War Crimes In Gaza by Friends of Al Aqsa

WAR CRIMES IN GAZA

Written by Arwa Aburawa Edited by Rajnaara Akhtar Forward Ismail Patel Design and Layout Shoayb Adam

Friends of Al-Aqsa P.O Box 5127 Leicester LE2 0WU 0116 212 5441 www.aqsa.org.uk info@aqsa.org.uk

Gaza cannot be forgotten

CONTENTS Preface Forward 1. A Historic Overview a. A Brief History of Gaza Before 1948 b. Gaza During the Nakba c. The 1967 War d. Gaza and the Intifada e. Oslo and the Al-Aqsa Intifada f. Gaza and the ‘Disengagement Plan’ 2005 g. Growing Popularity of Hamas

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2. The Hamas Election Victory and its Impact on the Gaza Strip a. Background on Hamas b. Hamas in the Gaza Strip c. Election Victory d. Sanctions Imposed in Response to Hamas’ Victory e. Violence Between Hamas and Fatah f. US-backed Palestinian Civil War

3. Summer/Autumn 2006 a. Attacks from April to Early June 2006 b. Sonic Booms Terrorize Gazan Skies c. Gaza Food Crisis d. The Kidnap of Gilad Shalit e. Operation ‘Summer Rain’ f. Operation ‘Autumn Clouds’ and the Massacre in Beit Hanoun g. Kidnapped: Alan Johnston

4. The Gaza Siege a. Food and Water b. Fuel and Electricity c. Medical Treatment d. January 2008: Gaza’s Border Breached e. The Ceasefire f. The Future for Gaza’s Economy

5. International Complicity and Protest a. States Accused of Complicity in the Crisis b. International Organisations Condemning the Siege c. International Protest Against the Siege d. Free Gaza Boats

6. Preparation for War in 2008 a. Israel Rejects Hamas’ Ceasefire Offer b. Pre-planned Military Invasion c. The Israeli elections

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7. The War on Gaza a. Week 1: Launch of Operation ‘Cast Lead’ b. Week 2: The Ground Assault c. Week 3: End of the War d. Media Blackout e. Reaction to the War

8. A Record of Israel’s War Crimes a. Civilian Death b. Children c. Phosphorous Bombs d. United Nations’ Buildings Bombed e. Destruction of Homes and Hospitals f. Medical Staff Under Fire g. Israel’s Investigations

9. Justice for War Crimes a. War Crimes Assessment b. Universal Jurisdiction and Spain c. The United Nations and International Criminal Court d. Action in the UK

10. Gaza,

The Aftermath a. Food Aid Dependency b. Health and the Rise of Disabilities c. Water and Sewage d. Rebuilding Gaza e. Aid with a Political Agenda f. Conclusion

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Preface The election of President Obama heralded a welcome change in US policy on Israel and Palestine. For the first time the US administration is applying real pressure on the Israeli government to fulfill its obligations under the long-stalled road map and make the concessions necessary to restart credible negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. But while international and media attention has been focused on the small improvements delivered in the West Bank, the continued siege of Gaza and ostracizing of Hamas have slipped from view. It is an intolerable affront to civilized values that the people of Gaza, already traumatised by the sustained firepower directed at them during Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead”, should still be suffering under a siege which prevents the replacement of damaged and destroyed homes, stops the repair of water and sewage systems and keeps the supply of fuel, food and medicines at a trickle. As well as perpetuating a humanitarian crisis, the siege maintains the isolation of Hamas and weakens moves to create a unity government to reunite Gaza with the West Bank. The international community, despite condemning Israel’s blockade, seems unable to end it. This report helps to remind all of us why action must be taken to lift the siege and permit the people of Gaza to rebuild their lives and participate in the democratic process to renew Palestinian institutions. Dr Phyllis Starkey, MP Chair of the Select Committee for Communities and Local Government

Last November, the Israelis breached the ceasefire Hamas had agreed nearly 6 months before, by killing 6 people in a raid across the border from Southern Israel. Hamas responded with rockets towards Sderot. Israel then had the excuse to launch a ferocious and totally disproportionate attack on the hapless people of Gaza who were unable to escape or protect their families. The horrors of that attack are well known and were witnessed by those of us who watched Al Jazeera TV; all other media having been carefully prevented from going into Israel by its government. That way, they thought, the world would not know what really happened. However, we all know and have read or heard from eye witnesses, of the wanton destruction, killings, burnings with white phosphorous shells and the use of civilians as human shields. The suffering of the people of Gaza was immense. 1,400 people, many of whom were children, were killed. Reports have come in from the UN, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and from Israeli soldiers themselves, who were horrified by the orders they received. All confirmed the breaches of International Law and Geneva Conventions by Israel. Judge Goldstone is currently trying to do the most authoritative inquiry of all, at the request of the UN, but is being obstructed by the Israeli government. The blockade of Gaza goes on, the suffering continues and the International Community has moved its spotlight to Afghanistan and the Swine Flu. We should all be shamed of ourselves. This is the most important problem for the world to solve and once again Israel is getting away without any censure from the international community. Baroness Jenny Tonge Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health

The human needs of the people of Gaza are urgent. Some thousands are living in tents and makeshift dwellings. Crude sewage is being discharged into the sea, affecting both Gaza and Israel.

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Malnutrition is quite common especially among children. Hospitals work under great difficulties. It is clear that access for supplies etc has been limited and manipulated for political reasons. It is tragic that so far not one truck-load of essential materials for reconstruction has been allowed in. The best hope may lie in the Egyptian proposal for a joint committee of HAMAS and the PA, with perhaps some independent foreigners, to oversee incoming supplies. Alas, this proposal does not seem to be acted on. Lord Hylton

In February this year, in the aftermath of the Israeli assault I visited the Gaza Strip as part of the Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group. What we saw was shocking even to those of us that had witnessed the effects of the blockade on Gaza. What happened was no war. It was an attack on a weak and captive population at the mercy of the most modern and devastating weapons available to nations. The result was reckless killing and wanton destruction on a scale not seen for many years, compounded by a cruel and officious siege. I have pressed the UK Government to support an independent inquiry into allegations of war crimes and tabled Early Day Motion 1235 to this effect. Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East has a clear policy on this issue: An independent inquiry is essential. Anything less means leaving it to the Israelis to identify and prosecute their own war criminals and who will believe that? The hope now is that the world will wake up and see the situation for what it is – to do this we are competing against a media that is often reluctant to expose Israel’s occupation. This is precisely why it is important that we have a factual record. This is what the Friends of al-Aqsa are doing and I applaud this thorough document and their continuing work in the name of peace in Palestine. Martin Linton MP Chair, Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East

“Where is the Ummah? Where is this Arab world they tell us about in school?” Those words will forever remain etched in my mind. They were spoken by a 10-year-old girl in a bombed-out ruin in Gaza in March. She had lost almost her entire family in the 22-day Israeli bombardment earlier this year. I had to turn away. What answer could I give her? During those murderous weeks in December and January, the leaders of the Arab League - with a handful of exceptions - scarcely summoned even the synthetic indignation that has so often attended previous bloody episodes in the Palestinian tragedy. But public opinion was united in outrage not only in the Muslim world but in the West too. In Britain, over 100,000 people took to the streets and the Israeli embassy was blockaded night after night. Above all, the Gaza onslaught produced an unprecedented outpouring in the US. There have been protests before, but this has turned out to be more than an ephemeral release of impotent rage. Something is changing. The success of the Viva Palestina convoy from the US to Gaza in July is further confirmation of that. Some 200 US citizens entered Gaza, bearing a quarter of a million dollars of aid in the biggest such mission ever to leave America for Palestine.

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There were difficulties: the convoy was allowed in by the Egyptian authorities for only 24 hours and its vehicles prevented from entering at all. But they are difficulties we are determined to overcome in December, when a mega-convoy heads off from London, with US support, across Europe to Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt aiming to enter Gaza around 27 December – a year to the day from the beginning of the Israeli onslaught. There will be several themes to the convoy. Israel killed 16 Palestinian paramedics in December and January. We will dedicate the first 16 ambulances we take to them. Sporting organisations and figures will play a part, arranging friendly games on the way and bringing coaching expertise to Gaza. All these things are desperately needed. The people of Gaza are being starved of all that we take for granted here, and all for making the “wrong” political choice in an election that former US president Jimmy Carter says is among the cleanest and fairest he has ever witnessed. This convoy will have a longer run-up than the last two. It is vital that it dwarfs them in scale. It is only through such mass pressure that this murderous siege will be broken. George Galloway MP

For too long, the Palestinian struggle has been the concern of a minority. That is now changing. The war on Gaza opened the eyes of the world to the bloody reality of Israeli colonialism. Palestinians have struggled for freedom for theirs is a struggle against illegal occupation, for the right of refugees to return to their homes, and for the right to a state they can call their own. The cause of Palestine is now a cause for all those who love justice and hate oppression. Throughout Britain, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated, attended meetings and donated money to help the victims of this war. In January, I led a cross-party call for Birmingham City Council to boycott of Israeli goods and services. And, in an inspirational act of solidarity, my colleague, George Galloway, led the Viva Palestina aid convoy that broke the siege of Gaza. I believe this is a turning point for solidarity with Palestine. Just as Apartheid South Africa needed to feel the full weight of public opinion through a world-wide campaign of boycotts and sanctions, so too should Israel until it starts to comply with UN resolutions and international law in its treatment of Palestinians. Councillor Salma Yaqoob Leader, The Respect Party

The Gaza conflict has left many casualties on both sides of the border. However, the biggest victims are always the children and Gaza is suffering from a generation of lost youth, traumatised beyond reason by the scale of disaster and war that they have witnessed. We need to understand the situation on the ground in Gaza; we need to highlight the humanitarian disasters that continue to befall the beleaguered population day in day out, and we need to act now to stop this injustice. It is both Palestinians and Israelis that strive to find peaceful coexistence with each other, and such peace will only be given a chance if arms are laid down and the basic needs of the people are met. In Gaza, that includes milk for babies, food for the hungry, fuel and electricity, and desperately needed medicines. It is time to end the embargo and allow the Gazans to live in dignity. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain

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The Gaza crisis which has now been ongoing for three years, has become a stain on The Gaza crisis which has now been ongoing for three years, has become a stain on the conscience of the entire world, which has continued to exact a policy of collective punishment against a nation for choosing the ‘wrong’ government in 2006. It took the sheer ferocity, brutality and inhumanity of the Israeli attack over 22 days, which claimed more than 1400 lives and injured thousands more, for the world to recognise that it could no longer turn a blind eye to a true human catastrophe. The daily sight of babies, young children and women being pulled out from underneath the rubble of bombed out houses was beyond official denial, belatedly leading to the crisis of Gaza being recognised and acknowledged. Yet many months on, the homeless remain homeless, the hungry remain without food and those in need of urgent care continue to suffer, while the world plays politics and bends over backwards to save Israel’s shameless face. This report by Friends of Al-Aqsa is a vital document that tells the story of Gaza and that of a people forsaken and left on their own. Anas Altikriti CEO, The Cordoba Foundation

Israel’s attack on Gaza was outrageous but not out of character. The attack was just another step in its ongoing efforts to expand its borders way beyond any that are internationally recognised. Until the international community takes the oppression of Palestinians seriously and demands that Israel comply with international law, whether it be in recognising the elected Palestinian government and therefore releasing the imprisoned Palestinian MPs; stopping all settlement building; removing the illegal wall; boycotting all occupied territory Israeli produce; suspending the EU Trade Association Agreement; allowing the right to return, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, stops inventing excuses for not negotiating progress; nothing will change and the Gazans will continue to suffer. A recent statistical report on the Operation Cast Lead offensive reveals that “83% of Palestinians killed were non-combatants. … More than 11,000 houses were either completely or partially destroyed, leaving nearly 109,000 Palestinians homeless.” There is no time to waste. Jeremy Corbyn MP

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Forward The situation in Gaza is intolerable. The suffering of the population is akin to that of a natural disaster zone awaiting international assistance; where water is contaminated, sewage works are inadequate, food supplies are in shortage, medicines sparse and desperation mounting. The reality is that this humanitarian disaster is not due to a natural calamity; it is due to the decisions being made by one state which is drastically destroying the hope of survival for another. That state is called Israel and it has spent the past 42 years deciding the fate of the Palestinians to the detriment of every Palestinian in the region and Palestinian refugees scattered all over the world awaiting a return home. The latest assault came in the form of Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 and January 2009. Following 18 months of siege and closure, Israel pummelled the tiny and overpopulated strip of land with every type of military assault imaginable. The mangled flesh of the victims showed bullet wounds, shrapnel injuries, crushing bombed out building blocks and white phosphorous to name but a few. There was little respite during the 22 days of attack, and every baby, child, brother, sister, mother, father, and grandparent suffered the consequences. A war on a place like Gaza will inevitably affect each and every citizen in the area. There was nowhere to escape to with borders tightly sealed and the sea guarded. Families were left cowering in their homes, waiting for a merciful end to the bombing. The untold misery of the war was kept concealed by Israel which denied international journalists access. But what now, months later? The situation has not changed. Homes that were bombed and destroyed cannot be rebuilt as Israel has continued its siege. Not a single truck with reconstruction materials has been allowed in. Any other disaster zone in the world would be well on the way to reconstruction now, but that is not the case in Gaza. Public services continue to operate at a bare minimum, exacerbating the untold suffering. How many babies have to die before the world will stand up and take notice? How many war crimes do we have to helplessly witness before our politicians will lead the way for change? There was no discrimination in Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attack on Gaza. The destruction was complete. Schools, places of worship (mosques), shelters, hospitals, UNWRA aid warehouses; none were spared. With an estimated $1.9 billion dollars worth of destruction, caused by deliberate acts of war, it is time to say enough. History will witness that the world stood by silently while Israel continued the longest military occupation in history. It is time to bring it to an end, and that requires each and every one of us to take responsibility for it and play our part in bringing Israel to justice, and giving the Palestinians a real chance to live in peace and dignity. The momentum is growing and resistance is mounting. Each of us who participates in the Palestinian cause is part of that resistance. Thus far, thousands of us have risen up and taken action. We are working to file arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Israeli military personnel in every jurisdiction around the world that allows it. We are Boycotting Israel en-masse, as individuals, groups and institutions. We are breaking Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s siege on Gaza using boats and convoys. We are saying it is time to end this vicious assault on an innocent population. I hope this report, prepared by my team, will help instil a better understanding of the crisis faced by the people in Gaza and spur each of us to do more to bring it to an end. Ismail Patel September 2009

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A Historic Overview

a. A Brief History of Gaza Before 1948 Gaza is a strip of land bordering the Mediterranean ocean on one side, Egypt to the South and Israel to the north and east. This Palestinian populated land has had an undeniably rich and turbulent history. Over the years Gaza has been captured and occupied by a long list of foreign armies including the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, the Persians, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Turks and the British during the First World War. Gaza’s troubled history has been attributed to its strategic location on traditional trade routes linking North Africa with Central Asia. This not only secured the commercial success of the region but also meant that it fell under the gaze of many ambitious conquerors. Gerald Butt, a historian on the region wrote: “All the major players in the history of the Near and Middle East have had to take the status of Gaza at the time into account before being able to pursue their political, military and commercial ambitions.”1 More recently, Israel has attempted to control the area which is viewed as the hotbed of Palestinian resistance, thus providing the Gazans with yet another battle against foreign domination and occupation.2

British forces in 1917 and placed under British Mandate for the next thirty years. Although Gaza experienced relative peace during this period, the seed of future dispossession and occupation were sown which has haunted the Palestinians for the last 61 years. b. Gaza During the Nakba During this Nakba (or ‘Catastrophe’) in 1948, the population of Gaza rose from 80,000 to 200,000 due to the influx of refugees into the strip fleeing from advancing Zionist forces.4 Such a huge influx of people in a relatively short space of time placed a severe burden on the 360 square kilometre strip of land, and the population density even at that time became one of the highest in the world. Under the Armistice agreement signed in 1949, Egypt administered the Gaza Strip until 1967.

The early history of Gaza reveals that the Canaanites (a Semitic people) setup settlements in the area in around 3000 BC. They were later conquered by Egyptians rulers who recognised the important location of the port town and secured command over it by 1468 BC. New settlers soon began arriving by sea, most notably the Philistines who gave their name to the land of Palestine. Gaza then fell to the Persians in 538 BC, following short-lived Assyrian and Babylonian domination from around 734 BC. Alexander the Great was the next conqueror, followed by the Crusaders who were competing with the rise of Islam.3 ‘Gaza Hashim’, as Gaza was later called under the Ummayads, openly accepted Islam. The port became the main entrance for Muslim pilgrims from North Africa on their way to Hajj who would pay their respects at the tomb of the Prophet Muhammed’s (peace be upon him) grandfather, Hashim Ibn Abd al-Munaf, which is situated in Gaza. Gaza subsequently developed strong Arabic roots and an Islamic culture which it retained throughout four centuries of Ottoman rule from 1517 until 1917. The city was occupied by

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c. The war of 1967 During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. This event became known as the Naksa or ‘setback’ and marked the beginning of the Israeli occupation of the remaining 22% of Palestinian land. During this conflict, the Gaza Strip saw another influx of refugees with the population of Gaza city increasing six-fold.5 Immediately after the war, Israel declared the Gaza Strip a closed military area and seized control of land and water resources.6 This affected Gazans’ self-sufficiency and ability to trade as the occupying power prevented fishing in the Mediterranean and importing and exporting goods. Subsequently, Gaza shifted from an independent economy to one completely reliant on foreign aid. This war also paved the way for Israel’s growing occupation of the Palestinian territories. Illegal Israeli settlements were built throughout the Gaza Strip, with Palestinians themselves working on the construction as they desperately lacked employment opportunities.7 Until their withdrawal in 2005, Jewish settlers numbered 8,000 in comparison to 1.5 million Gazans and yet they occupied 25% of the Strip and 40% of arable land and natural resources.8 Following the Six Day War, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 242 which emphasised “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war” and the need for a withdrawal of Israeli armed forces to achieve a just and lasting peace.9 These calls were ignored by the Israeli government which insisted that the settlements did not violate international law. The painful defeat of 1967 also brought a new way of thinking to Palestinians embodied in Yasser Arafat, who proposed that the only way to resolve the Palestinian problem was through armed struggle. d. Gaza and the Intifada Israel’s policies following the Six-Day War included the confiscation of Palestinian land for the building of illegal settlements; extra-judicial killings, house demolitions, mass detentions and deportations. Soon, popular anger towards Israel began to grow and was expressed in forms of civil disobedience: “Students demonstrated and struck on national days,

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teachers protested schools grounds, and lawyers boycotted the military courts.”10 On 8 December 1987, an Israeli tank drove into a group of Palestinians from the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing four and injuring seven.11 The build-up of anger triggered a huge reaction when these unprovoked killings took place, and the resultant opposition to occupation marked the beginning of the first Intifada or ‘uprising’. Overnight, it seems, the battle changed from sporadic guerrilla action to mass popular revolt.12 As Gerald Butt explains: “The people of Gaza have fought many occupying forces over the centuries, and no-one with a knowledge of history of this corner of the world will have been surprised by the fact that the Gazans led the way in the struggle against the occupying Israeli army. The Intifada began in the Gaza Strip and in the years that followed it, this territory was where the flame of Palestinian resistance burned the most fiercely.”13 The Intifada quickly gained momentum, spreading to other refugee camps in Gaza and on to major cities. It was a mass civil disobedience, which was achieved through a boycott of Israeli goods, refusing to pay taxes to Israel, unarmed confrontations and organizing strikes and demonstrations. The Intifada was commanded by local political leadership bringing together secular and religious groups to direct the movement. They worked within the towns and refugee camps, distributing leaflets with information and food to needy families.14 In Gaza, Israeli soldiers were told to respond with brute force which they clearly did. Over the course of this first Intifada 1,100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, 159 of whom were children under the age of 16.15 As well as violence against Palestinians, Israel closed schools and universities in the occupied territories, and placed curfews on towns and villages making daily life a struggle. Water supplies were also re-directed to Israel, olive trees and agricultural crops were destroyed and homes were demolished.16 After years of sustained protests from the Palestinians and Israeli repression in response, the Intifada was halted with the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993.

e. Oslo and the Al-Aqsa Intifada The Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was hailed by the international community as a triumph with Israel agreeing to withdraw from the occupied territories. The Gazans were however sceptical that real change would transpire or that the occupation would end.17 In fact following Oslo, more land was confiscated from the Palestinians; settlements were increased; Jerusalem was closed to Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza; and movement within the occupied territories was more restricted, with permission in the hands of Israeli soldiers.18 Within Gaza, Israeli troops did withdraw from the centre of Gaza city and refugee camps yet Israeli settlements and soldiers remained in large areas of the Gaza Strip - a clear sign of the continuing Israeli occupation. The fracturing of the Oslo Accords due to Israel’s refusal to dismantle the illegal settlements on Palestinian land and the intense fighting between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, culminated in a Second Intifada in 2000 (also known as the Al Aqsa Intifada).19 Again, the Israelis responded to the uprising with brute force, targeting Palestinians at demonstrations, checkpoints and borders. They also shelled Palestinian towns and residential areas as well as police stations.20 A major event during the Intifada was the assassination of the founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, by an Israeli helicopter gunship on 22 March 2004. He was killed along with nine other Palestinians after finishing dawn prayers at a Gaza City mosque.21 By the end of the Intifada 3,000 Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip alone.22 Whilst the two intifadas failed to overthrow the Israeli occupation, they did successfully bring the Palestinian cause within the international media spotlight. For the first time, the Western media was bombarded with images of young Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli tanks which undermined the widely held notion of an innocent Israel struggling to survive against a ruthless and mighty Arab enemy. f. Gaza and the ‘Disengagement Plan’ 2005 On February 2005, Ariel Sharon announced his ‘Unilateral Disengagement’ plan for dis-

mantling all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, and the removal of four in the north of the West Bank.23 This plan was completed by September of the same year and was portrayed as a demonstration of Israel’s ‘commitment’ to peace and a two-state solution.24 In reality, many Israeli commentators stated that this was part of Ariel Sharon’s ‘vision’ of securing Israeli control over the eastern and western slopes of the West Bank by conceding Gaza. “This engagement plan will facilitate the realization of this vision at a bargain price from his point of view: he is giving up the Gaza Strip where 37 per cent of the Palestinians live, but whose area is only 1.25 per cent of the Land of Israel.”25 In the year following the disengagement, a further 12,000 Israelis settled in the West Bank in illegal settlements built on Palestinian land.26 “The withdrawal from Gaza was thus not a prelude to a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority but a prelude to further Zionist expansion on the West Bank.”27 Others remarked that Israel’s move was motivated by a need to deal with the demographic threat of an ever increasing Palestinian population. Professor Arnon Soffer’s disturbing comments prove this point clearly, demonstrating that Israel planned to close Gaza off from the West Bank and the rest of Israel to deliberately create a catastrophe – “when 2.5 million people live in a closed-off Gaza, it’s going to be a human catastrophe. Those people will become even bigger animals than they are today, with the aid of an insane fundamentalist Islam. The pressure at the border will be awful. It’s going to be a terrible war. So, if we want to remain alive, we will have to kill and kill and kill. All day, every day...”28 Although the physical presence of Israeli military and settlers was removed from Gaza, this meant very little in terms of Gaza’s independence and autonomy. Initial optimism that the disengagement would bring new freedoms and opportunities faded as the withdrawal introduced harsher controls over Gaza’s borders. “Gaza is dependent for its economic survival on this link [with Israel] through which most of its imports and exports must pass. And with more than half the Gazan workforce unemployed, the territory is dependent on Israel as a source of employment.”29 After the disengagement, Israel still controlled these links and it now worked even harder to limit any movement in or out of

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the Gaza Strip. According to the international community Israel’s disengagement from Gaza did not constitute an end to the occupation as Israel retains and exercises effective control over the territory.30 Israel’s complete control of the skies above Gaza means that radio and television broadcasts can be interrupted at any time. The sea routes are also out of bounds which has had detrimental effects on the local fishing industry and the livelihood of many families. Palestinians are not allowed to operate an airport or seaport in Gaza which literally makes the territory an open prison – with no freedom of entry or exit.31 These controls over the borders of Gaza played a vital role in the Israeli siege of Gaza and the subsequent military incursion in December 2008/January 2009. g. Growing popularity of Hamas A new force that emerged out of the first Intifada was the Islamic resistance movement. They were initially influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood from Egypt which advocated the revival of Islam to defeat Israel and denounced the ideals of Palestinian nationalism.32 The Islamic movement was initially tolerated by Israel in the early 1970’s as it was seen as a way to weaken the influence of the secularlyminded PLO.33 Whilst they were unable to effectively undermine PLO support, they did

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gain some influence once they adopted ideals of Palestinian nationalism alongside their Islamic focus.34 One organisation following this ideology was ‘Hamas’, who emerged as a resistance movement during the First Intifada. They grew out of an organisation called Al-Mujamma al Islami led by Hamas’s founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Hamas, which takes its names from the Arabic intials of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia), was legally registered in Israel in 1978.35 Hamas slowly gathered Palestinian support in Gaza through its social programs; building schools, hospitals and religious institutes. Whilst Hamas has been branded as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and EU; its supporters point out that armed resistance is the right of people under brutal military occupation.36 As Hamas gained more support and pitted itself against an increasingly corrupt and inefficient Fatah, a power struggle between the two Palestinian political parties emerged. These tensions intensified following the death of PLO leader Yasser Arafat in November 2004 and Hamas’ landslide electoral victory in 2006. Conflict and violence between the two has led to numerous deaths on both sides and continues to be a significant element within the Palestinian political landscape.

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The Hamas Election Victory and its impact on the Gaza Strip

a. Background on Hamas Hamas was born during the chaotic days of the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987. In some ways the political party was shaped by its role during the Intifada and has retained a focus on resistance and social welfare activities.37 Hamas’ main policy aim initially was to establish an Islamic state in all of Palestine (including what is now Israel) by any means possible. Hamas’ resistance tactics generally target the Israeli military in the occupied territories although they have included suicide attacks. These were first carried out in 1994, in revenge for an attack by and Israeli on Palestinian worshippers in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron where 29 people were killed. Hamas has been castigated internationally due to the suicide attacks; however, it states that these are a direct response to Israeli military attacks which are far more deadly. Hamas repeatedly offered ceasefires to Israel whereby no Israeli civilian would be targeted if Palestinian civilians were no longer targeted. Israel rejected all such offers. Hamas’ policies have since changed, and including a halt to suicide attacks, they also declared that their agenda is focused on securing Israel’s withdrawal from lands occupied in the 1967 war, the end of the Israeli occupation, the establishment of a Palestinian state and a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue.38 Support for the party has grown and faltered throughout as the Palestinian political landscape changed, but in January 2006 Hamas won democratic elections with a landslide victory. b. Hamas in the Gaza Strip When Hamas first emerged, it struggled to compete with the popularity of secular nationalistic organisations of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) such as Fatah. Over time, however, these nationalistic organisations became associated with endemic corruption and the failure to secure independence for the Palestinian people. Subsequently, Hamas began to represent a new alternative which was focused on the basic needs of Palestinians and also on resistance against an increasingly harsh Israeli occupation. During Oslo, Hamas’ agenda was affected by a combination of factors: mainly the sustained arrests, imprisonment and execution of members by Israel and the Fatah led Palestin-

ian Authority.39 The economic cost of Hamas’s military operations and attacks had also become too high and so widespread popular opposition played an important role in ending them.40 “Moreover, with the end of the Intifada and the initiation of the Oslo peace process, the resistance component of the Palestinian struggle- so critical to Hamas’s political thinking and action- was undermined.”41 In response to this shift in the political scene, Hamas refocused it efforts on providing social welfare for Palestinians; once again giving much-needed charitable services to an increasingly needy population, utilising a well-developed institutional infrastructure.42 Thus, Hamas built charitable societies, mosques, Zakat committees, health clinics and orphanages. In doing so, Hamas hoped to create a more Islamic society and embody Islamic values such as charity as a means of protection from all forms of aggression.43 This concern for social welfare earned Hamas Palestinian support as well as a reputation for honesty and integrity; something which increasingly contrasted with Fatah and allegations of corruption. Hamas was subsequently moving away from the political extreme towards a more centrists position which represented an realistic alternative to Fatah.44 During the second Intifada in 2000, Hamas once again altered its agenda in accordance with the circumstances in the occupied Palestinian territories. The resistance activities in no way matched Israel’s military onslaught, but by attacking Israeli civilian targets Hamas “not only succeeded in gaining support from an increasingly desperate population, it also undermined the PA- which was blamed for the attacks- and the diplomatic initiative it was pursuing.”45 c. Election Victory Hamas is not a member organisation of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and initially refused to accept the Palestinian Authority (PA) or take part in its elections. However, emboldened by success in the municipal elections in 2005, they participated in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council held in January 2006. Hamas ran as the ‘Change and Reform Party’ and campaigned on the platform promising reform of the PA and supporting Palestinian rights to freedom and independence.46 Another major policy that they highlighted was the need to

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improve public services in Gaza and the West Bank.47 As Sara Roy insisted in 2003, “the social core of the Islamic movement remains strong and has become an increasingly important part of the Palestinian social welfare system as unemployment and poverty have grown and the PA’s capacity to deliver even the most basic services has diminished.”48 Hamas surprised the entire International community by gaining a landslide victory with a clear 56% majority, securing 74 out of 132 seats. What also stunned Hamas’ critics was the fact that the election was deemed fair and transparent by international monitoring bodies. In fact, the election was declared as the first truly democratic election in the Arab Middle East. This was a huge turning point for Hamas and demonstrated the Palestinian people’s commitment to end the occupation and dissatisfaction with Fatah’s inability to achieve Palestinian national goals.49 Israel and its international supporters, however, portrayed the election of Hamas as an endorsement of Islamic extremism and terrorism against the state of Israel. On the opposite side, reporters such as Wiliam Sieghart have argued that Palestinians voted for Hamas because Fatah had failed them.50 It is clear that the primary goal for Palestinians is to achieve peace and preserve their rights, something which Hamas has pledged to do. George Bisharat, a prominent legal commentator on the Palestine-Israel conflict, reiterated this point stating that “the overwhelming victory the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza handed to Hamas was not an endorsement of its ideology nor its ultimate aim of an Islamic state in all of former Palestine... Rather, the vote represents a pragmatic assessment about which party is most likely to help Palestinians reach their basic goals of liberty, peace and prosperity.”51 Consequently, the main reasons behind Hamas’ victory seem to be the harsh Israeli occupation and the failure of Fatah to secure any semblance of peace for the Palestinian people. d. Sanctions Imposed in Response to Hamas’ Victory Despite the fact that Hamas was now democratically elected by the majority of the Palestinians, numerous international organisations refused to acknowledge them

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and cut off aid to the Palestinians. The Bush Administration refused to recognise Hamas, engage in any dialogue or to provide humanitarian aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority until it complied with three conditions. One, it had to recognise the state of Israel; two, Hamas had to renounce violence and disarm and finally it had to accept all previous Palestinian-Israeli agreement.52 Azzam Tamimi, a prominent writer on Hamas remarked that: “to Hamas, the three conditions set by the United States seemed to be nothing but a face-saving manoeuvre to justify its already formulated intention to refuse any relationship with Hamas.”53 Israel began withholding tax and customs revenue, which it collects on behalf of the PA, amounting to $50 million a month. The US halted its annual $400 million in aid to Palestine although it did direct some funds to humanitarian organisations. The EU followed suit and also suspended the 500 million Euros it gives a year in aid. Whilst Hamas may have been able to survive on the funds promised by Muslim and Arab countries, the real issue was that there were no means to deliver this money to the government. All channels had been cut off by the UN and Israel who threatened to take measures against banks which transferred funds to the Hamas-led government.54 This policy had detrimental effects on the Palestinians as the government was now unable to pay the Palestinian Authority employees, many of whom were Fatah-supporters. It soon became clear that real motivation behind withholding aid was perhaps to punish Palestinians and encourage them to rebel against their newly elected government.55 It was hoped that a new election would be called and the more compliant Fatah party put back into power. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, John Dugard, also reported that it was the first time that economic sanctions had been imposed on an occupied people.56 These economic sanctions alongside the Israeli blockade would later amount to a deadly siege of the Gaza Strip-a precursor to Israeli’s military incursion in 2008/9. e. Violence Between Hamas and Fatah The election victory for Hamas also marked the beginning of conflict between Hamas and Fatah supporters.57 The bitter rivalry between Fatah and Hamas stems largely from a difference in

objectives and strategy. Hamas has indirectly recognised the existence of Israel but firmly believes in the right to armed struggle to defend Palestinian rights and land. Fatah, by contrast, maintains a strategy of negotiation with Israel which has simply yielded a more deeply entrenched occupation. The Palestinian Authority’s President, Mahmoud Abbas, frequently holds “peace talks” with Israeli counterparts, mandated by the 2007 Washington-sponsored Annapolis Summit.58 Soon after the election results were confirmed, the Hamas leaders declared their commitment to work in partnership with Fatah in forming a new government. In the face of US and EU threats to cut off aid, Hamas reassured all those concerned that Hamas would not adopt an authoritarian approach to rule and would approach the political situation with extreme realism.59 Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, a key decision-making body, also decided to boycott the government.60 Hamas proceeded to form its own government, which took office on the 29 March 2006.61 Over 2006 and 2007, the Gaza Strip witnessed severe inter-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinian Authority initiated a campaign of assassinations and abductions against Hamas which led to Hamas beginning their own actions against Fatah members. After months of intermittent fighting and arrest campaigns, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in a pre-emptive coup in the summer of 2007.62 In the aftermath, President Mahmoud Abbas responded by declaring a state of emergency, dissolving the unity government and forming an interim government without Hamas members. The Palestinian territories were then divided into two independent entities, with Fatah controlling the West Bank and Hamas controlling Gaza. Commentators suggested that: “With the full support and the financial backing of the international community, led by the United States, Mahmoud Abbas contrived to establish a parallel government whose policies were diametrically opposed to those of the elected government and whose powers had the effect of rendering the legitimate government powerless.”63 In fact, it later emerged that the US had been involved in more sinister means to overthrow Hamas and to secure a more pliant Fatah-led Palestinian government.

f. US-Backed Palestinian Civil War On April 2008, the US based Vanity Fair magazine ran an article revealing the US link to tensions between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza. “A Gaza Bombshell” revealed that the United States supplied guns, ammunition and training to Palestinian Fatah activists to help defeat Hamas in the streets of Gaza and the West Bank.64 This covert initiative, approved by then President George Bush and implemented by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, was aimed at provoking a Palestinian civil war.65 State Department official Jake Walles met with Mahmoud Abbas in late 2006, and urged him to dissolve the Hamas-led government if they refuse to recognise Israel. Any likely backlash, he reassured Abbas, would be defeated through U.S support for Fatah’s military forces.66 The U.S invested $59 million into the covert mission and also persuaded Arab allies to supply more funding. As a result, many Fatah activists were trained in Jordan and Egypt, as well as the West Bank67 and were led by Muhammad Dahlan who most recently served as President Abbas’s national-security adviser.68 It was a clear policy of divide and rule, in which Palestinian factions were encouraged to battle it out. The plan to remove the democratically elected Hamas-led government from power failed miserably. During the fighting, a group from the presidential guard fled into Egypt from Gaza after blowing a hole in the Israeli ‘security’ wall.69 When the U.S realised that things were not going according to their plan, they pressured Israel to assist Fatah with an immediate supply of arms. But Israel refused to help, fearing that any arms supplied may not be enough to turn the tide on Hamas and may well even end up in their hands.70 In the end, this political meddling led to the collapse of the unity government led by Hamas and forced Hamas to take full control of Gaza to pre-empt a Fatah coup, as detailed later in this Report. Whilst this military operation failed to overthrow Hamas, many have commented that it did allow an escalation of events which led to the deadly war on the Gaza Strip in December 2008/January 2009. As William Sieghart reaffirms: “The Bush-Blair response to the Hamas victory in 2006 is the key to today’s horror [military incursion on Gaza in December 2008].”70

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Summer 2006

Throughout the summer of 2006 there was a clear escalation of violence between Gaza and Israel. With Hamas now in power in Gaza, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stepped up their fatal attacks with Palestinians facing increasingly indiscriminate rocket fire. In response Palestinian militants were launching Qassam rockets at Israeli communities near the Green Line. These desperate Qassam rocket attacks were a predictable result of the conditions imposed on the Gazans by the Israeli government, and the continuous killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli army ensured that they did not stop. Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter who was kidnapped in Gaza, commented: “If you want to understand the thinking of those Gazan militants firing rockets into Israel, it is worth bearing in mind that many of them come from refugee families. They lost their homes in what is now Israel when Arab armies were defeated in the war that they launched in 1948. And as those young Palestinians have grown up leading stunted, blighted lives in the camps of Gaza, they have had to watch Jews from all over the world come and settle on what used to be the land of their fathers.”72 a. Attacks from April to Early June 2006 In April 2006, it was reported that Israeli forces had reduced the safety range between populated areas in the Gaza Strip and what it believed to be the ‘Qassam launching area’, from 300 to 100 metres. Given the inaccuracy of shell fire and the dispersal range of 100 meters, the IOF was knowingly endangering the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.73 B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation reported: “In one case, a shell landed near the house of nine-year-old Hadil Ghaben, in Beit Lahiya, which is in the northern Gaza Strip, killing her and wounding twelve members of her family, including her pregnant mother and three of her siblings, aged three to six.”74 B’Tselem went on to state that “the killing and wounding of civilians as a result of the artillery shelling, which is imprecise, at targets close to residential areas is a grave breach of fundamental principles of the laws of war and constitutes a war crime.”75 The attacks meted out against Gazans by Israeli forces failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians, attacks were disproportionate and devastated the lives of many living in the Gaza Strip. A report by the United Nations Of-

fice for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) corroborates this. The report pointed out that from 29 March to 12 April 2006, the IOF fired more than 2,300 artillery and tanks shells into the Gaza Strip. In the same time, Palestinians fired around 67 home-made rockets as well as one alleged longer range rocket. This means that whilst Palestinian militants were firing around 5 rockets a day, Israeli was launching more than 150 shells a day. Over the same period, the Israel Air Forces also launched 34 missiles.76 Seventeen Palestinians were killed in these attacks, including two children and at least 62 Palestinians were injured including one woman and 11 children. In the same period, one Israeli was injured after a home-made rocket was fired from inside the Gaza Strip.77 Throughout June 2006, attacks on the people of Gaza continued and the number of fatalities continued to climb. On 9 June 2006, an Israeli naval boat fired seven successive artillery shells on civilians at the Gaza Beach. Seven civilians from the same family were killed- a mother, a father and five children. Thirty-two civilians were injured, including thirteen children. On 13 June, another attack was carried out on a Gazan highway killing eleven and injuring thirty. On 20 June, three children were killed and fifteen injured during a failed extra-judicial execution attempt carried out by Israel.78 The continuous shelling and missiles launched also causes immense psycho-social strain on the Gazan population, especially the children who are unable to lead their lives with any semblance of normality. Another Israeli policy designed to terrorize the Gazans is the sonic booms launched from Israeli air-crafts which rip across the night skies waking Palestinians from their sleep due to the terrifying noise. b. Sonic Booms Terrorize Gazan Skies Following the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, Israel retained control of the skies and was able to fly planes over the Gaza Strip for information gathering purposes and surveillance. However, this also meant that Israeli air force jets were able to carry out operations over the Gaza Strip in which they intentionally caused powerful sonic booms. The air force carried out these operations three or four times a night until the end of July 2006 when it ended the practice. The sole purpose of these actions, according to B’Tselem, is “to prevent the residents from sleeping, to create an ongoing sense of fear and anxiety.”79

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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed that the orders came from him, as “thousands of residents in southern Israel live in fear and discomfort, so I gave instructions that nobody will sleep at night in the meantime in Gaza.”80 The use of sonic booms breaches a number of provisions of international humanitarian law, mostly significantly the prohibition of collective punishment in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Sonic booms also fail to distinguish between combatants and civilians which is a central pillar of humanitarian law. The children of Gaza suffered the most from the sonic booms and the Gaza Community Mental Health Centre found that they caused fear amongst many children, leading to loss of concentration, loss of appetite and bed-wetting. The continuous disturbance of sleep and shattered windows due to the sonic booms also caused negative impacts amongst adults including stomach aches, nosebleeds, headaches and other physical effects.81 Doctors in Gaza also reported that coupled with other factors affecting the Gaza Strip, there was a serious deterioration in public health, with children and pregnant women most vulnerable.82 “The sonic booms, combined with all the other stress, have a bad effect on the health of pregnant women,” said Dr Adnan Radi, a senior obstetrician. “The explosions can lead to premature contraction of the uterus and premature delivery of the baby. Whenever there is this booming, the next day we see a rise in the number of premature deliveries and miscarriages.”83 Thus, Israel deliberately employed this horrifying and inhuman collective punishment on 1.5 million people living in Gaza. There was no discrimination between the old, the young, the unborn or the vulnerable – all suffered in equal measures which was directly intended by the Israeli political leadership. c. Gaza Food Crisis Throughout 2006, Gazans faced endless assaults including Israeli shelling, sonic boom attacks and indiscriminate fire. With the living conditions as miserable as one can expect, added to it was the growing food crisis resulting from Israel’s blockade. Up until 26 April 2006, the Karni Crossing had been closed for 55 days or 47% of the year.84 This crossing is the main commercial crossing connecting Gaza

Gaza Report

with the outside world and where basic goods, medicines and other commodities pass in and out. The crossing had been subject to closure since January 2006 on security grounds and this marked an unprecedented level of closure previously unheard of in the Gaza Strip. Following the closure, bakeries began to close down as they ran out of wheat flour and those that remained open were rationing out their limited stock. Other basic food commodities were also in short supply such as diary products and fruit, with staples such as rice and sugar selling at twice their normal price, when they were available in stores.85 The food crisis hit the Palestinians of Gaza harshly as they were also facing an economic blockade from major international players following Hamas’ election victory. The closure also restricted the number of exported goods which had a significant impact on the local Gazan economy. For example, between 1 January and 20 April more than 8,400 tonnes of produce were harvested yet only 1,500 tonnes were exported.86 It was also estimated that the loss of value in exports was US$500,000 a day to the Gazan economy.87 The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights declared the closure of the Karni Crossing to be a means of collective punishment and in violation of the International Humanitarian Law. They called for the immediate opening of the crossing and for the international community to remind Israel of its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention.88 d. The kidnap of Gilad Shalit An incident which aggravated tensions between Israel and the Gaza Strip was the abduction of an Israeli soldier. On 25 June 2006, eight armed Palestinians crossed from the Gaza strip and attacked an army post near the ‘Kerem Shalom’ settlement. Two Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in the battle and Gilad Shalit was abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip.89 The identity of the Palestinian organisation behind the kidnapping remains unclear. It was reported that the attack was in retaliation to the 9 June Israeli attack on Gaza’s beach which killed seven members of the same family.90 In exchange for Shalit’s release, the abductors demanded that one thousand Palestinians held in Israeli prisons be released. Extensive

negotiations between Israel and Hamas, who represented the abductors, have failed to reach an agreement. It has been reported by various Hamas spokesmen that Shalit is being held in proper conditions.91 At the time of writing (July 2009), Israel still refuses to negotiate the release of Palestinian political prisoners in a prisoner swap deal. e. Operation ‘Summer Rain’ Israel used the abduction of Shalit as an excuse to begin a major wide-scale military operation which included the bombing of civilian infrastructure and incursions into densely-populated civilian areas.92 According to former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, the aim of the operation ‘Summer Rain’ was “not to mete out punishment but rather to apply pressure so that the abducted soldier will be freed. We want to create a new equation- freeing the abducted soldier in return for lessening the pressure on the Palestinians.”93 These actions were in direct violation of the fundamental principles of war such as distinction between civilians and armed combatants and proportionality. During the invasion, the Israeli Air force launched at least 267 air strike attacks on the Gaza Strip as well as repeated ground incursions and intensive shelling. Thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes and only a limited amount of humanitarian aid made it through to the Strip. Civilian infrastructure destroyed in the aerial attacks included 120 buildings, which including homes, and a further 160 were reported as damaged.94 In the early hours of 28 June, the Israeli Air Force also attacked the only power plant operating in the Gaza Strip. Eight missiles were fired completely destroying the power station. As a result, 1.5 million residents were forced to live without electricity for most of the day and night.95 This lack of electricity has a particularly detrimental effect on the level of medical services provided by clinics and hospitals as many vital machines were forced to run on generators. The sewage system was also on the verge of collapse, creating a whole range of problems linked to the decline in hygiene such as the spread of water-borne diseases and illnesses.96 The Gaza power plant remained unrepaired and the UNDP estimated that the damaged caused to electricity networks amounted to US$1.8 million.97

Israel’s bombing of Gaza was without a doubt completely disproportionate to the threat it faced (if any at all). Even if Israel argued that it has a right to defend itself, the actions it employed are not permissible. Bombing the power plant, which is a purely civilian building, served no military purpose and it did nothing to impede Palestinian rockets being fired at Israel. As such, the attack becomes a war crime.98 UNOCHA reported that by 24 August 2006, two hundred and two Palestinians had been killed, including 44 children.99 Casualties continued to climb and by September 2006 the number of Palestinians killed in the offensive amounted to 257, mostly civilians, including 49 children and 12 women.100 By the end of the operation, around 300 Palestinians had lost their lives- half of whom were civilians.101 f. Operation ‘Autumn Clouds’ and the Massacre in Beit Hanoun Israeli forces began another military operation in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza named ‘Operation Autumn Clouds’ on 1 November 2006. According to the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), the operation was “against terror infrastructure in general and rocket launching infrastructure in particular.”102 However, in the first two days of the operation 15 Palestinians were killed including at least 4 civilians and at least 50 were wounded, including 15 children and 3 women.103 At the end of the six-day-long offensive, at least 50 Palestinians had been killed yet in the following days the destruction and killing continued unabated.104 On 8 November 2006 at dawn, Israeli shells bombarded a residential street in Beit Hanoun killing eighteen Palestinians civiliansmostly women and children. Israel attributed the massacre from the shelling to human error. This provoked much anger in the Strip which had witnessed indiscriminate Israeli fire for months.105 All but one of the victims belonged to the same family and they had been killed as they rushed out of their homes when Israeli shells bombarded the area. Six of the victims were children under 16.106 Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, toured the Gazan town and condemned the ‘massive’ violations against civilians. “The call for protection has to be answered,” she added. “We cannot continue to see civilians, who are not the authors of their own misfortune, suffer to the extent of what I see here.”107

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After the incident, the UN announced that a fact-finding mission would be necessary to assess the situation of victims and make recommendations on ways to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli assaults. However, lack of cooperation from Israel prevented the mission from visiting Beit Hanoun. Nobel Prize laureate Desmond Tutu described Israel’s actions as “very distressing” and commented that this was a time in our history in which there was no space for “indifference to the plight of those suffering.”108 The Guardian reported that the US called on Israel to exercise ‘restraint’ and noted its ‘regret’ at the civilian casualties.109

the high-profile kidnapping of Alan Johnston.

g. Kidnapped: Alan Johnston

In light of this popular support, Hamas pressured the group into releasing Johnston. The kidnappers and the powerful clan that was protecting them buckled under Hamas’ pressure and Johnston was released unharmed. Johnston has since written about his ordeal and has also acknowledged the role that Hamas played in his safe release: “There are many people who would argue that the Hamas takeover of Gaza was damaging in a variety of ways. But in terms of my kidnapping, I think that transformation of the political scene was the key factor in creating the conditions in which I could be freed.”111

In the days following the violent conflict at the end of 2006, BBC journalist Alan Johnston was kidnapped by a faction in the Gaza Strip. Johnston had been working amongst the Gazans for almost three years when he was abducted in March 2007. Johnston was held for 114 days by a group calling itself the ‘Army of Islam’ before he was released with the diplomatic intervention of Hamas. Once Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, they immediately set out to impose some order in the area. One priority was ending

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A popular campaign had been mounted on behalf on Johnston for his release, which found supporters in the West Bank and Gaza. After his release, Johnston noted: “I knew that the behaviour of my captors was an aberration. I also felt that the response of many Palestinians to my plight was remarkable. Demonstrators calling for my release took to the streets repeatedly in the West Bank and Gaza. It was clear that the vast majority of Palestinians bitterly condemned what the ‘Army of Islam’ was doing.”110

The Gaza Siege

Following months of attacks on and bombardment of Gaza, the Hamas takeover was met by a complete isolation. Israel and Egypt tightened control over the borders and Palestinians were now almost completely barred from entering or leaving the tiny coastal strip.112 Both countries asserted that with the replacement of Fatah, there was no guarantee of security and so the borders would have to be sealed. This was the beginning of a deadly siege that created intolerable suffering for the people of Gaza. At this stage, Israel earnestly restricted imports including food, fuel, medical supplies and other basic necessities. Israel justified the siege on the basis that it would halt the rocket attacks from Gaza - attacks which ordinary civilians are powerless to stop. As Avi Shaliam, an Israeli commentator who served in the Israeli army, notes “it is difficult to see how starving and freezing the civilians of Gaza could protect the people on the Israeli side of the border.”113 a. Food and Water When Israel limited commercial shipments of food into Gaza in 2006, a senior government adviser, Dov Weisglass, explained that “the idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet but not to make them die of hunger.”114 Israel’s ‘diet’ is taking its toll. The World Food Program warned in November 2007 that less than half of Gaza’s food-import needs were being met. Basics including wheat grain, vegetable oil, dairy products and baby milk were in short supply. Few families could afford meat and anaemia rates rocketed to almost 80 percent.115 UNRWA noted at about the same time that: “we are seeing evidence of the stunting of children, their growth is slowing, because our ration is only 61 percent of what people should have and that has to be supplemented.”116 Half the population of Gaza rely on the UN for their staple foods and UN agencies consider between half and two-thirds of Gazans as ‘food insecure’.117 B’Tselem reported in 2007 that more than 80 percent of Gazans depended on direct assistance from humanitarian agencies to keep them from starving.118 Yet during the blockade Israel limited the amount of humanitarian aid allowed to enter Gaza. Members of the high-ranking American delegation to tour Gaza were shocked to discover that Israeli blockade included food staples such as lentils, macaroni and tomato paste.119 “When have lentil bombs been going off lately? Is someone going to kill you with a piece of macaroni?” asked

Congressman Brian Laird. In fact, the total number of products blacklisted by Israel remains unknown and relief agencies face long delays bringing in their supplies.120 A survey by the UN in 2008 found that more than half of Gazan households had sold their disposable assets and were relying on credit to buy food. Three quarters were buying less food than in the past and almost all were eating less fresh fruit, vegetables and animal protein to save money.121 The blockade has also affected Gaza’s water network as repairs are difficult to carry out due to essential parts being unavailable and there is limited fuel for generators. The World Health Organisations reported that before December 2008, Gazans had only half of the water they needed according to international standards. 80% of the water supplied did not meet WHO drinking standards.122 With regards to control of Gaza’s sea, Israeli controls limit the activity of fisherman and the possibility of foreign trade to help support the local economy. Israeli boats patrol the shore and any fishing boats that go beyond twenty nautical miles from shore have faced Israeli fire.123 Following the disengagement plan and the abduction of Gilad Shalit, this distance was further reduced and fishermen have not been allowed to go three nautical miles from the shore.124 “As a result, the fishing sector in Gaza, which provides a livelihood to many Gazan families and is an important source of food for Gazans, suffered a harsh blow.”125 b. Fuel and Electricity On 19 September 2007, Israel’s security cabinet announced that the Gaza Strip was a ‘hostile entity’. Israel claimed that this definition legalised various punitive measures including restricting electricity and fuel supplies.126 At a time when the Gazans were suffering immensely from Israel’s disproportionate and torturous policies, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated: “We will not allow them to lead a pleasant life…As far as I am concerned, all of Gaza’s residents can walk and have no fuel for their cars.”127 Electricity and fuel shortage have detrimental impacts on the people of Gaza as they are used for numerous tasks such as transportation, operating hospitals, pumping water and treating sewage. Diesel and petrol shortages caused enormous problems for transportation and donkey carts have once again become a common sight in the

Gaza Report

Gaza Strip. Schools and Universities were also forced to shut down before the end of the school year as students and teachers were unable to travel.128 No fuel for cars has been allowed in from Israel since November 2008 (except for UN cars) and the UN reported that only half the cooking gas needed was available in June 2009.129 Following the bombardment of Gaza’s only power plant in 2006, Palestinians also depend almost entirely on Israel for electricity. Numerous human rights organisations petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice against the cuts in electricity and fuel, arguing that the measures were likely to amount to a humanitarian crisis. The High Court rejected the petition in January 2008 and authorized the cuts in electricity and fuel which the Gaza Strip depends on.130 c. Medical Treatment The health system in Gaza, which functioned only partially before the siege, was in a state of collapse throughout the blockade. Lack of fuel made it extremely difficult for the main hospital in Gaza (al-Shifa) to provide even basic care for casualties. After almost 20 days of the siege the hospital was relying entirely on their secondary generators due to the restricted fuel supplies. According to the World Health Organization, 20 percent of essential medicines and 31 percent of essential medical equipment were unavailable in October 2007.131 This situation was far worse during the siege. Many patients also required treatment which could only be carried out outside the Gaza Strip. Of those who applied, however, 17.5 percent were denied entry into Israel during 2007. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 44 patients died in 2007 alone as a direct result of Israel delaying or preventing their exit from Gaza.132 By December 2008, the fuel for hospital generators had nearly run out and a shortage of basic medical supplies left al-Shifa hospital with only 20 percent of the oxygen supply it needed.133 Due to the shortage of electricity, medical staff were forced to make agonising decisions about who to save by prioritising their needs. Moaiya Hassanian, a health ministry official said: “We have the choice to either cut electricity on babies in the maternity ward or heart surgery patients or stop operating rooms.”134 On 19 June 2009, it was reported that the death toll for medical patients resulting from the siege alone had reached 344. During this week

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in June, a Palestinian man was reported dead after he was unable to leave the Gaza Strip for life saving medical care and three other patients including a seven-month old baby died under the blockade.135 “Patients are dying unnecessarily” asserted Saree Makdisi. “Cancer patients cut off from chemotherapy regimens, kidney patients cut off from dialysis treatments, premature babies cut off from blood clotting medications. In the past few weeks, many more Palestinians parents have watched the lives of their sick children ebb slowly, quietly and invisibly away in Gaza’s besieged hospitals...”136 d. Sewage Under the blockade, sewage became a dangerous issue as lack of fuel meant it was being discharged untreated with widespread health implications. Full sewage treatment requires 14 continuous days of uninterrupted power supply, which under the blockade is impossible due to daily power cuts. Consequently, every day tens of millions of litres of untreated or partially treated sewage is being dumped into the sea.137 This is contaminating Gaza sea water and posing risks for bathers and consumers of seafood. Fishermen have also reported that the discharge of sewage into the sea is leaving a noxious smell and killing most sea life in the immediate vicinity.138 Mohammed Omer, a Gazan journalist, summed up the dangerous implications of sewage in the context of the blockade: “The sewage treatment plant in al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City requires 20,000 litres of fuel a day. Last week [21 January 2008] Israel ceased delivery of all fuel and supplies to Gaza. The consequences have been catastrophic. Without fuel to pump it away, the waste backs up, flooding the streets and clogging the plumbing. The local ministry of health has declared this an environmental catastrophe. Doctors have warned that a medical catastrophe could follow by way of spread of cholera and other diseases. That is at a time when not even life-saving medical services are on offer any more.”139 Whilst most sewage is being pumped out to the sea, continuous fuel shortages mean that some sewage cannot be pumped and so is flowing into lagoons in residential areas.140 In March 2007, five Palestinians were killed in Beit Lahiya when

the lagoon burst and the area was flooded with raw sewage.141 A high level World Bank delegation and the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) launched an emergency sewage treatment project in November 2008, which had been long delayed by Israel’s blockade. “We strongly believe that water and basic services should be kept outside the conflict” said Dr. Shaddad Attili, Chairman of the PWA.142 The $63 million project supported by the International Quartet envoy Tony Blair was damaged in January 2009 and faces restrictions due to the continuing blockade imposed on Gaza. e. January 2008: Gaza’s Border Breached After 18 months under a blockade which denied Gazans everything apart from pitiful supplies of essential humanitarian aid, a border breach into Egypt provided temporary relief to the Palestinians. On 23 January 2008, Hamas members demolished a section in the Gaza-Egypt border fence allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans to break free. These desperate people rushed into Egypt to stock up on supplies. Travelling by foot, truck or donkey cart, they flooded into the markets purchasing everything from gas and flour to cement and cigarettes.143 Sheep, goats and cows were also being sold to Gazans who had suffered from a lack of livestock. Many had been unable to slaughter a sheep during the previous month’s celebration of Eid al-Adha as the prices were so high and the stock underfed.144 While the media played up incidents of border violence, people were able to cross the border without any trouble and the police presence was mainly to guide traffic.145 The break-out provided much needed access to the outside world from the siege and desolation of the Gaza Strip. Four days later, Egyptian security forces were turning Palestinians back and after 12 days of freedom, Egypt resealed the border. Whilst the border breach did boost Hamas’ popularity in the Strip, it also raised tensions with the Egyptian government which remarked that it was a respected state and could not accept a breach of its border.146 Even so, it was Egypt who brokered a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel after several months of indirect negotiations. f. The Ceasefire Following the ongoing conflict between Hamas

and Israel in 2006 and 2007, the ceasefire arrangement called for an end to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and a halt of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.147 It was also agreed that Israel would allow the gradual reopening of border crossings in and out of the Strip to help ease the blockade. On 19 June 2008, the truce officially took effect and shortly after Israel opened four of its Gaza crossings - the Erez, Karni, Nahal Aouz and Soufa terminals. However, by 24 June they were closed again.148 Thus, even after the ceasefire agreement, Israel maintained its blockade of Gaza which, in Hamas’s view, amounted to a violation of the agreement. Israel prevented any exports from leaving Gaza and drastically reduced the number of trucks carrying food, fuel, spare parts for water and sanitation plants and medical supplies into the Strip.149 William Sieghart, the chairman of Forward Thinking an independent conflict resolution agency, reaffirmed the failure of Israel to maintain its side of the ceasefire: “The Israeli Government agreed to an Egyptianbrokered ceasefire with Hamas. In return for a ceasefire, Israel agreed to open the crossing points and allow a free flow of essential supplies in and out of Gaza. The rocket barrages ended but the crossings never fully opened, and the people of Gaza began to starve. This crippling embargo was no reward for peace.”150 Israel’s media, however, was broadcasting the very opposite message, insisting that it was Hamas who broke the ceasefire and that Israel’s only objective was to defend its population. Whilst Israel’s spin-doctors were successful in disseminating this message, ultimately it is inaccurate and deliberately misleading.151 It was Israel who broke the ceasefire after a raid into Gaza on 4 November 2008, which killed six Hamas men.152 It was also Israel who defied the terms of the ceasefire by retaining its blockade on the Strip. g. The Future for Gaza’s Economy Crippled by the blockade, Gaza’s economy suffered badly and local economists say it will take years to recover. The UN reported that the blockade caused the economy ‘irreversible damage’. Before the closure, 750 trucks of commodities were leaving Gaza each month, bringing in half a million US dollars a day to the economy.153 This export trade has

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come to a complete standstill, apart from a few unique cases when the international community put pressure on Israel. For example due to pressure from the Dutch government, Israel granted permission for 25,000 flowers from Gaza to be exported for Valentine’s Day in 2009.154

By June 2008, only 90 were still functioning and they employed 860 people. As a result unemployment soared from 30% in 2007 to 40% in 2008,156 / 157 and now stands at 65% with poverty at 80%. Every day of the siege, more and more businesses close down and more people are losing the means to make a living.

Production has also been affected as raw materials are refused entry into the Gaza Strip. In the construction sector, building works stopped and shipping containers of products intended for Gaza remained stranded in Israel, forcing importers to pay storage costs and bear heavy losses if the goods were perishable.155 According to the Palestinian Trade Centre, before the blockade there were 3,900 industrial premises operating, employing 35,000 people.

Whilst Israel has continuously argued that the blockade was implemented to halt Qassam rockets launched from Hamas-ruled Gaza, the majority of human rights organisations and critics have contended that it is simply collective punishment of a people for practising their democratic right. As Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth stated: “Israel’s blockade policy can be summed up in one word and it is punishment, not security.”158

This Chart formulated by the UN OCHA illustrates the number of trucks with goods entering Gaza and shows the limited change following the truce in June 2008.

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International Complicity and Protest

As the siege against Gaza intensified in the lead up to the war in December 2008, there was increasing criticism for and demonstrations against the Israeli policy. People across the world joined in protests with numerous organizations that condemned the siege as a violation of human rights. Amnesty International remarked in July 2008 that “a humanitarian crisis is engulfing Gazanot the result of a natural disaster but entirely man-made and avoidable. The tightening of the Israeli blockade since June 2007 has left the population, 1.5 million Palestinians, trapped and with few resources. They are surviving, but only just.”159 The report went on to urge the Israeli government to lift the blockade and allow the passage of aid and other necessities into Gaza. a. States Accused of Complicity in the Crisis Amnesty International also noted that the international community- most notably the Quartet which is made up of the USA, EU, Russia and the UN - should be holding all concerned parties accountable to the same principles of international law.160 In fact, six leading British aid groups accused the Quartet of complicity over Israel’s crippling blockade. The Guardian reported that Oxfam director Barbara Stocking said that: “The collective complacency of the Quartet is putting the future of the people of Gaza on the line.” The charities, which include Christian Aid, added that the Quartet should end this complacency but putting the “highest diplomatic pressure” on Israel over its strategy of isolating Hamas.161 The Quartet had joined Israel in a boycott of Hamas, after it took over Gaza in June 2007 following its election victory in January 2006. British MP Clare Short denounced the West’s silence over the siege and said: “Our governments are shameful in that they don’t hold up international law and say to Israel the siege is illegal and must be broken.” “The whole EU is colluding to what is taking place in Gaza to our shame.”162 Short had made the voyage to Gaza on the US-based Free Gaza Movement boats in November 2008 in the hope that they would challenge the siege and tackle the failure of Western governments to uphold the Geneva conventions.163 Lord Nazir Ahmed, who was also defied the siege by entering on the boat, added that the basic human rights of the Gazans are being crushed while the whole world stands idle. “Even prisoners have rights, rights to have food

and medicine and to live in dignity... People here in Gaza don’t have those rights,” he said.164 As well as criticisms of the UK and the EU’s role in the siege, Human Rights Watch questioned the limited US involvement in the issue. It reported that despite Israel being the largest recipient of American aid, the US had “not made the funding conditional on Israeli improving its human rights record.”165 Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies also found that the US was directly complicit in the violations of the Geneva Convention as Israel’s actions during the blockade had been completely backed and supported by the US.166 Bennis went on to conclude that the resulting humanitarian crisis which reached catastrophic proportions “is partly the responsibility of the United States.”167 The US also blocked UN Security Council nonbinding statements urging Israel to end its blockade, arguing that the blockade was a policy of ‘self-defense’.168 Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu also denounced the entire international community stating that “our silence and complicity, especially on the situation in Gaza, shames us all.”169 b. International Organizations Condemning the Siege As noted above, numerous humanitarian and human rights organizations condemned the siege of Gaza as a violation of human rights and as a brutal form of collective punishment. A report released by the coalition of eight British aid charities stated that the situation for the 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip was worse that it had ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967.170 The coalition remarked that the crisis was completely man-made, avoidable and could also be reversed with the necessary political will. It also found that the blockade affected the civilian population of Gaza indiscriminately and so constituted collective punishment which is illegal under international humanitarian law.171 Whilst the coalition acknowledged the UK government’s assertion that it would not support the Israeli blockade, they insisted that more needed to be done. “Concrete actions must be taken to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip and redirect policy towards an inclusive political process through which the root causes of the current crisis can be adequately addressed.”172 The charities also questioned Israel’s policy of

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isolation and refusal to engage with the Palestinian leadership, arguing that this “only closes doors to negotiations while reinforcing the political and humanitarian crisis.”173 The international policy of isolating Hamas was deemed unsuccessful as not only had it failed to reap any benefits but it had resulted in a political stalemate with Israel. Other criticisms emerged from the president of the United Nations general assembly,174 the PCHR and UN human rights investigator Richard Falk, who was expelled by the Israeli authorities in December 2008.175

rier not under direct Israeli control, remained tightly sealed by the Egyptian government, denying the Gazans a means to ease the blockade. A diverse range of groups including the Muslim Brotherhood and the pro-democracy group ‘Kefaya’ held demonstrations and condemned the inability of Arab countries to stem the disproportionate Israeli aggression in Gaza.178

Despite the internal conflict between the Palestinian political leaders, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Israel to lift the blockade. Khaled Mashaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, also appealed to Arab countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia to intervene. “We are not asking you to wage military war against Israel” he said, “just stand with us in pride and honor.”176 Despite increasing international concern over the deteriorating situation in Gaza, Israel maintained its blockade in an attempt to weaken Hamas and the population of Gaza.

In Jordan, hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied in the streets and called for the government to close down the Israeli embassy and sever ties with Israel and Washington.179 Algeria also saw mass demonstrations organised by the student unions which denounced the Israeli siege against the Gazans. “Are we going to sit on the fence watching our brothers and sisters in Gaza being slain day in, day out?” fumed Secretary General of the students union Ismail Mujaheed.180 In Europe, members of the Swedish parliament and supporters rallied in solidarity with those in Gaza. There were also demonstrations against the siege across major cities such as London, Paris, Stockholm and Berlin.

c. International Protest Against the Siege

d. Free Gaza Boats

As news spread of the horrific consequences of the siege on Gaza, world-wide protests were also held by millions of people calling for an end to the suffering. People took to the streets demonstrating against the injustice across Europe, America, the Middle East, Latin America and South Africa.

Across the United States, a new initiative was also launched which would tackle the Israeli siege through small yet symbolic action. The ‘Free Gaza Movement’ is a coalition of human rights organizations and activists, which is based in the US but is open to supporters of all nationalities, ages and beliefs. In August 2008, forty activists from 14 countries boarded two boats full of humanitarian aid and left the port of Larnaca in Cyprus heading for Gaza. Before the Free Gaza boats set sail, the Israeli foreign ministry had said it wanted them to steer clear of the Gazan coastline yet later on an Israeli spokesman said that they would be allowed in.181

A non-partisan campaign, ‘End the Siege’ was launched by a coalition of civil society groups, intellectuals, activists and human rights workers across the West Bank and Gaza. They declared that there was a “moral and ethical duty to rescue the lives of human souls living under bitter circumstances that sabotage their right to exist. People in Gaza are deprived of the simplest requirements for a decent life. We are determined to move hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder with all people who believe in freedom, human dignity and peace.”177 Many in the Arab world also protested against the official inaction of their governments or the failure of support to translate into concrete actions. On March 2008, protests erupted on the streets on Cairo as the Egyptian government maintained its siege of Gaza. The Rafah border crossing which is the only bar-

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The two boats named Liberty and Free Gaza were carrying essential humanitarian supplies including 200 hearing aids for children deafened by bombing raids. They managed to reach the Gaza Strip in safety and were the first boats to journey to Gaza since 1967. Organiser Paul Larudee said that “we have already achieved our goals by proving that ordinary citizens with ordinary means can mobilise a defense of human rights for Palestinians.” He also added that the problems

in Gaza are not about feeding people rice but are issues of human rights.182 Since August, the movement has sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip several times “bringing international witnesses to see first hand the devastating effects of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people.”183 Another four boats entered Gaza peacefully until the emergency delegation sent on the 29/30 December 2008 which was rammed by the Israeli navy. According to Caoimhe Butterly, the Gaza coordinator, “The gunboats gave us no warning. They came up out of the darkness firing flares and flashing huge flood lights into our faces...They rammed us three times, hitting the side of the boat hard. We began taking on water, and for a few minutes, we all feared for our lives...”184 The boat, which had been carrying 3.5 tonnes of medical aid, was forced to make its way to safe harbor in Lebanon. More

recently, on 30 June 2009 Israeli Occupation Forces forcibly boarded the Free Gaza boat, Spirit of Humanity, and kidnapped 21 human rights workers and journalists who were on their way to deliver much needed humanitarian and reconstruction supplies to besieged Gaza. Those abducted by Israel included Nobel peace prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.185 These activists were taken to Israel and later deported back to their countries of origin. Despite the high profile of some of these individuals, Israel has repeatedly displayed a complete lack of respect for their positions. Israel’s actions in Gaza have created an international solidarity movement on the ground within many countries around the globe, all of whom are working to free Gaza from Israel’s inhumane policies.

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Preparation for War in 2008

In the context of the Gaza siege and intensified calls from human rights organisations to ease the humanitarian crisis, Israel launched military operation ‘Cast Lead’ on 27 December 2008. After 24 days 1,417 Palestinians would be dead, including 926 civilians.186 Israel justified the war against Gaza as a response to the breakdown of efforts to renew the ceasefire and due to what it called the “continuation of terror activity by Hamas terror organisations from the Gaza Strip”.187 Evidence has since emerged that Israel had been preparing for war for some time and it was Israel, not Hamas, who rejected offers to renew the ceasefire agreement. Israel, it seems, did not react to the circumstances it found itself in but rather, it used the excuse of rocket attacks to launch its pre-planned military invasion to rid itself of Hamas. a. Israel Rejects Hamas’ Ceasefire Offer

open up the Gaza border crossings.192 Dr. Robert Pastor, a professor at American University, who met with the Hamas chairman along with former President Jimmy Carter confirmed that Hamas was willing to renew the ceasefire “if there was a sign that Israel would lift the siege on Gaza.”193 Whilst it is not clear whether Israel explicitly rejected the offer or it simply refused to respond, what is apparent is that Israel turned down Hamas’ offer. And although Israel argues that it is wholly motivated by the need to halt Qassam rockets, it was unwilling to end the siege on Gaza in exchange for peace in the region. “Israel’s rejection of the Hamas December proposal reflected its preference for maintaining Israel’s primary leverage over Hamas and the Palestinian population of Gaza- its ability to choke off food and goods required for the viability of its economy- even at the cost of continued Palestinian rocket attacks.”194 As negotiations to renew the ceasefire ended, Israeli threats began and politicians warned that a major military offensive would be launched in Gaza if rockets fired by Hamas did not come to and end.195

As 2008 came to an end, tensions were rising in Gaza as the ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt was nearing expiry. This ceasefire was due to end on 19 December 2008. Israel had already compromised the ceasefire by failing to honour its terms including not easing the blockade on Gaza and continuing military attacks in Gaza. The pivotal event took place on November 4th when Israel seriously undermined the agreement by carrying out an attack in Gaza killing six members of Hamas’.188 For five months before this attack, Hamas had refrained from firing rockets and had also prevented other groups from doing so.189 William Sieghart explained that “when Westerners ask what is in the mind of Hamas leaders when they order or allow rockets to be fired at Israel they fail to understand the Palestinian position. Two months ago [November 2008] the Israeli Defence Forces broke the ceasefire by entering Gaza and beginning the cycle of killing again.”190

The invasion of Gaza under operation ‘Cast Lead’ was not a straight forward response to the breakdown of ceasefire negotiations during December 2008. As Ian Black, the BBC’s Middle East editor remarks: “Unlike the confused and improvised Israeli response as the war against Hizbullah in Lebanon unfolded in 2006, Operation Cast Lead appears to have been carefully prepared over a long time.”196 Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak admitted early on in the war that he and the army had been planning the attack for at least six months. Other indicators showed that the “invasion’s blueprint was drawn up much earlier, probably 18 months ago.”197

As the ceasefire expiry date neared, it was widely reported that Hamas leader Khaled Mesha’al had refused to renew a six-month old truce with Israel.191 Yet it was later confirmed by US sources that Hamas had proposed in mid-December to return to the original HamasIsrael ceasefire arrangement. The proposal was presented by a high-level delegation to Egyptian Minister of Intelligence Omar Suleiman at a meeting on 14 December 2008. Hamas declared that it was prepared to stop all rocket attacks if Israel pledged to halt its attacks and to

It was also Minister Barak who expanded the blockade in Gaza to include electricity and fuel. While this policy did test the Gazan’s support for Hamas it may have also been a central plank of Barak’s military strategy.198 As Jonathan Cook, a journalist in the region explains: “any general knows that it is easier to fight an army- or in this case a militia- that is tired, cold and hungry. More so if the fighter’s family and friends are starving too.”199 Signs that the war on Gaza had been premeditated included declarations by Israeli army officials in November 2008 that

b. Pre-planned Military Invasion

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“war with Gaza will take place in the coming two months.”200 For many senior officials, this was a chance to re-establish Israel’s ‘deterrent capability’ which was badly damaged after the 2005 Gaza withdrawal and more critically after the widely criticised war against Hezbollah in 2006.201 The plans for war were agreed in a cabinet meeting on 19 December and preparations included misinformation and deception to lull Hamas into a false sense of security began.202

c. The Israeli Elections The decision to go to war against Gaza was also complicated by the Israeli general elections, planned for February 2009. Opinions polls in Israel show that it pays, politically, to talk tough and be seen to be actively dealing with the ‘threat of Hamas to Israel’. In fact, both leading candidates to become Israel’s next prime minister, Tzipi Livni and Likud party leader Binyamin Netanyahu, vowed to defeat Hamas if they were elected.207

The US Presidential inauguration may have also played a part in the timing of the war against Gaza. Three weeks before the official start of President Obama’s administration, the conflict was Israel’s last chance to “assume automatic diplomatic support from Washington, as it got from George Bush over both West Bank settlements and the Lebanon war.”203 Throughout the conflict, Bush put all the blame for the crisis on Hamas and vetoed proposals at the United Nations Security Council for an immediate ceasefire.204

Livni, who spoke openly of toppling Hamas since they took control of Gaza in June 2007, improved her standing during the conflict.208 Even Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who had been mired in corruption scandals saw his popularity rise following the war on Gaza. His popularity rating climbed up to 33 percent compared to an average of 14 percent.209 In this sense, the war was motivated by political goals rather than the proclaimed ‘security’ threat of Hamas alone.

In the lead up to war against Gaza, Israel was eager to carry out a well-organised and successful operation. Plans were carefully drawn up months before the conflict and it was reported that Barak saw the ceasefire as a means of providing the Israeli army with the needed time to prepare.205 Barak also gave orders to carry out intensive intelligence gathering to identify Hamas infrastructure and other targets in the Strip. On 18 December, Prime Minister Olmert and defence minister Barak met in central Tel Aviv to approve the operation.206 A day later, after five hours of discussion Israeli ministers unanimously voted in favour of the strike. The fate of Gaza had been sealed. It was now only a matter of time.

In the weeks leading up to the Israeli election, issues of national security dominated the agenda. Political rivals were locked in fierce debate not about whether the devastating war in Gaza had gone too far, but whether it went far enough.210 Tzipi Livni, now leader of the centrist Kadima party, noted in a keynote speech that she would not attempt to negotiate a settlement with Hamas and promised more attacks. “If by ending the operation we have yet to achieve deterrence, we will continue until they get the message,” she said. Support had also grown for the right and other hard-liners, with combative talk about defending Israel and its Jewish character attracting more votes than hopes for peace.211

Gaza Report

The War on Gaza

“It was just before noon when I heard the first explosion. I rushed to my window and barely did I get there and look out when I was pushed back by the force and air pressure of another explosion. For a few moments I didn’t understand but then I realized that Israeli promises of a wide-scale offensive against the Gaza Strip had materialized.” - Safa Joudeh212 a. Week 1: Launch of Operation ‘Cast Lead’ On 27 December 2008, Israel launched its military incursion titled Operation ‘Cast Lead’ on the tiny coastal enclave of Gaza which had been blockaded for the previous 18 months. The incursion consisted of directing artillery fire and air strikes at civilian neighbourhoods from which rockets were believed to be fired - despite the fact that these actions were in violation of international law.213 Jonathon Cook, a reporter based in the region explained that: “these aggressive measures were designed to ‘send Gaza decades into the past’, as the head of the army command in Gaza, Yoav Galant, described Israel’s attack on its opening day.”214 The military incursion had also followed the Israeli deputy defence minister’s comment that Palestinians could bring on themselves what he called a “shoah” or “holocaust”.215 Matan Vilnai had warned that “the more Qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, they will bring upon themselves a bigger shoah because we will use all our might to defend ourselves.” In the first day alone, more than 100 tonnes of bombs were dropped killing police officers who were attending a graduation ceremony, school children heading home after a day of study and other Gazans who were going about their daily lives.216 A day later it was reported that the number of Palestinians killed had reached around 290.217 Israel stepped up its air strikes in the next two days, destroying five ministerial buildings and a structure belonging to the Islamic University in Gaza City. By 30 December the death toll had climbed to 384, mostly unarmed civilians, with more than 800 Gazans injured.218 On 1 January 2009, Al Mezan reported that an air raid had targeted the house of Abu al-Jabin family and Nizzar Rayyan, who was a leader in the Hamas movement: “At

approximately

2:40pm

today,

Israeli

aircrafts fired five heavy missiles at the two houses, which are located in the middle of Jabaliya refugee camp, one of the most densely, populated places in the world, killing at least eight people, including 49-year-old Rayyan, his wife Nawal Rayyan, his six year old son AbdulRahman Rayyan, and another woman related to him, 49-year-old Sabah Abdul-Rahman Rayyan. Ten houses were destroyed completely and dozens others were damaged. The number of casualties in this attack is expected to rise.”219 It later emerged that 15 members of his family were killed in this attack. On the same day it was reported by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) that an attack near al-Nada towers had resulted in the death of 2 year old al-Mu’ez al-Nasla and his 16 year old sister ‘Oyoun.220 EU ministers as well as Turkey, Egypt and several other Arab countries called for a ceasefire and for a reopening of Gaza’s crossings with Israel. British Foreign Minister, David Miliband reiterated these calls stating that a ceasefire was required to end the “massive loss of life” and that the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza was “deeply disturbing”.221 Ian Black, the Guardian’s Middle East editor wrote that the scale of the bloodshed ranked in Palestinian history alongside the 1948 Deir Yassin killings or the Sabra and Shatila massacres by Israel’s Christian Lebanese allies in 1982.222 Despite rising international concern and pressure from the United Nations Security Council demanding an immediate end to the fighting, Israel expanded its military campaign. By the end of December it had called up at least 6,500 reservists and sent infantry and armoured units to the Gaza border in preparation of a ground assault.223 Israel justified its actions as means of self defence against the Hamas rockets, insisting that they were not to blame for any casualties inflicted. Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister added that “I expect the international community, including the entire Arab world, to send a clear message to Hamas: ‘It is your fault. It’s your responsibility’.”224 She went on to say “The responsibility for the lives of the civilians in the Gaza Strip is in your [Hamas’] hands.”225 b. Week 2: The Ground Assault Following the aerial assault of Gaza, Israeli troops began the ground offensive on the 3rd of January 2009. PCHR reported that by the end of

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the first day of the ground assault, the number of Palestinians killed totalled 424, mostly civilians including 88 children and 19 women.226 An air strike during the invasion hit a mosque in the Jabalya town killing 15 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children and 27 others were wounded. The PCHR also found that ambulances and medical crews were subjected to gunfire and shelling during this period and so were unable to reach those who had been killed or injured.227 According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), two clearly marked ambulances evacuating the dead and wounded were targeted by Israeli fire. Palestinian ambulance driver Khaled Abu Saada supported this: “I have no doubt that one missile was aimed at us. I do not know for certain whether it was meant to kill us or warn us to keep away, but it was definitely aimed in our direction.”228 Some of those who were not immediately killed suffered greatly before dying because Gaza’s hospitals which were already chronically short of medicines and supplies were unable to cope with the scale of the catastrophe.229 In the second week of the war on Gaza, two UN buildings were attacked. Israeli tank shells exploded in and around a UN school in the Jabaliya refugee camp killing over 42 Palestinians who were sheltering inside. “There’s nowhere safe in Gaza. Everyone here is terrorized and traumatized,” said John Ging, the UN head in Gaza. “I am appealing to political leaders here and in the region and the world to get their act together and stop this,” he said, speaking at Gaza’s largest hospital. “They are responsible for these deaths.”230 During the ground offensive, Israeli troops also abducted Palestinian men in Gaza suspected of being involved in the resistance movement. Israeli TV claimed that as many as 100 Palestinians had been arrested and taken over the border for interrogation.231 Concerns that Israel had deployed white phosphorous also intensified as mounting evidence indicated that the deadly chemical had been used from 3 January. On 10 January, Human Rights Watch issued a statement urging Israel to end the use of white phosphorous in the densely populated areas of Gaza.232 Their researchers confirmed the use of artillery fired white phosphorous, revealing the blatant falsehood of an earlier statement by an IDF spokesperson who told CNN, “I can tell you with

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certainty that white phosphorous is absolutely not being used.”233 Israeli president Shimon Peres rejected the possibility of a ceasefire to end the conflict on 4 January 2009. US President George W. Bush accused Hamas of launching “terror attacks” on Israel and expressed his support for the military incursion into Gaza. The US also vetoed Libya’s draft of a document calling for an immediate ceasefire. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed extreme concern and disappointment at Israel’s refusal to consider a ceasefire.234 A resolution calling for a truce was finally passed on 9 January with a vote of 14-0 although the US abstained from the vote, seriously undermining its influence. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert issued a statement that the Security Council resolution was “not practical” and so continued the offensive against Gaza.235 c. Week 3: End of the War The third week of the conflict saw further escalation of the ground assault which now reached deeper into western Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya as well as the northern, eastern and southern suburbs of Gaza City.236 Al Mezan centre for Human Rights also reported an incident of indiscriminate attacks on civilians and targeted assaults on medical staff: “At Approximately 4:17pm, on 12 January 2009, an IOF aircraft fired a missile at the Hammouda and Banna apartment complex, which is located in al-Zarqaa area in Jabaliya town. While the residents of the compound were trying to evacuate their apartments following the first attack, the IOF fired several artillery shells at the tower, killing 18-year-old Ayat Kamal al-Banna, and injured four others, including two children. Once ambulances arrived at the scene of the attack to pick up the victims, at approximately 4:22pm, the IOF fired several missiles at them, hitting an ambulance. As a result, a 28-year-old doctor, Issa Abdul-Rahim Saleh, was killed and 25-year-old Ahmed AbdulBari, the ambulance driver, was injured.”237 Conditions in the Gaza Strip also continued to deteriorate under the intensive assault due to the persistent blockade. The Palestinian Water Authority revealed that at least 500,000 (a third of the population) had been cut off from water and sanitation services due to the conflict, leading to concerns over health public health.238

Hospitals and intensive care units were also struggling to cope with the constant influx of casualties due to damaged structures and lack of resources such as vital medicines and fuel which help to keep the facilities running.239 Gazans also faced problems accessing food due to rising prices attributed to their scarcity under the security situation. The price of wheat flour had increased by 45 percent whilst the price of tomatoes had gone up by 500 percent.240 Sara Roy, an economist who has written extensively on Gaza, remarked that the world was witnessing “the breakdown of an entire society”.241 In the early morning of Sunday, 18 January 2009, Israel declared a ceasefire. Medical crews begun collecting decayed corpses from areas which were invaded by the IOF and on the first day alone 62 bodies were found.242 During the 22-day conflict, 20,000 Palestinian homes were either completely or partially destroyed,243 and 53 United Nations building were damaged244 alongside half of all of the hospitals.245 16 medical help workers were killed and 28 wounded by the IDF while performing their duties.246 The final death toll was 1,417 Palestinians, 926 of whom were civilians. 313 children and 116 women were amongst those who were killed and the Ministry of Health confirmed that a total of 5,303 Palestinian were injured in the assault (1,606 children and 828 women).247 d. Media Blackout Throughout the offensive, Israel refused to allow foreign media personnel into Gaza to report on the war. Following a petition by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) to the Israeli high court, Israel said on 1 January it would allow eight journalists to enter Gaza each time the Erez crossing was opened. The crossings opened briefly afterwards to allow several hundred foreign passport holders to leave Gaza yet no foreign journalists were allowed in despite the court ruling.248 The media blackout caused outrage amongst the world press who were extremely frustrated that they would not be able to report on the event and condemned Israel’s action as an unprecedented violation of press freedom. During previous military operations, journalists were allowed to enter Gaza individually without any security checks even when the borders were closed.249 Consequently, the majority of the live reporting on the situation came from those who were already inside the Strip when the

borders closed. This included Al Jazeera and Ramattan reporters as well as freelance journalists who had refused to leave despite an Israeli army warning that they would be prevented from leaving and that their safety was being compromised.250 Ramattan’s presence was vital as it broadcast images around the clock from Gaza throughout the 22-day war. The images that it beamed across the world of terrorized Palestinians running away from IOF shelling, family members desperately digging out corpses from under the rubble, were all vital in showing the extent of the Israeli bombardment and the humanitarian catastrophe.251 As Israeli journalist Gideon Levy affirmed: “The whole world saw the images. They shocked every human being who saw them, even if they left most Israelis cold. The conclusion is that Israel is a violent and dangerous country, devoid of all restraints and blatantly ignoring the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”252 e. Reactions to the War on Gaza Despite the limited amount of information and images leaving Gaza, the conflict was met with loud and angry protests against Israel’s vicious assault. There were loud calls for a boycott of Israel including a boycott appeal from by the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, which stated: “Israel seems intent to mark the end of its 60th year of existence the same way it has established itself — perpetrating massacres against the Palestinian people. In 1948, the majority of the indigenous Palestinian people were ethnically cleansed from their homes and land, partly through massacres like Deir Yassin; today, the Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom are refugees, do not even have the choice to seek refuge elsewhere. Incarcerated behind ghetto walls and brought to the brink of starvation by the siege, they are easy targets for Israel’s indiscriminate bombing.”253 Venezuela, Bolivia, Jordan and Mauritania all significantly downgraded their relations with Israel after calls to severe links and expel Israeli ambassadors. Other states such as Libya, Cuba, Russia and Iran criticised the conflict whilst Iran and Libya specifically voiced anger at the Arab nations’ lack of response to the attacks.254 And while other Western political leaders and US president-elect Barack Obama remained

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resoundingly silent over the ongoing massacre in Gaza, millions of people around the world took to the streets to express their solidarity with the Palestinians under siege and war.255 Across the West Bank and Israel, spontaneous demonstrations and riots erupted sparking concerns of a possible third Palestinian intifada. Palestinian protesters marched on Israeli checkpoints and settlements whilst left-wing Israelis carried signs demanding an end to the slaughter.256 Outside the region, one of the biggest rallies took place in Brussels where a march attended by over 30,000 people ended in incidents of violence.257 Tens of thousands also marched through the streets of Madrid to denounce Israeli action in Gaza and call for an end to the assault. There were also demonstrations held in France, Austria, Italy, Germany, Britain

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as well as Hong Kong where more than 1,000 students took part in the protest.258 Peaceful rallies were also held across the US and in Indonesia, where 20,000 Muslims marched in the capital. The assault on Gaza also marked an awakening for many American Arabs and Muslim youth. Following 9/11 and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;War on/ of Terrorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; many had become more aware of the injustices across the world and were willing to stand up and denounce the perpetrators.259 This increased awareness was also reflected in a surge of direct action at UK universities. Over 17 UK universities saw students stage sit-ins and occupations of campus buildings during the conflict in a bid to raise awareness of the situation and also to demand support for those suffering in Gaza.260

A Record of Israel’s War Crimes

“The excessively disproportionate civilian death toll, and Israel’s conduct of hostilities – including, inter alia, indiscriminate attacks, wilful killing, the extensive destruction of property, target selection, the lack of precautions taken in attack, the excessive use of force, and the use of weapons such as white phosphorous in civilian areas – demand effective judicial redress. Many of the cases documented by PCHR constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and war crimes. The widespread and apparently systematic violations of customary IHL witnessed in the Gaza Strip may also amount to a crime against humanity.” - PCHR Report, 26 March 2009261 a. Civilian Deaths An Independent Fact Finding Committee visited Gaza following the conflict and confirmed that over 1,400 Palestinians were killed including at the very least 850 civilians (300 children and 110 women). Over 5,000 Figures Palestinians were wounded.262 given by Israel were viewed as questionable as they failed to include the names of the dead, they assert that the status of children only applies to those under the age of sixteen when the accepted international age is eighteen and, it also includes policemen as combatants when they are considered civilians. Ten Israeli soldiers were killed (three by friendly fire) and 148 wounded during the conflict.263 The report by the Fact Finding Committee concluded that the IOF had not distinguished between civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure, and military targets during the conflict. “Both the loss of life and the damage to property were disproportionate to the harm suffered by Israel or any threatened harm. There was no evidence that any military advantage was served by the killing and wounding of civilians and the destruction of property.”264 In fact, evidence later emerged from Israeli soldiers themselves of lax rules of engagement which seemingly allowed troops to open fire at unarmed civilians and disregard the principles of international law.265 “You see some guy on a road, walking along a path. They don’t have to be carrying weapons, you don’t have to identify that they have anything, you can just shoot them,” said one Israeli soldier.266 Israeli TV also reported that a commander briefing ground troops had remarked: “I want aggressiveness- if there’s someone suspicious on the upper floor of a house, we’ll shell it...let

the mistake be over their lives, not ours.”267 Al Mezan Center for Human Rights also published a report entitled ‘Hiding behind Civilians’ which recorded the use of Palestinian civilians as ‘human shields’ by the Israeli Occupation Forces.268 It looks at seven case studies, witness statements and field investigations to conclude that the “IOF continues to systematically use Palestinian civilians as human shields, in breach of international humanitarian law (IHL), International human rights law (IHRL) and even Israeli domestic law.”269 In one case the IOF used two brothers. One brother was shot and bled to death as Israeli soldiers fired at UNRWA and Red Crescent ambulances attempting to rescue him. By endangering the lives of civilians, Israel is committing crimes tantamount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.270 A Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ investigation also found that the Israeli Occupation Forces “used excessive, indiscriminate force, in violation of the principle of distinction. This claim is evidenced by the disproportionately high rate of death amongst the civilian population...”271 PCHR estimated that 83 percent of the overall dead and injured were non-combatants, many of whom were also killed and injured whilst sheltering in their own homes and other civilian structures. The damage to civilian infrastructure goes some to explaining the heavy death toll of Palestinian civilians.272 b. Children PCHR carried out an investigation into the Palestinian children killed by Israeli Forces in the Gaza Strip during the conflict.273 The report found that there was a widespread targeting of unarmed civilians, including children, as well as an “abject failure of the IOF to uphold the precautions necessary in attacks, or to distinguish between military targets and civilian objects.”274 The overwhelming majority of the children killed were either inside their own homes or within the vicinity of their homes and almost 15 percent of those killed were under five years old.275 PCHR remarked that this followed a pattern of IOF killings which has lead to the death of 1,179 Palestinian children since the second Intifada began in 2000 (see diagram). Failure to distinguish between combatants and civilians is a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions and amounts to a war crime.

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Of the 131 children killed throughout the offensive, 99 were girls and 214 were boys. Almost one quarter was aged between five and ten and 62 percent were aged from 11 to 17 years. The overwhelming majority of the children died in densely populated residential areas in the northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City, areas where Israeli forces knew attacks would result in civilian casualties.276 During the offensive, the IOF also deployed flechettes as part of its arsenal alongside white phosphorous, bombs, missiles and mortars. Flechettes are 4cm long metal darts which are packed into artillery shells. Shortly after the shell is fired, flechettes scatter at high speeds over a distance of 300

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metres, penetrating human skin and bones and causing horrific injuries. In a single artillery shell, there are around 5,000-8,000 flechettes.277 The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme also conducted a survey to gauge the psychological implications of the military offensive on children. Initial findings indicated that an overwhelming majority of children had personally witnessed traumatic events which could seriously affect their mental health.278 Psychologist Hassan Ziyada reported that children experienced high levels of trauma with 95.6 percent stating that they could not protect themselves and 97.1 percent did not believe

their families could protect them.279 Whilst it is difficult to measure the full impact of the psychological trauma, Ziyada remarked that many will develop some form of depression and, without sustained support, these may result in physical manifestations such as body pain, insomnia and aggressive behaviour.280 Exposing Gaza’s children to fatal dangers and traumatic experiences is another aspect of Israel’s collective punishment of the Gaza Strip. Case Study: Flechettes On the morning of 5 January 2009 whilst the Abdul-Dayem family were paying their respects following the death of paramedic Arafa Hani Abdul-Dayem, their house was struck by a projectile. Two tank shells containing flechette darts were fired. Three members of the Abdul-Dayem family, including one twelve year old child, were killed instantly. Another two members of the family, including one child, later died in hospital from their injuries.281 Case Study: The al-Battran family

yet in the process they used excessive lethal force and killed six civilians. Furthermore, Issa’s position in the Qassam brigades doesn’t justify the attack as he was not taking part in hostilities at the time and his family were civilians. “As such, the attack was indiscriminate, and therefore is a war crime, as defined in Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Statue of the International Criminal Court.”283 c. Phosphorous Bombs During the offensive on Gaza, Israeli forces deployed deadly white phosphorous on densely populated areas as confirmed by a Human Rights Watch report. White phosphorous is a chemical substance dispersed in artillery shells, bombs and rockets which releases a dense white smoke. It is used primarily to obscure military operations on the ground (such as the movement of troops) as it interferes with infra-red optics and tracking devices. According to international law, air-bursting white phosphorous over populated areas is unlawful as it places civilians at unnecessary risk due to the substances wide dispersal and may amount to an indiscriminate attack.284 White phosphorous is controlled under international law as it has severe impacts on humans. The substance ignites and burns when it comes in to contact with oxygen and it continues burning (at up to 816 degrees Celsius) until nothing is left or the oxygen supply is cut. “When white phosphorous comes into contact with skin it creates intense and persistent burns, sometimes to the bone. Infection is common and the body’s absorption of the chemical can cause serious damage to internal organs as well as death.”285

Manal Al-Battran & her six children On 16 January 2009, a home in the central Gaza Strip was struck by a Hellfire missile killing mother Manal al-Battran and five of her children aged 3 to 15. The father, Issa, and their youngest child survived the attack. Issa was joined by his two brothers as they gathered the bodies and took them downstairs. The bodies of the two of the Battran chlildren Bilal and Izziddin were missing from the house and were later found in the branches of a nearby tree, where they had been flung by the force of the explosion.282 Issa was packing clothes because the family were not planning to stay in the house overnight. IOF clearly targeted the home to assassinate Issa

Israel initially denied using white phosphorous in the offensive. It then later admitted that it did use it. Following the conflict, it refused to acknowledge that the substance had been used unlawfully.286 The Human Rights Watch report titled ‘Rain of Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza’ challenged this opinion by detailing witness accounts of the devastating effects that white phosphorous munitions had on civilians. The report concludes that the IDF repeatedly exploded white phosphorous munitions in the air over populated areas, killing and injuring civilians, and damaging civilian structures including a school, a market, a humanitarian aid warehouse and a hospital. During the investigation by HRW, researchers found spent white phosphorous shells in civilian areas

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which were a distinctive light green in colour which indicates that they held white phosphorous.287 Based on this evidence, HRW states that their use in densely populated neighbourhoods such as Gaza City violated international humanitarian law which requires that forces take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm and prohibits indiscriminate attacks.288 HRW added that if the Israeli army needed cover for its forces, the IDF had a non-lethal alternative of smoke shells readily available. “The IDF could have used those shells to the same effect and dramatically reduced the harm to civilians.”289 Amnesty International as well as HRW noted that the white phosphorous shells had originated from the US.290 Overall, it is unclear how many Palestinians in Gaza died due to the use of white phosphorous as medical records are limited. In the six cases that the HRW report assessed, white phosphorous shells or the resulting fires amounted to the death of 12 civilians, including three women and seven children. One of the children was a fifteen-month old baby.291 Testimony: A victim of white phosphorous Ghada Abu Halima, 21 “On Saturday night [3 January], Israeli jets dropped leaflets calling on residents of the area to leave their homes. The army did the same thing in previous incursions and we didn’t leave the house, so this time too we decided not to leave. Around 4 P.M the next day [4January], when all the family was in the house, the army started to shell our area. A few minutes later, shells landed on our house. Fire broke out in the house and several members of the family burned to death. The fire spread throughout the house. I was holding my daughter Farah and we were both burned too. My clothes went up in flames, and some of my skin and Farah’s was scorched...My body was burning and the pain was excruciating. I could smell my flesh burning. I was in a horrible condition. I looked for something to cover me and shouted non-stop... It was about 6 PM when we got to the hospital. I am still hospitalized. My whole body was burned, and so was my face. Farah has

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third-degree burns. We were referred to further treatment in Egypt and they tried to take us to Rafah by ambulance, but the army fired at us on the way. The driver was slightly wounded in the face and he drove back to the hospital. Now we are waiting for authorization to leave for Egypt.”292 Ten weeks after giving her testimony to B’Tselem on January 3rd 2009, Ghada died in an Egyptian hospital from her injuries resulting from white phosphorous. d. United Nations Buildings Bombed The HRW report went on to state that the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorous in populated areas until the end of the conflict revealed “a pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage.” One case which illustrates this indiscriminate policy is the strike on the UN Relief and Works Agency on January 15. “The IDF kept firing white phosphorous despite repeated warning from UN personnel about the danger to civilians. Under international humanitarian law, these circumstances demand the independent investigation of the use of white phosphorous and, if warranted, the prosecution of all those responsible for war crimes.”293 These shells destroyed more than US$3.7 million worth of medical supplies and demolished four buildings in the UN compound where 700 civilians were sheltering. A school in Beit Lahiya, another well-marked UN facility, was hit with at least three white phosphorous shells on 17 January. The school was sheltering roughly 1,600 Palestinians trying to find safety during the conflict.294 The attack killed two brothers who were sleeping in a classroom, severely injuring their mother and wounded another 13 people.295 HRW reported that the use of white phosphorous on the UNRWA compound and the UN schools could not be justified as a means to obscure soldiers as Israeli forces were not on the ground in those areas at the time of the attack.296 At the end of the 22-day conflict, 53 United Nations properties were damaged although they were clearly marked and the UN had given the Israeli forces their specific locations.297 e. Destruction of Homes and Hospitals Following the heavy and indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, there was substantial damage caused

to property. Initial reports stated that over 3,000 homes were destroyed and 11,000 damaged. 30 mosques were destroyed with 28 damaged; 10 schools were destroyed and 168 damaged, and 3 universities/colleges were destroyed and 14 damaged. 215 factories and 700 private businesses were seriously damaged alongside 28 government buildings and 60 police stations.298 A recent report by PCHR found that infact 20,000 Palestinian homes were either completely or partially destroyed in the offensive.299 Israel has attempted to defend its destructive actions by insisting that the building were used to store munitions and to hide militants, yet Israel has failed to produce any credible evidence that the building were used for these purposes.300 The report by the Independent Fact Finding Committee to Gaza went on to state that even if these building were used to harbour militants and munitions, this still does not justify the scale of killing, wounding and damage to property that was inflicted.301 White phosphorous rockets also struck the al-Quds hospital, setting parts of the hospital on fire and forcing the evacuation of about 50 patients and 500 neighbourhood residents who had taken refugee there.302 According to the World Health Organisation, more than half of Gaza’s hospitals had been damaged, four clinics were completely destroyed and 44 others were damaged.303 “The Committee received evidence of the bombing and shelling of hospitals and ambulances and of obstructions placed in the way of the evacuation of the wounded.”304 This action constitutes another war crime committed by Israeli forces during the offensive. f. Medical Staff Under Fire Numerous cases were also reported of Israeli forces firing at medical staff and emergency services. Amnesty International reported that in one of the Palestinian houses which had been used and trashed by Israeli troops, a note left behind read: “Rules of Engagement: Fire also upon rescue.”305 In the course of the operation, 16 medical workers were killed and 28 wounded by the IDF while performing their duties.306 Dr Moawa Hassenein, the head of Gaza’s Red Crescent

ambulance teams, said it was the worst assault he had seen on ambulance workers: “I have never seen anything like what happened … Never in all my years have I seen this many health workers and facilities targeted in this way.”307 Video footage as well as witness testimonies and reports confirm what many had been saying on the ground: Israel was targeting medical workers in violation of international humanitarian laws.308 Despite the overwhelming evidence suggesting a policy of attacking medical personnel, in a statement, the IDF said: “The IDF does not target medics or other medical staff. As a part of their training, IDF soldiers receive instructions on identifying and avoiding injury to medical staff in the battlefield. However, in light of the difficult reality of warfare in the Gaza Strip carried out in urban and densely populated areas, medics who operate in the area take the risk upon themselves.”309 This statement is one example of Israel’s schizophrenic logic which denies any wrong doing whilst justifying its actions in Gaza, including horrific war crimes and crimes against humanity. g. Israel’s Investigations With mounting international pressure and evidence of Israel’s war crimes against Gaza, Israel carried out an internal investigation after Israeli soldiers allegedly admitted intentionally killing Palestinian civilians.310 The cases involved the killing of an elderly woman by a rooftop sniper and another sniper fatally shooting a mother and two children at close range after telling them to leave their home. After talking to the soldiers, military police concluded that the incidents had actually not occurred and dismissed the soldiers’ testimonies as ‘hearsay’ and ‘purposely exaggerated’,311 thus whitewashing the incidents in a fashion that the Israeli military is renown for. Whilst Defence minister Ehud Barak argued that their ‘investigation’ showed that Israel possessed “the most moral army in the world,” numerous human rights organisations including nine Israeli groups said the decision illustrated the need for an independent non-partisan investigative body to be established.312

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Justice for War Crimes

In the aftermath of the conflict in Gaza, emerging evidence led many to believe that war crimes had been committed against Palestinians. In response to this the IOF conducted an internal investigation and found that although there were a ‘few irregularities’, international crimes were not committed by its forces.313 The findings of this investigation have since been questioned and accused of inaccuracy, as it was not conducted independently and wholly failed to consider Palestinian sources.314 a. War Crimes Assessment Any legal assessment of whether Israel committed war crimes during the conflict must take into consideration the fact that Gaza remains under Israeli occupation. As the occupying power, Israel is obliged to comply with the Fourth Geneva Convention with regards to its actions in Gaza (and the West Bank), including the prohibition of collective punishment of people and refraining from the use of any violence. Other legal obligations include: - to treat civilians humanely; - care for the sick and wounded; - ensure adequate food and medical supplies are available; - afford judicial guarantees; and - look after “protected persons” under its control in all other respects.315 International law also restricts the combat methods and means employed by all parties during military conflict to follow certain principles: - distinction between combatants and military targets vs. civilians and non-military ones; and - prohibitions against disproportionate and indiscriminate force likely to cause damage to or loss of life or objects. Prior to an attack, Israel is also obligated to provide “effective advance warning” to alert civilians, and then take all measures possible to minimize non-combatant casualties.316 Signatories of the Geneva Conventions whether directly involved in the armed conflict or not, are legally obliged to respect and ensure respect for, international humanitarian law. Yet, as Oxfam highlighted: “The limited action taken by members of the international community has failed to ensure even the most basic standard of full or unimpeded humanitarian assistance.”317

The fact-finding committee which visited Gaza following the conflict, found that: “The IDF was responsible for the crime of killing, wounding and terrorizing civilians. The Committee based this finding on the number of civilians killed by 22 days of intense bombardment by air, sea and land. The committee also found that weapons used by the IDF, particularly white phosphorous and flechettes, caused superfluous and unnecessary suffering.”318 IDF were also accused of crimes against humanity which comprises of acts of murder, extermination, persecution and similar inhumane acts committed as part of widespread or systematic attacks directed against any civilian population.319 More seriously, the fact-finding committee to Gaza took great care to consider whether the military incursion ‘Cast Lead’ constituted genocide. “The committee found Israel’s actions met the requirements for the actus reus [actions] of the crime of genocide contained in the Genocide Convention, in that the IDF was responsible for killing, exterminating and causing serious bodily harm to members of a group- the Palestinians of Gaza.”320 It also found that individual soldiers had intentions of genocide as findings showed that some soldiers had acted under the influence of rabbis “who had encouraged them to believe that the Holy Land should be cleansed of non-Jews.”321 However, the committee concluded that the military operation was not intended to destroy a group of people- as required for the crime of genocide, but was designed to either compel the population to reject Hamas as the governing authority of Gaza or to force them into a state of submission.322 The committee also found that Palestinian militants who fired rockets indiscriminately into Israel, killing four civilians and wounding 182, committed war crimes.323 Whilst assessing these actions, the committee did recognise that the siege by Israel on the Palestinians over a long period of time did reduce the latter’s moral blameworthiness but not their criminal responsibility.324 b. Universal Jurisdiction and Spain After defining the war crimes committed by Israel during its military incursion in Gaza, the fact-finding committee recommended a series of measures to secure legal redress. These included prosecution for violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention in national courts under the principles of universal jurisdiction. Universal

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jurisdiction allows the prosecution of a person/state in a third country for an international crime committed elsewhere.325 Spain is held to be one of the most important contributors to securing accountability for international crimes due to its universal jurisdiction legislation. This means that investigations can be initiated by victims of a crime in Spain, rather than seeking justice from their national courts (i.e. Israel).326 For example, the Spanish judiciary previously initiated the case against Augusto Pinochet (the former Chilean dictator) in 1998 and is currently investigating dozens of other case.327 PCHR brought a war crimes complaint against Israel before the Spanish Supreme Court in June 2008. The case was filed specifically against seven Israeli military officials for committing a suspected war crime in Gaza in July 2002. It was hoped that following this case, universal jurisdiction would become a real avenue for Palestinians to seek redress for Israeli crimes. Despite initial promising signs, pressure mounted on the Spanish government to amend its legislation with regards to universal jurisdiction. “Following political pressure from the governments of Israel, China (regarding an ongoing investigation accusing its former foreign minister of committing genocide in Tibet) and the US (for two cases against US officials alleging torture), on 19 May 2009 the Spanish parliament passed a resolution backing a proposed amendment to the Spanish universal jurisdiction legislation.”328 This amendment was widely believed to undermine the power of universal jurisdiction in bringing alleged war criminals to justice. Israel, who had complained angrily when the Spanish Judge Fernando Andreu first agreed to launch the investigation in January 2009, welcomed the move.329 Following the amendment in May, Spanish prosecutors asked Judge Andreu to suspend the investigation but he announced he would continue. Andreu explained that there was no evidence that Israeli prosecutors were conducting their own probe and so universal jurisdiction had to press ahead.330 However at the end of June, Spanish parliament passed a bill to narrow the scope of Spain’s universal jurisdiction and the Spanish Appeals Court voted 14-4 in favour of closing the investigation on Gaza.331

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c. The United Nations and International Criminal Court The fact-finding committee which visited Gaza following the conflict also recommended that the United Nations requests the Security Council to refer the situation in Gaza to the International Criminal Court, as was done in the case of Darfur in 2005.332 In January 2009, an official UN inquiry into the war was setup by the UN Human Rights Council headed by South African judge and war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone. Israel has refused to cooperate with the inquiry, depriving the UN team access to Israeli military sources and it even denied the inquiry team entry into Gaza via the Israeli border. Israel has also accused the UN council of anti-Israel bias and singling out Israel unfairly.333 “They have been instructed to prove that Israel is guilty and we will not collaborate with such a masquerade”, said foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. The team finally entered Gaza via Egypt in June for a week-long fact finding mission. Goldstone’s team interviewed Palestinians in the Strip and collected information from other human rights organisations as part of its investigation. The UN also held an unprecedented public hearing in Gaza to broadcast live witness accounts from Palestinians who described Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip.334 Another round of hearings will be held for Israeli witnesses (and Palestinians from the West Bank) in Geneva. The UN was forced to hold the second round of the hearing in the Swiss city because the fact-finding mission did not receive permission to enter Israel. “The purpose of the public hearings in Gaza and Geneva is to show the faces and broadcast the voices of victims – all of the victims”, Goldstone said.335 The team visited 40 sites and heard from 70 witnesses. One of the witnesses was Mousa Silawi, 91, who described an explosion at the entrance to a mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp late on 3 January. The attack killed 17 people including three of his sons and two grandchildren. “Where is law? Where is justice? I have lived 91 years. I have seen everything, but nothing of this sort. It was such a catastrophe,” he stated.336 Despite the UN enquiry into war crimes, many are unconvinced that it will lead anywhere. “If the Goldstone inquiry agrees with Amnesty International that there have been war crimes, there will have to be a UN response. The pressure

on the Security Council to refer the war to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the only legal avenue the UN can take, would be immense. For President Obama, even with his commitment to justice in the Middle East, that might be a step too far. He will do everything to avoid it.”337 It is also suggested that the UN inquiry carried out by the Human Rights Council does not carry the same authority as an inquiry by the UN Security Council. Amnesty’s Donatella Rovera, who spent two weeks in Gaza investigating war crimes allegations explained: “Only an investigation mandated by the UN Security Council can ensure Israel’s co-operation and it is the only body that can secure some kind of prosecution... Without a proper investigation there is no deterrent. The message remains the same: ‘It’s OK to do these things - there won’t be any real consequences’.”338

international investigation yet so far the UN Security Council’s most influential members, notably the US and EU countries, have displayed a remarkable lack of political will to hold Israel accountable. The human rights organisation also released a 117 page report in July which found that Israel had inflicted “wanton destruction” on the Gaza Strip during the 22-day war.339 “Much of the destruction was wanton and deliberate, and was carried out in a manner and circumstances which indicated that it could not be justified on grounds of military necessity,” said the report.

d. Action in the UK

Amnesty International also criticised rockets launched by Hamas on Israeli civilians although it found no evidence to support Israel’s claim that Hamas fighters used civilians as human shields during the conflict.340 Whilst both Hamas and Israel refused to accept that they may have committed war crimes, other human rights professionals insist that cooperation is desperately needed to end the cycle of violence.341 As Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan declared:

Although there has been little action to bring Israel to justice within in the UK, the Londonbased Amnesty International has been vocal in pushing for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes. It called on the UN Security Council to set up an independent

“Long-term peace and security cannot be found in the Middle East unless accountability is established for crimes under international law and the cycle of impunity for serious violations perpetrated by all parties has come to an end.”342

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Gaza, the Aftermath

Following the devastating war on Gaza, Palestinians continue to struggle to recover under the continuing blockade imposed by Israel which did not ease after the conflict. Due to the lack of resources; homes which were destroyed have not been rebuilt, Gazans were left further dependent on aid, and they were also denied access to sufficient health services. Oxfam argued that: “The status quo cannot be allowed to persist. Israeli, Palestinian and world leaders must abide by their respective legal obligations to take concrete actions to end the collective punishment of Gazan civilians by securing the full and immediate opening of all the Gaza crossings.”343 a. Food and Aid Dependency Since the war ended in January 2009, Israeli authorities continued to limit the supplies entering the Gaza Strip. From February to April 2009, 56% of all commodities entering Gaza were food items complying with strict categories which excluded dates and macaroni.344 Such severe restrictions have had a detrimental impact on the health of Gazans, with only a tiny minority such as ill patients and some students being allowed to leave the Gaza Strip. The desperate situation that Gazan’s find themselves in is one of hopelessness. With Israel banning the import of even coffee and nuts, they have been forced to smuggle them in using tunnels and disguised in animal feed.345 In June 2009, forty international aid agencies and non-governmental organisations released a statement condemning the blockade of Gaza. The agencies expressed particular frustration at the ever-changing list of goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, which have at times excluded items such as clothing, shoes, school textbooks, chocolate, toilet paper and seedling.346 These items do not endanger Israel in any way, yet the absence of them in Palestinian life ensures that they are denied all pleasures in life. The UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the number of truckloads of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza on a monthly basis is only a quarter of what was entering before Israel’s blockade.347 John Ging, UNRWA director of operations in Gaza said in March 2009: “[Gazans] have the right to a livelihood, these people do not want to be reduced to beg-

ging for a living but we now have 90% of the population here depending on handouts of food from the UK...and that’s not three square meals a day. People call this place a prison; it is not a prison because a prison in Western Europe would be much better in terms of conditions than here.”348 b. Health and the Rise of Disabilities According to the UN Works and Relief Agency, the health situation in Gaza has also deteriorated since the war, with the spread of diarrhea and hepatitis due to the lack of supplies and medicines.349 Certain types of vital medicines and disposables are simply denied entry into the Gaza Strip by Israel, whilst other medicines are in short supply. Hospitals continue to function at full capacity as many injured patients remain hospitalized and the number of hospital beds is insufficient at certain facilities.350 These problems are the result of the continuing blockade which is having an exceedingly detrimental impact on the health and well-being of thousands of Palestinian. The war has also left behind a legacy of severely injured and disabled adults and children. Handicap International estimated that up to 50 percent of people injured (including 430 children) sustained severe injuries that, without proper rehabilitation, could result in permanent disability.351 Health ministry spokesperson Hamam Nasman estimated in March 2009, that there were about 150 amputees in the Strip as a result of the conflict and many thousands more will require long-term care.352 The conflict between the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authorities under President Mahmoud Abbas and Gaza-based Hamas is also hindering recovery in the Gaza Strip. This has been particularly apparent in the health sector when in January 2009; the PA announced that it would no longer cover the cost of Gazans needing medical attention in Israeli hospitals. Hamas was consequently forced to take over the procedure of referring patients. The Israeli and Egyptian authorities, however, refused to accept referrals unless they had the stamp of the PA.353 As a result of this policy, the PCHR stated that 10 patients from the Gaza Strip died, while the health of 800 patients severely deteriorated. It was not until the 27th of April that the Referral Abroad Department resumed its work after efforts from Palestinian civil society and UN agencies.354

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c. Water and Sewage Water, sewage and electrical systems are also in urgent need of repairs to ensure the health and recovery of the Strip’s population.355 Following the conflict and the discharge of raw sewage into the sea, several areas around the Gazan sea coast have been identified as carrying potential health risks for swimmers and fishermen. The World Health Organisations (WHO) has highlighted the dangers of diarrhoeal and skin diseases to Gazans who continue to swim in the sea and to fishermen who have no other option but to wade in the polluted water to make a living.356 According to an April report by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) cluster, a coalition of UN agencies and international organisations, about 80,000 cubic meters of raw and partially treated sewage is still being discharged directly into the sea each day.357 It was also reported in April 2009 that over 150,000 Palestinians were struggling without tap water as a result of the damage caused to wells and pipes during the Israeli offensive. The Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) found that eleven of Gaza’s 150 wells, the only source of drinking water apart from water aid, were not functioning and six had been completely destroyed.358 “Since the end of the war the CMWU has received three out of 80 trucks waiting to enter Gaza containing pipes and spare parts,” said the director-general Monther Shoblak. “The three trucks received by the CMWU contained only half a kilometre of piping.”359 The continuing blockade on the Strip is clearly the biggest barrier to post-war recovery and repairing the fragile water and sewage systems. d. Rebuilding Gaza The aid agency Oxfam has pointed out that the humanitarian needs of Gazans extends from vital relief supplies such as food to other essential commodities such as materials to repair the battered infrastructure of the Gaza Strip.360 “Four months after 8,000 homes were destroyed in the Gaza Strip, the families affected have no prospect of building new homes because the Israeli authorities continue to prevent construction materials from entering Gaza.”361 The destroyed homes had left around 90,000 Gazans homeless and created large quantities of building demolition waste, which is often contaminated with hazardous

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materials such as asbestos. The UN launched early recovery efforts through Flash Appeals to repair damaged homes for 33,767 families, 207 schools, 86 pre-schools, 15 hospitals and 43 primary health clinics.362 Residents of Gaza have even resorted to making homes out of mud and clay. “My wife and our four daughters and I were living with family, but it was overcrowded, impossible. We knew we had to build a home of our own,” said Jihad al-Shaar from the Moraj district of Gaza. “We waited over two years for cement but because of the siege there is none available. What could we do, wait forever?”363 The family eventually decided to build their home using mud bricks made from a mixture of clay, sand and straw which is dried in the sun. Although $4.5 billion in aid money for reconstruction has been pledged by international donors, Israel has not permitted the entry of any construction materials into Gaza.364 Reconstruction is also a vital move towards rebuilding Gaza’s economy and its agricultural sector. The agricultural sector is a lifeline to many Gazans, who depend directly on farming, herding and fishing for their livelihoods. The latest destruction on the Strip is believed to have affected 13,000 families and has amounted to a direct loss of $180 million in lost trade and produce.365 Oxfam also reports that Israeli forces bulldozed whole farms in the Zaytoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, where they used to purchase 30,000 eggs per week for their food distribution programme.366 Financial support to aid recovery has also been hindered by Israeli policies which stop cash from entering Gaza. This has directly affected the livelihoods of half a million Gazans according to the IMF and has prevented recovery efforts such as repairing shelter following the military incursion.367 The generous outpouring of aid in the aftermath of the conflict is unable to reach those who need it the most and Oxfam remarked that “with no sign of the government of Israel reversing its closure policy, it is difficult to conceive how these funds can be translated into tangible improvements in the lives Gaza’s civilians.”368 e. Aid with a Political Agenda Oxfam stated that more needed to be done to end the siege: “For nearly two years, the international community has failed in its duty

to secure an end to the blockade...Although top UN officials and key donors have called on the government of Israel to open the crossing especially to ensure humanitarian access, through public and private statements and letters- for months no additional international diplomatic initiatives have been taken nor the necessary political will exercised.”369 Rather than focusing on the implementation of international human rights, Oxfam argues that many have been caught up in the political situation and the need to isolate Hamas. One example employed to illustrate this point is the generous pledges by donors at the Sharm al-Sheikh conference which supported the PA’s early recovery and reconstruction plans. “Given the unlikelihood of the PA-Ramallah being able to effectively manage to oversee this plan remotely, the adoption of this plan by the international community is a further instance of putting their political objective of supporting the PA-Ramallah administration ahead of their concern for effectively addressing the humanitarian needs of people in Gaza.”370 Thus, aid is being used as a political tool to support one administration at the cost of the other, rather than being impartially administered to meet the needs of the Gazan population. Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist who was kidnapped in Gaza, has also noted the dangers of isolating Hamas whilst failing to bring Israel to account for its actions. Johnston remarked back in 2007 that as long as a force as

powerful and representative as Hams is entirely excluded, it is unlikely that there will be meaningful progress towards peace. He also recognised that “while the West has taken the firmest possible line with Hamas, its pressure on Israel to end its decades of military occupation of the Palestinian territories is almost negligible.”371 Oxfam along with numerous agencies and commentators have added that there can be no real progress until there is an end to the blockade and the Gaza Strip is allowed to rebuild its shattered infrastructure without constraints on movement, access and resources.372 f. Conclusion The war in Gaza left many victims, but the closure following the conflict proved to be even more deadly. Thousands left homeless face uncertain futures as Israel continues to deny them the right to rebuild their homes. Those who were injured cannot recover due to a restriction in access to medical care. But most profoundly, the psychological impact of Israel’s closure and blockade of Gaza, and its immeasurable forms of collective punishment mean that an entire generation of Palestinian children will be lost, unless they are helped to overcome this trauma. What remains clear is that unless international pressure is brought on Israel to cease acting outside the laws that regulate all people in the world, the suffering in Gaza is set to continues and expand to Israel’s other neighbours.

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Endnotes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

Butt, G. (1995) Life at the Crossroads: A History of Gaza. Scorpion Cavendish, p7. Ibid, p8. Ibid, p17-75. LeVine, M. (9 March 2008) Tracing Gaza’s chaos to 1948, Al Jazeera Website. http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/arabunity/2008/02/2008525185737842919.html, (Accessed 3 March 2009). Gaza, Passia. http://www.passia.org/publications/bulletins/gaza/pdf/GAZA%203.pdf, (Accessed 12 March 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Shlaim, A. (7 January 2009) Israel and Gaza: rhetoric and reality, OpenDemocracy. http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/israel-and-gaza-rhetoric-and-reality (Accessed 11 June 2009). 1967 War (5-10 June 1967), The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/675.shtml (Accessed 11 June 2009). Butt,G. (2005) Life at the Crossroads, p158. First Intifada (Dec. 1987 – 1990), Palestine History. http://www.palestinehistory.com/issues/intifada/intifada1.htm (Accessed 13 March 2009). Butt,G. (2005) Life at the Crossroads, p4. Ibid. Ibid, p170-1. The first intifada 20 years later. p27. Ibid. Butt,G. (2005) Life at the Crossroads, p176. The first intifada 20 years later. Fetini, A, (7 January 2009) A brief history of the Gaza Strip, Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1870148,00.html, (Accessed 16 March 2009). Amnesty International (2001), Broken lives, a year of Intifada. Hroub, K. (2006), Hamas; A beginner’s guide. Pluto Press. Statistics – Fatalities, B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp, (Accessed 17 March 2009). Coverage of the Gaza “Disengagement” process (August 2005), The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/379.shtml, (Accessed 15 March 2009). Sturcke, J. (15 August 2005) Q&A: Gaza and West Bank withdrawal, The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/aug/15/qanda.israelandthepalestinians (Accessed 7 July 2009). Efrat, E. (2006) The West Bank and Gaza Strip: A geography of occupation and disengagement. Routledge, p187. Shlaim, A. (7 January 2009) Israel and Gaza: rhetoric and reality, OpenDemocracy. Ibid. Leibowitz, R.B, (10 October 2007) I didn’t suggest we kill Palestinians, The Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1191257273616, (Accessed 7 July 2009). Butt,G. (2005) Life at the Crossroads, p11. Middle East Project of the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, Occupation, Colonialism, Apartheid: A re-assessment of Israel’s practices in the occupied Palestinian territories under international law- Executive Summary, May 2009, p7. The Gaza Strip – One big prison, B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/Download/200705_Gaza_Insert_eng.pdf, (Accessed 13 March 2009). Butt,G. (2005) Life at the Crossroads, p162. Ibid, p161. Ibid, p162. Inside Hamas, Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/hamas1.html, (Accessed 15 March 2009). Who are Hamas?, BBC Website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1654510.stm (Accessed 13 June 2009). Roy, S. (2003) Hamas and the Transformation(s) of Political Islam in Palestine, Current History, p14. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid, p15. Ibid. Ibid, p16. Ibid, p17. What is Hamas?, The Institute for Middle East Understanding. Sieghart, W. (31 December 2008) We must adjust our distorted image of Hamas, Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5420584.ece (Accessed 7 July 2009). Roy, S. (2003) Hamas and the Transformation(s) of Political Islam in Palestine, p13. Asser, M, Q&A: Hamas Election Victory, BBC Website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4650300.stm, (Accessed 14 March 2009). Sieghart, W. (31 December 2008) We must adjust our distorted image of Hamas, Times Online. Bisharat, G. (3 February 2006) They chose a government that will stand up for their rights, Institute of Middle East Understanding. http://imeu.net/news/article00390.shtml (Accessed 14 June 2009). Tamimi, A. (2007) Hamas: Unwritten Chapters. Hurst & Co., p225. Ibid. Ibid, p230.

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55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Ibid. Dugard, J. (September 2006) Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, Geneva: UN Human Rights Council. http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,PSE,,45c30b600,0.html (Accessed 15 June 2009). The Gaza Strip – One big prison, B’Tselem. Vanity Fair, (April 2008) The Gaza Bombshell, http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804. (Accessed 10 April 2009). Tamimi, A. (2007) Hamas: Unwritten Chapters, p224. Ibid, p229. Ibid, p228. International Institute for Strategic Studies, (June 2007) Hamas coup in Gaza. http://www.iiss.org/publications/strategic-comments/past-issues/volume-13-2007/volume-13-issue-5/hamas- coup-in-gaza/ (Accessed 7 July 2009). Tamimi, A. (2007) Hamas: Unwritten Chapters, p229. International Institute for Strategic Studies, (June 2007) Hamas coup in Gaza. Vanity Fair, (April 2008) The Gaza Bombshell. Ibid International Institute for Strategic Studies, (June 2007) Hamas coup in Gaza. Vanity Fair, (April 2008) The Gaza Bombshell. McGirk, T, (13 June 2007) ‘What happens after Hamas wins?’, Time magazine. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1632614,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar. (Accessed 15 March 2009). Ibid. Sieghart, W. (31 December 2008) We must adjust our distorted image of Hamas, Times Online. Johnston, A. (2007) Kidnapped and other dispatches. Profile Books, p88. The Gaza Strip: Hostilities in Gaza since disengagement, B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/english/Gaza_Strip/Hostilities.asp (Accessed 12 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Situation Report 12 April 2006: Increased Violence in the Gaza Strip, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Occupied Palestinian territory. http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/ochaSR_Gaza120406.pdf (Accessed 19 June 2009). Ibid. Key Events: Massacres in Gaza (June 2006), Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/440.shtml (Accessed 15 June 2009). The Gaza Strip: Sonic booms in the sky over Gaza, B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/English/Gaza_Strip/Supersonic_booms.asp (Accessed 18 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. O’Loughlin, E. (6 July 2006) Sonic boom attacks spread trauma across Gaza, Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/sonic-boom-attacks-spread-trauma-across-gaza/2006/07/05/11517790136- 19.html (Accessed 20 June 2009). Ibid. Gaza Strip Situation Report, 26 April 2006, UNOCHA Report cited in The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4671.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). UNOCHA Report, (9 March 2006) The Humanitarian Impact of the Karni Crossing Closure: Bread running out in Gaza, cited in The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4580.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). Gaza Strip Situation Report, 26 April 2006, UNOCHA Report. UNOCHA Report, (9 March 2006) The Humanitarian Impact of the Karni Crossing Closure: Bread running out in Gaza. PCHR Report , (30 January 2006) Gaza Strip market suffers from a severe shortage in diary products, basic goods, and medicines cited in The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4444.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). The Gaza Strip: Hamas must secure Gilad Shalit’s release immediately, B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/english/gaza_strip/20070625_gilad_shalit.asp (Accessed 19 June 2009). Dajani, J. (20 March 2009) Let Shalit Go, The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamal-dajani/let-shalit-go_b_177335.html (Accessed 20 June 2009). The Gaza Strip: Hamas must secure Gilad Shalit’s release immediately, B’Tselem. The Gaza Strip after disengagement, B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/English/Gaza_Strip/ (Accessed 12 June 2009). Key Events: Israel invades Gaza: “Operation Summer Rain” (27 June 2006), Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/442.shtml (Accessed 15 June 2009). Palestinian death toll reaches 202 as ‘Operation Summer Rains’ extends into its tenth week, 10 September 2006, OCHA Report cited in The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5617.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). B’Tselem, (September 2006) Acts of Vengeance: Israel’s Bombing of the Gaza Power Plant and its Effects, http://www.btselem.org/english/publications/summaries/200609_act_of_vengeance.asp (Accessed 20 June 2009). Ibid. Palestinian death toll reaches 202 as ‘Operation Summer Rains’ extends into its tenth week, 10 September 2006, OCHA Report. B’Tselem, (September 2006) Acts of Vengeance: Israel’s Bombing of the Gaza Power Plant and its Effects. Key Events: Israel invades Gaza: “Operation Summer Rain” (27 June 2006), Electronic Intifada,

Gaza Report

100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142

(10 September 2006) Weekly Report of Human Rights Violations, PCHR Report, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5713.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). Massacre in Beit Hanoun (8 November 2006), Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/653.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). IDF cited in Israel attacks Gaza:“Operation Autumn Clouds” (1 November 2006), Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/651.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). Ibid Massacre in Beit Hanoun (8 November 2006), Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/653.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. United Nations Human Rights Council Report, (20 November 2009) In Gaza Strip, UN human rights chief decries ‘massive’ violations against civilians cited in The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6084.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). UN News Report, (11 December 2006) Lack of Israeli cooperation prevents UN fact-finding mission to Beit Hanoun. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6210.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). The Guardian cited in Massacre in Beit Hanoun (8 November 2006), Electronic Intifada. Johnston, A. Kidnapped and other dispatches, p83. Ibid, p82. The Gaza Strip: Tightened siege and intensified economic sanctions, B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/english/Gaza_Strip/Siege_Tightening.asp (Accessed 16 June 2009). Shlaim, A. (7 January 2009) Israel and Gaza: rhetoric and reality, OpenDemocracy. Makdisi, S.(3 February 2008) Starving Gaza, The Nation cited in Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9276.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Guide: Gaza under blockade, BBC News, last updated on 15 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7545636.stm#overview (Accessed 20 June 2009). Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem Annual Report 2007. http://www.btselem.org/Download/200712_Annual_Report_eng.pdf (Accessed 20 June 2009). Penketh, A. (2 March 2009) The pasta, paper and hearing aids that could threaten Israeli security, The Independent (UK), http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-pasta-paper-and-hearing-aids- that-could-threaten-israeli-security-1635143.html (Accessed 21 June 2009). Ibid. Guide: Gaza under blockade, BBC News. Ibid. Israel’s control of the airspace and the territorial waters of the Gaza Strip, B’Tselem. http://www.btselem.org/english/Gaza_Strip/Control_on_Air_space_and_territorial_waters.asp (Accessed 12 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. The Gaza Strip: Tightened siege and intensified economic sanctions, B’Tselem. Makdisi, S.(3 February 2008) Starving Gaza, The Nation. Amnesty International News, (27 August 2008) Trapped - collective punishment in Gaza. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/trapped-collective-punishment-gaza-20080827 (Accessed 21 June 2009). Guide: Gaza under blockade, BBC News. The Gaza Strip: Tightened siege and intensified economic sanctions, B’Tselem. Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem Annual Report 2007. Ibid. IRIN report, (2 December 2008) Power cuts, fuel shortages affect health and water supplies cited in The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10002.shtml (accessed 20 June, 2009) Al Jazeera News, (21 January 2008) Gaza suffers under Israeli blockade. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/01/2008525141342876824.html (Accessed 21 June 2009). Bannoura, G. ( 17 June 2009) One patients dies in Gaza razing death toll due to the siege to 344, International Middle East Media Center. http://www.imemc.org/article/60855 (Accessed 21 June 2009). Makdisi, S.(3 February 2008) Starving Gaza, The Nation. Becker, A. (24 November 2008) The slow death of Gaza, The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/24/israelandthepalestinians-humanrights (Accessed 21 June 2009). Gaza Humanitarian Situation Report: Impact of Fuel Shortages on Gaza Sanitation- Polluting the Sea, 29 April 2008, UN OCHA Report. http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/Gaza_Situation_Report_2008_April.pdf (Accessed 21 June 2009). Omer, M. (28 January 2008) Closure turns Gaza’s streets into sewers, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9259.shtml (Accessed 20 June 2009) Gaza Humanitarian Situation Report: Impact of Fuel Shortages on Gaza Sanitation- Polluting the Sea, 29 April 2008, UN OCHA Report. http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/Gaza_Situation_Report_2008_April.pdf (Accessed 21 June 2009). MacIntyre, D. (28 January 2009) Israeli strikes leave Blair project with major repairs, The Independent (UK). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-strikes-leave-blair-project-with-163140m-repairs- 1517855.html (Accessed 21 June 2009). Ma’an News Agency, (7 November 2008) World Bank launches Gaza sewage project long delayed by blockade, http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33049 (Accessed 21 June 2009).

Gaza Report

143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182

Khalil, O. (29 January 2008). A break in the siege, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9260.shtml (Accessed 22 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Laub, K. (4 February 2008) Egyptians seal border with Gaza, The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/egyptians-seal-border-with-gaza-777770.html (Accessed 22 June 2009). Morrow, A and al-Omrani, K. (7 July 2008) Gaza locked in despite truce, The Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9674.shtml (Accessed 22 June 2009). Ibid. Shlaim, A. (7 January 2009) Israel and Gaza: rhetoric and reality, OpenDemocracy. Sieghart, W. (31 December 2008) We must adjust our distorted image of Hamas, Times Online. Shlaim, A. (7 January 2009) Israel and Gaza: rhetoric and reality, OpenDemocracy. Ibid. Guide: Gaza under blockade, BBC News. BBC News, (12 February 2009, Gaza to export Valentine’s bloom. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7885412.stm (Accessed 21 June 2009). The siege on the Gaza Strip: 24 July 2007, B’Tselem Report. http://www.btselem.org/English/Gaza_Strip/20070724_Siege_on_Gaza.asp (Accessed 21 June 2009). Bannoura, S. ‘Unemployment Rate 60% in Gaza, Poverty 80%’, in International Middle East Media Centre, 1 May 2009, http://www.imemc.org/article/60199 (Accessed 17 July 2009) Guide: Gaza under blockade, BBC News. Penketh, A. (2 March 2009) The pasta, paper and hearing aids that could threaten Israeli security, The Independent Amnesty International Report, (6 July 2008) Gaza Blockade- Collective Punishment, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/021/2008/en/6300b18f-49de-11dd-9394-c975c4bd488d/mde- 150212008eng.pdf (Accessed 1 July 2009). Ibid. Black, I. (2 May 2008) Israel urged to end blockade or Gaza as talks begin in London, The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/02/israelandthepalestinians.usa (Accessed 1 July 2009). Islam Online, (8 November 2008) Gaza Siege West’s Shame: EU MPs. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1225698004716&pagename=Zone-English-News/ NWELayout (Accessed 1 July 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Islam Online, (31 January 2009) Gaza Blockade Collective Punishment: HRW. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199280041826&pagename=Zone-English- News%2FNWELayout (Accessed 1 July 2009). Bennis, P. (28 December 2008) Gaza Crisis: Israeli Violations & U.S. Complicity, Institute for Policy Studies. http://www.ips-dc.org/articles/gaza_crisis_israeli_violations_us_complicity (Accessed 1 July 2009). Ibid. Islam Online, (25 January 2008) End Gaza Misery: FT. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199279897453&pagename=Zone-English- News%2FNWELayout (Accessed 1 July 2009). Islam Online, (29 May 2008) World Complicit in Gaza Shame: Tutu. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1209358058187&pagename=Zone-English- News%2FNWELayout (Accessed 1 July 2009). Coalition between Amnesty International, Christian Aid, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Trocaire, Oxfam, Save the Children and Medecin du Monde UK, (6 March 2008) The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion, p4 http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/conflict_disasters/downloads/gaza_implosion.pdf (Accessed 1 July 2009). Ibid, p5. Ibid, p6 Ibid, p5. Deen, T. (3 December 2008) UN assembly head hailed for slamming Israel, The Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10006.shtml (Accessed 1 July 2009) and see http://pchrgaza.ps/.. Kershner, I. (15 December 2008) U.N. Rights Investigator Expelled by Israel, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/world/middleeast/16mideast.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast (Accessed 1 July 2009). Islam Online, (21 January 2008) Rights Groups Blast Gaza Lockdown,. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199279765361&pagename=Zone-English- News%2FNWELayout (Accessed 1 July 2009). End the Siege Statement (10 November 2007) Campaign: End the siege on Gaza cited in Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9090.shtml (Accessed 1 July 2009). Morrow, A and al-Omrani, K. (6 March 2008) Egyptian anger over Israel “approaching boiling point”, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9374.shtml (Accessed 1 July 2009). Islam Online, (21 January 2009) World Protests Gaza “Slow Death”. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199279778405&pagename=Zone-English- News%2FNWELayout (Accessed 1 July 2009). Ibid. BBC News, (23 August 2008) Activist boats reach Gaza Strip. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7578880.stm (Accessed 1 July 2009). Ibid.

Gaza Report

183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227

Free Gaza (30 January 2009- last updated on 6 May 2009) Our Mission. http://www.freegaza.org/en/about-us/mission (Accessed 1 July 2009). Free Gaza, A Simple Idea: December 29/30, 2009- The Ramming of the Dignity. http://www.freegaza.org/en/boat-trips/the-history-of-our-voyages (Accessed 1 July 2009). Free Gaza, (1 July 2009) Hope Fleet: We are NOT the “Story”, It’s Not Just Our 21 Kidnapped Passengers, http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/hope-fleet-news (Accessed 2 July 2009.) PCHR, (12 March 2009) Confirmed figures reveal the true extent of the destruction inflicted upon the Gaza Strip. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/36-2009.html (Accessed 22 June 2009). Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Operation Cast Lead updates, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+and+Islamic+Fundamentalism-/Aerial_ strike_weapon_development_center+_Gaza_28-Dec-2008.htm (Accessed 22 June 2009). IPS News, (9 January 2009) Israel Rejected Hamas Ceasefire in December cited in the Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/09/israel-rejected-hamas-cea_n_156639.html?page=2&show_com- ment_id=19558888#comment_19558888 (Accessed 22 June 2009). Electronic Intifada, Gaza massacres (27 December 2008- 18 January 2009), http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/687.shtml (Accessed 22 June 2009). Sieghart, W. (31 December 2008) We must adjust our distorted image of Hamas, Times Online. Reuters UK, (5 January 2009) Timeline: Israeli-Hamas violence since truce ended. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE50423320090105 (Accessed 22 June 2009). IPS News, (9 January 2009) Israel Rejected Hamas Ceasefire in December.s Ibid. Ibid. BBC News, (23 December 2008) Hamas ‘might renew’ truce in Gaza. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7797144.stm (Accessed 22 June 2009). Black, I. (29 December 2009) Six months of secret planning- then Israel moves against Hamas, The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/29/israel-attack-hamas-preparations-repercussions (Accessed 22 June 2009). Cook, J. (12 January 2009) Blueprint for Gaza attack was long planned, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10170.shtml (Accessed 22 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Bannoura, S. (12 November 2008) Army officials: “War with Gaza will take place in the coming two months”, International Middle East Media Center. http://imemc.org/article/57644 (Accessed 22 June 2009). Niva, S. (9 January 2009) War of Choice: How Israel Manufactured the Gaza Escalation, Antiwar.com. http://www.antiwar.com/orig/niva.php?articleid=14022 (Accessed 23 June 2009). Black, I. (29 December 2009) Six months of secret planning- then Israel moves against Hamas, The Guardian (UK). Ibid. Shlaim, A. (7 January 2009) Israel and Gaza: rhetoric and reality, OpenDemocracy. Ravid, B. (6 January 2009) Disinformation, secrecy and lies: How the Gaza offensive came about, Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050426.html (Accessed 23 June 2009). Ibid. BBC News, (23 December 2008) Hamas ‘might renew’ truce in Gaza. Black, I. (29 December 2009) Six months of secret planning- then Israel moves against Hamas, The Guardian (UK). Verter, Y. (2 January 2008) Labor, Barak enjoy popularity surge thanks to Gaza, Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/1051641.html (Accessed 22 June 2009). McCarthy, R. (4 February 2009) National security again to dominate Israeli actions, The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/04/israel-palestine-gaza-elections (Accessed 22 June 2009). Ibid. Joudeh, S. (27 December 2008) “The amount of death and destruction is inconceivable”, Live from Palestine in the Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10059.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). Cook, J. (12 January 2009) Blueprint for Gaza attack was long planned, The Electronic Intifada, Ibid. The Guardian, (29 February 2008) Israeli minister warns of Palestinian ‘holocaust’. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/29/israelandthepalestinians1 (Accessed 2 July 2009). Electronic Intifada, Gaza massacres (27 December 2008- 18 January 2009). Byers, D. and Hilder, J. (28 December 2008) Israel Gaza blitz kills 290, as ground troops mobilise, Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5407382.ece (Accessed 2 July 2009). Al-Mughrabi, N.(30 December 2008) Israel and Hamas under pressure for Gaza aid truce, Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSLS69391620081230 (Accessed 2 July 2009). Al Mezan, (1 January 2009) Israel extrajudicially executes Hamas and his family cited in Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10093.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). PCHR Report, (2 January 2009) IOF Offensive on the Gaza Strip Continues for the 7th Consecutive Day. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/125-2008.html (Accessed 2 July 2009). Byers, D. and Hilder, J. (28 December 2008) Israel Gaza blitz kills 290, as ground troops mobilise, Times Online. Black, I. (29 December 2009) Six months of secret planning- then Israel moves against Hamas, The Guardian (UK). Byers, D. and Hilder, J. (28 December 2008) Israel Gaza blitz kills 290, as ground troops mobilise, Times Online. Ibid. Ibid. PCHR Report, (4 January 2009) On the 9th of the Offensive on the Gaza Strip, Israel Practices State Terrorism. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/03-2009.html (Accessed 2 July 2009). Ibid.

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Frykberg, M. (6 January 2009) Israel attacks schools, ambulances, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10130.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). Electronic Intifada, Gaza massacres (27 December 2008- 18 January 2009. Frykberg, M. (6 January 2009) Israel attacks schools, ambulances, The Electronic Intifada. Ibid. Human Rights Watch, (10 January 2009) Israel: Stop Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/10/israel-stop-unlawful-use-white-phosphorus-gaza (Accessed 2 July 2009). Ibid. Frykberg, M. (4 January 2009) Israel invades Gaza, blocks ceasefire, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10109.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). Borger, J. (9 January 2009) White House ‘behind’ US volte-face on ceasefire call, The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/09/gaza-us-security-council-abstention (Accessed 2 July 2009). Al Mezan Press Release, (14 January 2009) Gaza humanitarian situation deteriorates as death toll rises cited in the Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10184.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). Ibid. IRIN Report, ( 13 January 2009) Gaza sewage lagoons could collapse cited in the Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10177.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). Ibid. UNOCHA, ( 18 January 2009) Field Update on Gaza from the Humanitarian Coordinator: 17-18 January 2009. http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_gaza_humanitarian_situation_report_2009_01_18_english.pdf (Accessed 2 July 2009). Roy, S.( 1 January 2009) If Gaza falls..., London Review of Books. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n01/roy_01_.html (Accessed 2 July 2009). PCHR Press Releases, ( 18 January 2009) 23rd Day of Continuous IOF Offensive on the Gaza Strip. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/18-2009.html (Accessed 2 July 2009). PCHR, (May 2009) War Crimes Against Children. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/Reports/English/pdf_spec/War%20Crimes%20Against%20Children%20Book.pdf (Accessed 24 June 2009). Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza: No Safe Place. 30 April 2009, p3. Chassey, C. (23 March 2009) Under attack: how medics died trying to help Gaza’s casualties,The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/23/gaza-war-crimes-medics (Accessed 24 June 2009). Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza: No Safe Place. 30 April 2009, p126. PCHR, (12 March 2009) Confirmed figures reveal the true extent of the destruction inflicted upon the Gaza Strip. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/36-2009.html (Accessed 22 June 2009). Frykberg, M. (6 January 2009) Israel attacks schools, ambulances, The Electronic Intifada. Ibid. Ibid. Haddad, T. (20 February 2009) Ramattan’s war: The world’s eyes into Gaza, The Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10324.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). Ibid. Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, ( 27 December 2008) Boycott committee: “Stop the massacre in Gaza- boycott Israel now! cited in The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10056.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). Zibakalam, S. (26 January 2009) Iran and the Gaza war, OpenDemocracy. http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/iran-and-the-gaza-war (Accessed 3 July 2009). Electronic Intifada, Gaza massacres (27 December 2008- 18 January 2009) Frykberg, M. (28 December 2008) Gaza carnage sparks protests throughout Palestine, The Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10064.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). AFP, (11 January 2009) Major cities stage fresh protests over Gaza. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h9KysGfr_McbPBkSWsjXJzvto83A (Accessed 2 July 2009). Ibid. Qureshi,Y. (6 February 2009) Gaza shakes America Arab and Muslim youth, The Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10282.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). Humphries, A. (28 January 2009) Surge of direct action at UK universities in support of Palestine, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10252.shtml (Accessed 2 July 2009). PCHR Press Release, (26 March 2009) PCHR Contests Distortion of Gaza Strip Death Toll. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/44-2009.html (Accessed 24 June 2009). Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza, No Safe Place. 30 April 2009, p3. Ibid. Ibid. Amnesty International News, (1 April 2009) Israeli Troops Reveal Gaza Abuses. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/israeli-troops-reveal-gaza-abuses-20090401 (Accessed 24 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, (April 2009 ) Hiding Behind Civilians: The Use of Palestinian Civilians as Human Shields by the Israeli Occupation Forces. http://www.mezan.org/upload/8632.pdf (Accessed 24 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. PCHR, (12 March 2009) Confirmed figures reveal the true extent of the destruction inflicted upon the Gaza Strip. PCHR, (May 2009) War Crimes Against Children. Ibid.

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Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. PCHR interview carried out with Hassan Ziyada on 12 March 2009 cited in PCHR, (May 2009) War Crimes Against Children. Ibid. PCHR, (May 2009) War Crimes Against Children. Ibid. Ibid. Human Rights Watch, (March 2009) ‘Rain Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza’. http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/03/25/rain-fire (Accessed 18 June 2009). Human Rights Watch, (March 2009) ‘Rain Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza’, p8. Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza, No Safe Place, p3. Human Rights Watch, (March 2009) ‘Rain Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza’. p10. Ibid. Ibid, p6. Ibid and Cook, J.(13 January2009) Is Gaza a testing ground for experimental weapons?, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10176.shtml (Accessed 18 June 2009). Human Rights Watch, (March 2009) ‘Rain Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza’. B’Tselem, ‘Testimony: Members of Abu Halima family killed and burned in army’s bombing of their house, 3 January 2009’ http://www.btselem.org/English/Testimonies/20090104_Abu_Halima_home_set_on_fire_by_ shelling.asp (Accessed 19 June 2009). Human Rights Watch, (March 2009) ‘Rain Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza’, p7. http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/03/25/rain-fire (Accessed 18 June 2009). Ibid, p8. Ibid, p9. Ibid. Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza, No Safe Place, p3. Ibid. PCHR, (May 2009) War Crimes Against Children. Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza: No Safe Place. 30 April 2009, p3. Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza: No Safe Place. 30 April 2009, p4. Human Rights Watch, (March 2009) ‘Rain Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorous in Gaza’. Chassey, C. (23 March 2009) Under attack: how medics died trying to help Gaza’s casualties, The Guardian (UK). Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza: No Safe Place. 30 April 2009, p3. Amnesty International News, (1 April 2009) Israeli Troops Reveal Gaza Abuses. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/israeli-troops-reveal-gaza-abuses-20090401 (Accessed 24 June 2009). Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza: No Safe Place. 30 April 2009, p126. Chassey, C. (23 March 2009) Under attack: how medics died trying to help Gaza’s casualties, The Guardian (UK). Ibid and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, (6 April 2009) Independent fact-finding mission into violations of human rights in the Gaza Strip during the period 27.12.2008- 18.01.2009. http://www.phr.org.il/phr/files/articlefile_1241949935203.pdf (Accessed 24 June 2009). Chassey, C. (23 March 2009) Under attack: how medics died trying to help Gaza’s casualties, The Guardian (UK). Pidd, H.(31 March 2009) Gaza offensive: Israeli military says no war crimes committed. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/31/israeli-military-denies-war-crimes-gaza (Accessed 24 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza, No Safe Place, p4. Ibid. Lendman, S. (15 April 2009) Investigating Israeli War Crimes in Gaza, CounterCurrents.org. http://www.countercurrents.org/lendman150409.htm (Accessed 4 July 2009). Ibid. Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p6. Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza, No Safe Place, p5. Ibid. Ibid, p6. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid, p5. Ibid, p7. Ibid. Weill,S and Azarov, V. (10 June 2009) Universal jurisdiction once again under threat, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10587.shtml (Accessed 17 June 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Woolls, D. (30 June 2009) Spanish court ends Israeli bombing probe, The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR2009063001019.html (Accessed 4 July 2009). Ibid. Ibid. also see PCHR Press Release, (30 June 2009) PCHR will Appeal to Supreme Court against Spanish Appeals Court’s Decision. http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/84-2009.html (Accessed 4 July 2009).

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Report of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza: No Safe Place. 30 April 2009, p8. BBC News, (1 June 2009) Goldstone’s UN inquiry team arrives in Gaza. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8076690.stm (Accessed 4 July 2009). McCarthy, R. (28 June 2009) UN public hearing in Gaza broadcasts of war victims, The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/28/inquiry-gaza-palestine-israel-war (Accessed 4 July 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Arab News Editorial, (3 July 2009 ) Gaza war inquiry. http://www.arabnews.com/page=7&section=0&article=124230&d=3&m=7&y=2009 (Accessed 4 July 2009). Chassey, C and Borger, J. (24 March 2009) Gaza war crimes investigation: Guardian uncovers evidence of alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza, The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/23/israel-gaza-war-crimes-guardian (Accessed 4 July 2009). Al Jazeera News, (2 July 2009) Israel ‘wantonly destroyed Gaza’. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/20097234237545473.html (Accessed 4 July 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Amnesty International News, (1 April 2009) Israeli Troops Reveal Gaza Abuses. Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p2. Ibid. Frykberg, M. (22 June 2009) Aid agencies slam Gaza blockade, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10613.shtml (Accessed 5 July 2009). Ibid. Ibid. Cited in Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p4. Islamic Relief USA, (Last updated 6 May 2009) Palestine Humanitarian Crisis. http://www.irw.org/campaigns/palestinecrisis08 (Accessed 6 July 2009). Ibid. Ibid. IRIN News, ( 5 March 2009) Doctors struggling to treat Gaza war wounded. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=83312 (Accessed 5 July 2009). Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p5. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, (27 April 2009) ‘PCHR Welcomes Resumption of Work at External Medical Treatment Department’, cited in Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p5. The UN Flash Appeal cited in Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p2. IRIN Report, (10 June 2009) Health risks on Gaza’s coast, The Electronic Intifada, http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10592.shtml (Accessed 6 July 2009). Ibid. IIRIN report, (7 April 2009) Over 150,000 Gazans still without tap water. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=83818 (Accessed 5 July 2009). Ibid. Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p2. Ibid, p1. The UN Flash Appeal cited in Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p6. Bartlett, E. (8 May 2009) Palestinians rebuild with mud, The Electronic Intifada. http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10517.shtml (Accessed 5 July 2009). Ibid. The UN Flash Appeal cited in Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p63. Ibid. Ibid, p2. Ibid, p4. Leaders include UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Czech Foreign Minister Karl Schwarzenberg and EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel cited in Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p5-6. Ibid. Johnston, A. (2007) Kidnapped and other dispatches, p6. Oxfam Briefing note, Rebuilding Gaza: putting people before politics, June 2009, p7.

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