet he chose to double down on sending weapons to Israel.

Israel escalated its genocidal campaign further into Lebanon, killing more than 750 Lebanese people since Sunday.  Hours ago, after Netanyahu addressed the U.N. General Assembly, Israel dropped 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Beirut, reducing six residential towers filled with civilians to rubble. Israel is using the same tired justifications—claims of "human shields" and "bomb threats"—while deliberately targeting families in their homes. This comes just days after orchestrating a cyberattack that left thousands in Lebanon wounded.

Israel is now on the path to a full-scale regional war, and the U.S. government is still funneling weapons to make it possible. Just yesterday it was reported that the Biden-Harris administration sent an additional $8.7 billion dollars to Israel after Netanyahu rejected a U.S.-France led ceasefire proposal.

The media may be shifting focus to the presidential election, but we cannot allow Gaza to fall off the radar—not when our tax dollars are funding the slaughter of children in Gaza, and now, in Lebanon.

There is no justification for mass murder or collective punishment.

With October 7th around the corner, Israel will likely use it as an excuse to ramp up its genocidal campaign—a campaign multiple international bodies have already labeled as such. Dropping 2,000-pound bombs on schools, hospitals, and homes does not "protect" anyone. It is sheer, unrelenting violence.

We must act now. We know for nearly a year you have been taking action to stop this genocide and yet it has continued.. But we owe it to the people in Gaza to keep going.

Hit the streets in protests popping up across the country and support a new bill that aims to end weapons shipments to Israel.

Now is the time to reactivate our power.

The U.S. must stop arming Israel and fueling this genocide. Hands off Gaza. Hands off Lebanon. Hands off the Middle East.

 

See you in the streets,

Sumaya Awad

591.

27 september 2024

Surrealistische taferelen in de Tweede Kamer gisteravond: de minister van Buitenlandse Handel en Ontwikkelingshulp is er niet van overtuigd dat Israël de mensenrechten schendt in Gaza en spreekt van ‘vermeende’ schendingen.

De Kamer debatteerde over de rechterlijke uitspraak in onze F35-zaak tegen de Staat. Ondertussen projecteerden wij samen met OxfamNovib en PAX deze boodschappen op de muur van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken:

Tijdens het debat liet minister Klever zich aan de werkelijkheid niets gelegen liggen.
Hoe kon Klever garanderen dat er geen door Nederland gemaakte onderdelen in Israël terecht kwamen? Klever kwam niet verder dan herhalen dat Nederland zich aan de uitspraak van de rechter houdt en er dus niet geleverd wordt. Omtrent een achterdeurroute bleef ze herhalen dat het ‘niet aannemelijk’ is dat onderdelen zo alsnog Israël bereiken. Dat ‘niet aannemelijk’ betekent dat de kans wel degelijk bestaat, zoals verschillende oppositiekamerleden de minister aan het verstand probeerden te peuteren. Dat Nederland dan alsnog medeplichtig is aan mensenrechtenschendingen weigerde de minister te erkennen.

En dat Nederland daarmee internationaalrechtelijke principes schendt, onder andere doordat het Internationaal Gerechtshof heeft opgeroepen te helpen voorkomen dat Israël genocide pleegt, kon op dezelfde mantra’s rekenen: ‘Er vinden geen leveringen plaats’, en ‘Indirecte leveringen zijn niet aannemelijk’.Klever wilde het laten klinken alsof ze de uitspraak van het Hof respecteert. Ondertussen sprak ze dus over ‘vermeende mensenrechtenschendingen’. Ze gaat er dus bovendien niet aan staan dát Israël de mensenrechten schendt in Gaza.

Pas als een rechter schendingen heeft vastgesteld is ze overtuigd, zo liet ze weten. Indrukwekkend, dat respect voor het gezag van de rechter.Maar ging dit kabinet nou net niet juist in cassatie bij de Hoge Raad omdat het vindt dat de rechter niet gaat over wapenleveranties?

VVD: ‘Solidariteit met Palestijnen is antisemitisme en steun voor Hamas’

Bij het begin van het parlementaire jaar openden VVD-Kamerleden Yesilgöz en Ellian op weerzinwekkende wijze de aanval op de Partij voor de Dieren. De reden: solidariteit met de Palestijnen.

Met de traktatie vestigde de PvdD de aandacht op de Israëlische onderdrukking van de Palestijnen en met name het buitensporige Israëlische geweld in Gaza, Oost-Jeruzalem en op de Westelijke Jordaanoever.

Dat was tegen het zere been van de VVD, de partij die er niet over piekert dat geweld en de talloze andere Israëlische misdaden (57 jaar illegale bezetting, kolonisering, apartheid, marteling – om een paar zaken te noemen) te veroordelen, maar nu direct met grof geschut in actie kwam tegen de PvdD. Kamerlid Ulysse Ellian loog in een tweet glashard dat de watermeloen symbool staat voor steun aan Hamas, dat Hamas ‘alle Joden wil vermoorden’, en dat de PvdD dat verzwijgt:

Lijkt onschuldig, totdat je weet dat dit een symbool is van steun voor Hamas. De terroristische organisatie die alle Joden wil vermoorden. Maar dat vertelt de Partij voor de Dieren er natuurlijk niet bij.

Ellians schaamteloze staaltje demonisering van de PvdD kreeg navolging van partijleidster Dilan Yesilgöz. In de Kamer herhaalde zij de beschuldiging van Ellian en koppelde die bovendien nadrukkelijk aan antisemitisme. ‘Dit is het niveau wat we hier hebben bereikt’, concludeerde ze.

Inderdaad, dit is het onthutsende niveau dat de VVD heeft bereikt. Ongegeneerd en volstrekt ongefundeerd beschuldigden Yesilgöz en Ellian hun collega-parlementariërs van de PvdD van antisemitisme en steun voor terrorisme, in de hoop zodoende hun solidariteit met de Palestijnse bevolking de kop in te drukken.

22 september: Israëlische valt kantoor Al Jazeera in Ramallah binnen en geeft bevel tot sluiting. Apparatuur wordt meegenomen en vernietigd.

Hoofdredacteuren: Israël moet journalisten toelaten tot Gaza

Het Nederlands Genootschap van Hoofdredacteuren eist ongelimiteerde toegang voor de internationale media tot de Gazastrook. Zeker in tijden van oorlog is ‘onpartijdige, accurate en volledige verslaggeving cruciaal’.

Eerder deze maand schreef een grote groep Duitse landelijke media een vergelijkbare brief, aldus NRC in zijn Midden-Oostenblog. Daaronder prominente media als de ARD, ZDF, Die Zeit en de Süddeutsche Zeitung. In de brief wordt de uitsluiting van de media door Israël veroordeeld als ‘ongekend in de moderne geschiedenis’. Tot dusver hebben de Duitsers geen reactie ontvangen.

Israël kent geen vrije pers

Censuur bestaat in Israël al jaren. In tegenstelling tot wat vaak wordt beweerd kent het land geen vrije pers. Alle media, uitgevers, schrijvers en columnisten vallen er onder militaire censuur.

Publicaties die raken aan thema’s als ‘veiligheid’ of ‘buitenlandse betrekkingen’ moeten worden voorgelegd aan de militaire censor. In 2021 werden 129 publicaties verboden, terwijl er 1313 werden aangepast. Dat betekent een gemiddelde van vier publicaties per dag die het publiek niet, of verhaspeld, bereiken.

In de World Press Freedom Index 2024 van Reporters Without Borders zakte Israël van plaats 97 naar 101. Ter vergelijking: Nederland staat op 4.

UIT DE AGENDA

zaterdag 28 september t/m vrijdag 4 oktober

Kom naar de bijzondere protestbijeenkomst
Vertolking van niet-gehoorde Palestijnse stemmen 
• Zondag 29.09 op De Dam in Amsterdam (14.45 uur)

Wakes
• Zaterdag 28.09 in Groningen, Waagplein (13.00 uur)
• Zaterdag 28.09 in Nijmegen, Koningsplein (14.00 uur)
• Zondag 29.09 in Amsterdam, Spui (17.00 uur)
• Vrijdag 04.10 in Amsterdam, Spui (12.45 uur)

Palestijnse realiteiten aan de orde gsteld
• Zondag 29.09 in Amsterdam, Tolhuistuin (tentoonstelling ‘Gaza is Alive’)
• Woensdag 02.10 in Amsterdam, Pakhuis De Zwijger (Palestina en 'climate justice’, 19.30 uur)

NATIONALE DEMONSTRATIE GAZA
Zondag 13 oktober
14:00 – 15:00
De Dam, Amsterdam

590.

27 september 2024

Movement and Access in the West Bank

Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli authorities have imposed additional restrictions on the movement of 3.3 million Palestinians across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the form of physical obstacles or restricted access regulations. A rapid survey conducted by OCHA in March 2024 found that 86 new movement obstacles were set up in the West Bank since October 2023. In addition, there were changes documented in relation to the status of about 100 pre-existing obstacles that entailed tighter restrictions, such as the closure of road gates that were previously usually open or through limiting opening hours of some checkpoints. Coupled with the 712-kilometre-long Barrier, which remains the single largest obstacle in the West Bank, movement obstacles control, restrict and disrupt the freedom of movement of Palestinians either permanently or intermittently, further entrenching territorial and social fragmentation, undermining livelihoods, hindering access to basic services, and contributing to worsening humanitarian conditions.

At present, there are 793 movement obstacles which are permanently or intermittently controlling, restricting and monitoring Palestinian movement in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the H2 area of Hebron. OCHA has documented these obstacles, which include 89 checkpoints staffed 24/7; 149 partial checkpoints that are not always staffed (46 of which have gates); 158 earthmounds; 196 road gates (122 of which are usually closed); 104 road blocks; and 97 linear closures each of which blocks one or more roads, such as road barriers, earthwalls and trenches. OCHA’s last closure survey in June 2023 documented 642 obstacles. Sixty-five new obstacles were subsequently documented before October 2023, bringing the total number of obstacles to 707. Between October 2023 and March 2024, OCHA documented 86 additional obstacles, of which 37 are in the central West Bank, 30 in the northern West Bank and 19 in the southern West Bank. This constitutes a 23 per cent increase over nine months (793 vs. 642). Sixty-five per cent of the new obstacles since October 2023 are earthmounds and partial checkpoints. Of the total number of obstacles, 26 per cent are in Hebron governorate, 18 per cent in Ramallah governorate, and 16 per cent in Nablus governorate.

At least 40 per cent (316 out of 793) of movement obstacles prevent direct access between Palestinian towns and villages and eight major roads that run through the West Bank, where there is an average of nearly one closure per kilometre. These obstacles funnel Palestinian traffic onto longer, secondary road networks, disrupting the movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and adversely affecting their access to emergency services. One of these key routes is Road 60, the major north- south traffic artery in the West Bank, where at least 129 movement obstacles are located along 180 kilometres within the road’s 300-metre buffer. Another key route is Road 505, the east- west route that connects the Jordan Valley with the northern West Bank, where 61 closures are located along 57 kilometres.

85 per cent of the Separation Barrier runs inside the West Bank, hindering access from/to East Jerusalem and the so- called “Seam Zone” areas located between the Barrier and the 1949 Armistice Line. Thirteen checkpoints along the Barrier continue to separate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, only three of which can be used by Palestinians who hold West Bank IDs and Israeli-issued permits, which are difficult to obtain. Most of these permits have been revoked or suspended since 7 October, including more than 800 permits that had been issued for nationally recruited humanitarian workers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between October 2023 and August 2024, 44 per cent of the 46,163 applications for medical care in East Jerusalem and Israeli health facilities, were either denied or remain pending. Access to agricultural land has also been impacted; 150 communities who own land isolated by the Barrier and to which access was previously regulated by Israeli forces through 69 agricultural gates have been generally barred from working their lands since October 2023, leading to significant income losses, especially from olive groves and other seasonal crops. In addition, about 1,500 Palestinians with West Bank IDs who live in 18 communities on the East Jerusalem side of the Barrier continue to face impediments in travelling between their homes and service centres; they are forbidden from reaching East Jerusalem and are forced to coordinate their access with Israeli forces to cross checkpoints to access basic health and education services as well as markets on the West Bank side of the Barrier.

One third of the land on the outskirts of 56 Israeli settlements is privately owned by Palestinian communities and require “prior coordination” with the Israeli military to facilitate owners’ access to their land at designated times twice a year. This negatively affects 105 Palestinian communities across seven governorates, including: 28 in Nablus, 20 in Qalqilya, 15 in Bethlehem, 12 in Hebron, 12 in Ramallah, 10 in Salfit and eight in Tulkarm. Much of this land has been declared by the Israeli authorities a “closed military zone” and may only be accessed by Palestinian farmers through special authorization by the Israeli authorities, which was previously granted for a limited number of days a year, including during the olive harvest and ploughing seasons. Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli authorities discontinued this coordination mechanism, rendering these areas inaccessible to Palestinians.

More than 1,400 access incidents were documented by OCHA between 7 October 2023 and 31 July 2024, which entailed access prevention or delays by the Israeli army mainly due to the temporary closure of checkpoints and road gates (over 300 incidents), the installation of mobile or “flying” checkpoints (380 incidents), or the staffing of partial checkpoints by Israeli forces (760 incidents). Checkpoints as a central component of the closure regime in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are also hotspots of confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians and where Palestinians are regularly detained. Since 7 October, at least 580 cases of detention were documented that occurred within the context of access incidents. Furthermore, access to emergency services, such as ambulances and fire brigades, has been impeded due to increased restrictions. According to WHO, the number of health-related access incidents that entail obstructions of access by ambulances, mobile clinics, and first aid responders has more than doubled in the period between October 2023 and July 2024 compared with the preceding nine months (387 vs. 138 incidents). Other types of attacks include detention of health workers and patients and militarized searches of ambulances, among others.

Under international law, the Israeli authorities have the obligation to facilitate the free movement of Palestinians within the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Exceptions to this obligation are recognized only for imperative reasons of security and only in response to specific security threats. The sections of the Barrier running inside the West Bank, together with the associated gate and permit regime, are unlawful under international law (see the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 9 July 2004).

The closures, along with heavy presence of Israeli forces and armed settlers on roads, have resulted in significant movement restrictions for Palestinians, hindering their ability to access markets, workplaces, emergency services, as well as health and educational facilities. In most cases, these movement restrictions do not typically apply to Israeli settlers. The UN Human Rights Office has noted that movement restrictions appear both arbitrary and discriminatory against Palestinians, raising concerns of collective punishment (see the UN Human Rights Office’s Flash report on the human rights situation in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, 7 October - 20 November 2023).

Nablus governorate which has a population of 439,000 people (PCBS 2024 population projections) has about 128 movement obstacles, including inter alia 32 occasionally staffed checkpoints and nine constantly staffed checkpoints around Nablus city, the primary service centre for health care, education and employment for about 1.3 million people living in six governorates in the northern West Bank. Two checkpoints (Huwwara-Awarta junction and Samaritan community) are closed to Palestinians but are used by Israeli settlers and forces, while frequent vehicular searches, ID checks and temporary closures at the other seven checkpoints often result in significant delays or force people to take long detours. Among the affected are thousands of patients seeking reliable access to the two main hospitals in Nablus city, An Najah and Rafidia, and approximately 110,000 school students and 6,000 teachers who need to reach their educational institutions, according to the Ministry of Education. Economic activity was similarly affected; according to the Nablus Chamber of Commerce, the tourism and hotel sectors have shut down and have only recently resumed operations at a small fraction of their capacity, trade transactions have shrunk by at least 60 per cent, and about 20 per cent of goods transported into and out of the city are damaged due to long waiting hours at checkpoints.

Nearly a third of checkpoints (28 out of 89) and roughly 10 per cent of physical obstacles (80 out of 793) in the West Bank are located in the H2 area of Hebron City, which comprises about 20 per cent of Hebron city and where Israel exercises direct control. The part of H2 subject to strict movement regulations is currently home to about 7,000 Palestinians and several hundred Israeli settlers. Between 7 and 22 October 2023, the area was placed under full closure, applicable only for the Palestinian residents, after which a new system of entry and exit was introduced that continued to bar non-registered Palestinian residents from accessing the area, except on Fridays during the month of Ramdan, and where the movement of Palestinian residents was generally permitted only between 7:00 and 19:00. Three Palestinian schools in the area serving at least 350 students remained closed for nearly seven months, until 1 May 2024 when Israeli authorities allowed Palestinian teachers and students to gain access to the area. The only primary healthcare clinic was similarly closed for about seven months before it resumed partial operations. This has gravely affected the ability of residents to seek medical care, particularly people suffering from chronic illnesses and about 50 persons with disability who depend on the clinic for free services and medications. Strict access regulations have also jeopardized access to emergency care as emergency health services and ambulances need to coordinate with Israeli forces to access the area.

In Tulkarm governorate, Deir al Ghusoun, Attil and Zeita towns (pop. 26,000, PCBS 2024 population projections) – known as “Deir al Ghusun cluster” – are among the towns and villages that were denied access to their agricultural land located behind the Barrier for the past 10 months. Prior to October 2023, the families had daily access via agricultural gates to their lands in the so- called “Seam Zone”, between the Barrier and the Green Line, following coordination with the Israeli authorities. The 100 dunums (25 acres) of land owned by the three towns mainly comprise greenhouses and are planted with a variety of crops, including cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, zucchinis, eggplants, bell peppers, and chili peppers. The loss of access to these lands has resulted in significant income losses for the families, severely disrupted the fresh food supply on local markets, and undermined land productivity. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, the annual losses of the three villages in Deir al Ghussun cluster due to the lack of agricultural access are estimated at around US$1.4 million.

589A.

27 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #223
Gaza Strip

A damaged school used as a shelter for displaced families in central Gaza. Photo by UNRWA

Key Highlights

• So far in September, at least 11 schools sheltering internally displaced persons have been hit in Gaza, with nearly 100 fatalities reported.
• Displaced people continue to survive in abysmal conditions, crammed in worn-out tents and damaged structures, with limited food, water and other necessities, recent UN inter-agency assessments in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis find.
• As the winter approaches, flooding in or near displacement sites and medical points will increase the risk of disease spread and further shrink access to healthcare and sanitation, warn the Health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Clusters.
• Nearly 90 per cent of coordinated humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza so far in September have been either denied or impeded.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air and land continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, south of Gaza city, eastern Khan Younis and Rafah, as well as rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups in Khan Younis, also continue to be reported.
• On 23 September, the Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) released a statement on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), calling for an end to the atrocities in Gaza. They stated: “We cannot do our jobs in the face of overwhelming need and ongoing violence...More than 2 million Palestinians are without protection, food, water, sanitation, shelter, health care, education, electricity and fuel – the basic necessities to survive. Families have been forcibly displaced, time and time again, from one unsafe place to the next, with no way out. Women and girls’ dignity, safety, health and rights have been severely compromised. The risk of famine persists with all 2.1 million residents still in urgent need of food and livelihood assistance as humanitarian access remains restricted.” The Principals added: “The parties’ conduct over the last year makes a mockery of their claim to adhere to international humanitarian law and the minimum standards of humanity that it demands. Civilians must be protected and their essential needs must be met. There must be accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”
• Between the afternoons of 22 and 26 September, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 103 Palestinians were killed and 274 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 26 September 2024, at least 41,534 Palestinians were killed and 96,092 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. Casualty figures covering until the afternoon of 27 September are not available as of the time of reporting.
• On 25 September, the MoH announced that approximately 88 unidentified Palestinian bodies were sent by Israeli authorities in a truck, which it initially refused to receive, citing lack of coordination or information to help identify the bodies. On 26 September, the MoH announced that the bodies had been exhumed by Israeli forces from graves and that it formed a committee to receive and bury the bodies in a manner that preserves their dignity.
• On 26 September, the MoH in Gaza reported that Al Falujah School in Jabalya was hit, killing at least 11 people including women and children, and injuring at least 22 others. On 23 September, following three separate attacks on schools in Gaza, the UN Human Rights Office stated: “The Israeli military must stop attacking schools that provide the last shelter to Palestinians in Gaza as rains threaten to flood IDP [internally displaced people’s] tents... In September alone [as of 23 September], 10 schools have been hit, with 86 fatalities reported. We reiterate that all parties to the conflict have an obligation to respect and protect civilians...Considering the pattern of civilian harm and damage, the measures taken by the Israeli military in these cases do not appear to have been sufficient to prevent disproportionate harm and damage. The children of Gaza have already lost schools as a place of education. Now, they are being killed in schools as they seek shelter. This must end.”
• The following are other deadly incidents reported between 24 and 26 September:
  • On 24 September, at about 15:50, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Jabalya refugee camp, in North Gaza.
  • On 24 September, at about 16:45, 12 Palestinians, including at least three females, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in north An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 24 September, at about 19:10, a woman with disability and six other Palestinians were reportedly injured when a house was hit near Al Fardous school in Al Mawasi area west of Rafah. The woman reportedly later succumbed to her wounds.
  • On 24 September, at about 20:40, six Palestinian, including a mother and her children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Al Naser area in northeastern Rafah.

• • On 25 September, at about 19:05, five Palestinians, including a woman and her two girls, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Al-Naser area in northeastern Rafah.
  • On 25 September, five Palestinians, including a seven-month pregnant woman, an 18-year-old woman, and three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in block 7 in Al Bureij refugee camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 26 September, at about 3:15, five Palestinians, including a woman and her two children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit east of Khan Younis city.
• Between the afternoons of 23 and 27 September, no Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 27 September 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,546 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 346 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,297 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• The Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD) continues to report challenges to its ability to carry out rescue operations and save the lives of people trapped under rubble due to capacity constraints and lack of protection. On 25 September, the PCD centre in Al Daraj area in Gaza city was reportedly hit with a missile that did not explode, causing three injuries. The risk of collapse of partially damaged buildings where IDPs seek shelter is also a key concern. On 23 September, a six-storey building hosting at least 20 IDPs in Gaza city collapsed; PCD teams managed to rescue seven people and retrieve four bodies, but an estimated nine people remained under rubble as of 24 September due to shortages of heavy equipment, such as excavators and bulldozers. According to PCD, more than 10,000 people remain under rubble across Gaza.
• Recent needs assessments conducted by the UN and its humanitarian partners at two collective shelters in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis on 19 and 22 September shed new light on the abysmal living conditions facing IDPs, which the upcoming winter season will aggravate. At both sites, displaced communities are facing a critical lack of cleaning supplies, hygiene kits, sanitary pads, diapers as well as clothes and infant formula for babies. There is also a dire shortage of assistive devices for the elderly and people with disabilities. Below are other assessment findings specific to each site.

• • The first site, an UNRWA school-turned-shelter in Al Bureij refugee camp, in Deir al Balah, hosts approximately 3,600 displaced people. Households are crammed in 56 classrooms and 70 tents, with an average of 80-100 people sharing the same classroom and 40 people the same tent. As winter approaches, there is a critical need for new tents to replace worn-out ones, as well as tarpaulins and nylon material to cover windows and doors damaged during the Israeli military incursion in Al Bureij in December 2023. The medical point at the site lacks personnel and key medications, and the unavailability of ambulances and transportation hampers IDPs’ access to hospitals. The water desalination unit at the site is not functional, and water distributions by aid organizations only cover the needs of 60 per cent of camp residents. Food conditions are also extremely precarious, with most IDPs relying on hot meals distributed twice a week that consist primarily of rice and lack nutritional diversity. According to the assessment, most residents eat only one meal per day, with some going an entire day without eating. As the majority of IDPs sold their mobile phones to buy food, the radio represents the main source of information for the community.
  • The second assessed site is a makeshift camp in Abasan, in eastern Khan Younis, that hosts approximately 2,500 people, including nearly 1,000 school-aged children, 100 of whom are orphans. No educational activities are currently taking place at the camp and separated children face heightened protection risks. The site is in a flood-prone area, adjacent to a dumping site, and the population is suffering from respiratory diseases as a result. Medical facilities are absent and there is no food support at this site, except for occasional hot meals provided by a charity organization.
• The Health Cluster reports that strengthening Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) measures in health facilities is a key priority across Gaza. In August, the Health and WASH Clusters set up a joint Technical Working Group to address this urgent need and developed an IPC assessment tool to examine IPC practices at health facilities, the availability of IPC supplies and equipment, and ensure a rapid inter-Cluster response to communities in the event of new outbreaks of infectious diseases. A total of 14 primary and secondary healthcare facilities in northern and southern Gaza were subsequently assessed and four hospitals - Kamal Adwan and Al Ahli in northern Gaza and Al Aqsa and Nasser in Deir al Balah - were provided with IPC and WASH supplies. Cluster partners also trained 44 Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) staff members on basic IPC practices and deployed 35 IPC focal points to priority health facilities. Despite ongoing efforts, the severe lack of cleaning and hygiene supplies across Gaza continues to severely hamper the scale up of IPC and WASH interventions.
• WASH and Health Cluster partners are working to identify flood-prone areas, as well as assess and mitigate the potential impact of flooding on public health in Gaza. In a joint assessment published on 25 September, the two Clusters warned that, based on flood risk assessments prior to the escalation of hostilities, many IDP sites are assessed to be located in or near flooding hotspots and, given the severe level of destruction over the past 11 months, additional locations are vulnerable to flooding at present. Alongside a heightened risk of drowning and injuries associated with rapid floods, access to basic healthcare services in the Gaza Strip might be further compromised as 47 per cent of health service points are at risk of being flooding hotspots and could sustain damages or become otherwise inaccessible to the population. Floods also increase the risk of water- and vector-borne diseases, as sewage can more easily contaminate water supplies and stagnant water pools will be breeding sites for mosquitos and other insects. Moreover, flooding might damage what remains of the sanitation infrastructure in Gaza and further disrupt waste management systems, including the management of medical waste, exacerbating the risk of disease transmission.
• Humanitarian aid movements in Gaza continue to face significant access constraints. Movements, particularly between northern and southern Gaza via Israeli military checkpoints, are frequently impeded, often leading to incomplete or aborted missions. Impediments include inconsistent procedures, prolonged waiting times at holding points, and insecurity. Between 1 and 26 September, out of 588 planned humanitarian movements coordinated with the Israeli authorities across Gaza, 79 involved movements between northern and southern Gaza, of which 87 per cent (69 movements) were either impeded or denied. These restrictions on aid delivery, particularly in relation to humanitarian access to and from northern Gaza, deprive hundreds of thousands of people of critical relief supplies and services.

589.

27 september 2024

Surrealistische taferelen in de Tweede Kamer gisteravond: de minister van Buitenlandse Handel en Ontwikkelingshulp is er niet van overtuigd dat Israël de mensenrechten schendt in Gaza en spreekt van ‘vermeende’ schendingen.

De Kamer debatteerde over de rechterlijke uitspraak in onze F35-zaak tegen de Staat. Ondertussen projecteerden wij samen met OxfamNovib en PAX deze boodschappen op de muur van het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken:

Tijdens het debat liet minister Klever zich aan de werkelijkheid niets gelegen liggen.

Hoe kon Klever garanderen dat er geen door Nederland gemaakte onderdelen in Israël terecht kwamen? Klever kwam niet verder dan herhalen dat Nederland zich aan de uitspraak van de rechter houdt en er dus niet geleverd wordt.

Over de achterdeurroute bleef ze herhalen dat het ‘niet aannemelijk’ is dat onderdelen zo alsnog Israël bereiken. Dat ‘niet aannemelijk’ betekent dat de kans wel degelijk bestaat, zoals verschillende oppositiekamerleden de minister aan het verstand probeerden te peuteren. Dat Nederland dan alsnog medeplichtig is aan mensenrechtenschendingen weigerde de minister te erkennen.

En dat Nederland daarmee internationaalrechtelijke principes schendt, onder andere doordat het Internationaal Gerechtshof heeft opgeroepen te helpen voorkomen dat Israël genocide pleegt, kon op dezelfde mantra’s rekenen: ‘Er vinden geen leveringen plaats’, en ‘Indirecte leveringen zijn niet aannemelijk’.

Klever wilde het laten klinken alsof ze de uitspraak van het Hof respecteert. Ondertussen sprak ze over ‘vermeende mensenrechtenschendingen’. Ze is er dus niet eens van overtuigd dát Israël de mensenrechten schendt in Gaza.

Pas als een rechter schendingen heeft vastgesteld is ze overtuigd, zo liet ze weten. Indrukwekkend, dat respect voor het gezag van de rechter.

Maar ging dit kabinet niet juist in cassatie bij de Hoge Raad omdat het vindt dat de rechter niet gaat over wapenleveranties?

VVD: ‘Solidariteit met Palestijnen is antisemitisme en steun voor Hamas’

Bij het begin van het parlementaire jaar openden VVD-Kamerleden Yesilgöz en Ellian op weerzinwekkende wijze de aanval op de Partij voor de Dieren. De reden: solidariteit met de Palestijnen.

Dat was tegen het zere been van de VVD, de partij die er niet over piekert dat geweld en de talloze andere Israëlische misdaden (57 jaar illegale bezetting, kolonisering, apartheid, marteling – om een paar zaken te noemen) te veroordelen, maar nu direct met grof geschut in actie kwam tegen de PvdD. Kamerlid Ulysse Ellian loog in een tweet glashard dat de watermeloen symbool staat voor steun aan Hamas, dat Hamas ‘alle Joden wil vermoorden’, en dat de PvdD dat verzwijgt. Deze Ellian verkondigt hier dan vervolgens: 

“Dit symbool Lijkt onschuldig, totdat je weet dat dit een symbool is van steun voor Hamas. De terroristische organisatie die alle Joden wil vermoorden. Maar dat vertelt de Partij voor de Dieren er natuurlijk niet bij.”

Ellians schaamteloze staaltje demonisering van de PvdD kreeg navolging van partijleidster Dilan Yesilgöz. In de Kamer herhaalde zij de beschuldiging van Ellian en koppelde die bovendien nadrukkelijk aan antisemitisme. ‘Dit is het niveau wat we hier hebben bereikt’, concludeerde ze.

Inderdaad, dit is het onthutsende niveau dat de VVD heeft bereikt. Ongegeneerd en volstrekt ongefundeerd beschuldigden Yesilgöz en Ellian hun collega-parlementariërs van de PvdD van antisemitisme en steun voor terrorisme, in de hoop zodoende hun solidariteit met de Palestijnse bevolking de kop in te drukken.

Lees verder >

UIT ONZE AGENDA

zaterdag 28 september t/m vrijdag 4 oktober
Kom naar de bijzondere protestbijeenkomst
BN’ers vertolken niet-gehoorde Palestijnse stemmen 
• Zondag 29.09 op De Dam in Amsterdam (14.45 uur)

Neem deel aan wakes
• Zaterdag 28.09 in Groningen, Waagplein (13.00 uur)
• Zaterdag 28.09 in Nijmegen, Koningsplein (14.00 uur)
• Zondag 29.09 in Amsterdam, Spui (17.00 uur)
• Vrijdag 04.10 in Amsterdam, Spui (12.45 uur)

Verdiep je in de Palestijnse realiteit
• Zondag 29.09 in Amsterdam, Tolhuistuin (tentoonstelling ‘Gaza is Alive’)
• Woensdag 02.10 in Amsterdam, Pakhuis De Zwijger (Palestina en 'climate justice’, 19.30 uur)

Bekijk hier de hele agenda >

NATIONALE DEMONSTRATIE GAZA
Zondag 13 oktober
14:00 – 15:00
De Dam, Amsterdam

588B.

26 september 2024

De Israëlische propagandaorganisatie Standing Together doet zich voor als voorafschaduwing van het nieuwe Israel in zijn samenwerking tussen Joden en Palestijnen. Ze doen een rondje langs universiteiten en gemeenten. Maar ondertussen zwijgen ze over apartheid en genocide. De BDS-beweging roept op "Niet samenwerken!"

Academici roepen het bestuur van het Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds (ABP) op te desinvesteren uit in elk geval Booking.com en Caterpillar vanwege hun diepe betrokkenheid bij de apartheid en de genocide in Gaza.

De rijksoverheid is doodsbenauwd dat ze het pleit verliezen als ze niet repressief te werk gaat tegen de studentenkampementen. Dat blijkt uit opgevraagde documenten. Lees hier hoe NCTV en OCW hallucineren.

En de alom bekende Bisan Owda heeft een Emmy gewonnen voor haar werk! Ook wij feliciteren haar natuurlijk.

Een strijdbare groet van het docP team; blijf BDS-en!

 Standing Together is geen bondgenoot!

Onder andere vandaag vonden er gesprekken plaats van overheidsorganen met de Israëlische organisatie Standing Together. Nu was het op initiatief van debatcentrum, De Balie in de commissie Buitenlandse Zaken in de Tweede Kamer en ook de gemeente Amsterdam wordt gepusht. PACBI, een van de oprichtende organisaties van de BDS-beweging wijst samenwerking sterk af, want Standing Together is niets anders dan louter zionistische propaganda van de Israëlische schurkenstaat.

Deze genocidale Israelische maniakken bespelen alle toonaarden tegelijk. Van een on-voor-stel-ba-re vernietiging van alle leven dat hen niet aan staat. Tot het zoete broodjes bakken om sukkelachtigen totaal te misleiden. Dus pas op! Grotere goorlappen, van categorie Djengis Kahn, bestaan niet!

Academici eisen desinvestering van ABP

Overheid criminaliseert studentenprotesten tegen genocide

Bisan Owda wint Emmy Award

Bisan Owda, een heldin in Gaza, won een Emmy Award. Bisan Owda is de Palestijnse vrouw die te midden van de genocidale en vooral ook laffe aanvallen van Israël het lijden van haar volk aan de wereld liet zien en laat zien. Tegen alle ellende en tegenslagen in en met groot gevaar voor eigen leven.

Nationale demo op 5 oktober

Op 7 oktober is het een jaar geleden dat Israel met moorddadige overmacht terugsloeg op de gevangenisuitbraak vanuit Gaza. Dat mondde uit in de genocide die nu al bijna een jaar duurt. Westerse overheden steunen Israel daar hard in. Dat daardoor tienduizenden mensen omkomen, baby's gruwelijk vermoord worden, boeit hen niet. Daarom is er ter herdenking en als protest een grote demonstratie gepland op 5 oktober om 14 uur op de Dam in Amsterdam.

588A.

25 september 2024

AJP Action Hosts Press Conference, Advocacy Day in DC Calling for Justice in Palestine and Lebanon

Yesterday, over 500 Palestine advocates from over 30 states, from coast to coast, were in the halls of Congress as part of our 10th Annual Palestine Advocacy Days. AJP Action hosted a press conference in front of the Supreme Court to share our collective demands with the press and we ask you to join us in calling on Congress to do what’s right before the close of session this Friday.

Our urgent demands surround ongoing policy proposals, including:

• Ending and conditioning U.S. aid to Israel — and getting members of Congress to urgently support Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Joint Resolution to stop $20 billion in weapons transfers to Israel right now.
• Restoring vital humanitarian aid to UNRWA, asking members to endorse the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act.
• Opposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court which has called for the arrest of Israeli leaders guilty of war crimes. 
• And now, calling for an unequivocal condemnation of Israel’s indiscriminate attacks in Lebanon which have killed over 600 people and injured thousands more within just a few days.

We will never stop fighting for Palestinian rights, and we call on you to do your part and support hundreds of advocates in demanding Members of Congress to stop the genocide in Gaza, colonial expansion of the West unauthorized war in Lebanon fueled by U.S. weapons. Call on Congress to provide life-saving aid and demand justice be upheld for Aysenur Eygi and in the ICC.

“The United States continues to promise the Palestinians and Arabs the possibility of achieving peace with Israel without changing Israel's aggressive nature and forcing it to abide by international conventions and declarations,” said Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid, Executive Director of AJP-Action at yesterday’s press conference. “Enough is enough. It’s about time that this Congress serve the American people and end the Israeli genocide.”

In solidarity — along with hundreds of us advocating in Congress,

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

588.

25 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #222
West Bank

Sima Abu Ismail, a farmer from Tulkarm, holding tomatoes from her destroyed greenhouse, the sole source of livelihood of her family, a day after it was demolished by Israeli authorities. “I relied on this income to pay for my sons‘ studies,” she told us. Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

• Between 17 and 23 September, Israeli forces in the West Bank killed 11 Palestinians: six in an exchange of fire, one in an airstrike, and four (including two children) in other circumstances.
• Since June 2023, the number of movement obstacles, deployed by Israeli forces across the West Bank, increased by 23 per cent, further fragmenting the area and disrupting access to essential services.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) reports over 500 attacks on health care in the West Bank between 7 October 2023 and 31 July 2024, including obstruction of access, use of force, detention, and militarized search.

Latest Developments (after 23 September)

• On 24 September, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during clashes that erupted during an operation in Al Fawwar camp, in the Hebron Governorate. Another Palestinian was injured by live ammunition.

Humanitarian Developments (17–23 September)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians, including two children. Israeli forces and settlers injured an additional 90 Palestinians, including 22 children.
• Seven out of the eleven fatalities were documented on 19 September, when Israeli forces, including undercover personnel, conducted a nine-hour operation in Qabatiya, in Jenin Governorate. The forces encircled a residential building where they and Palestinians exchanged fire. After evacuating families from the building, Israeli forces bulldozed parts of it and fired off-shoulder explosive projectiles; rendering it uninhabitable. Five families comprising 20 people were displaced as a result of this destruction. Additionally, Israeli forces bulldozed a section of road, about 400 metres long on the western side of the town. Five of the seven fatalities were shot in the encircled building during the exchange of fire, one was shot nearby, and one was killed in an airstrike while in his car. Nine Palestinians were wounded by live ammunition and two from teargas inhalation. Israeli forces were documented pushing four Palestinian casualties off the rooftop of the building and, according to human rights organizations, this happened four hours after the exchange of fire had ended. The bodies were withheld. The UN Human Rights Office condemned “the desecration of the bodies of Palestinians by Israeli security forces.” and stated that the “Unnecessary or disrespectful treatment of human remains is not consistent with the protection of the basic human dignity of the dead and could amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of the deceased men’s families.”
• 17 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man as he was attempting to cross the Barrier, north of Tulkarm city. He was evacuated to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
• Two of the eleven fatalities, both children, were killed in two separate locations on 18 September: a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed while Israeli forces operated in Shu’fat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, with the latter alleging that he was shooting fireworks at them; and a 17-year-old boy was killed as he approached Ni’lin checkpoint (Ramallah). The details of why he was shot are still unknown.
• On 18 September, Israeli forces physically assaulted and injured 12 Palestinians, including seven women, while searching 150 homes in Al Fawwar refugee camp (Hebron). During the operation, they instituted a curfew, ordering 13,000 people to stay home. Twenty-eight Palestinians were arrested, at least 40 houses had furniture and other belongings damaged, and 36 households reported damages to their water tanks.
• On 20 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in Qalandiya refugee camp, Jerusalem. According to local sources and video footage, Israeli forces, stationed at the entrance of the camp, opened fire at a group of Palestinians gathered at a local coffee shop. No clashes had been reported at the time of the incident.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 23 September 2024, 693 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in addition to two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October. These include 676 killed by Israeli forces, 12 by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. During the same period, 23 Israelis, including 17 members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In Israel, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of ten Israelis and seven Palestinian perpetrators. Please note that fatality figures covering the period through the first half of September were rectified and are marked with asterisks in Humanitarian Situation Updates #216 and #219.

Settler-related Violence and Palestinian Displacement

• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 25 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in four injuries, two of them children, and damage to property. Palestinians perpetrated one attack against settlers in this period, with no injury or damage to property reported. Between 7 October 2023 and 23 September 2024, OCHA recorded about 1,390 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which about 135 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, about 1,110 led to damage to Palestinian property, and about 150 led to both casualties and property damage. Since 7 October 2023, 277 Palestinians households comprising 1,628 people, including 794 children, have been displaced in the context of incidents related to Israeli settlers.
• The following are key incidents documented during the reporting period:
  • On 18 September, Israeli settlers assaulted and injured a Palestinian shepherd with sharpened sticks while he was watching his sheep near his house in Khallet Athaba’, in the Israeli-designated “Firing-Zone 918” in Masafer Yatta (Hebron).
  • On 18 September, Israeli settlers set fire to hundreds of olive trees near Al Mughayyir village (Ramallah). Video footage documented settlers from a nearby outpost setting fire to the groves. The fire was extinguished by Israeli forces. Palestinian farmers in this area have been unable to access the affected land since 7 October 2023 and they have been unable to assess the full extent of the damage.
  • On 20 September, a one-year-old infant required medical treatment after being pepper-sprayed by settlers while travelling with his family on Road 465 (Ramallah). The assailants were reportedly throwing stones at Palestinian cars on that road, and managed to surround one vehicle and pepper spray the travelers through the window. Another vehicle was damaged by the stone-throwing.

Demolitions and Displacements

• During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 29 Palestinian-owned structures citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. Two structures were demolished by their owners in East Jerusalem, one was destroyed during an operation carried out by Israeli forces in Area A, six were demolished in Area B, and 20 were demolished in Area C. As a result, 37 people, including 14 children, were displaced.
  • In one of those incidents, on 23 September, Israeli authorities demolished a three-storey residential building in the Bedouin community of Al Jiftlik-Garb al Muthallath, leading to the displacement of two families comprising eight people, including three children.
  • On 23 September, the Israeli authorities demolished an inhabited house, an under-construction house, a water cistern for domestic use, an agricultural room, an agricultural water cistern and a retaining wall in Idhna community in Area C (Hebron). All structures were demolished for lacking an Israeli-issued permit. As a result, one family comprising five people, including three children, were displaced.
  • Between 7 October 2023 and 23 September 2024, Israeli authorities demolished, destroyed, confiscated, or forced the demolition of 1,725 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, displacing more than 4,450 Palestinians, including about 1,875 children. This is more than twice the number of people displaced in the same period before 7 October, where about 1,375 Palestinians were displaced, including 642 children. The demolitions after 7 October include over 770 inhabited structures, more than 365 agricultural structures, more than 120 water, sanitation and hygiene structures, and 250 livelihood structures.

Attacks on Health Care

• On 18 September, hundreds of Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, entered Joseph’s Tomb, in Nablus city. Palestinians threw stones at the forces, who fired live ammunition at the Palestinians. During these clashes, Israeli forces obstructed an ambulance that was transporting an infant to hospital, physically and verbally assaulting the paramedics. According to the WHO, from 7 October 2023 to 30 July 2024, 527 attacks were reported on health care in the West Bank, affecting 54 health facilities, including 20 mobile clinics, in addition to 365 ambulances. At least 236 of the incidents involved the use of force, at least 329 of them involved the obstruction of access, at least 86 involved militarized searches, and at least 74 involved detentions. The incidents concentrated in Tulkarm (116), Nablus (104), Jenin (94), and Bethlehem (52). Such incidents hinder access to critical health care and jeopardize the safety of medical personnel and patients.

Access Restrictions

• Since 7 October 2023, the West Bank has experienced an escalation in movement restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities, marked by the deployment or maintenance of hundreds of movement obstacles and a general closure that affects Palestinian permit-holders and bars them from accessing East Jerusalem and Israel. Over 40 per cent of movement obstacles block direct access to major roads, severely disrupting movement for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, particularly along key routes like Road 60 and Road 505. Physical obstacles and permit requirements have impeded Palestinian access to essential services, including health care, with 44 per cent of medical permit applications to access East Jerusalem denied or pending. As of March 2024, there were 793 obstacles, including 89 permanently staffed checkpoints, 196 road gates (122 of which are usually closed), and 97 other closures, such as trenches and road barriers. This represents a 23 per cent increase in movement obstacles documented by OCHA when compared to June 2023. The cumulative impact of movement obstacles has been devastating, further entrenching the fragmentation of the West Bank and worsening humanitarian conditions. The full details of these findings are available in OCHA’s August 2024 Movement and Access Factsheet

587.

25 september 2024

The deadliest day in Lebanon in decades.

Stop the bombs.

Power Half Hours for Gaza.

What we're reading.

What we're watching.

586.

25 september 2024

Israel Kills More Than 600 Lebanese, Demand President Biden Work To Halt Israel’s Illegal Invasion and Bombing of Lebanon!

Israel is launching an all-out war and assault on Lebanon, and its military leaders have announced their intentions to annex and occupy the south of the country illegally. In the three days since Israel began its full-scale assault, the death toll has exceeded 600, including at least 50 children and 94 women, according to the Lebanese Health Minister. The assault comes just days after Israel committed an act of terrorism by infiltrating the commercial supply chain and implanting explosives into pagers and walkie-talkies used across Lebanon—killing at least 37 and injuring, blinding, castrating, and maiming at least 3,000 more. Lebanon is under threat, and President Biden, the man arming the aggressive entity, is the only individual with the power to stop it.

After nearly a year of committing genocide in Gaza, Israel has shifted its focus to Lebanon, announcing plans to annex parts of the country and destroy its infrastructure, leaving basic necessities for life in ruin. This week alone, Israel has launched over 650 airstrikes on 1,600 targets in Lebanon, creating one of the most intense bombing campaigns in contemporary warfare—surpassing even the bombardment of Gaza during the early days of Israel's genocidal campaign last year. The death toll is among the highest in recent global conflicts and is expected to rise, with many believed to be trapped under rubble as Israel prepares for a ground invasion. The current death rate in Lebanon is more than double the daily average during the deadliest year of Syria's internal war.

Yet, this genocidal and illegal campaign against the Lebanese is only possible with the assistance, funding, and weapons of the United States. Under U.S. law, the president has the power to immediately end sending all weapons to Israel, taking away their capabilities to recklessly bomb and invade Lebanon. This comes off the heels of a bombshell report that two professional agencies determined that Israel was intentionally blocking aid from reaching the Palestinians in Gaza, which would have required the government to stop sending weapons to Israel under U.S. law. However, President Biden and Secretary Antony Blinken suppressed the reports in contradiction to U.S. law so that they could continue to keep sending weapons!

We must ensure that no more lives are unjustly taken.   

Take Action here

In solidarity,

Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid

Executive Director

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) is a nonprofit organization advocating for legislation supporting the human rights of the Palestinian people and endorsing candidates for office who support those rights.

 Americans for Justice in Palestine Action
6404 Seven Corners Place, Ste NFalls Church, Virginia 22044

Question?Email us at info@ajpaction.org

or call (703) 534-1904

585.

25 september 2024

But the sick circumstance of how, where and why Fatima was killed requires remembering. It requires remembering because her sudden, disfiguring death stands a searing antidote to the almost giddy celebration of the “ingenious” ways Israel devises to assassinate its adversaries.

Fatima and an 11-year-old boy, Bilal Kanj, were killed during the first wave of Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah fighters involving pagers housing explosives that detonated simultaneously at 3:3opm on September 17 throughout Lebanon and Syria.

Fatima had just arrived home from the first day of the new school year. She was in fourth grade. Her aunt remembered how eager Fatima was to learn English. “Fatima was trying to take courses in English”, she said. “She loved English”.

Fatima was in the kitchen when a pager, resting on a table, began beeping. She picked up the device, intending to deliver it to her father. En route, it exploded.

Fatima´s small, cherubic face turned instantly into a mangled mess. The room was now awash in the schoolgirl’s blood – an awful testament to the improvised bomb´s lethal force.

At her funeral held in Lebanon´s Bekka Valley, grieving classmates carried a large picture of Fatima aloft. Her mother, walking alongside a tiny  flower-draped coffin, wept. Mourners paused in the town square before heading to a nearby cemetery. There, they prayed while a religious elder appealed to God “for justice”.

Fatima´s death was of little, if any, consequence to the host of Western journalists and so-called “security experts” who “marveled of the complexity” of Israel´s covert “plot” to infiltrate Hezbollah on such a “colossal” scale

This is, of course, a family story. Children – whether they are orphaned, traumatized, dismembered or slain in Gaza, the occupied West Bank or Lebanon – are considered disposable fodder as Israel continues to vent, unchecked, its “killing rage”

Fatima and the thousands of children in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon who have already been killed and will be killed have been reduced to an inconvenient asterisk the myopic minds of Israel´s legion of cheerleaders abroad.

Among them is Arthur Wilcynski, a former Canadian ambassador and senior security official, who promptly took to X to describe Israel´s ruthless gambit that claimed the budding lives of Fatima Abdallah and Bilal Kanj as “brilliant”: “Today´s targeting of Hebollah operatives was brilliant. It struck a major blow against a terror group that has fired thousands of rockets against civilians all while the useless UN  Mission in Lebanon stands by”, Wilcynski wrote.

That the deaths of Fatima and Bilal were shocking measures of the “price” that Lebanese civilians had to “pay” did not deter Wilcynski from further mockery with respect to this issue on social media. Whether Wilcynski is prepared to admit it or not, the shadowy architects of Israel´s “complex” and “sophisticated” “operation” are guilty of killing Fatima and Bilal.  They bear responsibility. They are to blame. The killings should haunt their consciences since they will never be held to account.

Instead, they may win medals and promotions. They will be praised by people like Wilcynski and callous company for their “service” and “inventiveness”.

Meanwhile, Fatima and Bilal have been buried. They will never graduate. They will never marry. They will never have families of their own to love.

584.

25 september 2024

Israel’s genocide machine couldn’t run without power from Chevron. As one the largest players in Israel’s fossil gas industry, Chevron supplies Israel with energy and millions of dollars in tax revenue, helping to fuel Israel’s apartheid system and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Right now, around the world, activists are organizing events online and in person at Chevron gas stations, refineries and recruitment events as part of a coordinated Week of Action, Sept 23-27. The Week of Action is a response to the global campaign launched by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to boycott Chevron gas stations and products until the corporation ends its contracts with Israel.

­

Chevron has gotten away with atrocities around the world in places like Ecuador, Myanmar and California for far too long. Boycott and divestment campaigns are powerful because they communicate in the only language corporations understand: money.  

In the 1970’s and 80’s, boycott efforts – including boycotts of gas stations – were critical in ending apartheid in South Africa. More recently, mobilizations and pressure by climate justice movements have seen over $40 trillion (with a T!) dollars withdrawn from the fossil fuel industry.

583.

24 september 2024

Like our ancestors before us, we are committed to struggling for a world where all people live in freedom, dignity, and safety.

During the Days of Awe, beginning with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and ending with Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, we turn to the values of selichot (forgiveness), and teshuvah (return, repentance, and reparation). 

We repent for the genocide being carried in Gaza, one in which our communities are complicit, and we commit to repairing what has been destroyed in our names.

We return and recommit to our spiritual and political calling to dismantle Zionism — the ideology fueling Palestinians’ slaughter and dispossession — and to rebuild something life-sustaining and beautiful in its place.

We renew our resolve to stop Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and end all U.S. support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.  

May this New Year bring freedom and safety for Palestinians and all people.

L’shana Tova

582.

Uit: Care

24 september 2024

Gisteren was de dodelijkste dag in Libanon in jaren. Ruim 500 doden, vele gewonden en op dit moment verlaten tienduizenden gezinnen halsoverkop hun huis op de vlucht voor deze geweldsexplosie. Wij zijn nu ter plekke en schalen onze hulp direct op voor vrouwen, mannen en kinderen in Libanon.

CARE is sinds 2006 actief in Libanon. We kennen de behoeften in het land en kunnen daarom direct in actie komen om noodhulp te verlenen in de vorm van voedsel, drinkwater en dekens.

"Mensen leven al wekenlang in angst. Burgers betalen de hoogste prijs, en vrouwen en meisjes worden onevenredig zwaar getroffen. De bevolking van Libanon heeft dringend hulp nodig om deze nieuwe crisis het hoofd te bieden." Michael Adams, landendirecteur van CARE Libanon
 
Juist nu, in een tijd waarin rampsituaties elkaar razendsnel opvolgen, is hulp van cruciaal belang.

Met vriendelijke groet,

CARE Nederland

581.

23 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #221
Gaza Strip

A Palestinian child riding his bicycle in Gaza city on 17 September 2024. Photo by OHCHR/Olga Cherevko.

Key Highlights

• The health crisis in Gaza deepens as only 17 out of 36 hospitals remain functional – all partially – and just 57 out of 132 primary health-care facilities are functional, all amid crippling shortages of fuel, medicine, and essential supplies.
• In August, 46 per cent of coordinated humanitarian movements in Gaza were denied or impeded; making it the most challenging month for humanitarian access since January 2024.
• Humanitarian efforts to establish 215 temporary learning Sites for more than 30,000 children are underway as schools continue to be attacked.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air and land continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun, southwest Gaza city, eastern Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and east and south Rafah, with heavy fighting, also continue to be reported.
• Between the afternoons of 18 and 22 September, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 158 Palestinians were killed and 267 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 22 September 2024, at least 41,431 Palestinians were killed and 95,818 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are some of the deadly incidents reported between 19 and 20 September:
  • On 19 September, seven Palestinians, including two women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in the vicinity of At Tawba Mosque in Ad Daraj area, Gaza city.
  • On 20 September, six Palestinians, including four women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in the vicinity of Municipality of Gaza Park in Gaza city.
  • On 20 September, eight Palestinians, including two boys, one girl, and two women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a chalet was hit in western An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 20 September, six Palestinians, including at least one woman, were reportedly killed and others injured when an apartment was hit in Batn Al Samin area, south of Khan Younis.
  • On 20 September, 13 Palestinians, including three women and three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in north Rafah.
• Between the afternoons of 20 and 23 September, no Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 23 September 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,546 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 346 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,287 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that only 17 out of 36 hospitals remain functional across Gaza – all of them partially –, with a cumulative capacity of 1,501 in-patient, maternity and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds. Ten field hospitals are also presently operational in the Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates, six fully and four only partially, providing an additional in-patient capacity of over 600 beds. On 18 September, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced the opening of a new field hospital in Deir al Balah but added that at present the facility is only providing outpatient consultations as the “expansion of other services depends on Israeli authorities, who have delayed supplies entering Gaza”. Meanwhile, out of 132 primary health-care facilities, only 57 are currently functional in the Strip, including 10 out of 27 UNRWA health-care centres. Alongside a critical shortage of medicines and essential supplies, the Health Cluster warns of a severe scarcity of blood units across Gaza, which is endangering the life of patients, including people suffering from Thalassemia and other conditions requiring regular blood transfusions. Meanwhile, MoH continues to warn about the lack of fuel, spare parts, and filters to repair and maintain electricity generators in hospitals, which is threatening the functionality of ICUs, nurseries, and other essential health services.
• Out of six WHO missions planned to northern and southern Gaza between 13 and 18 September, only one was facilitated by Israeli authorities, while three were significantly delayed and two were denied. WHO and its partners managed to reach health facilities in northern Gaza twice on 14 and 18 September, delivering 48,000 litres of fuel to the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals. They also provided critically needed medical supplies to the newly rehabilitated Emergency Department at the Al Shifa Hospital and non-communicable disease kits to assist the Palestine Red Crescent Society's (PRCS) facilities in the north. WHO also facilitated the rotation of emergency medical team (EMT) personnel between northern and southern Gaza and the deployment of a new paediatrics EMT to the Kamal Adwan Hospital. Although the Indonesian Hospital is in an active evacuation zone, and the Al Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals are just 200 and 485 metres respectively from the affected area; they continue providing services to the affected population. Meanwhile, while dental care is almost absent in Gaza due to the lack of equipment and facilities, on 19 September, UNRWA reopened a dental clinic in one of its health centres in Khan Younis. The PRCS also reported the completion of the first fully equipped mobile operating room in southern Gaza that can be deployed whenever needed.

• Internally displaced persons (IDP) continue to be endangered. At least 32 people were killed when three schools were hit between 21 and 23 September. On 21 September, UNRWA’s Az-Zaytun School sheltering thousands of IDPs southeast Gaza city was hit, killing 22 Palestinians and injuring over 30 others, according to Gaza MoH. The Palestinian Civil Defense reported that 14 children and five women were among the fatalities, and that of those who required amputations nine were children. On 22 September, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed when the Kafar Qasam school, sheltering IDPs in Ash Shata’ Refugee Camp, west of Gaza city, was hit. Three people from the same family were reportedly killed when the Khalid Bin Al-Waleed school in Nusseirat Refugee Camp in Deir al Balah was hit, including a child and her parents.
• UNRWA has stated that schools “have turned into rubble or overcrowded places of refuge for displaced families living in fear.” Within this grim context, efforts are underway to establish temporary learning spaces (TLS) for children. As of 15 September, Education Cluster partners established 215 TLS across the Gaza Strip benefiting 33,616 children. While this is an important accomplishment, the number of children attending these spaces is only 5 per cent of school age children in Gaza. According to the Education Cluster, ongoing hostilities severely restrict access to in-person learning spaces, and the persistent blockade on educational supplies hampers scaling-up the response. Additionally, the use of UNRWA and other schools as shelters for displaced populations further limits the availability of facilities for educational purposes.
• In August, the UN and its humanitarian partners conducted 598 coordinated humanitarian movements across the Gaza Strip: 395 in the south and 203 in the north. Of these, only 250 were facilitated, 99 impeded (which include movements that managed to ultimately proceed) and 176 were denied. In total, 46 per cent of humanitarian movements were either denied or impeded in August, making it the most challenging month for humanitarian access since January 2024. The impact was particularly severe in the north, where only 45 per cent of the 203 requested movements were facilitated, including just one out of nine planned health movements to deliver over 200,000 litres of fuel to hospitals.
• Access challenges are compounded by unpredictable and restrictive time windows for humanitarian movements through the two Israeli-controlled checkpoints between the south and north of the Gaza strip. In addition to the limited operating hours, technical failures at the checkpoints have further delayed movements and compromised the safety of aid workers. For instance, on 24 August, a reportedly broken gate at a checkpoint delayed one movement by four hours, resulting in the failure to deliver 10,000 vaccines, 58 pallets of medicine, and 24,000 litres of fuel. In this challenging context, OCHA and other humanitarian partners attempted to conduct two movements in August to assist families with children trapped under the rubble. Humanitarian convoys are frequently required by Israeli forces to wait at holding points before approaching checkpoints, often for hours, leaving them exposed in high-risk environments. On 5 August, a convoy of two trucks delivering essential commodities to the north was attacked by crowds just 15 minutes after arriving at the holding point, resulting in the loss of all the goods intended to support vulnerable people in the north.

580.

23 september 2024

 
On 18 September, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly voted for imposing sanctions on Israel for the first time in 42 years! Tomorrow, 24 September, heads of state will gather at the UNGA for the annual high level debate.

It is now time for us, grassroots organizations, movements and solidarity groups, as well as individuals who have been mobilizing to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza and to dismantle its decades long apartheid and settler-colonial regime against all Palestinians, to take this resolution from being a promise on paper to a global reality!

­  

Now is the time to pressure your government to respect its obligations under international law, pay heed to the unified Palestinian civil society call and #SanctionIsrael.

As Israel’s livestreamed genocide in the illegally occupied Gaza Strip against 2.3 million Palestinians reaches its first anniversary, as its aggression and ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, intensify, and as it pushes the region in a catastrophic direction, join us in pressuring governments, especially those in the Global South, to isolate genocidal Israel and impose meaningful sanctions on it to hold it accountable for its crimes. Failing to do so would plunge us all into a world where “might makes right.”

579.

22 september 2024

In the past few weeks we are seeing an unprecedented wave, hundreds of soldiers that are refusing the war in Gaza. Such waves ended Israeli wars against the Palestinians at least twice in the past. Refuser Solidarity Network is aggressively supporting these groups, providing financial, legal and organizational help.

RSN Chairman of the Board Shimri Zameret, second from right, stands among fellow Israeli draft refusers.

Refusal Solidarity Network is proud to be the only international group supporting this wave of resistance. We are helping them build a community of resistance to the war. While refusers numbers are currently growing exponentially, 

Reservists are the backbone of the Israeli military, having been called up in great numbers to fuel Israel’s war effort: reports suggest that the majority of Israel’s over 400,000 reservists have been called up for service since the war’s outset. The Israeli army relies on reservists on all fronts: from ensuring the army’s day-to-day functioning to flying Israel’s warplanes in order to bomb the Strip. The army cannot carry on with business as usual without them, which is why theirs is such a powerful act of resistance, an act we should support.

In solidarity,
Shimri Zameret
Chairman of the Board
Refuser Solidarity Network

578A.

22 september 2024

In Palestine, the arrival of the olive harvest season is traditionally marked by joy and celebration as families, neighbors, and communities gather in their groves, eating and dancing as they pick olives from trees that have been passed down for generations.

Last year, however, the olive harvest season was cut short, as repression and settler violence escalated across the West Bank and as Israel’s genocide in Gaza began. Palestinian farmers were barred from accessing their own lands, and prevented from harvesting the fruits of their labor, as Israeli settlers poisoned, cut down, and set fire to centuries-old olive trees with complete impunity.

Despite these threats, the Palestinian people remain steadfast, because agriculture is more than just a source of income. It’s tied to their history and identity, and it drives the struggle against Israel’s deliberate attempts to uproot their attachment to the land.

The olive harvest season is many things. It’s a community celebration. It’s an important boon to local economies. And it’s a vibrant form of popular resistance through which Palestinians can demonstrate—to themselves and the world—the urgent need to reclaim their lands, livelihoods, and freedom.

That’s why the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) has partnered with the Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA) since 2010 to plant more than 30,300 olive trees across Palestine.

Last year, despite the unprecedented challenges, generous donors like you raised enough funds to help plant 1,663 olive saplings and distribute almond, grape, fig, pomegranate, and carob seedlings to more than 670 Palestinian farming families in 40 villages in early spring.

578.

20 september 2024

Your Activist Scoop

 Due to your pressure, Sen. Bernie Sanders has announced his plan to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval to stop the $20 billion weapons sale to Israel.

577.

20 september 2024

American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force Calls on Muslim Voters to Turn Out, Support Candidates Who Back Permanent Ceasefire, Arms Embargo, and Other Just Policies

[WASHINGTON D.C., September 20, 2024] - The American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force, a coalition of national 501(c)4 political organizations, today calls on all American Muslim voters to turn out in the 2024 election and vote for candidates up-and-down the ballot who support just policies here and abroad, including a presidential candidate who endorses a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on the Israeli government, such as Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein, Justice for All nominee Dr. Cornel West or Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver.

The American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force thanks Dr. Stein, Dr. West, and Mr. Oliver for embracing this principled position. We also commend two presidential candidates for choosing the first-ever Muslim vice presidential nominees; Dr. West for nominating Dr. Melina Abdullah, and Dr. Stein for nominating Dr. Butch Ware.

We cannot endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy because of her refusal to even consider imposing the arms embargo on the Israeli government required by U.S. laws and her failure to promise any other changes whatsoever to President Biden's failed policy of steadfast financial, diplomatic and military support for Israel's genocide in Gaza.

Softened rhetoric is simply not enough. We warn Vice President Harris that polling shows a significant number of American Muslims and other voters in key swing states will likely not support her candidacy unless she meaningfully changes course on the Gaza genocide.

The task force also condemns former President Donald Trump and recommends that no American Muslim voters support his candidacy. President Trump's latest attempts to inflame racial tension in our nation, from inciting hate against Haitian and Latino migrants to using "Palestinian" as a racist slur, are completely inconsistent with our values. So is his steadfast support for the Israeli government’s genocidal war on Gaza and his threat to crack down on Americans who advocate for Palestine.

In a statement, the American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force said:

“Over the past several months, members of the American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force have engaged with each other, the community members we serve, numerous political campaigns, and our friends in other communities to help inform our decision about what voting recommendations to make for the upcoming election.

“After extensive consultation, discussion, and deliberation, the American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force has decided to encourage American Muslims to vote for any presidential candidate of their choosing who supports a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a U.S. arms embargo on the Israeli government.

“The American Muslim community’s political power has grown significantly in recent years, but it must grow further so that we can ensure our own government never enables another crime like the Gaza genocide. Sitting on the sidelines in this election is not an option.

“American Muslims have the potential to significantly influence local and national elections by voting strategically. By doing so, they can support candidates who advocate for civil rights, racial equality, religious freedom, rule of law, freedom of speech, and a humane foreign policy. It's important to remember which candidates supported or opposed local ceasefire resolutions and campus protests when making voting decisions.

“On November 5th, American Muslims must take a step forward in our long-term journey to advance just policies for people across our nation and people around the world impacted by our nation’s policies, including our Palestinian brothers and sisters facing genocide in Gaza.

Sincerely,Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

576.

20 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #220
Gaza Strip

Nurse Jenin provides free services for pregnant women and for children, from a tent she set up Al Mawasi area of in Khan Younis. Photo by UNFPA Palestine / Media Clinic

Key Highlights

• Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the deteriorating health crisis in Gaza−over 5,000 female cancer patients are unable to access treatment; twenty-five percent of women reported skin infections, twice as many as men; and they account for most hepatitis A and gastrointestinal diseases.
• Seventy per cent of medications and 83 per cent of health supplies have been exhausted from stockpiles, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza (MoH); forcing hospitals and health-care facilities to suspend services such as heart surgeries, cardiac catheterization, and joint replacements.
• Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are at risk of further displacement as the rainy season approaches, increasing seasonal flooding and high tides.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air and land continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun, southwest Gaza city, eastern Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and east as well as south Rafah, with heavy fighting, also continue to be reported, alongside Palestinian rocket fire at Israel.
• Between the afternoons of 16 and 18 September, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 46 Palestinians were killed and 138 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 18 September 2024, at least 41,272 Palestinians were killed and 95,551 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. 
• The following are some of the deadly incidents reported between 15 and 19 September: 
  • On 15 September, at least five Palestinians, including three women, were reportedly killed and others injured when they were hit on Salah Ad Deen Street in Az Zaytoun, in Gaza city.
  • On 15 September, six Palestinians, including one woman and two children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Az Zaytun area, in Gaza city.
  • On 16 September, nine Palestinians, including four woman and a girl, were reportedly killed and 15 others injured when a house was hit in An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 16 September, six Palestinians, including a girl, a boy, and four men, were reportedly killed and others injured when an IDP tent was hit next to a makeshift bakery in As Sumoud Camp in Al Mawasi area, southwestern Khan Younis.
  • On 17 September, five Palestinians were reportedly killed when houses were hit in east Al Bureij Camp, in Deir al Balah, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD). PCD stated that they received distress calls from trapped and injured people, but its crew was forced to withdraw after they were struck, and one crew member was injured. On 18 September, the PCD stated that 12 bodies were retrieved from under the rubble of the houses. 
  • On 18 September, at least seven Palestinians, including three children and a woman, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Qizan An Najjar, south of Khan Younis.
  • On 18 September, eight Palestinians including at least four children, and two women were reportedly killed and others injured when Ibn Haytham School (which was sheltering IDPs), was hit in Ash Shuja’iyeh area, Gaza city.
  • On 19 September, at least five Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit on Al Jarjeer Street in Jabalya, in Gaza North.
• Between the afternoons of 16 and 20 September, four Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 20 September 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,546 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 346 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,284 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• A recent report by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) describes the severe economic devastation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory following the escalation of hostilities in Gaza. The economic impact has been more devastating than in previous escalations (2008, 2012, 2014, and 2021), marked by soaring inflation, rising unemployment in Gaza, and plummeting incomes that have left Palestinians in dire poverty. By early 2024, between 80 to 96 per cent of Gaza’s agricultural assets were destroyed, crippling food production and exacerbating food insecurity. The private sector has also suffered, with 82 per cent of businesses damaged or destroyed. Gaza’s GDP dropped by 81 per cent in the last quarter of 2023, resulting in a 22 per cent annual contraction, and by mid-2024, the economy had shrunk to less than one-sixth of its 2022 size. Two-thirds of pre-October jobs (201,000) were lost by January 2024, further worsening the economic and humanitarian crisis.
• IDPs are at risk of further displacement as the rainy season approaches, increasing flooding and high tides. Many of those displaced due to hostilities have been forced to shelter along the Mediterranean coast, where Israeli-issued evacuation orders have instructed them to go. Several municipalities across Gaza have warned of such risks. The Khan Younis municipality called on people present within rainwater collection ponds and temporary sewage treatment basins in Al Muhararat area, and all low-lying areas to immediately leave and seek safer places due to the danger of overflows. The municipality has stated that the ongoing escalation caused massive damage to infrastructure where 70 per cent of the transmission lines and rainwater drainage networks, 80 per cent of the sewage transmission lines, pumps and stations, and 1,800, out of 2,200, rainwater filters are destroyed. The emergency committee of Deir al Balah municipality has warned residents living near Wadi as Salqa and Sahn al Baraka areas to evacuate before it starts raining, as flooding in these areas will be a threat to people’s lives. According to the municipality of Gaza, Sheikh Radwan Pond, designed for rainwater collection, is now accumulating over 450,000 cubic metres of wastewater, which threatens to overflow once it rains. The municipality is unable to drain water due to the damage sustained by the pond's drainage line and its facilities. Furthermore, the Khan Younis and Deir al Balah municipalities warned displaced people to move to higher ground and stay away from the shore, as high tides may lead to the drifting of their tents and other risks. Humanitarian actors on the ground have amplified these warnings by sending out mass text messages to people in the area.

• According to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, from 1 to 14 September, 302,533 litres of fuel—just 31 per cent of the amount needed to operate numerous critical WASH facilities—were allowed in by Israeli authorities and delivered by the United Nations. Some 218,533 litres were distributed to southern Gaza, while the remaining 84,000 litres were distributed in the north. Fuel access in the north continues to be a critical challenge, as deliveries are frequently delayed or rejected by Israeli authorities at checkpoints. As a result, WASH operations have been forced to drastically reduce their operating hours to prevent complete shutdowns. Despite these persistent obstacles, on 16 September, the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) successfully delivered and distributed 37,000 liters of fuel to sustain operations at 41 water facilities, including 37 wells and 4 sewage pumping stations, north of Wadi Gaza. This marked the first fuel supply delivery by PWA since 13 August. 
• Meanwhile, water production remains at just one quarter of the levels recorded before October 2023, according to WASH partners. The distribution of this limited water faces persistent challenges, such as widespread leaks, severe network damage, and spillage during trucking operations. The WASH Cluster estimates that about 70 per cent of water supplied through water networks is leaked due to damages sustained during fighting, with repairs being impeded by a combination of insecurity, lack of access and Israeli rejection of imports of spare parts. The Cluster has highlighted that restrictions on importing these essential components have left vital WASH machinery inoperable, which is destabilizing operations, particularly for severely damaged sanitation facilities. Currently, four key basins are receiving sewage, and any overflow could pose serious public health risks. In a positive development, on 18 September, the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) reported the successful restoration of the Al Wakala well in Al Maghazi Refugee Camp in Deir Al Balah, which had been destroyed. With support from the International Committee of the Red Cross, CMWU repaired the well's pumping system, electric motor, and manifold, effectively reconnecting it to the water distribution network. These efforts are part of broader emergency maintenance initiatives across Gaza’s municipalities, despite ongoing shortages of essential repair materials, CMWU said.
• “More than 5,000 female cancer patients need immediate treatment, but all services have been suspended,” stressed UN Women in its latest Gender Alert based on research, including a survey conducted across Gaza. The sole cancer facility present in the Strip is no longer functional and radiotherapy and systemic therapy are lacking. Women and girls are also being disproportionately affected by infectious diseases. Twenty-five per cent of women surveyed reported skin infections, twice as many as men (12.5 per cent), and female respondents accounted for more than two thirds of hepatitis A and gastrointestinal diseases; this is likely due to women’s prevalent role in caring for sick family members. Women also reported higher rates of diabetes compared with men and were twice as likely to have hypertension, with access to medications being increasingly scarce. Meanwhile, an estimated 155,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women across Gaza are facing major obstacles in accessing prenatal and postnatal care, with rising complications during pregnancy, birth and subsequently and a shortage of essential medications for newborns. Among pregnant women interviewed, 92 per cent reported urinary tract infections, 76 per cent anaemia, 28 per cent pre-term labour, 44 per cent hypertensive disorders, 16 per cent haemorrhage and 12 per cent stillbirth. based on research, including a survey conducted across Gaza. 
• On 19 September, the UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban urged the entry of more “medical supplies and medical consumable like antibiotics for skin diseases, equipment for neonatal units, syringes and bandages for surgery rooms” into Gaza and appealed for the urgent medical evacuation of critically ill and injured children, including many suffering from leukaemia and other types of cancer diseases, “whose lives can be saved only with medical treatment abroad.” The MoH in Gaza reported that 70 per cent of medications and 83 per cent of health supplies have been exhausted from its stockpiles, with this severe deficit forcing hospitals and health-care facilities to suspend services and vital procedures such as heart surgeries, cardiac catheterization, and joint replacements. 

Funding

• As of 20 September, Member States have disbursed about US$1.63 billion out of the $3.42 billion (48 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)
• During August 2024, the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 93 ongoing projects, totalling $79.7 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). They were strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation, and hygiene, coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition. Of these projects, 52 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations, 29 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 32 out of the 64 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. Monthly updates, annual reports, and a list of all funded projects per year, are available on the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage, under the financing section. 

578.

19 september 2024

This is terrorism.

Tell U.S. Senators to block weapons to Israel.

Take collective action for an arms embargo.

577.

19 september 2024

In today's Daily Brief:

• Pager Explosions in Lebanon

Help promote human rights – forward this email to others & encourage them to sign up here.

Families of people who were injured by their exploded handheld pagers wait at the emergency entrance of the American University hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, September 18, 2024. © 2024 AP Photo/Hussein Malla

EXPLODING THOUSANDS OF ELECTRONIC DEVISES IN PEOPLE’S HANDS AND POCKETS
IS AN UNPRECEDENTED WAR CRIME !!

Paging the Laws of War

Exploding thousands of electronic devices in people’s hands and pockets may be unique in the history of warfare, but the familiar laws of war still apply.

On Tuesday, pagers and other personal devices blew up across Lebanon and parts of Syria – in markets, grocery stores, and other crowded, public places. The explosions killed at least a dozen people, including at least two children and two health workers. More than 2,800 people were injured, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.

Then, yesterday, a new set of blasts likewise hit walkie-talkies across Lebanon, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 450 others.

Hospitals in Lebanon have been overwhelmed with the victims. Adults and children were rushed to emergency rooms suffering from severe injuries consistent with the detonation of high explosives.

The intended targets of these widespread attacks were apparently members and associates of Hezbollah. In a statement, the Lebanese armed group said the pagers belonged “to employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions.” They blamed the Israeli government for the explosions.

US officials and former Israeli officials have also said Israel was responsible for the attack. The Israeli military has not commented.

Many questions are still swirling around these incidents, including technical ones. How is it even possible to put explosive charges in so many electronic devices unnoticed in the first place?

But one thing is clear enough: such attacks violate the laws of war. There’s at least one general and one specific point to make here.

First, the general. One of the foundations of international humanitarian law is that all warring parties must distinguish, or discriminate, between military targets, which are legitimate, and civilians, which are not.

You may be intending to kill an enemy fighter, but you cannot do it with an indiscriminate weapon, showing no regard for the civilians close to the device who may be killed and injured as well. Media report that one of the victims was a nine-year old girl who picked up her father’s pager when it beeped.

In this sense, setting off simultaneous explosives in thousands of personal devices without knowing where they are and who they are with runs the same risks as bombing from the skies without looking: other people – innocent people, civilians, including children – may be around.

The attacker can’t see who will be hit beforehand and where they are. Is the explosive about to go off in a crowded market? Is it on the table at a family meal? Did a child find the pager in the car and pick it up to have a closer look?

The mini-bombs were blown up in unknown circumstances, in unknown surroundings. It’s the very definition of indiscriminate.

There’s also at least one specific point regarding the violation of the laws of war here. As my expert colleague, Lama Fakih, has explained: “customary international humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby traps – objects that civilians are likely to be attracted to or are associated with normal civilian daily use.”

Indiscriminate attacks and booby traps are prohibited to avoid putting civilians at grave risk – to avoid the devastating scenes we’ve seen across Lebanon this week.

Any government concerned with upholding international humanitarian law ought to be concerned with helping to get justice for the innocent victims of these mass bombings.

Quick Takes: Israel/Palestine

Israel/Palestine: The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly adopted a resolution urging Israel to fully comply with the World Court’s ruling on its decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory. This would include Israel ceasing all illegal settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and dismantling its system of apartheid that denies Palestinians basic human rights and freedoms.

576.

18 september 2024

Gaza Humanitarian Response Update

Vaccinating children for polio in Gaza. Photo by OCHA/Themba Linden

Health

Response

• During the reporting period, 52 Health Cluster partners were active in Gaza, with 31 reporting on their response activities. As of 15 September, there were 15 emergency medical teams (EMTs) supporting the local health-care workforce, including three in northern Gaza.
• The first round of the emergency polio vaccination campaign successfully took place between 1 and 12 September, with 559,161 children under the age of 10 immunized and 40 health partners involved in the joint vaccination effort.
• On 11 September, the World Health Organization (WHO), with partners and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, evacuated 97 critically injured and sick patients, along with 155 caretakers, from Gaza to receive specialized treatment in the UAE. The patients comprised 45 children and 52 adults with trauma injuries, cancer, cardiovascular, blood and liver diseases, and a variety of other pathologies.
• During the reporting period, Health Cluster partners conducted three missions to hospitals in northern Gaza to rotate EMTs, conduct assessments, and deliver medical supplies along with 67,000 litres of fuel. One of these missions, on 10 September, was to assess the newly rehabilitated Emergency Department at Al Shifa Hospital.
• So far in 2024, 37 EMTs – deployed in hospitals throughout the Strip – have provided over 1.4 million medical consultations, performed 29,230 surgeries and treated 56,500 patients with noncommunicable diseases. Six field hospitals have been established by health partners and 500 additional beds provided to compensate for the dramatic reduction in hospital bed capacity.

Challenges

• Health partners continue to face major security challenges in accessing medical facilities in northern Gaza.
• Due to obstacles hindering the entry of humanitarian aid, the backlog of health supplies and equipment waiting to enter Gaza continues to grow, while health facilities within the Strip are facing increasingly severe supply shortages. Public health-care facilities in southern Gaza are reporting an over 70 per cent shortage of critical medical items, including consumables, complete blood count (CBC) kits and laboratory equipment.
• The lack of a systematic mechanism for the medical evacuation of critically ill and injured patients out of Gaza results in an ever-growing waiting list, as the clinical conditions of many deteriorates. As of 12 September, out of 14,510 patients for whom medical evacuation has been requested since October 2023, 5,130 (35 per cent) have been evacuated abroad, with only 219 patients allowed to leave Gaza by Israeli authorities since the closure of the Rafah Crossing in May 2024.

Nutrition

Response

• During the reporting period, 38,214 children under the age of five and 15,603 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) received a 30-day allocation of lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS-MQ) under the Supplementary Feeding Programme, led by the World Food Programme (WFP). This represents a nearly 46 per cent increase compared with the 20,788 children and 9,757 PWB provided with LNS-MQ between 17 and 31 August.
• In the first two weeks of September, almost 30,000 caregivers in Gaza received counselling for breastfeeding and for adapted complementary feeding of children aged six months and older by nutrition partners. As part of its efforts to enhance infant and young child feeding practices, the Nutrition Cluster is currently working with the Sexual and Reproductive Health Technical Working Group (SRHTWG) to scale up early initiation of breastfeeding and support for breastfeeding mothers.
• Since mid-January, 290,961 children aged 6-59 months have been screened for malnutrition, including 54,153 in the northern governorates. A total of 11,131 children were screened in the first two weeks of September. Of all screened children, 19,352 have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, including 15,175 with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and 4,177 with severe acute malnutrition (SAM); of those with SAM, 145 had medical complications. Treatment was provided in four stabilization centres and 102 outpatient programme sites to those identified as malnourished.

Challenges

• Transport and adequate storage of nutrition supplies is challenging because of the limited entry of humanitarian supplies and the loss of access to warehouses due to ongoing hostilities, evacuation orders, access, and logistical constraints. This is particularly challenging where infrastructure and resources are limited and for products such as ready-to-use infant formula, requiring refrigeration.
• Continuous displacement is disrupting distribution, service delivery, and case monitoring, especially among children, and access to nutrition sites. Coordinating nutrition support for newly displaced people arriving at shelters is increasingly complex.

Food Security

Response

• As of 16 September, 14 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners were operational in the Gaza Strip – one in Khan Younis, seven in Deir al Balah, four in Gaza city and two in Jabalya. Five bakeries in northern Gaza were forced to temporarily close on 14 September and resumed partial functionality on 15 September after receiving a limited amount of fuel to sustain operations for two days. Partners are working to deliver more fuel as soon as possible. Meanwhile, five bakeries in Rafah remain closed due to ongoing hostilities.
• Bread from the 14 bakeries continues to be delivered to kitchens for free distribution along with cooked meals. However, the distribution of free bread cannot currently be scaled up to meet the high demands.
• As of early September, more than 500,000 cooked meals prepared in 155 kitchens were provided daily to families across the Strip, compared with about 450,000 daily meals provided in 130 kitchens in late August. Some kitchens forced to close or relocate in July and August have now resumed operations in their original locations.
• In September, due to continuous supply shortages, partners are providing only one food parcel per family per month in central and southern Gaza, compared with two parcels per family in the north.
• In support of the polio vaccination campaign, partners provided cooked meals and bottled water to hundreds of campaign workers across the Strip. In addition, some food distribution points were also used as vaccination sites to maximize coverage.
• In addition to the distribution of more than 80 metric tons (MT) of gluten-free flour in northern Gaza in late August, during the first half of September, in collaboration with the private sector, partners brought two metric tons of gluten-free flour to southern and central Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing. The distribution is set to take place with Health Cluster partners to people with celiac disease.

Challenges

• Insecurity, damaged roads, the breakdown of law and order, and access limitations have resulted in critical shortages of aid commodities to sustain operations, increasing the risk of spoilage and infestation of stranded food supplies. As a result, partners lack sufficient food stocks to meet requirements and have scaled down distribution, for the second consecutive month.
• According to a recent food security and market analysis by the World food Programme, poor dietary diversity continues to be observed in the Strip with humanitarian assistance remaining the main source of food for households.
• The significant increase in firewood prices is pushing more people into energy poverty, coupled with the limited availability of gas and the ongoing electricity cut off. It is anticipated that the energy crisis will further worsen in upcoming months as the rainy winter season approaches. Protracted shortages of cooking energy continue to force displaced families to cook by burning wood from waste, which hinders proper food preparation and nutrition intake, exacerbates health and protection risks, and causes environmental hazards.
• The extremely limited entry of fresh supplies into northern Gaza for four consecutive months has resulted in a near total absence of protein sources, such as meat and poultry, with only a few types of unaffordable vegetables available, either locally produced or from distributed aid being sold in the market.
• The extremely limited entry of fertilizers and other livestock and crop production inputs is a key obstacle hampering the restoration of local food production in Gaza. A dual-track approach is required to food assistance and emergency livelihood interventions. Agricultural activities, including small-scale gardening that is critical to enhance dietary diversity, remain largely suspended.
• If physical road access, health-care provision, as well as energy, water, sanitation, hygiene, and shelter conditions are further compromised, there is a high risk that the food insecurity and malnutrition situation will worsen beyond the already alarming rates observed.
• More than half of the people in the Gaza Strip are facing difficulties in accessing markets, with the current state of the formal banking system’ exacerbating the issue, according to the recent market monitoring findings by the World Food Programme. There are barely any functional ATMs in the Gaza Strip, compared with 91 before October 2023. Limited cash liquidity and insufficient access to financial services and telecommunications continue to hamper partners’ day-to-day operations and prevents the scale up of CVA.

Logistic Challenges

• Severe access and security constraints, compounded by frequent evacuation orders, continue to hamper Logistics Cluster operations at the entry points and throughout the Gaza Strip.
• Following a security incident on 8 September at the Allenby Bridge, all three land crossing points between Jordan and Israel were temporarily closed for a few days by Israeli authorities, further delaying the transport of aid.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Response

• Between 2 and 15 September, the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) reported that the average water supply for safe drinking and domestic purposes was about 116,000 cubic metres per day across the Gaza Strip, or just over a quarter of water supply provided prior to October 2023. This includes 78,600 cubic metres of water produced by municipal and UNRWA water wells.
• Between 1 and 14 September, WASH Cluster partners received a total of 302,533 litres of fuel, or an average of 21,600 litres per day, which represents only 31 per cent of the minimum daily threshold of 70,000 litres required to meet critical WASH needs and ensure the public health. This includes 218,533 litres south of Wadi Gaza and 84,000 in the north.
• Ahead of the rainy season, WASH Cluster partners are rehabilitating wastewater pumping stations in Deir al Balah, removing solid waste and cleaning stormwater channels in Nuseirat, rehabilitating drainage systems, procuring dewatering pumps, identifying flood-prone areas, and developing community engagement messages to raise flood risk awareness.
• The WASH Cluster is conducting water quality testing across the Gaza Strip, with a focus on health-care facilities, water trucks, designated shelters, areas experiencing an upsurge in cases of acute watery or bloody diarrhoea.
• The WASH Cluster produced a guide for partners on the mapping of stormwater basins and flood-prone areas. This is complemented by the WASH winterization response and preparedness plan, which includes proactive measures to mitigate flood risks.

Challenges

• There is an urgent need for generators, submersible pumps, and other critical supplies for water wells and pumping stations. Due to the lack of availability in the local market, these materials must necessarily be sourced from external suppliers.
• The lack of access to soap and other basic hygiene items is severely hindering families’ ability to protect themselves from communicable diseases, especially in overcrowded shelters, and disproportionately affects children, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems. Key products like shampoo, detergent, and dishwashing liquid are no longer available; making it impossible for households to maintain cleanliness, prepare food safely, or wash clothes. Health-care facilities are struggling to maintain proper sanitation, increasing the risk of infections for patients and staff.
• A rising number of coordination requests for missions within the Al Mawasi area, where the Israeli authorities ordered Palestinians to take shelter in, are not being facilitated by Israeli authorities. This affects the rehabilitation of WASH infrastructure and the implementation of other WASH interventions. Requests for transporting critical supplies from south of Wadi Gaza to the north are facing similar challenges.
• The flow of water from the main transmission line running from Israel remains at only 80 per cent of capacity, with several critical water facilities lost in recent weeks. Repair operations are urgently required to return to full capacity as soon as possible.

Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFI)

Response

• The Shelter Cluster continues to track the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) whose shelters have been damaged by hostilities or flooded in the Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates. Where possible, the cluster provides shelter support, including tents, sealing-off kits, and non-food items.
• Between 2 and 15 September, Shelter Cluster partners provided 451 family tents and 219 sealing-off-kits to households in need in southern Gaza, as well as 175 tents and a limited number of sealing-off kits in northern Gaza.

Challenges

• With the rainy season approaching, Shelter Cluster partners are unable to import enough materials to provide sufficient protection from wind, rain, or flooding. With logistical constraints and depleted stocks, few partners have any items to support households with emergency shelter and other essential items.
• Due to the access constraints that allow a rate of about four trucks of Shelter and NFIs entering Gaza per week in August, the Cluster is prioritizing the entry of sealing-off kits over tents into Gaza, as more of these can be transported on a single truck. However, this is the bare minimum and cannot be considered a meaningful response.
• The Israeli authorities are restricting the movement of Shelter Cluster partners between northern and southern Gaza, thereby limiting response agility. This, alongside recurrent displacement, also hinders the ability to assess the shelter needs.

Site Management Working Group (SMWG)

Response

• During the reporting period, SMWG partners monitored 52 sites hosting an estimated total of 165,000 people in the Khan Younis, Deir al Balah, and the northern governorates. They shared the findings with other clusters on 5 and 12 September, to direct their response where gaps had been identified.
• On 12 September, the SMWG finalized a preliminary analysis aimed at mapping sites which may face flooding during the approaching winter season. A total of 38 makeshift and 13 scattered sites are deemed likely to experience flooding with varying degrees of intensity. The group is set to develop a rapid assessment tool and expand the preliminary analysis to sites on the coast.
• On 15 September, the SMWG briefed the Flood Task Force in Gaza on its analysis of areas that had been subject to flooding between 2020 and 2024.

Challenges

• SMWG partners lack the human resources required to carry out field verifications at numerous IDP sites.
• Mass evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military and the rapid pace of developments, generating constant population movement, hinder the implementation of an effective site management response.

Protection

Response

• Service providers continue supporting people facing or at risk of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), including by providing Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) to at-risk women and girls. In August, 1,855 women benefited from such services; figures for the reporting period are not yet available.
• Meanwhile, child protection partners provided psycho-social support (PSS) to 189,916 children and 97,149 caregivers, and explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) to 60,227 people. More information on child protection activities can be found here.
• Partners are carrying out critical mental health activities for children with a small quantity of PSS materials that have entered Gaza following months of denial by Israeli authorities.
• The International Rescue Committee (IRC) delivered a five-day training to 15 child protection and GBV case managers. Participants acquired skills to further train their respective colleagues on how to respond to the needs of children exposed to extreme risks.
• Partners continue to use SMS, radio, and social media, to disseminate messages on explosive ordnance risk education and conflict preparedness and protection (EORE-CPP). The EORE-CPP capacity has increased with ten international partners, through seven national partners, currently delivering in-person EORE-CPP sessions across all of Gaza’s governorates. During the reporting period, partners completed nine explosive hazard assessments (EHA) at humanitarian sites and five EHAs of routes in support of inter-agency missions.
• UNRWA’s protection teams continue to identify and respond to protection risks and the needs of displaced people in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, including Al Mawasi. They are visiting shelters and IDP sites, providing awareness sessions on EORE, GBV and the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), undertaking focus group discussions and key informant interviews with IDPs, monitoring aid distribution, and following up on previously identified vulnerable cases. With the Education Cluster, protection monitors also continue to closely monitor learning activities in shelters to ensure that the safety, dignity, and wellbeing of children are prioritised, and any protection issue or concern is timely addressed.

Challenges

• Insecurity, the disruption of aid flows, the breakdown of law and order, and the denial and restriction on entry of critical items continue to hinder the Protection response. Items the importation of which has been denied by the Israeli authorities include sanitary pads, dignity, and menstrual hygiene management kits (MHM) for women and girls, recreational materials for children and assistive devices for persons with disabilities. Minimum standard explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) equipment and EORE materials are also prevented entry by Israeli authorities into Gaza, thereby limiting the capacity of the Mine Action response.
• The PSS needs remain vast, and it is critical that more kits be approved for entry into the Strip.
• Shortage of tents affects the ability to expand group-based psycho-social support and provide safe spaces or temporary accommodation for unaccompanied children. The limited availability of supplies on the local market, including MHM and dignity kits, has disproportionate impact on women and girls, who are at risk of GBV, and increases their vulnerability to diseases.
• Lack of funding and impeded access by Israeli authorities for specialized personnel and equipment for the clearance and disposal of deep-buried bombs (DBB) hamper people’s protection from explosive remnants of war (ERW) and the safe and sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid. Mine Action stresses the need to obtain meaningful data from the Israeli authorities regarding the geographical location of ERW and hazardous areas.
• The ongoing power cut off and limited access to communications services, coupled with fuel shortages and damage to key infrastructure, continue to curtail mobility. Repeated evacuations, ensuing displacements and limited access to areas affected by hostilities, including in northern Gaza, continue to constrain community outreach, referral pathways, and protection activities including proper case management for GBV and child protection.
• Cash shortages continue to hinder the use of CVA by some recipients, negatively impacting living conditions, increasing the risk of exposure to violence or exploitation for women and girls, and undermining the ability of partners to pay local service providers and staff salaries. Meanwhile, the price of most basic commodities available in local markets has more than quadrupled.

Education

Response

• During the reporting period, approximately 40 new Temporary Learning Spaces (TLSs) have been established, benefiting around 6,500 students. These spaces provide children with access to quality services, including educational opportunities focused on developing core skills in literacy and numeracy. Additionally, partners continue to deliver Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, as well as structured recreational activities, to help children recover and strengthen their resilience amid ongoing hostilities.
• Given the challenges in providing in-person classes, the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Ramallah has updated its portal to facilitate remote access to educational resources. Although this solution currently benefits only 20,000 of the more than 650,000 students expected to enrol in Gaza, it remains the sole option available to continue formal education in these circumstances. The Education Cluster is supporting the initiative by circulating the online links to students across the Gaza Strip. Discussions are also ongoing with the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) to enhance Internet access in some spaces to improve access to the MoE portal.

Challenges

• The continued targeting of schools is fuelling fear among parents, children, and teachers. During the reporting period, eight instances of strikes impacting schools in northern and southern Gaza have been reported. This is limiting the scale-up of learning activities, especially in northern Gaza, where to-date, UNRWA has not re-opened any of its schools-turned-shelters to commence learning initiatives that are already being implemented in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.
• Children in Gaza risk missing their second consecutive academic year if conditions do not improve. The ongoing hostilities severely restrict access to in-person learning spaces, and the persistent blockade on educational supplies hampers scaling-up the response. Additionally, the use of UNRWA and other schools as shelters for displaced populations further limits the availability of facilities for educational purposes.

Emergency Telecommunications (ETC)

Response

• A second batch of 78 “Track24” satellite-based devices, which are intended for use by UN agencies in Gaza, is being dispatched. The ETC Cluster and WFP are liaising with Israeli authorities to secure a pre-clearance to expedite customs clearance upon arrival. The first batch of 25 “Track24” devices had been delivered to Jerusalem on 21 August.
• On 2 September, the ETC received Israeli approval for 20 Garmin inReach Messenger devices intended for partners in Gaza. The procurement of these devices, which allow two-way messaging and location-sharing in areas without cellular coverage, is ongoing.
• The ETC is finalizing its 2025 Response Plan, requiring an estimated budget of approximately US$2.5 million. The plan focuses on enhancing shared security communications and internet connectivity for humanitarian responders in Gaza.
• The ETC Cluster continues to advocate for the need to import more telecommunications equipment into Gaza to set up common communications services. More information on ETC activities can be accessed here.

Challenges

• Due to increased restrictions on the movement of commodities, damaged infrastructure and lack of fuel and spare parts, local Mobile Network Operators and Internet Service Providers in the Gaza Strip are experiencing network outages and are unable to conduct the necessary repairs. Current conditions also continue to render it difficult to maintain the functionality of the remaining network and have resulted in the loss of connectivity in Rafah.
• The availability of telecommunications equipment is severely limited, hampering the delivery of ETC services. A significant amount of equipment has been damaged or destroyed, and the import of new equipment is lengthy and challenging. Only 20 satellite phones, 20 Garmin inReach Messenger devices, 30 VHF digital radios, four VHF repeaters and four solar power solutions have been coordinated for import into Gaza with Israeli authorities since 7 October 2023.
• Increasing insecurity, displacement, and relocation of staff from Rafah to Deir al Balah have rendered it difficult to deploy shared ETC communications services or provide face-to-face technical support for humanitarian responders.
• The lack of funding has limited the ETC Cluster’s capacity to address immediate communications needs for humanitarian responders in Gaza. Thus far, only 38.1 per cent of funding requested by the Cluster (US$1.8 million) under the updated OPT Flash Appeal has been received.

Protection against sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) remains a cross-cutting priority for all clusters. Aid distribution must be delivered with dignity and respect. Any wrongdoing can be reported through SAWA toll-free number 164. SAWA will assist and provide services free of charge and with the utmost confidentiality.

575.

18 september 2024

574.

18 september 2024

Readers’ Recommendations

Video: US/Egypt/Israel

573.

18 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #219
West Bank

A displaced Palestinian family sitting amid the rubble of their destroyed home in Tulkarm refugee camp, following an Israeli operation. Photo by OCHA, 7 September 2024.

Key Highlights

• Eleven Palestinians, including a woman and a child, were killed by Israeli forces during a two-day operation in Tulkarm and Tubas, between 10 and 12 September; eight of them were hit by airstrikes.
• At least 82 Palestinian households, comprising 360 people, including 161 children and 177 women, remain displaced after the two-day operation in Tulkarm and Tubas, where about 660 housing units were damaged, with 58 rendered uninhabitable.
• The Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favour of a settler organization, placing a Palestinian family of 16 people at imminent risk of displacement from their home in Batn al Hawa, Silwan, East Jerusalem; four households, comprising 18 people, were forcibly evicted last month following a ruling in favour of the same organization.
• Amid ongoing settler violence, the single remaining resident in the Palestinian community of Ein al Hilwa – Um al Jmal (Tubas) was forced to displace; he is among 1,628 Palestinians displaced since 7 October 2023 in the context of incidents involving Israeli settlers.
• The West Bank school year faces major challenges: 782,000 students are affected by movement restrictions and settler violence, 58 schools are at risk of demolition; Israeli settlers attacked pupils and staff of Al Mu'arrajat East Elementary School, injuring nine.

Latest Developments (after 16 September)

• On 18 September, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces killed and withheld the body of a 17-year-old Palestinian child at Ni’lin checkpoint (Ramallah).
• On 17 September, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man while attempting to cross the West Bank Barrier in Tulkarm.

Humanitarian Developments(10-16 September)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians, including one child and one woman. An additional two Palestinian men succumbed to wounds sustained by Israeli forces in previous reporting periods. Israeli forces and settlers injured 50 Palestinians, including six children. During the same period, one member of Israeli forces died of wounds sustained in a ramming attack by a Palestinian near Ramallah and an Israeli settler was injured by Palestinians.
• For two days starting 10 September, Israeli forces operated in Tubas and Tulkarm governorates, killing 11 Palestinians, including one child and one woman. Five of the fatalities were in Tulkarm and six in Tubas. The Israeli operation involved both air and ground forces and included exchanges of fire with Palestinians. It resulted in significant damage to infrastructure, displacement, and prolonged electricity and water disruptions. Humanitarian partners, in coordination with the local authorities, resumed inter-sectoral needs assessments in Tulkarm and Tubas on 14 September.
  • In Tulkarm, Israeli forces closed the city, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, and surrounded the two main hospitals, obstructing access of ambulances and medical teams to transport and treat casualties. Three of the fatalities were hit in a drone attack on a Palestinian vehicle in Iktaba (Tulkarm) on 11 September. According to the Israeli military, at least one of those killed was suspected to have been involved in an attack against Israeli forces in October 2023, while the remaining two, including one woman, were shot and killed with live ammunition on 10 September. During one of the raids on 10 September, at least 24 people, including four school students, were unable to leave the UNRWA school and clinic in the Tulkarm refugee camp for over five hours, as Israeli forces operated in the area, before they were evacuated. That same day, one paramedic was shot and injured while evacuating a fatality, and five other paramedics were arrested. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) condemned the attacks on its premises and crews.
  • Israeli bulldozers caused significant damage to infrastructure during the operation, resulting in electricity and water disruptions. Over 600 housing units were damaged in and around the two camps, with 58 rendered uninhabitable, displacing 82 households, comprising 360 people, including 161 children. As of the end of the reporting period, water had been cut to about 60 per cent of the residents of the camp and its surrounding neighbourhoods, who have also experienced sewage overflows.
  • In Tubas city and Al Far’a refugee camp, Israeli forces imposed a curfew, closed city entrances and carried out an airstrike, resulting in five Palestinian fatalities. They also surrounded the Turkish Hospital, obstructing ambulance access and closing streets leading to the facility. On 12 September, Israeli forces killed an off-duty UNRWA sanitation worker and injured seven other Palestinians in Al Far’a refugee camp. Additionally, six Palestinians, including one child were injured during the operation, all with live ammunition.
• In response to the two-day operations in Tulkarm and Tubas, OCHA mobilized humanitarian clusters, PRCS, UNRWA, and local authorities to address the needs of the affected people. Humanitarian partners, including UNRWA, have provided food parcels, non-food items, kitchen kits, and one-time cash assistance. OCHA is also coordinating broader responses, including mental health and psychosocial support, aid to local water authorities, and the distribution of educational materials. The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster, with OCHA, UNRWA and the Palestinian Water Authority, is managing urgent water interventions in Tulkarm. The Shelter Cluster, in coordination with OCHA and UNRWA, is working closely with Cash Working Group partners to provide necessary support, including emergency multi-purpose cash assistance, for people in Tulkarm and Nur Shams.
• On 16 September, two Palestinian men succumbed to wounds sustained by Israeli forces in two incidents; a 30-year-old man who was injured in an Israeli airstrike in Tubas city on 5 September 2024, and a 43-year-old man who was injured from live ammunition during an Israeli raid in Jenin city on 5 August 2024. These bring the total number of Palestinian fatalities during this reporting period to 13. In another incident, a Palestinian truck driver fatally injured an Israeli soldier in a ramming incident on 11 September, near the Israeli Giva’t Assaf settlement outpost on Road 60 (Ramallah). The perpetrator was shot and arrested by Israeli forces.
• Additionally, during the reporting period, Israeli forces injured 50 Palestinians, including at least five children, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Twenty-two (44 per cent) of the total injuries were wounded by live ammunition. In the West Bank, one member of Israeli forces was injured in a stabbing attack carried out on 15 September in East Jerusalem by a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship. The perpetrator was shot and arrested by Israeli forces.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 16 September 2024, 689 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in addition to two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October. These include 671 killed by Israeli forces, eleven by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. During the same period, 22 Israelis, including 15 members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In Israel, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of ten Israelis and seven Palestinian perpetrators.
• For additional breakdowns of casualties by time, area, type of weapon and context up to 31 July 2024, please refer to the OCHA West Bank violence, destruction and displacement snapshot.

Settler-related Violence and Displacement

• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 23 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in 11 injuries, and damage to property. Palestinians perpetrated three attacks against settlers in this period, injuring one settler and damaging two Israeli-plated vehicles. Between 7 October 2023 and 16 September 2024, OCHA recorded about 1,360 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which about 130 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, about 1,088 led to Palestinian property damage, and over 143 led to both casualties and property damage. During the reporting period, one Palestinian man was displaced due to Israeli settler violence, harassment, and the takeover of Palestinian property. Since 7 October 2023, 277 Palestinians households comprising 1,628 people, including 794 children, have been displaced in the context of incidents involving Israeli settlers.
• The following are some of the key incidents documented by OCHA during the reporting period:
  • Nine Palestinians, including five women, two teachers and one foreign activist, were injured by Israeli settlers in Al Mu'arrajat East Bedouin community and its school in Jericho governorate; on 16 September, Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, broke into an animal shelter, where they attacked a Palestinian woman with sticks, breaking her hand, and attempted to steal sheep. Later, the same group returned, ransacking homes and damaging property, injuring four women, two men, and a foreign activist. They also attacked the community's elementary school, causing further injuries. (see below under education). According to Israeli media, Palestinians from the community had injured an Israeli settler earlier that day.
  • In another two separate incidents in the Hebron governorate, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured two Palestinians, including one child; on 11 September, a 69-year-old Palestinian man was attacked and injured by armed Israeli settlers while herding sheep near Umm at Tiran, south of Adh Dhahiriya. According to the injured man, settlers also stole his money and 16 sheep. On 16 September, a 15-year-old Palestinian child was assaulted and injured by settlers while traveling with his father on their agricultural tractor on Road 317 near At Tawani (Hebron). The settlers, dressed in military-like uniforms, attacked the child with sticks and a stone.
  • In five incidents, according to local community sources, Israeli settlers vandalized over 490 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings in addition to other agricultural property across villages in Nablus, Jenin and Salfit governorates. On 10 September, settlers believed to be from an outpost near Shavei Shomron vandalized a tree nursery in Deir Sharaf (Nablus), stealing about 50 saplings and cutting down 60 trees. On 11 September, settlers reportedly from Yitzhar settlement vandalized olive trees and set fire to 200 dunams of cultivated land in Burin village (Nablus). On 13 September, settlers believed to be from Homesh settlement uprooted 155 olive trees and eight fig trees in Jaba’ village (Jenin). On the same day in Dhaher al 'Abed (Jenin), settlers vandalized an agricultural storage room, damaged a metal fence, and grazed sheep on lands, destroying about 200 olive trees. On 15 September, settlers believed to be from Bruchin settlement uprooted 25 olive trees in Kafr ad Dik town (Salfit).
  • On 15 September, the last remaining Palestinian man in the Ein al Hilwa – Um al Jmal community in Tubas was forced to displace due to Israeli settler violence. Following the displacement of several Palestinian households from the community on 15 August 2024, a Palestinian man returned to protect his family's structures from a settler takeover. Since then, he has been subjected to daily harassment by Israeli settlers and Israeli forces. On 14 September, Israeli forces detained the man and transferred him to a military base, where he was handcuffed for several hours before being released. Subsequently, he began dismantling the structures in preparation to leave the area.

Demolitions and Displacement

• During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 35 Palestinian-owned structures due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. Three structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, including one where the owner was forced to carry out the demolition, and 32 were in Area C, displacing a total of 17 people, including six children.
• On 12 September, Israeli authorities demolished two apartments and displaced eight people, including four children, in a multi-storey building in Al Walaja village, located within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, on the “West Bank” side of the Barrier (Bethlehem). Also on 11 September, Israeli forces demolished 20 structures in Biddu and Az Za’ayyem Bedouin communities in Jerusalem, comprising agricultural structures and two residences, which led to the displacement of a family of four people, including two children.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 16 September 2024, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced the demolition of 1,697 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, displacing more than 4,400 Palestinians, including about 1,850 children. This is more than three times higher the number of people displaced during the same period before 7 October, where about 1,370 Palestinians were displaced, including 640 children. The structures demolished after 7 October include over 700 inhabited structures, more than 300 agricultural structures, more than 100 water, sanitation and hygiene structures, and 200 livelihood structures. For additional breakdowns on demolitions and displacement, please refer to the OCHA demolition dashboard.
• On 11 September, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a Palestinian family against their planned eviction from their home, following a case submitted by the Ateret Cohanim settler organization, in the Batn al Hawa area of Silwan, in East Jerusalem. This puts two households of 16 people at imminent risk of displacement. On 15 August, a Palestinian family was forcibly displaced for similar reasons. Currently, there are 93 families, comprising over 450 people, including about 200 children, in Batn al Hawa at risk of forced displacement due to eviction cases filed against them by Ateret Cohanim. Those are among 213 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem who have eviction cases filed against them in Israeli courts, the majority by settler organizations, placing at least 970 people, including at least 424 children, at risk of displacement.

Education-related incidents

• With the start of the new school year on 9 September, several schools in the West Bank are facing critical challenges. Since 7 October 2023, about 782,000 students have been affected by access restrictions, Israeli operations, and settler-related violence, according to the Education Cluster and the Palestinian Ministry of Education (MoE). At least 58 schools (50 in Area C and eight in East Jerusalem) serving about 6,500 students face pending demolition or stop-work orders.
  • Al Mu’arrajat East Bedouin Elementary School, which serves about 100 students from two Bedouin communities in the Jericho Governorate, is one of those facing demolition orders. On 16 September, Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, broke into the school during classes and assaulted and injured two female teachers with sticks. Israeli forces arrested and tied up two Palestinians, including the principal of the school. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli settlers subsequently beat the two. Additionally, according to official community sources, Israeli forces confiscated footage from the school’s surveillance cameras. The Education Cluster and the West Bank Protection Consortium condemned the attack, calling on the international community to protect Palestinians from settler violence and hold the perpetrators accountable.
  • Since 7 October, Palestinian students’ access to education has been severely restricted by new or increased restrictions. In the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron city, intensified Israeli movement restrictions have severely disrupted education since 7 October 2023. These restrictions have hindered 13,065 students' access to schools; forcing them to move to online classrooms with only 25 per cent attendance across 34 schools in H2 due to inadequate internet and limited remote learning resources. This school year, Qurtuba school, serving about 110 students, has resumed in-person classes, but with the main gate operated by Israeli forces remaining closed, staff and students face increased risks, including a detour through an olive grove, which is often used by settlers and leaves students vulnerable to attack.

Funding

• As of 18 September, Member States have disbursed about US$1.78 billion out of $3.42 billion (48 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)
• During August 2024, the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed a total of 93 ongoing projects, totalling U$79.7 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). The projects were strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation, and hygiene, coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition.
• Of these projects, 52 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations, 29 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 32 out of the 64 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs.
• Monthly updates, annual reports, and a list of all funded projects per year, are available on the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage, under the financing section.

Online version

Recent publications

• Humanitarian Situation Update #218 | Gaza Strip
• Humanitarian Situation Update #217 | Gaza Strip
• Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (18 September 2024) 
• Gaza Humanitarian Response Update | 2-15 September 2024 
• Gaza Strip access and movement | July 2024
• Humanitarian Situation Update #216 | West Bank

572.

18 september 2024

AJP Action Condemns Israel’s Indiscriminate Explosions Across Lebanon—Urges The Biden Administration To Take Itself Seriously

[WASHINGTON D.C., September 17, 2024] - Israel has once again escalated violence in the Middle East by igniting devastating explosions of hundreds of pagers across Lebanon. Israel’s indiscriminate and irresponsible attack has claimed the lives of at least nine people—including an 8-year-old girl—and left thousands injured in a tragic and deliberate act of violence.

The horrifying attack, which occurred across Lebanon, targeted unsuspecting victims carrying pagers. These devices suddenly exploded in their hands, pockets, and nearby, causing widespread panic, severe injuries, and mass destruction. The blasts left streets and shops soaked in blood, while hospitals in Beirut and across the region were overwhelmed by the injured, many of whom sustained critical wounds.

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) stands in solidarity with the people of Lebanon and calls for immediate accountability for the lives lost and those forever scarred by this act of terror. We demand that the international community hold Israel responsible for this brutal aggression. The deliberate targeting of pagers with explosives represents a significant escalation of violence that has terrorized civilians and threatens to destabilize the entire region.

We cannot allow these atrocities to continue. The explosions in Lebanon are not isolated incidents but part of a larger pattern of violence and disregard for civilian life. AJP Action calls on all responsible leaders and advocates for human rights to stand together and demand justice for the victims. The bloodshed must end, and those responsible for these atrocities must be held accountable.

In solidarity,

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action
6404 Seven Corners Place, Ste NFalls Church, Virginia 22044

Question?

Email us at info@ajpaction.org

or call (703) 534-1904

571.

16 september 2024

UPCOMING EVENTS

SIGN UP FOR OUR LIVE FROM SHEIKH JARRAH VIRTUAL DELEGATION HERE!   

MORE ABOUT SHEIKH JARRAH

 When you're ready to visit Sheikh Jarrah make sure to check out the following places and people, recommended by Eyewitness Palestine Staff

LEARN MORE ABOUT SHEIKH JARRAH

570.

16 september 2024

More Cash, More Crimes

The Egyptian people are suffering brutal repression by the authorities.. Torture is commonplace.Washington now finds this all perfectly acceptable.

The US government currently gives Egypt US$1.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing..

Washington makes an annual human rights assessment. It’s looking to see if the Egyptian government has shown “sustained and effective” steps to improve a range of rights and freedoms, such as protecting freedom of expression and association. Depending on the results of this assessment, the US can hold back up to US$225 million.

Another US$95 million is specifically tied to Egypt showing progress on releasing political prisoners.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken waived human rights conditions in the “US national security interest,” a State Department spokesperson said.

The spokesperson claimed the decision was important to both “advancing regional peace” and in recognition of Egypt’s contributions to various US national security priorities, including “to finalize a ceasefire agreement for Gaza, bring the [Israeli] hostages home, and surge humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in need.”

Many will see these as worthy foreign policy goals, but it’s not at all clear why the suffering of Egyptians should be ignored in the diplomatic push to end Israel’s atrocity-ridden  military campaign in Gaza .

And, in fact, Washington is making a similar mistake in both situations.

Egypt and Israel are the two largest recipients of US military aid, and this kind of approach has only helped fuel additional abuses and atrocities by both governments.

569.

16 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #218
Gaza Strip

Children in Gaza searching through scattered waste. Photo by OHCHR/Olga Cherevko

Key Highlights

• According to new data published by the Ministry of Health in Gaza (MoH), of 34,344 fatalities who were killed as of 31 August and whose full information has been identified, over 11,000 were children.
• Humanitarian actors specializing in health, water, sanitation, and hygiene urgently call for increased access to soap, detergents, and other cleaning materials to combat diarrhea and skin infections.
• As of 23 July, about 22,500 people who have been injured – a quarter of the all MoH-reported injuries – are estimated to have life-changing injuries that require rehabilitation, according to the World Health Organization.
• Multiple Israeli-issued evacuation orders in recent months have delayed or interrupted support to people facing gender-based violence (GBV), including medical care to GBV survivors, by forcing the closure or relocation of service delivery points.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air and land continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun, southwest Gaza city, eastern Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and east as well as south Rafah, with heavy fighting, also continue to be reported, alongside Palestinian rocket fire at Israel.
• Between the afternoons of 12 and 16 September, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 108 Palestinians were killed and 288 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 16 September 2024, at least 41,226 Palestinians were killed and 95,413 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. The MoH documents the full identification details of casualties and has recently published the breakdown of 34,344 out of 40,738 fatalities as of 31 August for whom full details have been documented by MoH (also available on the Health Cluster’s Unified Dashboard here); according to MoH, these reportedly include 11,355 children, 6,297 women, 2,955 elderly, and 13,737 men. The documentation process is ongoing by the MoH.
• The following are some of the deadly incidents reported between 12 and 14 September:
  • On 12 September, six Palestinians, including four women, a girl, and a boy, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in northern An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 12 September, four Palestinian men were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit near the European Hospital in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 13 September, five Palestinians, including two men, one woman and two children were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Al Mawasi area, in western Rafah.
  • On 14 September, ten Palestinians, including three children and a woman, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit near Ash Shuja’iyeh School in At Tuffah area, northeast of Gaza city.
  • On 14 September, five Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a fuel-filling facility was reportedly hit near Dar al Arkam school in An Nasr area northwest of Gaza city.
• Between the afternoons of 13 and 16 September, no Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 16 September 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,542 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 342 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,281 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• At least 22,500 people, or one-quarter of all MoH-reported injuries in Gaza by 23 July, are estimated to have life-changing injuries that require rehabilitation services “now and for years to come,” highlights the World Health Organization (WHO) in a recent analysis. Severe limb injuries – estimated to be between 13,455 and 17,550 –are the main driver of long-term rehabilitation needs. WHO also assesses that between 3,000 and 4,000 limb amputations have occurred, in addition to about 2,000 spinal cord and severe traumatic brain injuries and at least 2,000 major burns. Amid a decimated health-care system, “acute rehabilitation services are severely disrupted and specialized care for complex injuries is not available, placing patients’ lives at risk,” warned WHO. Gaza’s only limb reconstruction and rehabilitation centre, located in the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, became non-functional in December 2023, and was damaged in February 2024. Most of the rehabilitation workforce in Gaza has been displaced and 39 physiotherapists have reportedly been killed as of 10 May. No in-patient rehabilitation and prosthetic services are present, and even the most essential assistive devices, like wheelchairs and crutches, are lacking due to the restricted flow of aid. Tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Strip were already living with pre-existing chronic conditions and impairments before the latest escalation, making it even more critical to integrate rehabilitation services in the ongoing response. Beyond the lack of acute trauma care options, stocks of the most essential medical supplies continue to decrease in Gaza due to persistent obstacles hampering the entry of aid. According to the Health Cluster, public health facilities in southern Gaza are reporting an over 70 per cent shortage of critical health items, including consumables, complete blood count kits and laboratory equipment.
• On 14 September, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order affecting three neighbourhoods in central Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. According to the order, it followed rocket launches into Israel from the area, and the orders excluded health facilities in the neighbourhoods. According to the Site Management Working Group, this order affects two IDP collective centres and one makeshift site, hosting a total of 850 people. Initial mapping indicates that before 7 October, over 17,500 people were residing in these areas, with most reportedly forced out by ongoing hostilities and previous evacuation orders, the most recent ones affecting these neighbourhoods issued on 7 and 16 August. The ongoing issuance of mass evacuation orders without ensuring that those displaced have safe and adequate places to stay, is worsening the humanitarian crisis for hundreds of thousands, especially those who are repeatedly forcibly displaced. As of 16 September, more than 55 evacuation orders remain in effect, covering about 86 per cent of Gaza.
• Repeated forced displacement has resulted in the separation of families, eroding social protection systems, specifically for women and children in Gaza. According to UNFPA, this, compounded with the lack of law enforcement, is exposing women and girls to heightened risks of violence, including gender-based violence (GBV). Severe overcrowding in shelters, coupled with abysmal water and sanitation conditions and the scarcity of soap and hygiene products (see below), are also depriving women and girls of their privacy and dignity, while making them more vulnerable to infections and diseases. Despite the high surge in needs, aid workers are facing immense challenges in reaching women and girls. The multiple Israeli-issued evacuation orders in recent months have forced GBV-response service delivery points to close or relocate, while displacing beneficiaries, making them difficult to trace and ultimately delaying or interrupting service provision, including medical care for GBV survivors. The shortage of tents and facilities that may be converted into safe operational spaces is also hampering partners’ efforts to scale up GBV prevention and response services, including case management and specialized mental health and psychosocial support. These obstacles are exacerbated by unstable internet connection and the ongoing electricity outage, transport restrictions and the lack of cash liquidity, which are further constraining efforts to engage with communities, strengthen GBV-response referral pathways and increase protection activities.

• The upcoming rainy season, along with the already-poor shelter conditions in Gaza, requires immediate, intensive interventions. With the magnitude of destruction to urban areas, roads, and critical infrastructure this year, flooding patterns can be expected to be unpredictable and disastrous for those seeking shelter. Most displaced people are sheltering in small, overcrowded makeshift shelters on self-settled sites, typically having deteriorated plastic sheeting for roofing, while the remaining live in tents, many of which are overcrowded. Others are sheltering in damaged or unfinished buildings which are unsafe. The Shelter Cluster has reported that 1.13 million people need sealing-off kits for makeshift shelters or tents and 1.34 million people need bedding kits. Despite the ongoing efforts to bring shelter items into Gaza, there is a gap of 760,000 people who will not receive aid in the south, where the vast majority of IDPs are currently sheltering. With an average of only two truckloads of shelter-related items per week entering south Gaza in August, the Shelter Cluster is estimating that partners would need two years to deliver the equivalent of the most basic winterization support needed now. At least 25,000 sealing-off kits (25 truckloads) need to be delivered per week to south Gaza for people to be supported before more significant rainfall and lower temperatures arrive in November.
• On 13 September, the WASH and Health Clusters published an urgent call on the lack of access to soap, shampoo, and detergent to combat diarrhea and skin infections in Gaza. Ongoing constraints by the Israeli authorities on the entry of essential supplies are particularly harmful for children, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems and are increasing stress and anxiety in overcrowded shelters. Currently, shampoo, detergent (including laundry detergent), and dishwashing liquid are largely absent from the market. As a result, community kitchens cannot thoroughly clean pots, shelters are left unclean, and families are struggling to wash their clothes, vegetables, and cooking utensils or shower. Health-care facilities also struggle to find essential cleaning materials to protect patients, staff, and caregivers. The Clusters emphasized that handwashing with soap is crucial for preventing diseases and can reduce diarrheal diseases by up to 40 per cent and respiratory infections by about 20 per cent. However, soap is either unavailable or sold at unaffordable prices.
• Ongoing hostilities, access constraints, and damaged infrastructure, along with the deteriorating security situation, including looting and frequent Israeli-issued evacuation orders, are obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid across the Gaza Strip. Between 1 and 15 September of the 94 planned humanitarian missions coordinated with the Israeli authorities for northern Gaza, only 37 (39 per cent) were facilitated and 25 (27 per cent) were denied access. In southern Gaza, out of 243 coordinated humanitarian movements, 129 (53 per cent) were facilitated, and 41 (17 per cent) were denied access. OCHA has not been able to access northern Gaza for 28 days. Israeli access denials or impediments alongside other obstacles are preventing humanitarian missions to assess needs, to coordinate response, to take supplies and to prepare for the rainy season in the north. Aid convoys are being fired on or otherwise exposed to life-risking conditions, stopped, and delayed for hours in combat zones. The limited access to northern Gaza continues to affect hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people, leaving them in dire conditions with a severe shortage of essential supplies and restricted access to basic services.

567.

16 september 2024

Today's headlines

Neither monsters nor superheroes, Palestinians in Gaza ask to be seen as ‘just people’

The new book "Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and Culture" seeks to push back against the dehumanization at the heart of the Gaza genocide by illuminating the human spirit of a place under attack.

When the sun sinks over Gaza

Before the genocide in Gaza, Haidar Eid performed a rendition of Ahmad Fouad Negm's "If the Sun Sinks," a poem that beautifully mirrors the contradiction Palestinians now face between the ongoing horror and the hope for liberation.

566.

15 september 2024

Mail met 1 klik naar de provincie Gelderland!

Al sinds onze oprichting voeren wij campagne tegen deelname van Egged Bus Systems (EBS) aan Nederlandse aanbestedingen. Het toelaten van deze volle dochter van Egged, belangrijke logistieke schakel in Israëls nederzettingenbeleid, was altijd al in strijd met nationaal en internationaal beleid en recht.

Het oordeel van het Internationaal Gerechtshof van 19 juli jongstleden bevestigt dit. Het Hof benoemt expliciet de verplichting van alle landen om te voorkomen dat overheden, instellingen, bedrijven en rechtspersonen onder hun jurisdictie op enige wijze bijdragen aan het bestaan en voortbestaan van de illegale bezetting en kolonisatie. Dat houdt in dat alle politieke, militaire en economische banden met Israëls activiteiten in bezet Palestijns gebied verbroken moeten worden.

Egged staat sinds 2020 op de VN-lijst van bedrijven die profiteren van en bijdragen aan de kolonisatie van Palestijns land. Het lijdt daarom geen twijfel dat het toelaten van volle dochter EBS in strijd is met de uitspraak van het Internationaal Gerechtshof, het hoogste gerechtelijke orgaan van de Verenigde Naties.

Momenteel beslist de provincie Gelderland welk bedrijf de komende 10 tot 17 jaar het OV in de regio Achterhoek-Rivierenland mag uitvoeren.

Stuur een mail aan de portefeuillehouder van de Gedeputeerde Staten in Gelderland en de leden van de Provinciale Staten om ze aan hun verplichtingen te herinneren en te voorkomen dat reizigers in Achterhoek-Rivierlanden medeplichtig worden gemaakt aan kolonisatie en apartheid.

565.

14 september 2024

Today's headlines

Man reportedly lit himself on fire outside Boston’s Israeli consulate to protest Gaza genocide

A man in Boston reportedly lit himself on fire outside the Israeli consulate in Boston on September 11, making him the third person in the U.S. to self-immolate outside an Israeli consulate since the Gaza genocide began nearly one year ago.

564.

14 september 2024

    “AID” TO  ISRAEL  =   BOMBING PALESTINIANS

563.

13 september 2024

Terwijl illegale Israëlische kolonisten het oogstseizoen weer zijn begonnen met brandstichting en vernielingen van olijfbomen van Palestijnse boeren, en het Israëlische leger zes medewerkers van VN-hulporganisatie UNRWA heeft gedood bij een bombardement op Gaza, is in Nederland het nieuwe politieke jaar volop begonnen.

En hoe doet de regering dat? Door weg te duiken voor de verantwoordelijkheid voor het Internationaal Strafhof.

Noorwegen
Zo ontweek minister Veldkamp van Buitenlandse Zaken deze week vragen van Kamerleden Paternotte (D66) en Piri (GroenLinks-PvdA) over Israëls beslissing om Noorse diplomaten uit te wijzen. Aanleiding was de positieve reactie van Noorwegen op mogelijke arrestatiebevelen van het Strafhof voor onder andere Israëlische leiders zoals premier Netanyahu. Het land heeft aangegeven dergelijke bevelen uit te zullen voeren.

Hoe meer (westerse) landen het voorbeeld van Noorwegen volgen, hoe nauwer het net zich om de Israëlische politici zal sluiten. Dat wil Israël uiteraard voorkomen, door bijvoorbeeld diplomaten uit te zetten.

Een demonstrant houdt een bord op met de tekst 'Strafhof, klaag Netanyahu aan. Bezwijk niet onder Amerikaanse druk', Manchester, 11 mei 2024. © Alamy 

'Uiterste urgentie'
Ondertussen laat hoofdaanklager van het Strafhof Karim Khan zich niet van de wijs brengen. Na zijn aanvankelijke verzoek tot arrestatiebevelen, afgelopen mei, heeft hij op 10 september de rechters van het Strafhof gemaand de arrestatiebevelen ‘met uiterste urgentie’ uit te vaardigen.

In een interview met het Japanse The Yomiuri Shimbun heeft Khan bovendien zijn zorg uitgesproken over de Amerikaanse druk op het Strafhof. Het Amerikaanse Congres nam in juni een wet aan om sancties in te stellen tegen het Internationaal Strafhof wegens Khans onderzoek naar oorlogsmisdaden door Netanyahu en andere Israëlische officials. Khan: ‘Je kunt een aanval op het Hof niet toestaan. Dan heb je geen rules-based system.’

Lees hier het hele artikel over minister Veldkamp, Noorwegen en het Internationaal Strafhof.

Wij strijden tegen oorlogsmisdaden, annexatie, bezetting en onderdrukking. Helpt u mee?

'De bezette Westelijke Jordaanoever mag geen tweede Gaza worden'

In een redactioneel commentaar heeft de NRC zogenaamde zorgen uitgesproken over de situatie op de bezette Westelijke Jordaanoever. Aanleiding waren de grootschalige aanvallen van het Israëlische leger op vluchtelingenkampen bij Palestijnse steden in het noorden van de Westoever. Met de van Gaza inmiddels maar al te bekende massaslachtingen, ethnic cleansing, totale vernietiging van infrastructuur en behuizingen en talloze verdere oorlogsrechtelijke barbaarsheden

'De situatie in de kampen wordt door de inwoners daar al ‘Gaza in het klein’ genoemd,' schrijft de krant. 'Het is verstandig die vergelijking serieus te nemen en als waarschuwing te zien. De internationale gemeenschap mag en kan niet wegkijken bij opnieuw schendingen van mensenrechten en mogelijke oorlogsmisdaden.'

De NRC eindigt hier met louter open deuren:

'De conclusie van het Internationaal Gerechtshof dat de bezetting illegaal is, heeft ook implicaties voor Nederland. Volgens het hof hebben derde staten de plicht om de onwettige situatie niet in stand te houden. Ook dienen zij het Palestijnse recht op zelfbeschikking te beschermen. Nederland heeft, zeker als gastland van het Internationaal Gerechtshof, de plicht om het internationaal recht hoog te houden en geen uitzondering te maken voor Israël.'

Maar over het hoe en wat tot dusver geen boe of ba!

Agenda | Palestijns Film Festival, boekbespreking en meer

17 september 2024 | Avond met schrijfster Anja Meulenbelt over Gaza
Stichting Groningen-Jabalya organiseert dinsdag 17 september een avond met schrijfster Anja Meulenbelt. Meulenbelt is al jaren sterk betrokken bij de Palestijnse zaak. Zij schreef verschillende boeken over het onderwerp, en met name over haar betrokkenheid bij de Gazastrook. Naast reisverslagen publiceerde zij in 2010 Oorlog als er vrede dreigt, Israël en het Palestijnse probleem. In 2015 volgde het boek Kwart over Gaza: over zionisme, antisemitisme en islamfobie. En recent publiceerde zij het boek Nooit meer is nu: over Israëlisch kolonialisme en Palestijns verzet.

Waar: De Holm, Folkingestraat 9B Groningen
Wanneer: dinsdag 17 september 2024
Aanvang: 20:00 uur

Klik hier voor meer informatie.

26 september 2024 | Boekbespreking Een tuin voor verloren benen
Podium voor Palestina organiseert op donderdag 26 september een online boekbespreking van Een tuin voor verloren benen van de Palestijnse auteur Mahmoud Jouda. De Nederlandse vertaling, van de hand van Djûke Poppinga, verscheen dit jaar bij uitgeverij Jurgen Maas.

Alle Gazanen hebben een verhaal, of beter een rugzak vol verhalen. Die verhalen vormen een zware last maar zijn ook belangrijk om de herinneringen levend te houden en de menselijkheid niet te laten uitwissen. In Een tuin voor verloren benen is de verteller ook een verhalenverzamelaar. Hij luistert naar mede-Gazanen, veelal jonge mannen, die meededen aan de Marsen van de Terugkeer in 2018, documenteert hun ervaringen en schrijft tot ‘hij kramp heeft in zijn vingers en vermoeidheid in zijn hoofd.’

Klik hier voor meer informatie en om je aan te melden.

10 - 13 oktober 2024 | Palestinian Film Festival Amsterdam
De vierde editie van het Palestinian Film Festival Amsterdam, dit jaar met als thema 'Dissident Voices & Queer Palestinian Cinema'. Het festival speelt zich af verspreid over vijf bioscopen in Amsterdam: filmtheater Kriterion, filmtheater De Uitkijk, Lab11, Ventilator Cinema en Studio/K.

Het programma van het festival is nog niet bekend, maar wordt binnenkort gepubliceerd op de website van het festival.

Klik hier om onze volledige agenda te bekijken voor meer evenementen rondom Israël/Palestina in Nederland.

562.

13 september 2024

The Israeli government, security heads and mainstream media have for months peddled the false and deadly axiom that “only military pressure” will bring the hostages back home safely. In reality, the IDF offensive is bringing them back in body bags while killing countless Palestinians.

Up until now 117 have returned home alive. 4 were released by Hamas. 105 were released in the only deal struck up until now, which included temporary ceasefires. How many were released due to military operations during the past 11 months? Only 8. These numbers don’t lie.

So far, the IDF has retrieved the bodies of 37 hostages from different parts of the Strip. 23 of them were taken into Gaza alive. At least 4 are thought to have died in captivity due to injuries suffered on October 7th, or lack of medical treatment and supplies.

But it’s estimated that at least 15 hostages were killed directly or indirectly by IDF attacks.

Take 53 year old Yossi Sharabi, who was killed after the Air Force bombed the building where he was being held, even though they knew that hostages were being held in the area.

Just this week, the IDF confirmed that Ron Sherman, Nick Beiser and Alia Toledano were suffocated to death in the Hamas tunnel they were held in after inhaling toxic gasses released by exploded IDF bombs. They’ve known this since February yet chose not to make it public until now.

Then there's also the erroneous shooting of the 3 Israeli hostages - Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka - by IDF soldiers back in December. The IDF’s own internal investigation found that the force in question was instructed to shoot at any “fighting age male".

5 of the 6 bodies retrieved on August 20th were also killed in all probability due to the military pressure. The IDF said it was looking into the possibility Yoram Metzger, Chaim Peri, Nadav Popplewell and another hostage were killed by its own troops.


Even in the very rare situations when an IDF operation successfully rescues hostages alive, the Palestinian casualties resulting from those raids are unimaginable. Hundreds were killed or injured during the rescue operation of 4 hostages in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in June.

More and more Israelis are finally starting to understand this. It’s too late for tens of thousands of Palestinians as it is for many of the hostages, but a ceasefire and hostage deal can still save so many innocent lives. This requires finally embracing the facts: Military pressure kills.

Soldiers’ testimonies we received and were published by Haaretz last month substantiated and detailed the IDF's use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, who are sent into potentially booby-trapped tunnels and buildings in the Gaza Strip.

More information, including testimonies from soldiers who chose to break their silence, are available in the following links:

Haaretz | Israeli army uses Palestinian civilians to inspect potentially booby-trapped tunnels in Gaza

The independent | Stripped and held at gunpoint, the Gaza schoolboys ‘forced to be Israel’s human shields’

561.

13 september 2024

Today's headlines

Palestinians in the West Bank are completely unprepared for the coming genocide

We need to build an infrastructure of confrontation to resist Israel's coming onslaught on the West Bank. The first step to doing so is by building self-reliance and reclaiming food sovereignty.

Israel bombs two displacement shelters in Gaza, kills 11 Palestinians in West Bank

The UN Secretary-General condemned Israel’s massacre of dozens of Palestinians in Nuseirat after six UNRWA workers were among the slain. Meanwhile, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians in the West Bank within two days.

Israel’s lie about a U.S. activist’s murder has exposed the Biden-Harris double standard on Palestine

Israel’s lie over the murder of U.S. activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi has been exposed, and in the process, so has Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's double standard on the worth of Palestinian lives.

560.

13 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #217
Gaza Strip

Heavily damaged school in Gaza. Photo by UNRWA.

Key Highlights

• Violence and obstruction continue to undermine humanitarian efforts. Israeli forces held a UN convoy at gunpoint, preventing it from fulfilling its humanitarian mission. In a separate incident, a school, and its surroundings in Nuseirat in the middle areas was hit leading to at least 18 deaths, including aid workers.
• Over 560,000 children aged below ten years of age were vaccinated against polio during the first round of an emergency vaccination campaign in Gaza.
• On 12 September, the World Health Organization successfully evacuated the largest number of patients from Gaza since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023. About 12,000 patients continue to wait, unable to exit.
• About 68 per cent of Gaza's cropland and road network have been severely degraded by hostilities, with significant damage increases reported since July.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air and land continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun, southwest Gaza city, eastern Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and east as well as south Rafah, with heavy fighting, also continue to be reported, alongside Palestinian rocket fire at Israel.
• Between the afternoons of 8 and 12 September, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 146 Palestinians were killed and 364 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 12 September 2024, at least 41,118 Palestinians were killed and 95,125 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are some of the deadly incidents reported between 8 and 11 September: 
  • On 8 September, five Palestinians were reportedly killed and at least seven others injured when a house was hit in northern An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 9 September, six Palestinians, including a baby girl, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Jabalya city, in north Gaza.
  • On 9 September, five Palestinians including three women were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit near the Jordanian Hospital in Tal Al Hawa, Gaza city.
  • On 10 September, nine Palestinians, including six children and women were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Jabalya city, in northern Gaza.
  • On 11 September, 13 Palestinians, including nine women and girls, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Khuza’a area, in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 11 September, five Palestinians including two children were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Ash Shamaa area, in Gaza city.
• Between the afternoons of 9 and 13 September, two Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in a helicopter accident in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 13 September 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,542 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 342 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,280 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• On 10 September, Israeli airstrikes hit a makeshift site that was hosting thousands of internally displaced people. The site was in the area where the Israeli military had instructed civilians to take shelter for their safety, in Al Mawasi part of Khan Younis. People staying there had evacuated from the eastern parts of Khan Younis and Rafah. According to the UN Human Rights Office, the attack that involved weapons with wide area effects killed at least 19 civilians and 60 others were wounded. According to a Shelter Cluster assessment conducted on 11 September, 68 families comprising 413 people lost their shelters in the attack, requiring new tents and other items. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, condemned the air strikes stressing that “the use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas is unconscionable.” The UN Human Rights Office deplored the strikes and further indicated that safety of civilians as well as food, shelter and life necessities were not ensured in the unilaterally designated zone, where people have been forced to move to over the past 11 months.
• On 30 August, the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) cropland damage assessment, based on satellite imagery collected in August 2024, revealed that 68 per cent of permanent crop fields in the Gaza Strip (102 out of 150 square kilometres) exhibited a significant decline in health and density compared with the average over the previous seven years. This marks a 4-percentage point increase in damaged cropland since July 2024, driven by razing, heavy vehicle activity, bombing, shelling, and other conflict-related dynamics. In Gaza Governorate, 75 per cent of cropland was observed to be damaged in August, up from 73 per cent in July, while Deir al Balah saw a five-percentage point increase in the same period. Simultaneously, a satellite-based assessment of the road network, conducted by UNOSAT on 18 August 2024, revealed that about 68 per cent of Gaza’s road network has been damaged, with 1,190 kilometre of roads destroyed, 415 kilometre severely affected, and 1,440 kilometre moderately affected.

• Violence and obstruction continue to impede humanitarian aid workers' ability to support those in need. “What's happening in Gaza is totally unacceptable,” stated the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres after the killing at least 18 Palestinians, including six UNRWA staff members on 11 September in an Israeli airstrike on a UN school, which was sheltering about 12,000 people in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Deir Al Balah. According to UNRWA, this incident represents the highest death toll among its personnel in a single event since the escalation of hostilities, with the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members among those killed. According to UNRWA, the school has been hit five times since October 2023.
• On 9 September, Israeli forces stopped, threatened and attacked a UN aid convoy of 12 staff members at Al Rasheed checkpoint en route to northern Gaza to support the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign. The movement had been fully coordinated with the Israeli authorities. The situation escalated quickly, with soldiers pointing their weapons directly towards the convoy personnel. Live shots were fired, and tanks and bulldozers engaged with, and damaged UN vehicles, endangering the lives of UN staff inside the vehicles. The convoy remained held at gunpoint while senior level UN officials engaged with the Israeli authorities to de-escalate the situation. Two staff were questioned, one by one, and then released. After seven and a half hours at the checkpoint, the convoy returned to base without being able to fulfil its humanitarian mission to support the polio campaign. The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, stated, “the United Nations and humanitarian organizations face continuous obstruction and insecurity in their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the devastated population in Gaza.” This incident follows at least 16 instances of UN convoys being hit since the beginning of the year.
• The third and last phase of the polio vaccination campaign took place in northern Gaza between 10 and 12 September. More than 231 teams were deployed in the North Gaza and Gaza governorates, with a total of 112,311 children immunized in the three-day effort. The first round of the campaign has thus officially concluded across Gaza, with round two, aimed at administering the second dose of the vaccine, set to commence in four weeks’ time. Meanwhile, following the successful conclusion of the four-day vaccination efforts in south Gaza on 8 September, five health facilities are continuing to offer polio vaccines to ensure that no child is missed. As of 13 September, over 560,000 children aged below ten years of age were vaccinated against polio during the first round of an emergency vaccination campaign in Gaza.
• In another significant development, on 12 September, the World Health Organization (WHO), jointly with partners and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, managed to evacuate 97 critically injured and sick patients, along with 155 caretakers, from Gaza to the UAE. This was the largest single medical evacuation since October 2023. The patients comprised 45 children and 52 adults with injuries, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions. Despite severe operational challenges and insecurity, WHO and its partners were able to transfer all patients from their initial locations across the Strip to the European Gaza Hospital (EGH) in Khan Younis, where a facility was set up to gather the patients before departure. Overall, only 221 patients and their 292 caretakers have been evacuated from Gaza on five separate occasions since the closure of the Rafah crossing on 7 May. All other evacuations remain halted and an estimated 12,000 patients are still unable to exit the Strip.
• UNFPA has warned about an alarming increase in high-risk pregnancies, birth and postpartum complications in the Gaza Strip. Beyond a marked rise in pre-term births and sexually transmitted, urinary and reproductive tract infections, other severe complications like eclampsia, sepsis and postpartum hemorrhage are being increasingly reported by health workers and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) service providers. The number of neonatal complications and admissions to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) has also increased. Nearly one in 10 pregnant and breastfeeding women screened by the Nutrition Cluster in June and July were found to be acutely malnourished – a condition contributing to severe anemia, infections and delayed recovery after delivery. The lack of adequate water and sanitation services further exacerbates the risk of maternal and newborn infections. Currently, 11 hospitals and field hospitals across the Strip offer comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) - four in northern Gaza, two in Deir al Balah, four in Khan Younis, and one in Rafah - and seven facilities have NICUs. The Health Cluster, and the SRH Technical Working Group are endeavoring to expand EmONC services and NICUs in partially functioning hospitals and UNFPA has also established six maternal health units in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, which are mobile and can be relocated as the situation evolves. Moreover, to alleviate the pressure on overstretched hospitals, ten primary health-care centres have been equipped to provide specialized gynecological services, and to address human resource shortages, qualified SRH personnel, including midwives, are being recruited, trained and deployed across the Strip. Yet, despite all efforts made, ongoing insecurity, exacerbated by repeated evacuation orders, and chronic shortages of essential medical supplies, equipment, generators and fuel continue to undermine access to and the functionality of SRH facilities. 

559.

13 september 2024

With the stakes higher than ever, we push for an arms embargo, reinstatement of funding for UNRWA, and a halt to U.S. support for Israel’s war crime

In solidarity,

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

558.

12 september 2024

Today, Adalah Justice Project is releasing new research along with our partners LittleSis and the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE). Over the last few months, we’ve worked together to document the connections between executives and board members at major weapons manufacturers, and educational and cultural institutions in the U.S.
 

What we discovered is a deep web of complicity, granting these war profiteers singular influence within our cultural spheres and academia – despite their connections to the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Meet the Genocide Gentry.

The new research found that executives and board members at six top weapons companies have been granted prominent positions at 54 prestigious universities, colleges, and cultural institutions.

These six top weapons companies are:

• Lockheed Martin

• Boeing

• Northrop Grumman

• General Dynamics

• RTX/Raytheon

• Elbit Systems of America

Our universities, museums, educational and cultural institutions shouldn’t be taking money or guidance from war profiteers.

Since October 2023, Israel has targeted universities and cultural centers across Gaza, destroying campuses, museums, libraries, and more. That this is all backed by the United States means U.S. educational and cultural institutions have a responsibility to consider their role in helping to end these war crimes.

That starts with reconsidering their connections with the weapons companies profiting from war and genocide. When they give voice and cultural respectability to arms dealers, they are themselves enabling mass destruction.

Our hope is that, with this data, you can find more opportunities to organize within your communities, and chip away at the influence of the Genocide Gentry.

Visit the Genocide Gentry website to get acquainted with the key players and the institutions that host them.

In solidarity,

Shona Clarkson
Adalah Justice Project

Adalah Justice Project is a Palestinian-led advocacy organization based in the U.S.

Our mailing address is:
Adalah Justice Project

557.

12 september 2024

Carrefour is complicit in Israel’s genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza and in its apartheid against Palestinians everywhere.

Earlier this month, we exposed the French retailer’s lies to its shareholders and the general public. During Carrefour’s AGM 2024, it assured its shareholders that it had not opened stores in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). Carrefour has at least one open branch in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut — an Israeli settlement classified by the UN and even the EU as partially located on occupied Palestinian territory, a war crime under international law.

The ICJ historic ruling in July, finding Israel guilty of apartheid against Palestinians and maintaining an illegal occupation and annexation of Palestinian territory, has confirmed that ending the complicity of states, corporations and institutions with Israel’s regime of illegal occupation and apartheid is not just a moral obligation but also a legal one.

Carrefour has shamelessly supported Israel's genocidal war against the Palestinian people by donating thousands of food packages to Israeli forces. In October 2023, its Jerusalem store held a fundraiser, calling for donations "for the brave soldiers" involved in Israel’s unfolding Gaza genocide. 

Carrefour’s complicity did not begin with the genocide in Gaza. Since 2022, the BDS movement has called for #BoycottCarrefour. Carrefour is already feeling the heat!

The 2024 biannual report by Majid Al Futtaim, which operates Carrefour stores in the Arab world, shows a 47% profit drop in Majid Al Futtaim Retail, citing “geopolitical conflict” and “declining consumer confidence.” In other words, our #BoycottCarrefour campaign has played a crucial role, forcing store closures and lost revenue across the region.
 

With Israel's declining economy and investors withdrawing, Carrefour Group’s investments in apartheid Israel are not only unethical and illegal, but financially reckless as well.

556B.

12 september 2024

Op 7 oktober aanstaande is het een jaar geleden dat Israël de genocide tegen de Palestijnen in Gaza begon. Een genocide die door de grootmachten het liefst wordt doodgezwegen, rechtgeluld of verduisterd. Verzet tegen de genocide wordt als antisemitisme neergezet in klassiek fascistische traditie.

Bijna één jaar na het begin van de gelivestreamde genocide publiceert het BDS National Committee, (de breedste Palestijnse coalitie van het maatschappelijk middenveld die zich inzet om de BDS beweging voor Palestijnse rechten te leiden en te ondersteunen), strategische richtlijnen voor actie om zoveel druk uit te oefenen dat Israël en zijn vrienden wel moeten stoppen.

In deze nieuwsbrief geven wij  een voorzet. Het hele artikel staat zoals gebruikelijk op onze website. Lees het en organiseer je tegen de koloniale genocide van het Westen in Gaza.

Blijf BDS'en!

Een strijdbare groet van het BDS-team

Een jaar genocide door Israel.

Sta op voor bevrijding!

Palestina staat verenigd in verzet tegen de genocide en de apartheid. Dagelijks moordt de bezetter, maar de strijd heeft zin; we hebben al veel successen behaald! De door Palestijnen geleide BDS beweging komt met richtlijnen waar we prioriteit moeten leggen.

Het feit dat de Amerikaans-Israëlische as deze genocide een jaar lang heeft voortgezet ondanks mondiale veroordeling en druk mag niet verdoezelen wat we allemaal hebben bereikt in deze periode van uitzonderlijke strijd en de ongekende, aanhoudende golf van strategische solidariteitsmobilisaties:

1. De enorme verandering in het opbouwen van macht van het volk, in het verwezenlijken van ons strategisch radicalisme, isoleert het genocidale regime van Israël en maakt internationale bedrijven en instellingen medeplichtig als nooit tevoren. Reguliere Israëlische analisten voorspellen nu al dat Israëls regime van kolonialisme en apartheid “misschien zijn honderdjarig bestaan ​​niet zal vieren”!
2. Deze people power heeft ertoe bijgedragen het nog ergere bloedbad en de verwoesting van Israël te voorkomen, en heeft onder meer de daadwerkelijke uitvoering van zijn plan voor massale etnische zuivering van de Palestijnen tegengewerkt.
3. De macht en het discours van de basis om gerechtigheid te eisen, evenals concrete beleidsmaatregelen en acties, waaronder sancties, om genocide te beëindigen, hebben regeringen (vooral in het Mondiale Zuiden), lokale raden en een toenemend aantal staatsfondsen ertoe aangezet hun medeplichtigheid aan en zelfs op ongekende wijze sancties tegen Israël opleggen.

Kijk voor meer acties op de website!

556A.

12 september 2024

Today's headlines

Free Khalida Jarrar, end the global prison-industrial genocide

Palestinian Feminist Collective

The Palestinian Feminist Collective demands the immediate and unconditional freedom of Palestinian political prisoner and revolutionary leader Khalida Jarrar, who teaches us that “hope in prison is like a flower that grows out of stone.”

Read more

Following criticism for repeating Israeli claims, Biden now says he’s ‘outraged’ over killing of U.S. citizen

Michael Arria

Joe Biden released a new statement condemning the killing of Aysenur Eygi the day after repeating an Israeli claim that she was killed accidentally by a bullet that had "ricocheted off the ground."

Cal State professors targeted for exposing school’s ties to Israel’s genocide in Gaza

Five Cal State Long Beach professors are being reprimanded by the school for their role in a Palestine solidarity protest. The move appears to be retribution for an article exposing the school’s ties to the Gaza genocide.

556.

11 september 2024

An American was killed in the West Bank.

Arms embargo now.

This is genocide, and it’s being funded using your tax dollars. Email your members of Congress and tell them: Stop arming Israel.

554.

11 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #216
West Bank

An elderly Palestinian woman in a wheelchair navigates a destroyed street in Jenin on her way to a hospital, following a ten-day operation by Israeli forces. Photo by OCHA, 8 September 2024

Key Highlights

• Between 3 and 9 September, Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians of whom three were children, and one foreign national, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Additionally, a Jordanian national killed three Israeli security officers and was then shot and killed by Israeli forces.
• Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin and Tulkarm cities and refugee camps on 5-6 September, concluding a ten-day operation—the longest in the West Bank since 2002. It resulted in 36 Palestinian deaths, including eight children, 87 injuries, and at least 60 arrests. One Israeli soldier was killed during the operation.
• At least 163 Palestinian households, comprising 624 people, including 232 children, remain displaced following the recent large-scale operation in the northern West Bank. As of 8 September, about 2,400 housing units had been damaged, of them, 106 were rendered uninhabitable.
• Eighty Palestinians, including 41 children, were displaced due to Israeli settler violence and harassment, and the takeover of Palestinian property between 3 and 9 September.

Latest Developments (after 9 September)

• On 11 September, initial reports indicate that an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinians in Tubas city, in northern West Bank.
• On 11 September, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian whose vehicle hit and critically injured an Israeli settler in the West Bank.

Humanitarian Developments (3-11 September)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians, including three children. Israeli forces and settlers injured 59 Palestinians, including nine children. During the same period, a Jordanian national killed three members of the Israeli officers, after which he was shot and killed by Israeli forces at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank. In addition, Israeli forces killed one female foreign national.
• On 3 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old girl in Kafr Dan, southwest of Jenin city. According to eyewitnesses and Palestinian families that were displaced, Israeli forces raided Kafr Dan and surrounded a two-storey house in the eastern part of the town, fired at it and called for the residents to come out via loudspeakers. Two families exited the house. An hour later, additional reinforcements accompanied by two bulldozers arrived at the scene. An exchange of fire ensued between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the vicinity of the house, and Israeli forces fired off-shoulder missiles. Once the exchanges of fire ceased, the bulldozers began demolishing the besieged house. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), they were called to assist an injured girl, but Israeli forces opened fire on the ambulance when they arrived. The girl was dead by the time the medical team was able to reach her. According to the girl's brother who was with her during the incident, she was shot while passing by a window inside her house. During the operation, Israeli forces shot and injured five Palestinians, including four journalists who were at the scene.
• On 3 September, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians during an operation in Dhinnaba neighbourhood, east of Tulkarm. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli forces surrounded a house and called the women and children to leave through loudspeakers. At least two women and four children left the house and were forced to stand against a wall outside. Eyewitnesses reported that the two men, who were armed, refused to surrender and remained in the yard of the house. Israeli forces then forced a young boy (the nephew of one of the armed men) to go inside and urge the men to surrender, but they refused. During the two-hour standoff, an exchange of fire erupted between the besieged men and Israeli forces. Israeli forces fired two shoulder-launched missiles at the house. Eyewitnesses and relatives at the scene reported that Israeli forces took the bodies of the armed men after they were killed.
• On 5 September, an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinians and injured three others in Tubas city during an Israeli forces’ operation in the El Far'a refugee camp. According to local sources, two Israeli airstrikes struck two cars parked in Tubas city. PRCS reported that the injured were transported to a nearby hospital. According to the Israeli military, they struck armed Palestinians who posed a threat to their forces.
• On 5 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy and injured one other Palestinian in El Far'a refugee camp, Tubas. According to local sources, the boy was outside the camp and attempting to return home when he was shot three times in the leg. Israeli forces denied medical teams from assisting the injured boy. According to PRCS who witnessed the incident, the boy cried out "do not shoot me" and Israeli forces then ordered him to remove his clothes. When he failed to do so, Israeli forces shot the boy in the chest. PRCS then reported that after he was killed, an Israeli bulldozer dragged his body to another location within the camp, resulting in the mutilation of his body. According to UNRWA, an exchange for fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians, and the use of explosive devices by the latter was reported.
• On 6 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a female foreign national and injured a Palestinian boy on Mount Sbeih in Beita town, southeast of Nablus city. According to local sources, Palestinian villagers staged their weekly protest against the Evyatar settlement expansion, where Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and live ammunition at the protesters. According to an eyewitness, the foreign national was shot while she was standing about 250 meters away from the demonstration. Medical sources reported that the activist was shot in the head by live ammunition and that a boy was injured in his leg by shrapnel and transferred to the hospital.
• On 8 September, a Jordanian truck driver shot and killed three Israeli officers, at the Allenby Bridge crossing which connects Jordan to the West Bank. The Jordanian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces at the scene. Following the shooting, Israeli authorities closed the Allenby Bridge crossing in both directions. According to local sources, Israeli forces physically assaulted and interrogated Palestinian and Jordanian workers who were present during the incident. Furthermore, Palestinian travellers attempting to pass through were denied access and forced to leave the area. The Allenby Bridge was reopened to travellers later that day.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 9 September, 674 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in addition to two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October. These include 658 killed by Israeli forces, eleven by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. In the same period, 57 Israeli airstrikes have killed 156 Palestinians and injured 57 others. By contrast, six Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in 2023 (up till October) and none in the preceding 3 years. During the same period, 22 Israelis, including 15 members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In Israel, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of ten Israelis and seven Palestinian perpetrators.

Humanitarian Needs and Responses to Israeli Operation in Northern West Bank

• Between 5 and 6 September, Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin and Tulkarm, including their refugee camps, following a ten-day large-scale operation, during which Israeli forces used lethal, war-like tactics that raised concerns over excessive use of force. On 7 September, OCHA, UNRWA, and humanitarian partners initiated an inter-cluster needs assessments in Jenin and Tulkarm governorates to assess the humanitarian impact of the operation.
  • In Kafr Dan, Jenin refugee camp, and on the eastern side of Jenin, the operation resulted in 19 Palestinian fatalities, 58 injuries, and at least 44 Palestinians arrested, along with significant damage to civilian infrastructure, residential, and livelihood shelters. The operation led to the internal displacement of over 1,000 Palestinian families. Most of these displaced have since returned, however at least 74 households, comprising 297 people, including 102 children, remain displaced from 45 houses, which are now uninhabitable. As of 8 September, at least 1,900 housing units had been damaged. Approximately 25 kilometres (70 per cent) of the city’s roads and the underlying water and sewage networks were bulldozed, severely impacting the safety of movement and access to essential services of water, sanitation, healthcare, education, and markets. As a result, since 28 August, water has been cut to approximately 35,000 residents of the camp and its surrounding neighbourhoods, who have also experienced sewage overflows.
  • In Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, the operation led to seven Palestinian fatalities, and 14 injuries, and extensive damage to infrastructure and residential shelters. Over 400 housing units had been damaged in and around the two camps. Of them, 61 were rendered uninhabitable, displacing a total of 89 households, comprising 327 people, including 123 children. More than 2.6 kilometres of the water and sewage networks in the camps were bulldozed, severely impacting the safety of movement and access to essential services of water, sanitation, healthcare, education, and markets. As a result, since 28 August, water has been cut to approximately 33,000 residents of the camp and its surrounding neighbourhoods, who have also experienced sewage overflows.

• Humanitarian partners, including PRCS, UNRWA, and the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), have been responding to the operation's aftermath. They have distributed food parcels and water bottlers to affected populations and are coordinating with OCHA and other partners to assess needs and deliver additional assistance. On a related note, UNRWA, and PRCS, in cooperation with MoSD, initiated a distribution process aiming to reach 1,500 families in Jenin. Meanwhile, in Tulkarm, the World Food Program (WFP), in coordination with UNRWA and MoSD, distributed one-time cash assistance of 1,000 NIS to 2,300 families in Tulkarm refugee camps. Efforts include offering mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS), supporting local water authorities, and supplying educational materials. The WASH cluster, in collaboration with UNRWA, and the Palestinian Water Authority, has been coordinating urgent interventions in Jenin and Tulkarm, including water trucking, hygiene kit distribution, installing PE tanks, setting up water distribution points, providing water pipes, bottled drinking water, and sewage vacuuming. The Shelter Cluster, in coordination with OCHA and UNRWA, is working closely with Cash Working Group partners to provide necessary assistance for both refugees and non-refugees, including Emergency Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (EMPCA) These efforts will continue for the next 2-3 weeks.
• During the Israeli forces’ wide-scale operation in the northern West Bank, access to hospitals and medical facilities was severely restricted. In Jenin, Israeli forces surrounded both Jenin Governmental Hospital and Ibn Sina Hospital, blocking ambulances and hindering medical teams. In Tulkarm, medical teams were unable to reach casualties in Nur Shams refugee camp. Similarly, in Tubas, restricted access following an airstrike hampered medical assistance, and a damaged generator caused a temporary power outage across the camp. PRCS has expressed deep concern over the shrinking humanitarian space, particularly in Jenin and Jenin refugee camp. According to PRCS, Israeli forces have directly targeted their ambulances, injuring two Emergency Medical Team (EMT) members and a volunteer doctor. These obstructions have hindered the delivery of essential supplies and medical services, worsening conditions for civilians. The PRCS urges the international community to ensure adherence to international humanitarian law and address the escalating humanitarian crisis.

Settler-related Violence and Displacement

• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 43 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in one fatality and 10 injuries, and damage to property. Palestinians perpetrated two attacks against settlers in this period, resulting in one injury. Between 7 October 2023 and 9 September 2024, OCHA recorded about 1,350 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which about 130 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, about 1,080 led to damage to Palestinian property, and over 140 led to both casualties and property damage. During the reporting period, at least 17 Palestinian households comprising at least 80 people, including 41 children, were displaced due to Israeli settler violence and harassment, and the takeover of Palestinian property. Since 7 October 2023, 276 Palestinians households comprising 1,627 people, including 794 children, have been displaced in the context of incidents related to Israeli settlers.
• The following are some of the key incidents documented by OCHA during the reporting period:
  • On 3 September, eight Palestinian Bedouin herders including a woman from the Baryet Hizma community, located on the eastern outskirts of Hizma village, were forcibly displaced due to escalating violence by Israeli settlers. Since the establishment of a new Israeli settler outpost on 8 October, which was constructed on the remains of a Palestinian residential structure demolished by Israeli forces, the community has reported an increase in settler-related violence. Video footage shows armed Israeli settlers harassing Palestinian residents daily, including firing live ammunition, burning vehicles, and damaging property. On 1 August, due to intensified nightly settler attacks, the community began limiting their presence to the hours between 17:00 and 21:00. On 23 August, Israeli settlers launched a violent attack; ransacking homes, burning one residential structure, damaging, and stealing property. In addition, settlers from the outpost twice placed earth mounds at the entrance of the community, preventing access. The families did not dismantle their shelters and left all their structures behind in hope of being able to return to their location.
  • On 5 September, two Palestinian Bedouin households, comprising 20 people, including eight children and seven women were displaced from the Ein al Hilwa–Wadi al Faw, Tubas governorate. On 4 September, armed Israeli settlers forcibly entered the community with their livestock, threatening the families at gunpoint and demanding they leave. The settlers also attacked the families, using pepper spray, which injured two men. Hours later, Israeli police arrived, detained one of the Palestinian men and a foreign activist, confiscating their mobile phones and releasing them later that night. While the families were relocating, Israeli forces physically assaulted and injured two Palestinians who were helping the families relocate to Khirbet ‘Atuf, after which they detained one of the men and transported him to a military base, where he was later released.
  • On 6 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Qaryut village, south of Nablus city. According to local sources, Israeli settlers believed to be from Shilo settlement, escorted by Israeli forces, attacked the village by throwing stones and attempting to burn houses. Palestinian villagers responded by throwing stones at the settlers, and Israeli forces responded by firing live ammunition at them. The 13-year-old girl was shot and killed inside her house, which was approximately 150 meters away from where the confrontations were taking place. PRCS reported that it responded to three casualties, the girl who was shot with live ammunition in the chest, one Palestinian man who was injured by live ammunition and one who was physically assaulted. Additionally, Israeli settlers burned hundreds of olive trees on a space of about 20 dunums belonging to villagers. The Village Council reported that they are unable to access these burned lands to assess the damage and are in the process of identifying the damages to the houses.
  • On 7 September, Israeli settlers believed to be from Evyatar injured four Palestinians, including one elderly man in Beita town, southeast of Nablus. According to the municipality and the affected families, a group of masked Israeli settlers threw stones at two houses in the town. One group broke into one house, threw stones, and injured a 60-year-old woman, while others pepper sprayed a 68-year-old man and then hit him with a stone. Another Israeli settler assaulted a Palestinian woman, injuring her head and face. The settlers broke the windows of four vehicles and caused external damage to one car. One of the affected families reported that the stones thrown at their house broke three windows.
  • On 7 September, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured a Palestinian man near At Tuwani, Hebron governorate. The Palestinian, the Head of the Susiya Council, was driving on Road 316 when three settlers driving a vehicle, forced him to stop and assaulted him with the butt of a gun, while telling him that they knew who he was. The settlers left the man with fractures, but he managed to drive himself to the nearest hospital.
  • On 8 September, Palestinians threw stones and injured an Israeli female settler while she was traveling near Masu'a settlement on Road 90, Jericho governorate. The stones also damaged her vehicle.

Demolitions

• During the reporting period, at least 17 Palestinian households comprising at least 80 people, including 41 children, were displaced due to Israeli settler violence and harassment, and the takeover of Palestinian property. Since 7 October 2023, 276 Palestinians households comprising 1,627 people, including 794 children, have been displaced in the context of incidents related to Israeli settlers.
• Between 3 and 9 September, Israeli authorities demolished, destroyed, or forced the demolition of 38 Palestinian-owned structures. Two houses were bulldozed in an operation carried out by Israeli forces in Kafr Dan village (Jenin), which displaced 14 people, including seven children. The remaining 36 structures included a forced self-demolition in East Jerusalem and 35 demolitions in Area C due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. A total of 42 people, including 24 children, were displaced.
• On 3 September, Israeli forces demolished six structures, including three residential buildings, two livelihood buildings, and one WASH structure in Area C in the village of Duma, south of Nablus. As a result, two households, comprising 15 people, including nine children, were displaced. These families originated from the Ein ar Rashash community and had previously been displaced. This is the third demolition affecting these families within Duma village in less than six months.
• On 5 September, the Israeli Civil Administration, along with Israeli forces, demolished an inhabited residential building and a water cistern, citing a lack of an Israeli-issued permit in Qalqas community (Area C) near Hebron city. As a result, one family comprising eight people, including four children were displaced for the second time. The first displacement took place on 11 July 2024. The new structure was built near the old house that was demolished previously. No written demolition orders were handed to the owners prior to the demolition.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 9 September 2024, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced the demolition of 1,598 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, displacing more than 4,023 Palestinians, including about 1,689 children, which is more than double compared with the same period before 7 October, where about 1,370 Palestinians were displaced, including 640 children. The demolitions after 7 October include over 500 inhabited structures, more than 300 agricultural structures, more than 100 water, sanitation and hygiene structures, and 200 livelihood structures.

Funding

• As of 11 September, Member States have disbursed about US$1.6 billion out of $3.42 billion (47 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)
• During August 2024, the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed a total of 93 ongoing projects, totalling U$79.7 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). The projects were strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation, and hygiene, coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition.
• Of these projects, 52 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations, 29 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 32 out of the 64 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs.
• Monthly updates, annual reports, and a list of all funded projects per year, are available on the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage, under the financing section.

553.

11 september 2024

Readers’ Recommendation

• Israeli airstrikes on Palestinian territories kill dozens more (AP)

552.

11 september 2024

Today's headlines

Sanders says he’ll introduce resolution to block $20 billion arms sale to Israel as support for arms embargo grows

Support for an arms embargo on Israel among Democratic Party voters has grown enormously due to the Gaza genocide. But will this shift in popular opinion translate into policy change in Washington?

No, Israel does not have a right to defend itself in Gaza. But the Palestinians do.

Basic morality and simple logic dictate that the right of self-defense belongs to the Palestinian people, not to their oppressor. And international law fully agrees, according to the International Court of Justice 

551.

11 september 2024

550.

10 september 2024

In 12 Days We’re Bringing The Fight For Palestinian Freedom To The Halls of Congress

We’re nearly a year into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, funded and unchecked by Washington, D.C. As Israel continues to kill hundreds more Palestinians, including American citizen Aysenur Eygi, and spikes its repression into the West Bank, your advocacy is critical.

President Biden doesn’t need time to “gather the facts”—the facts are already known. The Israeli and U.S. militaries, as well as the U.S. government, are fully aware of who assassinated U.S. citizen Aysenur Eygi on September 6, 2024. They know which Israeli unit was present at the peaceful demonstration in Beita, and the names of the snipers who fired the shots. The Israeli military keeps detailed records of the units deployed in Beita, the names of the soldiers involved in the killings, and who fired live ammunition. Every time a shot was fired, soldiers were interviewed, and those responsible often took credit for their actions.

Regardless if Kamala Harris or Donald Trump becomes President, we cannot give up and let Congress think that at this critical point, they can abdicate their responsibility to stop funding the genocide and hold those who kill Americans responsible. What happens in D.C. affects every Palestinian and American. This is our chance to demand Congress impose an arms embargo on Israel. We must push this demand with determination.

In solidarity,Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

549.

10 september 2024

Quick Takes: Gaza

Video: Gaza

548.

10 september 2024

Today's headlines

Biden administration refuses to acknowledge an Israeli soldier killed U.S. activist in the West Bank

Biden administration officials are refusing to publicly acknowledge that an Israeli soldier killed Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American citizen, in the occupied West Bank, saying they would let Israel's investigation "play out."

Israel winds down West Bank operation, continues blockade

Palestinians in Nablus held a funeral procession for a Turkish-American activist killed by Israeli forces in Beita. Meanwhile, Israel continued to close its borders with Jordan for the second day in a row following a shooting at Allenby bridge.

For The New York Times, not all Americans killed in Palestine are equal

When a foreign government and its citizens kill American nationals, it usually raises media outrage in the U.S. But, Israel’s recent spate of violence against Americans, including the killing of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, has barely received coverage.

547.

9 september 2024

Today's headlines

Former Jewish Voice for Peace leaders reflect on the lessons of anti-Zionist organizing

Mondoweiss speaks with Rebecca Vilkomerson, co-author of the book "Solidarity Is the Political Version of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing," about the evolution of Jewish Voice for Peace and the state of anti-Zionist organizing.

Palestine defines us

Palestine is the perfect illustration of the West's staggering hypocrisy. The Gaza genocide defines us because it is us.

546.

9 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #215
Gaza Strip

A Palestinian girl wiping the floor of a heavily damaged house in Abasan Al Kabira, area of Khan Younis. Photo by OCHA/Themba Linden, 7 September 2024.

Key Highlights

• The second phase of the Gaza’s polio vaccination campaign concluded on 8 September, reaching 256,572 children in Khan Younis and Rafah over four days. Preparations are now ongoing for the third phase, which is scheduled to take place in northern Gaza from 10 to 13 September.
• A new Israeli evacuation order in northern Gaza, the first in over two weeks, includes areas where local pauses had been agreed for polio vaccination.
• The number of humanitarian missions and movements within Gaza denied access by the Israeli authorities has nearly doubled in August compared with July (105 vs. 53).
• Half of all essential medicine is not available in Gaza, with life-saving medication, like insulin, running out.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air and land continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun, southwest Gaza city, eastern Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and east as well as south Rafah, with heavy fighting, also continue to be reported, alongside Palestinian rocket fire at Israel.
• Between the afternoons of 5 and 8 September, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 94 Palestinians were killed and 307 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 8 September 2024, at least 40,972 Palestinians were killed and 94,761 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are some of the deadly incidents reported between 6 and 8 September: 
  • On 6 September, six Palestinians, including four women, were reportedly killed and five others injured when a residential building was hit near Bader Mosque in Az Zaytoun area, in Gaza city.
  • On 6 September, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed when a house was hit in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp in northern Deir al Balah.
  • On 6 September, five Palestinians were killed, including two women and two unidentified corpses recovered in pieces, and at least 10 others were injured when an apartment was hit in Al Yarmouk street, in central Khan Younis.
  • On 7 September, five Palestinians, including two children and two women, were reportedly killed, and others injured, when a house was hit in Al Bureij Refugee Camp in northern Deir al Balah.
  • On 7 September, at least eight Palestinians, including a boy, were reportedly killed and others injured in western An Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in northern Deir al Balah.
  • On 7 September, six Palestinians, including two children and three women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit near the entrance of Al Bureij refugee Camp, in northern Deir al Balah.
  • On 8 September, five Palestinians including the Deputy Director for the Civil Defence (PCD) were reportedly killed and others injured when their house was hit in Jabalya. According to the PCD, the number of PCD staff killed so far has risen to 83.
• Between the afternoons of 6 and 9 September, no Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 9 September 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,540 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 340 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,271 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• The second phase of the polio vaccination campaign concluded on 8 September in southern Gaza, with a total of 256,572 children reached in Khan Younis and Rafah over four days. Meanwhile, following the completion of the first phase in central Gaza on 3 September, four large health facilities continued to administer vaccines to cover any additional needs, with a total of 195,555 children immunized in Deir al Balah to-date. Overall, the first round of the campaign is almost 70 per cent complete, with 446,163 children (229,324 males and 216,839 females) already vaccinated out of the 640,000 targeted throughout the Strip. Preparations are now ongoing for the third phase, which is scheduled to take place in northern Gaza from 10 to 13 September. This will conclude the first vaccination round, with the second set to commence in four weeks’ time. The use of text messages (SMS) has been key in informing the population about the campaign, with the two national mobile network operators (MNOs) - Wataniya and Jawwal - having worked closely with humanitarian partners to support the polio response. On 31 August, the first SMS addressing all people in Gaza was successfully delivered to some 1.2 million users across the two mobile networks. The message by the Ministry of Health announced the onset of the campaign in three phases across the Strip and the corresponding dates in each location. Three other targeted text messages were subsequently sent to people in central Gaza on 2 September and in southern Gaza on 4 and 6 September, providing further details about the vaccination roll-out in each area. Social media groups also served as an important source of information regarding the campaign.
• Aid operations in Gaza continue to be disrupted by network outages, with local MNOs and internet service providers (ISPs) facing significant challenges due to increased movement restrictions, damaged infrastructure, and lack of fuel and spare parts. On 8 September, internet service was cut off for about five hours in the central and southern Gaza Strip, according to a statement from the Palestine Telecommunications Company (Paltel). The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) is also struggling to deliver services due to severe limitations pertaining to the import of equipment. Since 7 October 2023, the import of only 20 satellite phones, 30 digital VHF radios, four VHF repeaters, and four solar power solutions has been approved by Israeli authorities. Damaged or destroyed equipment, along with lengthy import processes, further hampers ETC’s operations. Limited communication services do not only hamper the ability of humanitarian partners to deliver services, but also poses a significant risk for people in Gaza to access services, be aware of Israeli-issued evacuation orders and more.
• Humanitarian access remains severely hindered, as the denial of missions by the Israeli authorities within Gaza almost doubled in August, compared with July (105 vs. 53). Other factors affecting access include ongoing hostilities, a lack of internal security (including looting) and attacks on aid convoys, the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXOs), the destruction of key connecting roads, and conditions at Israeli checkpoints. In southern Gaza, despite an overall increase in planned humanitarian movements submitted for the Israeli authorities to facilitate, from 543 in July to 603 in August, the number of facilitated missions in southern Gaza dropped by 28 per cent, from 250 in July to 179 in August. In northern Gaza, the number of facilitated aid missions increased by 10 per cent, from 67 to 74. However, the number of missions denied access rose by 140 per cent, from 30 to 72. These trends have severely disrupted the delivery of life-saving assistance, including water, sanitation, and hygiene services, health care, and fuel urgently needed for the operation of critical health facilities.
• For the second consecutive school year, over 600,000 students in Gaza are being deprived of accessing formal education, as 9 September would have marked the beginning of the new study year. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, over 10,000 school students have been killed, and 90 per cent of school buildings have been damaged since October 2023. Furthermore, according to an assessment conducted by the Education Cluster, UNICEF and Save the Children, 53 per cent of schools sheltering IDPs have been directly hit. Recent examples include incidents on 6 and 7 September, when 12 Palestinians were reportedly killed when a tent housing internally displaced persons in Halima Al Sadia School in Jabalya Camp and a prayer hall inside Amr Ibn Al Aas school in Gaza city, were hit. According to UNRWA, no official schooling is available in any of their 200 schools, but recreational activities and psychosocial support are provided in some of them.

• On 9 September, the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order, the first since 25 August, affecting four neighbourhoods in northwest Beit Lahia and Jabalya in northern Gaza. According to the Israeli military, the order was issued because Palestinian armed groups launched rocket fire from these areas into Israel. These localities had already been subjected to previous evacuation orders and residents have been instructed to move southwards. Initial mapping indicates that, before 7 October, over 28,000 people were residing in these areas, with most reportedly forced out by previous evacuation orders and ongoing hostilities. Additionally, parts of these areas have been designated to be included in the ongoing polio vaccination campaign. The continuing issuance of these orders is deepening the humanitarian crisis for hundreds of thousands of people, especially those who have been displaced multiple times. As of 9 September, and since October 2023, more than 55 evacuation orders remain in effect, covering up to 86 per cent of Gaza. As of 9 September, only 11 per cent of the Gaza Strip has not been placed under evacuation orders.
• The health-care system remains in dire condition. The Health Cluster reports that about 50 per cent of essential medicines are not available, and primary health-care centres are facing critically low levels of insulin. Routine vaccines such as Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to protect infants from tuberculosis, and DTP to immunize them against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, are also nearly exhausted; further risking newborns. On 1 September, after facing many challenges, the World Health Organization (WHO) was able to reach the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals in northern Gaza to provide medications and supplies as well as 20 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds to expand inpatient capacity at the Indonesian Hospital. Items delivered included oncology medication for 200 patients, immunosuppressants covering the needs of 500 patients for three months and psychotropics to support 400 patients with mental health disorders. The mission also facilitated the deployment of a new Emergency Medical Team (EMT) to the Indonesian Hospital and the rotation to different medical facilities of an EMT pediatric surgeon, who had performed over 300 specialized surgeries, including tumor resections, from the Kamal Adwan Hospital to southern Gaza. Additionally, the WHO team transported one critical patient with below-knee and above-elbow amputations and his accompaniers from the Kamal Adwan Hospital to the International Medical Corps (IMC) Field Hospital in Deir al Balah, pending further referral abroad. Despite all efforts made by humanitarian partners, health facilities in northern Gaza continue to face severe fuel shortages. On 9 September, the Director of the Indonesian Hospital warned that, due to the acute scarcity of diesel fuel, the facility was forced to suspend several services to prolong operating hours. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS)similarly informed that its teams in the Gaza and North Gaza governorates are operating at minimum capacity due to critical fuel shortages which have been ongoing for nearly three weeks.

545.

9 september 2024

In today's Daily Brief:

• Video: Gaza

544.

9 september 2024

Israel’s attacks on Palestinian sports know no bounds.
Israel has killed at least 410 Palestinian athletes in its Gaza genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians and destroyed or damaged all sporting facilities there.

Last week, in its ongoing violent military assault on the occupied Palestinian West Bank, the Israeli occupation forces killed at least 36 Palestinians, including children. One of those children was 15-year-old Mohammad Kanaan of Premier League Markaz Tulkarem youth team, shot in the head by an Israeli sniper in the Tulkarem refugee camp.

Israeli bulldozers also destroyed the Jenin Municipal Football Stadium as they stormed the city.

Meanwhile, fans of the Palestinian team in the Israeli Premier League Bnei Sakhnin were violently attacked by Jewish Israelis, armed with batons, before the start of a match on September 1. The reason? They peacefully turned their backs during genocidal apartheid Israel’s anthem, something akin to US football players taking a knee to protest systemic racism and police violence against Black Americans.

Israel’s National “Security” Minister Ben Gvir, a convicted supporter of terrorism who has spewed a constant string of genocidal statements for nearly a year and incited against Indigenous Palestinians for decades, called for Bnei Sakhnin to be removed from Israel’s Premier League. This government interference in football constitutes yet another breach of FIFA’s statutes that the corrupt FIFA continues to ignore in the case of Israel.  

Today, during the Nations League match between Israel and Italy, make your voice heard.

­

FIFA can’t ignore us! Call on FIFA to ban Israel now!

At every chance, we will make our voices heard.

As the Palestinian national team competed in the World Cup Qualifier in South Korea, fans held enormous Palestinian flags and called for an end to Israel’s Gaza genocide.

Italian groups are preparing for protests at the Nations League return match on October 14 in the northern city of Udine.

The City of Udine confirmed in July that it will not sponsor the match, defining Israel as a “State of war.”

We will continue to peacefully disrupt UEFA and FIFA matches, wherever they take place, until FIFA stops enabling Israel’s genocide and apartheid regime.

Stay tuned for more actions during the Nations League matches against Belgium, France and Italy.
 

In solidarity,
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

543.

8 september 2024

Today's headlines

CNN’s Jake Tapper slanders pro-Palestine protesters, but continues to ignore shocking systematic bias at his own network

Jake Tapper, the prominent CNN journalist, lied yesterday on X. Pro-Palestinian protesters had confronted his CNN colleague Dana Bash at a literary event in Washington, D.C., and he told his 3 million followers that they had “targeted” her because she is “Jewish.”

‘The world has gotten used to our blood’: Israeli massacres in Gaza continue

Israel committed nine massacres in Gaza in just the first three days of September while the media’s attention shifts to regional developments.

542.

7 september 2024

Today's headlines

‘Days filled with terror’: Palestinians in Jenin recount harrowing 10-day Israeli army invasion

Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the occupied West Bank city of  Jenin, including the Jenin refugee camp, early on Friday, after a 10-day military operation that resulted in the killing of dozens of Palestinians in Jenin and left significant destruction to the city and camp’s streets and infrastructure.

The genocide in Gaza is as American as it is Israeli. The U.S. won’t stop it.

After long months and rivers of Palestinian blood in Gaza and the West Bank, it´s worth finally noting that it all is the United States’ war, hand in hand with Israel. It is not pursuing this genocide against its will and it is not dragged into it by Israel or its Lobbyists.

And it is also worth finally noting that the United States needs no lobbyists to engage in murderous wars where civilians are the primary targets. The thousands of drones launched by the administrations of Obama and Donald Trump, the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the massive bombing and man-made famine in Yemen, and the complete destruction of Libya are just a few of the most recent examples. The massive interventions in Southeast Asia and Latin America of earlier years, whose effects are still profoundly felt, show the long-term term dominance of this criminal approach in American foreign policy. Indeed, the two – Israel and the United States - are completely intertwined. Together they represent the western capitalist power in the Middle East. And their only joint obsession is an endless prolongation of this power.

Israeli army kills American activist in occupied West Bank

An American woman was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a protest in Beita near Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday. On Friday morning the State Department confirmed that Aysenur Eygi, a 26-year-old American citizen born in Turkey, had died.

541.

6 september 2024

We are 11 months in to resisting the current ongoing genocide in Palestine, on top of over 75 years of steadfast Palestinian resistance to Israel’s violent colonialism.

I want to be real with you: It’s clear that our movement is making real gains, with significant shifts in public opinion, media coverage, and divestment victories, all despite massive censorship and repression. Several countries such Canada, Spain, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands have cut off weapons to Israel, with a partial suspension in the UK.

But we haven’t yet seen U.S. weapons policy change, and our Palestinian people who are living through the extreme horrors of this genocide cannot wait another hour. We must agitate and escalate.

Keep fighting through every path available to you to struggle for justice. Read the latest updates below.

• Israel has launched the largest-scale military invasion of the West Bank since 2002, violently attacking Palestinians and bulldozing infrastructure with our U.S. tax dollars. Read more about Israel’s genocidal plans.
• In a CNN interview, Vice President Kamala Harris said her position on arming Israel is no different than Biden’s, doubling down on fueling genocide.
• Israeli soldiers have killed 26-year-old Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who they shot in the head today while she was protesting settlement expansion in Beita near Nablus. Aysenur is one of multiple U.S. citizens murdered by Israel in the past year, largely ignored by the Biden-Harris administration.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WEST BANK 

WHAT YOU CAN DO NEXT

540.

6 september 2024

This past year has brought us profound heartbreak and inspiring solidarity. As we navigate these challenging times together, I want to take a moment to ask for your support for the Adalah Justice Project. This vital organization needs our help right now to defend their work from relentless repression, and keep the focus where it should be: the fight for a free Palestine.

Together, we are championing justice, equity, and opportunity for all. Whether we are advocating for affordable healthcare, demanding accountability from our government, or standing against the genocide in Gaza, our mission remains unwavering: to create a future where everyone can live with dignity, peace, and security.

Yet, the path ahead is fraught with obstacles: We are acutely aware of the repression we face. Our opponents are powerful, and ruthless.

We are witnessing targeted attacks in the media, in Congress, and soon, in the courts aimed at silencing Palestinian organizing and erasing our calls for justice.

And we have seen AJP do critical work as facilitators of the movement - providing strategic direction, campaign research, popular education trainings from skilled Palestinian organizers, and most importantly, bringing in leaders from disparate struggles to fight together towards common goals.

Together, we can make a meaningful difference.

With solidarity,

539.

6 september 2024

President Biden and Congress Must Hold Israel Accountable and Investigate Israel’s Murder of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American Citizen

Today, an American woman was murdered by the IDF at a protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita, near Nablus in the West Bank. IDF soldiers brazenly shot Eygi in the head, and shortly after she was rushed to the hospital before being pronounced dead. According to reports by Palestinian media, the 26-year-old had been involved in a campaign to protect farmers from Israeli settler violence. It is likely that Eygi was murdered by an American-made weapon subsidized by our tax money and an investigation should be conducted to confirm if so.

TAKE ACTION: DEMAND The Biden Administration and Congress PROTECT American Citizens FROM Israel

This is not the first time Israeli forces have murdered American citizens. Israel has a long history of killing Americans and facing no consequences from the United States. In 2003, the Israeli military ran over and crushed Rachel Corrie, an American citizen, with a bulldozer and faced no repercussions. In 2010, a U.N. fact-finding mission determined that Israeli commandos executed U.S. citizen Furkan Dogan during the Gaza flotilla, which was attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. Israel faced no repercussions. More recently, Israeli forces murdered Shireen Abu Akleh, shooting her in the head while she was reporting on a raid in Jenin, and killed Omar Assad, a 78-year-old American man, by handcuffing, beating, and leaving him to die.​ Israel faced no repercussions. 

The United States is failing to protect its citizens—this must end. Our government must prioritize the safety of American lives over the interests of a foreign government. If the most powerful country in the world cannot defend its citizens from being murdered by Israel, it is abdicating its responsibility. This cannot continue!

The Biden Administration can stop Israel from massacring Americans at will today if it wants to. However, they’ve proved time and time again that they care less about Americans than they care about the approval of a foreign government. This is not right. President Biden must open an investigation into Eygi’s murder.

Let know we will not let out until they PROTECT AMERICANS FROM ISRAEL 

In solidarity,

Ayah Ziyadeh

AJP Action

538.

6 september 2024

Deze week kwam het zomerreces van de Tweede Kamer ten einde en is de Nederlandse politiek weer aan het werk gegaan. De verhoudingen met betrekking tot Israël-Palestina werden tijdens het eerste vragenuur van het parlementaire jaar al direct pijnlijk duidelijk toen Kamerlid Stephan van Baarle (DENK) voorstelde een debat te voeren over de situatie op de bezette Westelijke Jordaanoever. De Kamer zag daar de noodzaak niet van in en stemde tegen.

Oordeel Internationaal Gerechtshof
De directe aanleiding voor het door van Baarle gewenste debat is het door ons veelvuldig beschreven oordeel van het Internationaal Gerechtshof over de juridische consequenties van de Israëlische bezetting en kolonisering van de bezette Palestijnse gebieden. Het oordeel luidt dat Israëls aanwezigheid in de Palestijnse gebieden in strijd is met het internationaal recht.

Demonstratie bij het Internationaal Gerechtshof in Den Haag, 12 januari 2024. [c] AlamyVoor Nederland brengt dit juridische consequenties met zich mee. De Nederlandse regering moet direct een eind moet maken aan elke vorm van steun aan de illegale aanwezigheid van Israël in bezet gebied. Het oordeel van het Gerechtshof zou daarom zonder meer moeten leiden tot een grondige herziening van het Nederlandse beleid. Nu blijkt zelfs een Kamerdebat daarover te veel gevraagd voor de Nederlandse politiek.

Regering zwijgt
Ook de regering hult zich wat het oordeel van het Gerechtshof betreft in stilzwijgen. Een brief van Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Veldkamp, waarin de regering reageert op het oordeel van het hof, laat al weken op zich wachten.

Ook liggen er nog meerdere onbeantwoorde Kamervragen op de plank, die gezien de aanhoudende oorlog tegen de burgerbevolking in Gaza en de escalatie van geweld op de Westoever een snelle reactie van het kabinet vereisen.

Dat gaat onder meer om vragen van Sarah Dobbe, Kamerlid voor de SP. Op 5 juli vroeg zij minister Veldkamp naar de illegale annexatie door Israël van een groot stuk Palestijns land op de Westoever, en of hij onderschrijft dat deze annexatie illegaal is volgens het internationaal recht. Met het oordeel van het Gerechtshof op zak zouden dit voor minister Veldkamp gemakkelijke vragen moeten zijn om te beantwoorden.

De stilte regeert
Zo regeert de stilte in Den Haag, terwijl Israël in Gaza dood en verderf blijft zaaien, en de Westoever gebukt gaat onder een golf van geweld en repressie. Ook het komende politieke jaar zullen wij bij The Rights Forum weer alles op alles zetten om die stilte te verbreken.

Wij strijden tegen oorlogsmisdaden, annexatie, bezetting en onderdrukking. Helpt u mee?

Lees | Pleidooi voor de Hoge Raad in F-35-zaak

Het Haags Gerechtshof oordeelde op 12 februari dat de Nederlandse regering de export van onderdelen van F-35-gevechtsvliegtuigen naar Israël moest staken. Volgens het hof bestaat er een duidelijk risico dat met die vliegtuigen ernstige schendingen van het humanitair oorlogsrecht worden gepleegd in Gaza.

Met de uitspraak stelde het hof Oxfam Novib, PAX en The Rights Forum in het gelijk. De rechtstreekse export van F-35-onderdelen naar Israël ligt dan ook sinds februari stil. De Nederlandse Staat ging echter tegen de uitspraak in cassatie bij de Hoge Raad.

Die zitting vond vandaag plaats. Voor degenen die de livestream hebben gemist stellen wij het pleidooi van onze advocaten hier beschikbaar.

Oorlogsmisdaden | Hoofdaanklager Internationaal Strafhof wil tempo met arrestatie Netanyahu

Vertraagd en overbodig
De vertraging ontstond nadat de Britse regering onder Rishi Sunak de rechters op 10 juni verzocht een zienswijze over de door Khan gevraagde arrestatiebevelen te mogen indienen. Eind juni werd dat verzoek gehonoreerd, waarop tientallen regeringen, organisaties en individuen besloten een eigen zienswijze in te dienen.

Aansluitend werd Khan verzocht om op alle ingediende zienswijzen te reageren. Dat deed hij op 23 augustus, duidelijk geërgerd door de vertraging en de overbodigheid ervan. Het enige voordeel is dat Khan in zijn reactie genadeloos afrekent met de repeterende argumenten waarom de twee Israëlische leiders niet aanspreekbaar zouden zijn op hun daden.

Palestijnse ambassadeur neemt afscheid

'It has been an honour to represent my country and people in the International City of Peace and Justice, the place where the Palestinian people seek justice and accountability. During the past seven years and eight months, we have knocked on every door in our quest towards ending the injustice that has for too long deprived us of our homeland, our inalienable rights, and our freedom. While we have achieved pivotal milestones in The Hague for our just cause, international law and humanity, there is still a long and difficult road ahead of us.'

Jasper van Dijk in gesprek met Koos van Dam

In een aflevering van De Nieuwe Wereld gaat voormalig SP Kamerlid Jasper van Dijk in gesprek met Koos van Dam, voormalig topdiplomaat en lid van de raad van Advies van The Rights Forum. Zij hebben het over de kwestie-Israël/Palestina, de rol van Nederland, de kansen op vrede in het Midden-Oosten en meer.

Agenda | Herdenkingsprotest in Rotterdam, vertoning I Shall Not Hate en meer

7 september 2024 | Herdenkingsprotest in Rotterdam
Plant een Olijfboom en andere organisaties organiseren op 7 september tussen 12.00 en 17.00 uur een herdenkingsprotest op het Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam. Opnieuw zullen bekende en minder bekende Nederlanders de namen van vermoorde kinderen lezen en duizenden kinderschoenen neerzetten om de kinderen te herdenken en op te roepen tot een einde aan de genocide in Gaza.

536.

6 september 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #214
Gaza Strip

Vaccinating children in Gaza for polio. Photo by UNICEF.

Key Highlights

• After the successful completion of the polio vaccination campaign in central Gaza, the second phase of the campaign commenced in the south, where vaccination teams aim to reach 340,000 children in four days.
• Medical evacuations of critically ill and injured patients out of Gaza remain generally suspended since the closure of the Rafah crossing on 7 May, with an estimated 12,000 patients waiting to leave the Strip to receive urgently needed medical care.
• Daily meals provided to families in need dropped by 35 per cent across the Gaza Strip, from July to August, due to Israeli-issued evacuation orders in August.

Humanitarian Developments

• Israeli bombardment from the air and land continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of houses and other civilian infrastructure. Ground operations, particularly in Beit Hanoun, southwest Gaza city, eastern Khan Younis and Deir al Balah and east as well as south Rafah. Heavy fighting and rocket fire were also reported.
• Between the afternoons of 2 and 5 September, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 110 Palestinians were killed and 230 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 5 September 2024, at least 40,878 Palestinians were killed and 94,454 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.
• The following are some of the deadly incidents reported between 1 and 5 September:
  • On 1 September, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured in an airstrike in Beit Lahiya, in north Gaza.
  • On 2 September, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a group of Palestinians was hit in front of Al Fakhoura School’s main gate in Jabalya Camp, in north Gaza.
  • On 3 September, nine Palestinians, including at least one woman and five children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in central Gaza city.
  • On 3 September, seven Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a children’s nursery was hit in western Jabalya, north Gaza.
  • On 4 September, six Palestinians were reportedly killed and eight others injured near At Taalim Roundabout in Beit Lahiya, in north Gaza.
  • On 4 September, six Palestinian men were reportedly killed and others injured in Ash Sheihkh Zaied buildings, north Gaza city.
  • On 4 September, five Palestinians, including two children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Ash Sheikh Redwan neighborhood in Gaza city.
  • On 5 September, five Palestinians were reportedly killed, and 15 others were injured, including children, when internally displaced people’s (IDP) tents were hit near the external clinics of Al Aqsa Hospital, in eastern Deir al Balah. The strike resulted in the destruction and burning of many tents located in the area.
• Between the afternoons of 2 and 6 September, no Israeli soldiers were reported killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 6 September 2024, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,540 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October and its immediate aftermath. The figure includes 340 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,270 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation.
• On 5 September, the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign commenced in southern Gaza, where some 517 teams, including 384 mobile teams, have been deployed, aiming to reach 340,000 children in four days. The campaign moved to the south after the successful completion of the first phase in central Gaza on 3 September, where over 187,000 children under the age of 10 were vaccinated in a three-day effort. This exceeded the estimated target of 157,000 children. Vaccines were provided at 143 fixed sites, including hospitals and primary healthcare centres, IDP camps, key transit routes and public gathering spaces such as temporary learning sites, food, and water distribution points. Mobile teams also conducted tent-to-tent visits and conducted special missions to access families who, due to insecurity, would have otherwise been unable to immunize their children. To ensure that no child is missed, four large health facilities in central Gaza are continuing to offer vaccines for a few more days. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, Dr Richard Peeperkorn, continued appealing to all parties to the conflict to uphold a commitment for area-specific humanitarian pauses that are critical for the success of the campaign. The current phase in southern Gaza should conclude on 8 September, with the third and last phase set to take place in northern Gaza from 9 to 11 September, targeting around 150,000 children. UNICEF reports that all 1.6 million doses of Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2) are necessary to immunize all children under the age of 10, with the second shipment having arrived on 3 September.

• Medical evacuations of critically ill and injured patients outside Gaza remain generally suspended since the closure of the Rafah crossing on 7 May, with few exceptions allowed in recent months. WHO reports that on 15 August, 11 children suffering from cancer, alongside 17 accompaniers, were evacuated to Jordan through the Kerem Shalom Crossing. Five other children with cancer and two who had suffered amputations, alongside their 10 accompaniers, were evacuated from the Strip on 26 August. Overall, only 124 patients and 137 accompaniers have been evacuated from Gaza on four separate occasions since 7 May, while an estimated 12,000 patients have been unable to leave and receive urgently needed medical care abroad since then, stresses WHO. The Health Cluster has warned that, without a systematic mechanism for the medical evacuation of severely sick and injured patients outside Gaza, the waiting list “keeps growing while the clinical conditions of many of them continue to deteriorate.”
• The ongoing escalation of hostilities is resulting in widespread contamination by Explosive Ordnance (EO). While the exact number of EO-related casualties is unknown, there have been cases of people who died due to the explosion of EO, according to humanitarian partners. On 3 September, a Palestinian girl was reportedly critically injured by the explosion of an EO in southwestern Khan Younis and succumbed to her wounds on 4 September. Children face a heightened risk of being exposed to EO, as they usually play outside, tend to search for scraps amongst rubbish and rubble, and lack an awareness on the dangers of EO. Despite ongoing efforts by humanitarian partners to conduct in-person and digital Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) campaigns, educational material as well as minimum standard Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) equipment are refused entry into Gaza by Israeli authorities, therefore limiting the capacity of the mine action response. Furthermore, according to the Protection Cluster’s monitoring system, mine action remains one of the most critical needs for emergency life-saving activities. In a survey conducted by the cluster covering July and August, 89 per cent of respondents had not received EORE awareness material in their community and 72 per cent did not know where to report the discovery of EO or an incident where someone is affected by one. Despite continuous efforts by the cluster to raise awareness, the lack of material and multiple Israeli-issued evacuation orders have forced them to temporarily suspend their in-person EORE sessions following the evacuation orders in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. The restrictions on humanitarian partners to assist with mine-action related programmes will increase the risk to people’s lives.
• The food security situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating due to the critical shortages of aid commodities as well as ongoing hostilities, insecurity, damaged roads, access limitation and breakdown of law and order. Despite the ongoing efforts of humanitarian partners, more than one million people did not receive any food rations in southern and central Gaza during August; families will only be able to receive one food parcel during the September distribution cycle. In northern Gaza, food distribution was suspended in July and August due to the evacuation orders in Gaza city and North Gaza. As a result, each family will receive a monthly ration of two food parcels, excluding wheat flour which is prioritized for supporting bakeries. According to the Food Security Cluster, as of 2 September, 14 bakeries supported by humanitarian partners were operational in the Gaza Strip including four in Gaza city, two in Jabalya, seven in Deir al Balah and one bakery in Khan Younis which reopened recently after almost eight months of closure due to the hostilities. The multiple Israeli-issued evacuation orders have forced around 70 kitchens to either suspend cooked meal provision or relocate. As a result, around 450,000 cooked meals prepared in 130 kitchens were provided daily to families across the Gaza Strip by the end of August, which is a 35 per cent decrease compared with up to 700,000 meals provided at more than 200 kitchens in early July.

• The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster is concerned with the staggering increase in the cost of basic hygiene items. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in July, the price of soap has increased 1,177 per cent and shampoo has increased 490 per cent across the Strip, compared to July 2023. The WASH Cluster warned that the lack of affordable hygiene items, combined with limited access to clean water and sanitation facilities, poses a growing risk of severe health impacts. This is especially true for families who have been displaced, as they face extreme difficulties maintaining basic hygiene in overcrowded shelters and displacement sites, while critical facilities—such as health centres, community kitchens, child-protection spaces, nutrition centres, and schools—lack the necessary tools to ensure safe and sanitary conditions. These conditions are all likely to deteriorate further during the winter.
• WASH partners are attempting to restore wells that were damaged due to fighting in Deir al Balah. On 26 August, Israeli-issued evacuation orders in Deir al Balah had caused the loss of access to 15 out of the 18 groundwater, resulting in a 75 per cent reduction in groundwater production (12,000 to 3,000 cubic metres a day) for the remainder of the month. Once WASH partners were able to return to parts of the evacuated area, they identified eight wells that were significantly damaged, four of which cannot be repaired at present. Plans are underway to utilize materials recovered from these four wells to repair the remaining four. The long-term impact on Deir al Balah's water production capacity is still being evaluated. Despite the evacuation orders and widespread destruction of WASH assets, the cluster reported that from 19 August to 1 September, an average of 114,901 cubic metres of water were produced daily for safe drinking and domestic use across the Gaza Strip. This volume represents about 30 per cent of the potential production capacity of 378,500 cubic metres per day, leaving hundreds of thousands of people with insufficient water resources. In an additional challenge, the cluster notes that water is also lost due to infrastructure leaks, damage, and spillage during transport and at collection points. In a positive development, the volume of water transported through trucking operations between 19 August and 1 September doubled to 13,881 cubic metres a day. Despite the substantial increase in trucking efforts, the efficiency of water distribution remains severely hampered by fuel shortages and persistent traffic congestion in the Al Mawasi area, where thousands of IDPs reside.

Funding

• As of 5 September, Member States have disbursed approximately US$1.60 billion out of the $3.42 billion (48 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)
• During August 2024, the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed a total of 93 ongoing projects, totalling U$79.7 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). The projects were strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation, and hygiene, coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition. Of these projects, 52 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations, 29 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 32 out of the 64 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. Monthly updates, annual reports, and a list of all funded projects per year, are available on the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage, under the financing section.

Online version

Recent publications

• Humanitarian Situation Update #213 | West Bank
• Humanitarian Situation Update #212 | Gaza Strip
• Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (4 September 2024)
• Gaza Humanitarian Response Update | 19 August - 1 September 2024
• Gaza Strip access and movement | July 2024
• Humanitarian Situation Update #211 | Gaza Strip

534.

6 september 2024

Just since genocide enabler FIFA postponed, yet again, a vote on banning Israel from international football, Israel’s brutal attacks on Palestinian sports and the Palestinian people have only escalated.

Last Monday, an Israeli airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza killed Palestinian footballer Mohammed Al-Baaz.

Mohammad is among more than 297 Palestinian footballers and the fourth player for Premier League team Ahli Gaza FC to be killed by Israel’s Gaza genocide, along with more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

During its violent onslaught against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank this week, Israel destroyed the Jenin Municipal Football Stadium. As it has destroyed or damaged  ALL sporting facilities in Gaza!

FIFA’s latest shameful and digusting decision allows Israel to play in the UEFA Nations League matches, starting today with Belgium.

FIFA’s previous shameful and outrageous act allowed Israel to compete in Olympic football matches.

FIFA thinks it can quietly continue to cover for genocidal Israel. Let’s prove it wrong!

­   

We won’t stop calling for Israel to be banned from FIFA and international sport.

We won’t allow Israel’s participation in the Nations League matches to pass in silence.

It’s time to peacefully disrupt UEFA and FIFA matches, wherever they take place, until FIFA stops enabling Israel’s genocide and apartheid regime.

Stay tuned for more on Nations League matches against Belgium, France and Italy.
 

In solidarity, 
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

533.

6 september 2024

Today's headlines

Contrived charges of antisemitism are the new ‘Red Scare’

How an evidence-free smear is being used to suppress those fighting for justice in Palestine: “Israël – No Criticism is Allowed”!

Israeli objective in West Bank is not to ‘mow the lawn,’ but ‘pull out the roots’.

Mondoweiss Palestine Bureau

The UN has said that Israel is now using "war-like tactics" against Palestinians in the northern West Bank. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has reiterated his insistence on maintaining an Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor.

532.

5 september 2024

Israel has made its goal extremely clear: to steal native Palestinian land and to annihilate Palestinian life.

This is textbook genocide, and it’s not confined to Gaza. Israel has taken the next step in its genocidal plans, launching the largest-scale military invasion of the West Bank since 2002.

The deliberate genocidal conditions that Israel created in Gaza are now replicated in the West Bank: Forced displacement. The destruction of infrastructure, with over 70% of roads bulldozed in Jenin. Abductions of Palestinian boys and men. The blocking of water, food, electricity, medical supplies, and aid. Violent attacks, including bombings.

Hands off the West Bank! Hands off all of Palestine! We must endure in this struggle, just as our people in Palestine have remained steadfast.

JOIN THE OCT. 5TH DAY OF ACTION

531.

5 september 2024

Today's headlines

Testing the boundaries for ethnic cleansing in the West Bank

The current operation in the West Bank is meant to test the boundaries of what Israel will be allowed to get away with. It is setting the stage for the forced ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.

The war on Palestine within U.S. education isn’t just happening in colleges, but in K-12 schools as well

K-12 educators around the U.S. who show support for Palestine have been targeted with false charges of antisemitism and have faced a clear pattern of punishment without due process based on disturbing double standards.

531.

4 september 2024

In 19 days, Washington Won’t Be Able to Ignore Us: Join the Movement to End U.S. Support for Israel

As we approach one year of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza and witness escalating colonial violence in the West Bank, it’s crucial to recognize the U.S.’s role in flagrantly defying both international and domestic laws by funding this ongoing genocide. 

We’re at a pivotal moment where the actions taken in Washington, D.C. will have profound and irreversible eff