Amnesty International, the human rights group, has called for a global arms embargo on Israel over its conduct during the war on Gaza.

The group on Monday called for the UN Security Council to impose the embargo until mechanisms were in place to ensure that military equipment supplied by other countries, particularly the US, was not used to violate international law.

“Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the USA to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes,” Donatella Rovera, who led the Amnesty’s investigation in Gaza, said.

“Their attacks resulted in the death of hundreds of children and other civilians, and massive destruction of homes and infrastructure.”

Amnesty’s report said that it had found evidence that both Israel and Hamas had used weapons supplied from overseas to carry out attacks on civilians during the three-week conflict at the start of the year.

The Amnesty report said fragments and components of artillery, tank shells, mortar fins and airborne missiles and bombs were found in school playgrounds, hospitals and homes in Gaza.

Hamas condemned

Rovera also condemned armed Palestinian groups for firing hundreds of rockets at civilian areas in Israel.

“Though far less lethal than the weaponry used by Israel, such rocket firing also constitutes a war crime and caused several civilian deaths,” she said.

Amnesty’s report accused both sides of committing war crimes and called on the UN to launch an immediate investigation into the allegations of war crimes by Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group which governs Gaza.

Malcolm Smart, Amnesty’s Middle East director, said that “all states should suspend all transfers of military equipment, assistance and munitions to Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, until there is no longer a substantial risk of human rights violations”.

The war in Gaza, in which more than 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed, ended on January 18 after both sides announced they would hold fire.

Report rejected

Israel has rejected the findings of the AI report and criticised its methodology.

It said the report “presents a biased version of the events and does not adhere to professional criteria and objectivity”.

“Armaments employed by the IDF [the Israel army] comply both with international law and with its usage by Western armies,” a foreign ministry statement said on Monday.

Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from Jerusalem, said Amnesty had been criticised by Israel for not taking into account the full extent of Palestinian rockets and mortars – around 10,000 – fired over the last eight years into southern Israel.

“Israel is also very critical of Amnesty for not mentioning what Israel says was Hamas’ use of civilians in Gaza as human shields,” she said.

Hamas has also rejected Amnesty’s criticism of its actions.

It said the report was unfair, and that there was no comparison between the Israeli war machine and Palestinians who “defend themselves with some rifles and other primitive means”.

Investigation urged

Amnesty has called on Washington, which gives $3bn a year in military aid to Israel, to investigate Israel’s use of US weapons during its Gaza campaign.

Colby Goodman, a policy director for military security at Amnesty, said that the US had done so at least six times previously.

“According to the Arms Export Control act, when there’s a potential violation by another country of that act, using US weapons, the state department is required to investigate those allegations,” he said.

Sporadic violence is continuing along the Israel-Gaza border, while Egypt works to broker a long-term truce between the two sides.

A rocket struck Israel on Monday morning, but no injuries were reported.

Earlier, the Israeli military said two armed men fired across the Gaza-Israel border fence at an Israeli patrol, which called for air support.

Palestinian security sources said that two missiles hit the armed men’s vehicle, but that no one was hurt.

Assalamualaikum.(May peace and blessings be upon you)

The RCSI Islamic Society and the ‘Humanitarian Fund For GAZA’ drive would like to thank all of you for your help and support  for the Charity Bazaar and Jumble Sale particularly Putraventure Ltd, and all partcipants and donors.

A ballpark amount of 1030.35 has been collected in just 5 hours and will be on its way to Humanitarian Efforts in Gaza through Islamic Relief.

Second hand stuffs, foods, drinks, books and clothes stall were open and most people came, grabbing a thing or two and then donating- most donated claiming to be very overwhelmed by the amount of stuffs people donated and the effort made by the students.

However, due to lack of storing space, the committee have to give the extra materials (particularly the colthes) to Dublin City University (DCU) Islamic Society to continue on the effort.

DCU will be organizing RAG week in which societies in DCU will be doing fundraising events in aid of the DCU Annual Fund (providing funding for Access students), Bodywhys (raising awaresness of eating disorders), and Youth Release (helping disadvantaged kids in Ethiopia). So we feel that it would be a good idea for DCU ISOC to be taking the extra materials we get from the Charity Bazaar for that.

We hope none of the donors would feel taken down that  not ALL that you donated is going ‘directly’ to Gaza but be rest assured that due to the overwhelming effort you have made to support the event, we have been able to collect a lot of donations- the amount collected on the day was well worth every bit of things supposedly sold on the day. so jazakallah khair (may God bless you with bountiful blessings) for your help, really! Eventually, all’s well ends well insyaAllah…and Allah will reward you based on your intention  PLUS, words have it, there are Palestinian student who will benefit from the event through the DCU Annual Fund.

If you have stuffs that you want to get back, please get them from RCSI prayer room before Tuesday (17^th of February). We however have no record of what has been sold or not, and we do not really have the capacity to do so (particularly regarding the clothes).

We would also like to thank all the volunteers who have helped, especially the RCSI pre med and 1^st med students. We hope your lending of helpful hands have been able to give you the natural satisfaction promised for those who does good deed and be rewarded bountilessly with blessings from God.

To read more about Islamic Relief Emergency Appeal for GAZA, click here.

We hope to continue our effort and that others would also follow suit. May all that has been done be able to help them in Gaza and may we all be able to grasp and answer the calls beyond the call for Humanitarian Aid which is the call for peace from that particular place is in the Middle East. A call for peace and humanity.

A reader of my blog has received the following email which documents both the efforts and the agency that originated them. The solicitation to become a pro-Israel “media volunteer” also includes a list of media links which the ministry would like addressed by pro-Israel comments:

Dear friends,

We hold the [sic] military supremacy, yet fail the battle over the international media. We need to buy time for the IDF to succeed, and the least we can do is spare some (additional) minutes on the net. The ministry of foreign affairs is putting great efforts in balancing the media, but we all know it’s a battle of numbers. The more we post, blog, talkback, vote – the more likely we gain positive sentiment.

I was asked by the ministry of foreign affairs to arrange a network of volunteers, who are willing to contribute to this effort. If you’re up to it you will receive a daily messages & media package as well as targets.

If you wish to participate, please respond to this email.

My friend did so and received this official communique from the ministry with talking points about Operation Cast Lead which s/he was to use in her/his propaganda efforts. Among the links was was a Peter Beaumont Cif piece. The following were identified as “target sites”: the Times, the Guardian, Sky News, BBC, Yahoo!News, Huffington Post, and the Dutch Telegraaf. Also targeted were other media sites in Dutch, Spanish, German and French considered critical of the invasion.

Locally, here in Seattle, peace activists held a rally at our federal building attended by 500 protesters. In the foreign ministry communique issued the next day, activists were directed to comment in the Seattle Post Intelligencer’s article about the demonstration. The comment thread for the article is riddled with clear hasbara “plants” who distort the balance and tone of the discussion with their programmed arguments, making it much more favorable than it otherwise would be.

Here the foreign ministry’s coordinator describes a meeting he attended at the government’s offical office:

Hi all,

I had a meeting in the ministry of foreign affairs today, and was very happy to hear that their metrics show that Israel’s position in the internet is getting better every day. It means that you’re doing a good job! MFA are concerned with the biased public opinion in Europe. So please focus your efforts on European media.

What can you do to help?

- Identify internet battle-grounds in different languages, and let me know
- Comment/post/vote in the listed links and others; you can use the material attached below
- Write letters to authors and editors. Identify yourself as a local resident
- Have your friends join this activity

This message was meant to encourage the pro-Israel activists in their work:

World governments are still patient with Israel’s justified operation in Gaza. The [sic] public opinion, on the other hand, is impatient, to say the least. This gap will soon close – it always does.

It is our goal to shift the public opinion, as conveyed in the internet; avoiding, or at least minimising, sanctions by world leaders. We need to buy the IDF enough time to achieve its goals.

Besides the talking points provided by the foreign ministry to the pro-Israel web activists, they are offered online pro-Israel material to link to in their comments such as these:
Bicom.org.uk/

Aish HaTorah’s What Really Happened in the Middle East

YouTube video: Amid Gaza violence, Israeli and Palestinian doctors save baby’s life -

CNN’s Amanpour interviews Tzipi Livni

Military incursion should be seen as part of War on Terror

Blog from Southern Israel, Morit Rozen

Remember when the defence department was paying public relations companies and Iraqi newspapers to insert articles praising the Iraq war? The companies also attempted to plant coverage favorable to the US military in US newspapers. There rightly was a media uproar about the manipulation. We’ll see whether the same happens over this.

The foreign ministry shouldn’t get a pass on this one. It may view such hasbara as maximising its efforts to “explain” Israel’s position in the world media. I view it as a cynical attempt to flood the web and news media with favorable flackery in a vain attempt to tilt public opinion toward Israel. Not only does it do Israel a disservice, it stains every legitimate effort that the ministry might make to explain Israel to the world, since no one will believe a word it says knowing it engages in such outright propaganda.

Not to mention that this is such cheap pennyante stuff. What do they gain by this? How effective can it be and how many can be convinced? By the way, I’ve even noticed the hasbaraniks in my own blog. You can see them a mile away because they’ve never published a comment before yet write something like: “I’ve enjoyed your blog for a long time, but anyone with a brain in their head knows that Hamas is out to destroy Israel blah, blah blah.” Pretty formulaic stuff. Also, you can Google a few phrases of the comment and if you find it appears elsewhere on the web you know you either have a hasbaranik or someone who has repetition compulsion.

In some instances, western media may intentionally or unintentionally fall victim to manipulation. Tony Karon points out that pro-Israel journalist-historian Michael Oren has published several stories since the Gaza incursion began in US media outlets like the New Republic and Los Angeles Times. He is also on active duty with the IDF in Gaza serving as a public affairs officer liasing with foreign media. You will find nothing noting this in the Los Angeles Times op ed. In effect, the media is allowing advocates like Oren to pass themselves off as disinterested experts when they are anything but. It behooves editors to do some due diligence when they publish any piece that advocates for one side or the other to determine whether there may be conflicts of interest or other unacknowledged factors influencing a commentator’s judgment.

It seems we are now well and truly in the world of Propaganda 2.0.

SOURCE:GUARDIAN.CO.UK

With English Translation

Fair Use Policy, Source: World Economic Forum

The Turkish prime minister, Mr. Erdogan, stormed out of a heated debate at the World Economic Forum in Davos after slamming the position of Israeli President, Mr. Shimon Peres, over Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of the televised debate on Thursday, after the moderator refused to allow him to rebut the Israeli president’s justification about the war that left about 1,300 Gazans dead.

Before storming out, Erdogan told Shimon Peres, the Israeli president: “You are killing people.”

Peres told Erdogan during the heated panel discussion that he would have acted in the same manner if rockets had been falling on Istanbul.

Moderator David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist, then told Erdogan that he had “only a minute” to respond to a lengthy monologe by Pires.

Erdogan said: “I find it very sad that people applaud what you said. There have been many people killed. And I think that it is very wrong and it is not humanitarian.”

Ignatius twice attempted to finish the debate, saying, “We really do need to get people to dinner.”

Erdogan then said: “Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I don’t think I will come back to Davos after this.”

THE WHOLE FORUM

http://www.weforum.org 29.01.2009
Gaza: The Case for Middle East Peace
The uncertainty and complexity surrounding the crisis in Gaza have captured the attention of the world.

What needs to be done to prevent the Middle East peace process from slipping away yet again?

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, New York
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey
Amre Moussa, Secretary-General, League of Arab States, Cairo
Shimon Peres, President of Israel

Chaired by
David Ignatius, Associate Editor and Columnist, The Washington Post, USA

Aid agencies are battling to meet the urgent needs of tens and thousands of displaced, homeless and injured people in Gaza, as well as to get damaged water, power and sewage infrastructure back even to their ailing pre-war levels.

The UN has appealed for $613m for the initial recovery phase, but has estimated that long term reconstruction will run into the billions.

Two separate Palestinian surveys have put the cost of the damage just under $2bn.

One said it would take three to five years to rebuild even under normal conditions – never mind with the continued Israeli blockade which stops all but humanitarian basics entering the strip.

As well as killing more than 1,300, and leaving 5,300 injured, according to Palestinian figures, the UN says that the Israeli operation left two-thirds of Gaza’s 1.5m residents without power, a third without running water and medical facilities overwhelmed and lacking basic supplies.

Even before the fighting, most Gazans lived a precarious existence, with half the population dependent on UN food aid and the economy at a virtual standstill. Israeli and international human rights groups also accuse Israel of using closures in the month before the assault to further drain supplies of food and fuel in Gaza.

Israel has stressed that it is working to speed the flow of aid into Gaza, and while more truckloads of supplies have entered Gaza than in the weeks preceding the operation, aid agencies say they are far from enough – and all border crossings must be opened if Gaza is to recover.

Israel tightened its blockade of the Hamas-controlled territory in November after rocket attacks by militants.

FOOD

Even before the Israeli assault, aid agencies were warning of malnutrition in Gaza, as the aid-reliant population struggled to afford and access dairy, meat and fresh vegetable products to supplement the bread, rice and oil that form the backbone of humanitarian aid.

Although food aid has entered the strip during and since the fighting, security problems hampered distribution, while damage to tunnels under the Egyptian border and agricultural fields have pushed up prices for other goods.

Two weeks after the ceasefire, the UN said food prices had doubled or tripled from before the fighting, and Gazans were struggling to access food because of a shortage of currency which means many have not received their wages.

The “acute shortage” of bread the UN reported in the immediate days after the ceasefire has been somewhat eased by increased grain deliveries, but the UN is still reporting long queues for bread. Bakeries have been plagued by shortages of cooking gas, as well as flour.

WATER AND SANITATION

Before the Israeli operation, Gaza’s water and sewage system was already in dire need of maintenance and spare parts.

The fighting damaged water wells and pipes, and led to shortages in the fuel that powers them, leaving half a million Gazans without running water. Two weeks after the ceasefire, 70% of Gaza’s water wells were functioning, but some localities and 10,000 people in Beit Hanoun were still without water.

Gaza’s sewage and water body estimates it will cost $6m to repair the water and sewage network.

Officials have confirmed that all two million litres of wastewater at Gaza City’s treatment plant, bombed on 10 January, leaked into surrounding agricultural land.

A pump that sends sewage from Beit Hanoun to the Beit Lahia wastewater treatment plant was also damaged, leaving sewage flowing onto the streets.

FUEL AND ELECTRICITY

At the height of the crisis, two-thirds of Gazans were without power. The strip’s only power plant shut down on 30 December because of lack of fuel, and damage to power lines from Israel and Egypt, and to transformers and the distribution grid.

Five days after the Israeli ceasefire, the power plant was operating at a third of its capacity. About a week later, Gaza was receiving 84% of its electricity needs, although damage to power lines meant households in some hard-hit areas were without power.

Israel said 2.8m litres of fuel for the power plant was delivered in the 10 days following the ceasefire, which remains below the 2.2m litres a week the Israeli Supreme Court set as a minimum – itself less than the 3.5m litres for the plant to operate at full capacity.

The UN says 38 transformers needed for the repair of the electricity system are waiting for Israeli permission to enter Gaza.

Cooking gas has been in short supply for months. Shipments began entering Gaza in the days after the ceasefire – by 27 Jan they had averaged about a quarter of Gaza’s daily needs, the UN said.

Israel has for about a year limited fuel supplies into Gaza in response to rocket attacks.

MEDICAL FACILITIES

Eight hospitals and 26 primary health care clinics were damaged during the fighting, according to the World Health Organisation.

The WHO says Gaza’s hospitals were “completely overwhelmed” during the Israeli assault, with only a total of 2,000 hospital beds in Gaza, but more than 5,000 people injured.

Hospitals suffered shortages of basic supplies – even when these were able to enter the strip, security problems hampered efforts to get them to where they were needed.

Medical facilities were also hit hard by power cuts and fuel shortages, being forced to rely on back-up generators and fuel for them delivered by Unrwa, with Israeli co-ordination.

Since the ceasefire, shortages of supplies and fuel improved. Two weeks after the ceasefire hospitals were receiving mains electricity “intermittently,” the UN said, while the International Committee of the Red Cross said some heavy-duty painkillers and drugs for cancer patients were unavailable.

But shortages of skilled medical personnel and ailing equipment had brought the health infrastructure close to collapse before the Israeli operation, and the UN has said it remains under “enormous strain”.

More than 50% of people surveyed by Care International just after the ceasefire said they faced difficulties accessing basic medicines such as antibiotics and drugs for diabetes, and heart disease – 60% of them said their health had worsened as a result.

Israel has evacuated a small number of injured Palestinians for treatment in Israel, and dozens of others have been sent to Egypt – partly because the strip lacks specialist medical facilities.

SHELTER

Some 55,000 people were sheltering in UN-run schools at the height of the fighting, but many thousands more moved to stay with friends and relatives in different areas.

More than half of the people surveyed by Care International were hosting displaced people in their homes.

A survey by local and international non-governmental organisations found that, in the week after the ceasefire, at least 66,000 people had still not returned to their homes.

While most were said to be staying with friends and relatives, journalists have found some families camping in makeshift shelters on the top of their destroyed homes.

Gazan officials have estimated some 4,000 residential and government buildings were severely damaged and another 20,000 destroyed.

An initial survey by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics said 4,100 homes were totally destroyed and 17,000 others damaged during the conflict.

About 1,500 factories and workshops, 20 mosques, 31 security installations and 10 water or sewage pipes were also damaged, it said.

ACCESS

International agencies have said difficulties in getting humanitarian staff into Gaza were hampering aid affords.

Ten days after the ceasefires, the UN said 30 international humanitarian workers had been about to enter, but there were outstanding requests from the Israeli authorities for permits for another 140.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7845428.stm

Published: 2009/01/30 10:55:16 GMT

© BBC MMIX

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by :telephonebuzzy 04 February 2009 During the war on Gaza 2008-2009, we met a group of artists in Jordan, to post our objection versus the repetitive Israeli war crimes against civilians and humanity. The fruit of this meeting was … During the war on Gaza 2008-2009, we met a group of artists in Jordan, to post our objection versus the repetitive Israeli war crimes against civilians and humanity. The fruit of this meeting was a song: “Death after Death”. We wanted to address the world, east and west, through a code they understand: the death code which we BORROWED from the Canadian poet and singer Leonard Cohen. We used his concept of normal natural death as a pretext to look at the irony of our imposed death, the horrifying death of our human being and the phosphoric death in Palestine. And because we love life, and we refuse genocide and racial cleansing by the Israeli hands, and we refuse undermining our people: we will insist on documenting the truth and we reserve all rights to live and die naturally. Song team : Sawsan Darwazah , Amer Alkhuffash ,Ehab Al-Khatib , Wael Al-Sharqawi , Hassan Abu-Hammad.

أردنا أن نخاطب العالم بلغة يفهمها الغرب..هي لغة الموت التي استعرناها هنا بهذا العمل من الشاعر والمغني الكندي (ليونارد كوهين) لتكون مدخل لمقارنة الموت العادي والطبيعي عنده وموتنا (نحن) وموت انساننا القسري والموت الفسفوري في فلسطين ، ولأننا نحب الحياة ونرفض الابادة الجماعية التي تمارسها اسرائيل ضد الانسانية ونرفض الاستهتار بشعوبنا …نصر على توثيق الحقيقة…و نحتفظ بحق الحياة والموت الانساني والطبيعي لدينا…/ فريق العمل في الأغنية : سوسن دروزة ,,ايهاب الخطيب , وائل الشرقاوي , حسن أبو حماد ..عامرالخفش Category: Non-profits & A

Friday – 06th February
IAW Halal Food Festival & Opening Ceremony
Venue: Astra Hall, University College Dublin
Doors Open at 5.30 pm
Proceed goes to Gaza
Contact Person: Hijaz 0858119574

Saturday – 07th February
Visit to Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland
Venue: ICCI, Clonskeagh
Transportation will be provided upon request, tour starts at 10.00am
Contact Person: Shamil 0858186061

Hijab Fashion Show (for SISTERS ONLY)
Venue: Astra Hall, University College Dublin
Doors Open at 12.00 noon
Contact Person: Intan 0857841605

Sunday – 08th February
IAW Football Tournament (for BROTHERS ONLY)
Venue: Astra Pitch, Dublin City University
Tournament starts at 12.00 noon
To register, contact Hozaifa at 0860738889

Swimming session (for SISTERS ONLY)
Venue: on the Finglas Road in St Vincents Boys School
To book place or for more information,
Contact Person: Munirah Hishamshah 0857442611

Monday – 09th February
Talk: Pursuit of Happyness by Ustaz Abdullah al-Hassan
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Dublin Institute of Technology  Kevin Street
Lecture starts at 4.30 pm
Contact Person: Hamza 0863380245

Tuesday – 10th February
Talk: Lets talk about Love by Ustaz Abdullah al-Hassan
Venue: Robert Emmets Theatre, Trinity College Dublin
Lecture starts at 6.30 pm
Contact Person: Badriya 0851377499

Wednesday – 11th February
Indoor Go-Kart Competition (for BROTHERS ONLY)
Venue: Kylemore Karting, Kylemore, Kileen Road, Dublin 10
Meeting Point: O’Connel Bridge at 5.30 pm
For booking, contact Rashid at 0857796520

Thursday – 12th February
IAW Movie Special: Where in the World is Osama bin Laden
Venue: Robert Emmets Theatre, Trinity College Dublin
Doors Open at 7.00 pm
Contact Person: Badriya 0851377499

Friday – 13th February
Charity Bazaar & Jumble Sale
Venue: Basketball Court, Royal College of Surgeons
Sale starts at 11.00 am
Proceeds will go to Gaza
Contact Person: Munirah Hishamshah 0857442611

Quran Recitation Competition
Venue: Brothers & Sisters in University College Dublin
Events starts at 6.00 pm
Contact Person: Hijaz 0858119574

Saturday – 14th February
Palestine Conference: The Truth about al-Aqsa
Venue: Astra Hall, University College Dublin
Time: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm
Everyone are invited
Contact Person: Hijaz 0858119574

Friday – 27th February
IAW Grand Dinner & Closing Ceremony
Venue: Examination Hall, Royal College of Surgeons
Doors Open at 6.00 pm
For information, contact Faheem 0851356049, Izzati 0857131078

On Saturday 17/01/2009 Dunnes Store announced that they will withdraw all Israeli products nationally and we all rejoiced.

However on following Monday they refused to confirm or comment this to the media. And during the past week Israeli products were found in various Dunnes branches again as if nothing had happened.

We need to put pressure even more than the other chains and demand explanation of this contradiction and scandal. You can do so by phone 01 475 11 11 or email service.customer@dunnes-stores.ie

Jazakumullahu khairan

Filip Mahdi Tsiki

ICCI, Clonskeagh