[IMC-UK-Features] feature proposal: Israel keeps its promise of a 'Holocaust' in Gaza

Tue Mar 4 14:40:02 PST 2008

Hi,

I would like to propose the following feature for the UK, Palestine and
Repression pages. Part of the last section (international soli demos)
still needs some editing, but it's basically loads of city names and
links. The abstract is also missing, but my plan is to just write a few
summarising sentences and loads of links. I'll hopefully finish all that
in the morning (i'm quite knackered now). I'm gonna propose it for global
indy too when it's finished.

-- 
Shiar

See here for easy reading:
http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Local/UkGazaHolocaust

Title: Israel keeps its promise of a 'Holocaust' in Gaza

Author: imc-uk-features

Pic: https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/images/2008/03/392855.jpg

---++ Abstract

<strong>From the Newswire:</strong>

<strong>Links:</strong> <a href="http://www.imemc.org/">International
Middle East Media Centre</a> | <a href="http://english.pnn.ps">Palestine
News Network</a> | <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/">Electronic
Intifada</a> | <a href="http://flashpoints.net/">Flashpoints</a> |
Indymedia UK's <a
href="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/topics/palestine/">Palestine topic
page</a>

---++ Content

<h3>'Barbarous' siege</h3>

The Gaza Strip, with a population of some 1.5 million, has been placed
under a total siege by the Israeli army since June 2007, shortly after 
Hamas took control over the strip from Fatah. Later that year, in
September, the Israeli government declared Gaza a "hostile entity" and
stepped up its military attacks. In January 2008, Israel decided to
further reduce the amount of fuel, electricity, food and water supplies
into Gaza, justifying the collective punishment as a 'response' to the
Palestinian resistance firing home-made shells at the nearby Israeli town
of Sderot (see <a
href="http://www.mezan.org/site_en/resource_center/mezan_publications/detail.php?id=168">this
report</a> about the humanitarian implications of the siege).

The decision by the Israeli government to <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52631">reduce electricity supplies</a>
to the Gaza Strip came after the Israeli Supreme Court <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52631">rejected a petition</a> against
the plan filed by ten Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups. The
human rights groups said the measures "violate international laws" as they
deliberately cause harm to the civilians and deprive them from the basic
energy they need to run vital services. The cut of diesel supplies had
already contributed to 20% electricity deficit in Gaza, with power outages
of over eight hours a day and directly affecting hospitals, medical
centres, water pumps, public transportation and other vital services.

On February 17th, the ambulance service in Gaza <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52849">announced a complete halt</a> of
work due to what the Health Ministry described as "severe shortage of
fuel." Many patients have also been denied necessary medical treatment
outside due to the siege, in what some <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/51678">described</a> as "a matter of
revenge". According to Palestinian medical sources, well over a hundred
Palestinian patients, including many children, have so far died because of
the siege [ <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52697">1</a> | <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52912">2</a> | <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2427&Itemid=29">3</a>
].

As Gazans scrambled for supplies, Palestinian resistance fighters <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52478">blew open</a> the Israeli-built
steel walls that make the borders between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on
January 23rd. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt's
Sinai peninsula, breathing a collective sigh of relief following a
half-year of total closure of all Gaza border crossings. However, the
Egyptian border guards soon started <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52570">sealing off the iron border</a>
again. The Rafah crossing, south of Gaza, is the sole outlet to the
outside world for Gaza's 1.5 million residents since June last year.

On February 20th, several European Union lawmakers <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52983">urged Israel to refrain</a> from
inflicting "collective punishment" on the Palestinian residents in the
Gaza Strip. In a press conference titled "Coming back from Gaza and
Sderot", with the participation of members from different political groups
of the European Parliament who took part to the fact-finding mission to
Israel and Palestine between 2 and 7 February, 2008, Jill Evans MEP
(Green) affirmed that "the situation in Palestine is reaching breaking
point. The siege is an inhuman and illegal collective punishment of the
people in Gaza and is causing huge suffering. It has to be stopped. There
has to be international action to lift the siege, end the occupation and
resume peace negotiations."

Concluding a visit to Palestine and Israel, the United Nations'
Undersecretary General for humanitarian affairs John Holmes made <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52943">similar remarks</a> and <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52822">called for reopening the
borders</a> of the Gaza Strip in order to relief the suffering of the
residents.

Earlier that year, a <a
href="http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=47baaa262">report</a>
authored by the UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard concluded that
"Palestinian terrorism" is the "inevitable consequence" of Israeli
occupation. While "Palestinian terrorist acts are deplorable," it added,
"they must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of
colonialism, apartheid or occupation."

On February 26th, just before the escalation started, the report was
briefly <a
href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080226/ap_on_re_mi_ea/un_israel">flagged
up by Associated Press</a>. Israel was quick to reject the 'claims' as
"inflammatory" and the report has since been ignored by the Western
corporate media in a continuation of their biased reporting on the Israeli
aggression against Palestinians (see this <a
href="http://www.medialens.org/alerts/08/080303_israels_illegal_assault.php">MediaLens
alert</a>).

<h3>'Holocaust' in Gaza</h3>

On February 29th, the Israeli deputy Defense Minister <a
href="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/392644.html">provoked
outrage</a> after threatening Palestinians with a "holocaust". Matan
Vilnai <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53132">told the Israeli army
radio</a> that "the more [rocket] fire intensifies and the rockets reach a
longer range, they [the Palestinians] will bring upon themselves a bigger
holocaust because we will use all our might to defend ourselves." The same
twisted logic is used by the far-right and Holocaust deniers to blame
Jewish people for the Nazi Holocaust.

However, preparations for a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip seem to
have been under way long before that provocative comment. The Israeli
government had <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52975">reportedly</a>
already approved a military plan, similar to the US invasion of Iraq in
2003. According to the Jewish Press website, <a
href="http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?contentid=30209&mode=a&contentname=Sources%3A_Israel_Moves_Toward_Gaza_Invasion&recnum=4&fromsect=1">Israeli
sources said</a> that a plan, drafted by the Israeli military's general
staff, had been endorsed by the Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak.

On February 7th, during a visit to an Israeli military base in the south
of Israel, <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52652">Barak said</a> the
Israeli army will "intensify its military operations" in the Gaza Strip,
allegedly to stop Palestinian home-made Qassam rockets that <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52623">continue to be launched</a> from
Gaza at Israeli targets. He added that Israel will eventually "put an end"
to the attacks by continuing its military operation and imposing
punishments and fortifying the nearby Israeli communities surrounding the
Gaza Strip. On February 10th, the Defense Minister <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52683">confirmed</a> that his army will
carry out more strikes on Gaza.

Meanwhile, another Israeli minister <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52683">called for the "total
annihilation"</a> of some Gaza neighbourhoods. Me'air Shetrit called for
responding to what he termed "sabotaging operations" by "totally
annihilating some Gaza neighbourhoods" so that "the residents of the Gaza
Strip will understand how serious the Israeli threats are." Other Israeli
politicians have made <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2472&Itemid=29">similar
comments.</a>

On February 11th, Barak <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52694">stated</a> that he had ordered
the Israeli army to start preparing for the wide-scale offensive in Gaza.
He told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee that his
troops are "attacking the Palestinian coastal region day and night, with a
high chance for those attacks to expand." On February 17th, he <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52850">again vowed</a> to strike back
heavily against Palestinians, particularly the ruling Hamas in Gaza, as
home-made shells continue to hit Israeli areas adjacent to Gaza. At the
same time, Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, while giving a speech at a
conference of Jewish agencies leaders, granted the Israeli army the "upper
hand" in deciding how to strike what he called "perpetrators of terror",
first and foremost those who belong to Hamas.

Since coming to power after the 2006 democratic elections, the Islamist
group has repeatedly proposed a long-term truce with Israel. Israel,
however, has repeatedly shunned such offers, branding Hamas a "terrorist
group". In June 2007, Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza after Hamas
took over the coastal territory, amidst a power struggle with Fatah,
president Mahmud Abbas's party, which has been committed to 'peace
negotiations' with Israel (see this interesting <a
href="http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/04/gaza200804">Vanity
Fair article</a>).

Last year, after killing more than 300 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in
<a href="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/07/345513.html">air strikes
and ground offensives</a>, Israel still failed to stop the home-made
shells fired by Palestinian fighters into adjacent Israeli towns.

<h3>'Full-scale war'</h3>

Since the siege started in June 2007, Israeli air strikes and ground
incursions, allegedly targeting Palestinian militants, have become an
almost <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2464&Itemid=29">daily
occurrence</a>, often killing civilians and destroying residential
buildings.

For example, on February 7th, Palestinian medical sources <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52634">reported</a> that six
Palestinians, including one teacher, were killed and several residents
were injured in three separate Israeli air strikes that were supposed to
target groups of Palestinian militants in different areas in the Gaza
Strip. On February 15th, eight Palestinians, mainly members of one family,
<a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52821">were killed</a> and nearly
eighty others injured when the Israeli air force fired missiles at the
house of one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad in Al-Boreij refugee camp
in central Gaza. (Many more incidents can be found on the <a
href="http://www.imemc.org">IMEMC</a>, <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps">PNN</a> and <a
href="http://electronicintifada.net">IE</a> websites.)

On February 14th, an undercover Israeli force <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52762">attacked several Palestinian
homes</a> in the eastern side of Rafah, southern Gaza, and rounded up 30
men, aged between 15 and 50, and took them to a nearby military base at
the Rafah-Israel border. The area located near the Gaza International
Airport has suffered frequent Israeli attacks since the beginning of the
Palestinian Intifada (uprising) in September 2000.

On Wednesday, 27 February, 2008, the Israeli army stepped up its air
strikes and ground 'incursions' in what many observers described as a
"full-scale, one-sided war". According to the Israeli Information Center
for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B’Tselem), <a
href="http://www.btselem.org/english/Press_Releases/20080303.asp">106
Palestinians were killed</a> in the Gaza Strip between February 27th and
March 3rd, and at least 54 of them, including 25 children, did not take
part in any fighting. Al-Mezan Center For Human Rights <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53212">put the number</a> at 107,
including 55 civilians, of whom 27 were children and 6 women. The Israeli
Chief of Staff had claimed that 90 percent of those killed were
"armed".

On Wednesday evening, an Israeli strike on the northern part of Gaza
killed three Palestinian children, bringing the death toll within 24 hours
to 12. Palestinian medical sources <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53093">confirmed</a> that the three
children's bodies reached hospital dismembered, while at least 17 others
were wounded, including 6 children. By Friday, the Israeli government
announced that its army has completed preparations for a wide-scale
offensive against Gaza (<a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2466&Itemid=29">more</a>).

Around 1am on Saturday, at least 30 tanks and bulldozers, supported by a
battalion of infantry troops <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53167">attacked the Jabalyia refugee
camp</a> in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical
sources reported that at least 26 Palestinians killed and 62 injured,
bringing the death toll since Wednesday to 56. Eyewitnesses said Israeli
troops and tanks invaded Jabalyia and opened fire at resident homes, while
Israeli helicopters were firing missiles at civilians homes and cars (<a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2474&Itemid=29">more</a>).

Even civilian facilities, such as medical centres, were not spared. On
February 28th, for example, an <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2468&Itemid=29">Israeli
air strike</a> aimed at the Ministry of the Interior building in Gaza also
destroyed the nearby Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) head
office. PMRS is one of the largest non-governmental health service
providers in Palestine, reaching 1.4 million Palestinians in over 490
cities, towns and villages. The attack also hit a nearby residential
building, killing a five-month-old baby.
The The disability rehabilitation sector in Palestine, part of the Network
of the Non-governmental Organizations, also <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53218">reported</a> that the Israeli
army had targeted several facilities that deal with rehabilitation and
killed Hammad Mirshid, 47, who suffered a hearing impairment. The army
also broke into a rehabilitation facility, causing a lot of damage, and
used it as a military post.

By now, the war in Gaza had attracted the international community and
media's attention. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that some
hospitals in Gaza could no longer provide medical care because they have
no electricity or medical supplies. Medical crews reported that they came
under fire as they tried to evacuate the injured from Jabalyia refugee
camp. The Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Hiba Abu
Shamalih, also reported that she came under fire along with her camera
crew as they were covering the events in Gaza. The Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53173">said</a> on
Saturday that the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza were "more than a
holocaust."

Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that Palestinian militants killed
two Israeli soldiers and destroyed a military vehicle on Saturday.
Palestinian resistance groups also fired 13 home-made shells at nearby
Israeli areas, injuring three civilians in the southern Israeli town of
Sderot that borders the Gaza Strip. The Al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing
of the Hamas movement, said that 8 of its fighters were killed on Saturday
during armed clashes with the Israeli army. The Al-Quds brigades of the
Islamic Jihad also said that three of their fighters were killed in
clashes on that same day.

<h3>'Not over'</h3>

Israeli forces pulled out on Sunday-Monday overnight after five days of
bloodshed. But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert <a
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7274929.stm">warned</a>
that the withdrawal of troops from Gaza does not mean Israel's military
operation there is over, adding that "what happened in recent days was not
a one-off event."

Indeed, just after the Israeli army announced ending its offensive in the
Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53200">reported</a> that 8
Palestinians, said to be Hamas fighters, were killed by Israeli shells on
different parts of Gaza on Monday dawn (<a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2481&Itemid=1">more</a>).

Later on, a senior Israeli official, <a
href="http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0219318120080303?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews">quoted
by Reuters</a>, said Israel had called a "two-day interval" while US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Jerusalem and the West Bank on
Tuesday and Wednesday, which is meant to move Israeli-Palestinian peace
negotiations forward. Rice, however, has already <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53234">told reporters</a> in Egypt that
Hamas is "trying to destroy the peace talks." Hamas's spokesperson, Sami
Abu Zuhri, <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53235">said</a> Rice's
statement was part of her intention to "give the green light" to the
ongoing war on the Hamas movement and the Palestinian resistance.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had formally <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2486&Itemid=1">suspended
contacts</a> with Israel in protest at its attacks on Gaza.

<h3>Protests and solidarity</h3>

Since the start of the siege in June 2007, there have been many mass
protests inside Palestine and Gaza itself. A <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2340&Itemid=28">massive
demonstration</a> was held at the Erez Checkpoint in Beit Hanoun, north
Gaza, on January 26th, where people assembled on both sides of the fence
to protest against the siege and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On
February 11th, flower farmers in the city of Beit Lahiya, north Gaza, <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52696">decided to destroy</a> about
500,000 square meters of flower plants in protest at their inability to
export their produce due to ongoing Israeli blockade on Gaza. On February
14th, a large number of Gaza vehicles <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52761">stopped engines for half an
hour</a> in protest at the continued Israel cut of fuel supplies to the
region. On February 25th, thousands of women, children and men <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53039">formed a human chain</a> around
the Gaza Strip in protest at the Israeli siege (<a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2458&Itemid=28">more</a>).
Peaceful demonstrations also took place in <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2477&Itemid=28">Bethlehem</a>,
<a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2399&Itemid=28">Nazareth</a>
and other places in Palestine and Israel.

Many defiant actions by Israeli activists have also been reported. For
example, a <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/52897">convoy of food
supplies</a>, provided by a group of Israeli peace activists, entered Gaza
on February 19th through the Israeli-controlled commercial crossing of
Sufa in southern Gaza.

More recently, the entirety of the West Bank was on strike on Sunday,
February 2nd, in solidarity with the mourners and lost souls of the Gaza
Strip. The streets of Jenin and Nablus were filled with protesters, while
in Ramallah Hamas and Fateh called a joint demonstration. Kids were seen
at the Wall in Ramallah throwing stones, and the same happened in
Bethlehem at Rachel's Tomb. The air was said to have been full of acrid
smoke as children set tires on fire and dumped out garbage cans and set
them ablaze (<a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2479&Itemid=1">report</a>).

Palestinian protests were often <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2480&Itemid=29">violently
attacked by Israeli forces</a>. Seven Palestinian teenagers were injured
on February 2nd when <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53192">Israeli
troops attacked a demonstration</a> organised by the villagers of Bil'in,
a village near Ramallah known internationally for its non-violent protests
(<a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2483&Itemid=1">more</a>).
On the same day, one Palestinian boy was killed and at least 45 were
injured when the Israeli army <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53187">attacked protests</a> standing
in Hebron, south West Bank, in solidarity with the people of Gaza. On
February 3rd, Israeli forces <a
href="http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2482&Itemid=1">imposed
a curfew</a> on a western Jenin village, which saw a non-violent
demonstration against the Israeli aggression in Gaza. A Palestinian
teenager was killed and several others injured on the same day when
Israeli army troops <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/53203">attacked
a protest</a> organised by school students in the village of Al-Mazra'a
Al-Sarqiya, near Ramallah.

Since the start of the siege, there have also been numerous solidarity
demonstrations and actions throughout the world. To list only some of
those reported on Indymedia sites...

Israel
END SIEGE ON GAZA ?? ????? ?? ???
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8393/index.php

Germany

Protests for Gaza in Berlin and Tel Aviv (censored on German IMC)
https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/392951.html

Round-up of protests in US

New York City
7-18: Photos: No War on Lebanon and Gaza protest at Israeli Mission to UN
 http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/07/73342.html
 http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2006/07/73366.html

Chicago, Illniois
7-14: Photos: Hundreds Protest Outside Israeli Consulate - Chicago
 http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/73048/index.php

7-17: Photos: Counterprotest Decries Israeli Racism, Brutality
 http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/73092/index.php

San Francisco, California
7-13: Photos: Protest Outside Israeli Consulate - San Francisco
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/13/18287678.php
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/13/18287697.php
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/13/18287721.php
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/13/18287746.php
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/15/18288284.php

7-13: Video: Protest Outside Israeli Consulate
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/14/18287917.php

7-17: Photos: Bay Area Jews Protest Israel's Attacks on Gaza and Lebanon
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/17/18288908.php
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/17/18289054.php
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/17/18289001.php
 http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/17/18289029.php

Houston, Texas
7-17: Photos: More than 100 Protest Israeli Agression in Houston
 http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2006/07/50454.php
 http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2006/07/50447.php
 http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2006/07/50463.php

Dearborn, Michigan
7-18: Dearborn Antiwar Protest: 10,000 unite for Lebanon
 http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006607190396

7-14: Hundreds in metro Detroit protest Israeli attacks ( Detroit Free Press)
 http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060714/NEWS99/60714015

Boston
Boston Area Communities Protest Deadly Israeli Assault on Gaza
http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/189612/index.php

Portland

Portlanders protest Gaza Strip bombing
http://portland.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=15074&group=webcast

Washington DC
Hundreds Protest Israeli Siege of Gaza
http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/142248/index.php

Israel’s Barbarism in Lebanon/Gaza Protest
http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2006/07/116887.shtml

St. Petersburg, FL

End the Siege of Gaza! Protest at Baywalk
http://tampabay.indymedia.org/node/134

Seattle

VIDEO Report Back from the End the Siege on Gaza Demonstration
http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2008/02/264953.shtml

London:
End the Siege of Gaza Protest, London 9th February 2008
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/02/391217.html

Ireland:
Stop the Slaughter in Gaza! - Dublin Demo 02.03.08
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86499

Solidarity With Gaza! http://www.indymedia.ie/article/86378

Holland

'Open Gaza' demo in Den Haag http://indymedia.nl/en/2008/02/50368.shtml

On behalf of the Gaza's committee to break the Israeli blockade, Mr.
Janmal aL-Khudari, an independent lawmaker and the committee's chairman,
hailed on Feb 10th underway worldwide solidarity campaigns with the people
of Gaza.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52686

Gaza / Popular Committee Against Siege (PCAS) - The 23rd of February 2008,
Saturday, is the Global day of Actions to end the inhuman Siege imposed on
1.5 million civilians in Gaza Strip.
Around 30 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the two Americas will
be taking part in the protest actions. Tonight throughout the world the
lights will go off for half an  hour in solidarity with the people of
Gaza.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2451&Itemid=28

Some 30 universities from Britain are being joined by others throughout
the world in protesting Israeli policy. This is the largest grouping in
history of the annual “Israeli Apartheid Week,” supporting Palestinian
rights. The campaign coincides with the passage of 60 years of Al Nakba,
the Catastrophe, which was the creation of the Israeli state. “It is also
coming at a time that the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip is being
accepted by the international community, and when the Zionist entity that
lives on killing and ethnic cleansing must have its mask removed.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2399&Itemid=28

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