[Imc-uk-features] feature proposal: War in the Middle East

Wed Jul 19 16:41:26 PDT 2006

Hi,

I propose the following feature for the uk, world and anti-militarism
pages. Bellow is only the abstract (and it still needs some links, which
i'll do tomorrow before publishing). The body still need some work as I'm
trying to put together an accurate, day-to-day "war diary". So I'll add
that later - tomorrow night, hopefully.

------

Title: War in the Middle East While the World is Watching

Author: imc-uk-features

Image: /images/2006/07/345079.jpg

Abstact:

For the eighth day in a raw, Israeli forces have been bormarding Lebanon.
More than 300 Lebanese civilians have been killed so far, over 1,000
wounded and 500,000 displaced, campared with 29 Israeli deaths (15
civilians) caused by Hizbullah's Katyusha rockets. Reports from Beirut
talk of a desterted, devastaed city, with residential buildings, roads and
bridges being hit by Israeli air strikes. Israel launched attacks on
Lebanon after Hezbullah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border
raid, but the captive soldiers, both in Gaza and Lebanon, have already
been deleted from the public agenda. Israeli officials are now talking
about destroying Hizballah and Hamas, and maybe Syria and Iran as well,
"once and for all", not about "bringing the soldiers home". And,
apparently, they have got the green light from the US and other
international "allies".


Meanwhile in Palestine, Israeli attcks on the Gaza Strip continue, again
allegedly to free a soldier seized by Palestinian militias on 25 June,
whom they have offered to release in exchange for some of the Palestinians
imprisoned by Israel. Tens of Palestinian civilians have been killed and
many more injured, not to mention the periodic shortages of food, fuel,
electricity, water and medicine. Many of those killed were Palestinian
civilians, including children, who died during Israeli air force "targeted
killings". As well as actual bombing raids, Israeli military airplanes
have conducted nightly <a href="/en/2005/11/327140.html">sonic booming
raids</a> over Gaza, with the aim of making the civilian population
fearful that actual bombing is under way. In retaliation, Palestinian
groups also continue to fire numerous Qassam rockets at Israeli towns [see
<a href="/en/2006/07/345430.html">Human Rights Watch's statement</a>].


Although still small in scale, there have been a few protests throughout
the world. On
18 June, several hundred people <a
href="/en/2006/07/345437.html">demonstrated in Parliament Square</a> in
London against the continuing Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. <a
href="/en/2006/07/345413.html">National-wide demonstrations</a> have been
called for July 22nd by the <a
href="http://www.palestinecampaign.org/">Palestine Solidarity
Campaign</a>, <a href="http://www.stopwar.org.uk/">Stop the War
Coalition</a> and various Muslim organisations. Liverpool Friends of
Palestine and Merseyside Stop the War Coalition are also organising a <a
href="/en/2006/07/345256.html">vigil on 19 July</a> to highlight the
dreadful events in Lebanon and Palestine. There will also be a <a
href="/en/2006/07/345326.html">picket Israel's tennis team</a> in their
Davis Cup tie with Britain on 22 July. Earlier this month, protesters <a
href="/en/2006/07/345246.html">blockaded EDO MBM</a> in Brighton, which
makes electrical weapons components for the Israeli military. [see also <a
href="https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/06/343670.html">"Boycott
Israeli Goods" National Day of Action</a>]


Read more: <a
href="http://www.indymedia.org/en/2006/07/842532.shtml">Global Indymedia
feature</a> | <a
href="http://www.indymedia.org/en/2006/07/842691.shtml">Word from
Lebanon</a> | Cyprus Indymedia featureas <a
href="http://english-cyprus.indymedia.org/newswire/display/146/index.php">1</a>
| <a
href="http://english-cyprus.indymedia.org/newswire/display/154/index.php">2</a>
| <a href="http://beirut.indymedia.org/ar/2006/07/4542.shtml">Appeal for
Solidarity with Lebanese Civil Society</a> | <a
href="https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/06/342496.html">The Gaza
Sea Weeps Blood</a> |Photos: 1 | 2 |


Links: <a href="http://beirut.indymedia.org/">IMC Beirut</a> | <a
href="http://israel.indymedia.org/">IMC Israel</a> | <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/">Internation Middle East Media Centre</a> | <a
href="http://www.pnn.ps/english/">Palestine News Network</a> | <a
href="http://electronicintifada.net/new.shtml">Electronic Intifada</a> |
<a href="http://www.electronicintifada.net/lebanon/">Electronic
Lebanon</a> | <a href="http://palestineblogs.org/">Palestine Blogs</a> |
<a href="http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php">Tadamon</a>

-- 
Shiar