KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov 22 (IPS) – On the morning of 11 November, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the Director of Gaza’s largest medical center, Al Shifa Hospital, sent out an emotional S.O.S. to the world through a television news interview and through the remaining charge on his mobile phone. His plea for an immediate ceasefire on behalf of a hospital under siege and its 700 critically injured and ill patients, 36 premature babies, 400 staff, and the 2000 vulnerable civilians. These people sheltering within the hospital and its garden were heard as far away as Afghanistan yet totally ignored where it counted most- with the men in Israel’s war cabinet and Washington; they were busy executing and aiding an illegal war of choice on an unarmed, defenseless hospital and one of the poorest and densely populated places in the world.
Like the Palestinians, Afghans have experienced the cruelty of armed conflict and occupation for decades. They know the painful cost of the endless wars waged by those who so casually destroy innocent lives in exchange for more power, revenge, or, as in the case of America’s post-9/11 response to Afghanistan, delusion that war can somehow defeat terrorism. In 2015, a U.S. gunship fired hundreds of shells into an M.S.F. trauma hospital in Kunduz, in northeastern Afghanistan because it had intelligence that Taliban fighters were based at the same location.
Like Al Shifa Hospital’s S.O.S., those M.S.F. staff who survived the initial shelling desperately called military authorities in the area to call off the attack. Shelling continued for nearly an hour, and by the time it stopped, 34 men, women, children, patients, nurses, doctors, and M.S.F. support staff were killed, and dozens more seriously injured. Another casualty of the attack was the community. Before the hospital was destroyed, it had served as a lifeline for civilians wounded by the war raging around them but also as the only specialized surgical hospital in the region. It took six years for the hospital to reopen.
Between 2001 and the day U.S. Forces chaotically left Afghanistan twenty years later, nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians were killed as a direct result of the U.S. and Coalition military occupation. Brown University’s The Cost of War Project and other independent sources, such as the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, have determined that the scope of direct and indirect deaths through injury, malnutrition, poor water sanitation, infectious disease, pregnancy and birth-related risks, and cancers left untreated as a result of destroyed public services and infrastructure. The U.S. led post 9-11 total civilian death toll in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Libya was an unfathomable 4 million people and a staggering 40 million people displaced by the fighting.
Despite the lingering scars of war and the dire humanitarian crisis facing Afghans today, the hearts of Afghans are with Gazans and with all those citizens of the world from Washington DC to London, Mexico City to Istanbul, who are crying out for a cease-fire and sense of humanity to prevail amidst world leaders. This heartbreaking, cruel moment transcends borders.
The collective punishment of the Palestinian people by Israel in retaliation for the actions of Hamas, with the unconditional diplomatic backing and financial and military support of the United States and many European nations, is now a collective pain felt across the world, irrespective of nationality, religion, ethnicity, or class.
When President Biden visited Israel on 18 October, he said, “I caution this: While you feel rage, don’t be consumed by it…After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.” Instead, Washington, the U.K., and E.U. leaders have wasted precious time and lives arguing for humanitarian pauses while giving Israel the green light to continue its slaughter of civilians throughout the Gaza Strip.
The scope of the human catastrophe so far could have been prevented had President Biden backed up his advice to Israel with immediate humanitarian action for the Palestinian people and support through the several law enforcement and diplomatic options at Israel’s disposal to expedite the release of the 240 Israeli hostages and reinforce Israel’s border security from further Hamas attacks.
In the face of such inhumanity, President Biden’s ultimate mistake now would be continuing to ignore his advice to Israel. As Yonatan Zeigen, the son of 74 Vivian Silver, a lifelong peace activist, murdered by Hamas at Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th, said this week, “Israel won’t cure our dead babies by killing more babies.”
It has been 12 brutal days and nights since those in power ignored the S.O.S. by the director of Al-Shifa Hospital. The I.D.F. forces stormed the hospital soon after the director’s urgent humanitarian appeal to the world. All of Al Shifa’s 22 intensive care patients have died, and another 30 patients, including three premature babies, have also died. Mohammed Abu Salmiya made another call to the world. This time, he said Al Shifa was “no longer a hospital but a graveyard” and reminded world leaders that civilians and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals are protected by international law and, if not the law, then by one’s sense of decency and humanity. So far, the response to Al Shifa’s Director from Washington and some E.U. members continues to be a surge in lethal military aid to Israel.
The four-day humanitarian pause Qatar just announced needs to be reinforced by American and European demands on Israel for a definitive end to hostilities. The devastation of lives and infrastructure in Gaza is so vast and traumatic that a humanitarian pause immediately followed by a resumption of attacks on civilians by Israel and retaliations by Hamas will only lead to an abyss of more suffering for both Palestinians and Israelis and escalate the risk for a broader regional war.
If only Western leaders, starting with President Biden, had as much courage as the director, staff, and patients of Al Shifa Hospital and the loved ones of those killed at Kibbutz Be’eri on 7 October.
Unlike in Afghanistan, the time to stop the war is now, not after twenty years.
Melek Zahine is a humanitarian affairs and disaster management specialist with over 30 years of experience working in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and the Balkans.
Aya, a 5-year-old girl clutching her doll to ease her fear, gazes at Gaza’s sky filled with warplanes from inside an UNRWA school in the Gaza Strip. Credit: UNRWA
by Joyce Chimbi (nairobi)
Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Nov 20 (IPS) – As the global community marks World Children’s Day, every child should be guaranteed their rights, including those in the Gaza Strip, where heavy bombardment and military operations by Israel have killed more than 11,000 people, 40 percent of them children.
“Under international humanitarian laws and the Safe Schools Declaration, civilians—in particular children, schools, and school personnel—must be protected. What we are seeing in this conflict are bombs pounding the most densely populated area on earth, schools and other civilian infrastructures being attacked, and an entire population being trapped in the most dire conditions, with no safe place to flee to. Surviving children are maimed, orphaned, or have lost close and extended family. Horrors of unimaginable proportion are unfolding before our eyes,” Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, the UN global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, tells IPS.
“No child can or should have to be prepared for what is happening in Gaza. Children and adolescents are hurting and traumatized. According to UNRWA, initial assessments in October showed that at least 91 percent of children are demonstrating signs of acute stress and trauma and are in need of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).”
According to the UN, children account for nearly half of the population in Gaza. More than 625,000 students and 22,564 teachers have been affected as attacks continue. At least 86 percent of school buildings are either being used as shelters for the displaced population, catering for up to four times their capacity, or have been destroyed.
Camilla Lodi, Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Global Psychosocial Support Head of the Better Learning Programme, told IPS the impact of war on children was devastating.
“When children experience conflict, war, and displacement, they go through personal, ongoing life threats—constantly witnessing violence and its effects. Prolonged exposure to such traumatic events increases the risk of complications in processing trauma. When the fighting stops, the journey to recovery starts for children and adults who have gone through high levels of stress and trauma. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) is not a luxury but a necessity. It helps regain a sense of normalcy,” she said.
“NRC works specifically on a psychosocial support program within broader education in emergency interventions. Simply, children cannot learn unless they feel well and safe. MHPSS is an essential, necessary, and mandatory intervention that should be embedded in every education in emergency programs. The Better Learning Programme (BLP) is NRC’s signature non-specialized classroom-based psychosocial support intervention that helps restore learning capacities for children that have gone through trauma and high levels of stress.”
The program has been at the forefront of providing immediate and long-term critical care and psychosocial support for more than a decade, investing in children’s futures in 33 countries, such as Ukraine, Sudan, and Palestine. Lodi stresses that MHPSS is critical in crises and emergencies.
Sherif stresses that as homes and schools lie in ruin in this high-level stress cycle, surviving children are at risk of severe lifelong mental health problems. A life of debilitating chronic anxiety, depression, and various degrees of trauma now beckons for more than 224 million children and adolescents in conflict and crises globally. She adds that Education Cannot Wait, which supports education programs for children in over 40 countries affected by emergencies and protracted crises, has included MHPSS as a core component of all its country-level investments since 2020. This includes support for the NRC’s Better Learning Programme.
“ECW has prioritized MHPSS to protect and promote students’ and teachers’ well-being, as mental health is the foundation of learning. We have a target to invest at least 10 percent of our resources for mental health and psychosocial support services,” says Sherif.
ECW recently announced a $10 million 12-month grant in support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and UNICEF to provide children in Gaza with life-saving mental health and psychosocial support.
“For Gaza specifically, it is a humanitarian catastrophe defined by a relentless cycle of violence. Past research within the Better Learning Programme found that 1093 students (6–17 years of age) who sought help for nightmares and sleep disturbances reported recurrent traumatic nightmares on average 4.57 nights per week, with an average duration of 2.82 years,” Lodi says.
“We always talk about the cost of inaction. Neglecting MHPSS can result in five significant risks, notably the perpetuation of cycles of violence and trauma. As a conflict concludes, the suffering and psychological impact on children commence and, if left unaddressed, can endure throughout their lives. This neglect also results in the loss of educational and developmental milestones, increasing susceptibility to mental health disorders. Additionally, the diminishing sense of community connectedness, a stabilizer for peace, is compromised. There is also an economic fallout, as increased healthcare costs and long-term productivity losses contribute to a substantial financial and economic impact.”
Lodi stresses that no child should pay the price of adults’ conflict and that a ceasefire is urgent to help re-establish a sense of safety and predictability and for children to resume recreational play and education activities in a safe environment, which will allow a safe break for their body in “emergency, flight mode.”
“The catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza cannot continue. All parties must respect the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, and universal human rights. I join my colleagues in the United Nations’ call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire now,” says Sherif.
If soul-shattering human suffering is not halted and safety restored, Sherif says our moral standing as an international community will be questioned by the young generation today and for generations to come. How can we make promises to children in crisis during this World Children’s Day, whose theme is For Every Child, Every Right? Children everywhere in the world, including more than 224 million crisis-affected children, deserve every right and promise delivered despite, and especially because, of their hardships.
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 17 (IPS) – As one of America’s closest allies, Israel has remained heavily dependent on the US —politically, economically, and militarily—since its creation in 1948.
US arms supplies, mostly provided gratis, are channeled via US Foreign Military Financing (FMF), Military Assistance Program (MAP) and Excess Defense Articles (EDA).
According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the US has provided more foreign assistance to Israel since World War II than to any other country.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) documented that the United States supplied 79 percent of all weapons transferred to Israel from 2018-2022.
No one else was even close – the next closest suppliers were Germany with 20 percent and Italy with just 0.2 percent.
A Fact Sheet released October 2023, by the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, provides a detailed official breakdown on the unrestrained American security assistance to Israel.
Steadfast support for Israel’s security has been a cornerstone of American foreign policy for every U.S. Administration since the presidency of Harry S. Truman.
Since Israel’s founding in 1948, the State Department said, the United States has provided Israel with over $130 billion in bilateral assistance focused on addressing new and complex security threats, bridging Israel’s capability gaps through security assistance and cooperation, increasing interoperability through joint exercises, and helping Israel maintain its Qualitative Military Edge (QME).
This assistance, says the State Department, has helped transform the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into “one of the world’s most capable, effective militaries and turned the Israeli military industry and technology sector into one of the largest exporters of military capabilities worldwide.”
In the current war, Israel’s overwhelming fire power has resulted in the killings of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the destruction of entire cities—mostly with US supplied weapons.
Dr. Natalie J. Goldring, a Visiting Professor of the Practice in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, told IPS the October 7 Hamas attacks were horrendous acts and should be condemned as such.
“Even so, the Israeli responses to those attacks have been indiscriminate – intentionally so,” she said.
Two days after the Hamas attacks, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant declared that Israel would carry out a “complete siege” of Gaza, including blocking the supply of water, food, and fuel, while also stopping the supply of electricity. And Israeli forces have done so, she pointed out.
“The US government bears a special responsibility for the continuing Israeli attacks. It has supplied Israel with massive quantities of military aid and weaponry, and Israel has ignored US restrictions on the use of those weapons”.
This supply of weapons and ammunition allows the Israeli military to continue its indiscriminate attacks in Gaza,” said Dr Goldring, who also represents the Acronym Institute at the United Nations, on conventional weapons and arms trade issues.
“A key first step in reducing the human cost of this war is for the US government to call for an immediate ceasefire. The US government should also halt supplies of weapons and ammunition to Israel, whether from the US itself or from prepositioned stocks elsewhere.”
Since 1983, the United States and Israel have met regularly via the Joint Political-Military Group (JPMG) to promote shared policies, address common threats and concerns, and identify new areas for security cooperation.
According to the State Department, Israel is the leading global recipient of Title 22 U.S. security assistance under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program. This has been formalized by a 10-year (2019-2028) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Consistent with the MOU, the United States annually provides $3.3 billion in FMF and $500 million for cooperative programs for missile defense. Since FY 2009, the United States has provided Israel with $3.4 billion in funding for missile defense, including $1.3 billion for Iron Dome support starting in FY 2011.
Through FMF, the United States provides Israel with access to some of the most advanced military equipment in the world, including the F-35 Stealth fighter aircraft.
Israel is eligible for Cash Flow Financing and is authorized to use its annual FMF allocation to procure defense articles, services, and training through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system, Direct Commercial Contract agreements – which are FMF-funded Direct Commercial Sales procurements – and through Off Shore Procurement (OSP).
Via OSP the current MOU allows Israel to spend a portion of its FMF on Israeli-origin rather than U.S.-origin defense articles. This was 25 percent in FY 2019 but is set to phase-out and decrease to zero in FY 2028.
Elaborating further Dr Goldring said: “Unfortunately, the situation in Gaza bears similarities to the documented uses of US weapons by the Saudi-led coalition in attacks on civilians in Yemen”
She said: “Our response should be the same in both cases. These countries have failed to honor the conditions of US weapons transfers, and should be ineligible for further transfers until they are in compliance.”
“US arms transfer decision-making gives too much weight to the judgment of government officials and politicians who frequently fail to consider the full human costs of these transfers,” she argued.
“Earlier this year, the Biden Administration released a new Conventional Arms Transfer policy. They claimed that arms transfers would not be approved when their analysis concluded that “it is more likely than not” that the arms transferred would be used to commit or facilitate the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.”
The actions of the Israeli and Saudi militaries are examples of ways in which this standard is not being met, declared Dr Goldring.
As of October 2023, the United States has 599 active Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases, valued at $23.8 billion, with Israel. FMS cases notified to Congress are listed here; priority initiatives include: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft; CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopters; KC-46A Aerial Refueling Tankers; and precision-guided munitions.
From FY 2018 through FY 2022, the U.S. has also authorized the permanent export of over $5.7billion in defense articles to Israel via the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) process.
The top categories of DCS to Israel were XIX-Toxicological Agents, including Chemical Agents, Biological Agents, and Associated Equipment (this includes detection equipment ((f)), vaccines ((g)-(h)) and modeling software ((i)); IV- Launch Vehicles, Guided Missiles, Ballistic Missiles, Rockets, Torpedoes, Bombs, and Mines; and VII- Aircraft.
Since 1992, the United States has provided Israel with $6.6 billion worth of equipment under the Excess Defense Articles program, including weapons, spare parts, weapons, and simulators.
U.S. European Command also maintains in Israel the U.S. War Reserve Stockpile, which can be used to boost Israeli defenses in the case of a significant military emergency.
In addition to security assistance and arms sales, the United States participates in a variety of exchanges with Israel, including military exercises like Juniper Oak and Juniper Falcon, as well as joint research, and weapons development.
The United States and Israel have signed multiple bilateral defense cooperation agreements, to include: a Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement (1952); a General Security of Information Agreement (1982); a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (1991); and a Status of Forces Agreement (1994), according to the State Department.
Since 2011, the United States has also invested more than $8 million in Conventional Weapons Destruction programs in the West Bank to improve regional and human security through the survey and clearance of undisputed minefields.
Following years of negotiations with the Palestinians and Israelis, humanitarian mine action activities began in April 2014 – this represents the first humanitarian clearance of landmine contamination in nearly five decades.
Israel has also been designated as a U.S. Major Non-NATO Ally under U.S. law. This status provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation and is a powerful symbol of their close relationship with the United States.
Thalif Deen was a former Senior Defense Analyst at Forecast International, Military Editor Middle East/Africa at Jane’s Information Group and Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services.
SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Nov 17 (IPS) – Two centuries ago, Percy Shelley wrote that “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Yet elite power has routinely vetoed their best measures. Still, the ability of poetry to inspire and nurture is precious, including when governments are on protracted killing sprees.
In Gaza, more than 11,000 civilians have been killed since early October. Children are perishing at an average rate of 10 deaths per hour. The ongoing slaughter by Israeli forces — supported by huge military aid from the United States — follows Hamas’s atrocities on Oct. 7 in Israel, where the latest estimate of the death toll is 1,200 including at least 846 civilians in addition to some 200 hostages.
But numbers don’t get us very far in human terms. And news accounts have limited capacities to connect with real emotions.
That’s where poetry can go far beyond where journalism fails. A few words from a poet might chip away at the frozen blocks that support illegitimate power. And we might gain strength from the clarity that a few lines can bring.
In a murderous time the heart breaks and breaks and lives by breaking. It is necessary to go through dark and deeper dark and not to turn.
“In a dark time,” Theodore Roethke wrote, “the eye begins to see.”
Bob Dylan wrote lines that could now be heard as addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden:
You fasten all the triggers For the others to fire Then you sit back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion While the young people’s blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud
I was born a Black woman and now I am become a Palestinian against the relentless laughter of evil there is less and less living room and where are my loved ones?
In the United States, far away from the carnage, viewers and listeners and readers can easily prefer not to truly see that “their” government is helping Israel to keep killing thousands upon thousands of Palestinian children and other civilians. “I call it cruel and maybe the root of all cruelty / to know what occurs but not recognize the fact,” a poem by William Stafford says.
From Pink Floyd:Don’t accept that what’s happening Is just a case of others’ suffering Or you’ll find that you’re joining in The turning away . . . . Just a world that we all must share It’s not enough just to stand and stare Is it only a dream that there’ll be No more turning away?
Franz Kafka wrote: “You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.”
Norman Solomon is national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is the author of many books including War Made Easy. His latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, was published in summer 2023 by The New Press.
More than half of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip are closed. Those still functioning are under massive strain and can only provide very limited life-saving surgeries and intensive care services. Credit: WHO
by Martin Griffith (geneva, switzerland)
Inter Press Service
GENEVA, Switzerland, Nov 16 (IPS) – The reason I wanted to speak to you was to outline something very specific about Gaza, of course, which is about the approach being taken and planned by the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies to provide aid to Gaza.
A very specific thing – and the reason why I wanted to talk about this is because, of course – there have been allegations from certain quarters that we aren’t ready, that we don’t have the trucks, that we don’t have the fuel, why shouldn’t we use safe zones, and so forth. So, this is intended to demonstrate and to give some details, and I know that you’ve seen some of this already, of the approach that we plan to do.
Now, number one, we plan to follow the standard experience and procedures that humanitarian agencies have had all over the world. This is not new in itself. The extent of the suffering is insufferable, but the approach of humanitarian agencies, depending on the requirements of international humanitarian aid and support, is going to be the same in Gaza as it might be in Ukraine, in Sudan or elsewhere.
And I will describe what that might look like. And I’m saying this obviously in the context of the increasing flow of population down from the north to the south of Gaza. Clearly that’s the perspective. That’s the context in which I’m speaking.
More than half of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip are closed. Those still functioning are under massive strain and can only provide very limited life-saving surgeries and intensive care services. Credit: WHO
So, I’ll go through these 10 points:
First of all, to facilitate the agencies’ efforts to bring in a continuous flow of aid convoys safely. The key word here is “continuous.” Aid needs to be reliable, on the day, on the next day, on the next week. People need to know that there will be aid coming tomorrow or the next day. They need to know that they have time to consume these supplies because more is coming at the next moment.
Number two: Crucial, crucial for the logistics – is to open additional crossing points for aid and commercial trucks to enter into Gaza, including Kerem Shalom from Israel. Now, much has been made of the importance of the need to provide opportunities for commercial aid to get into Gaza. By the way, once again, that’s a very common feature of the aspects of an urgent humanitarian program. Sudan was exactly the same, we had very similar points made in the early days, you remember the evacuation from Khartoum.
But it’s particularly important in Gaza because of the total dependency of a population which cannot move outside the territory. So more crossing points, including that Kerem Shalom, which used to carry more than 60 per cent of the truckloads going through before this conflict, this recent conflict started. So please, Kerem Shalom. Please Israel, give us that for our crossing point.
Next, allow the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations access to fuel. Now, you’ve heard a lot about the need for fuel. I believe Philippe Lazzarini has also issued a (statement) this afternoon, saying that they received about 24,000 litres of fuel. I just want to say a couple of words on fuel, probably to repeat what you’ve heard elsewhere.
Number three, fuel is the driver of so many aspects of the humanitarian response. It’s the driver of desalination. It’s the driver of electricity. It’s the driver of effective hospitals. It’s the driver of trucks that will go from Rafah on entry to the distribution points. The 24,000 litres – most welcome, no question about it – is not enough to provide the fuel that we need daily to get to the whole of Gaza.
My understanding is that to cover the whole of the Gazan territory and therefore all of the people in need, we would need about 200,000 liters a day. Now, this has been happening for years. UNRWA has extensive experience in this. UNOPS has extensive experience also in helping make the distribution of fuel. And we understand the need for monitoring.
But the idea that we have been pursuing daily and nightly in negotiation with Israel, Egypt, and with the assistance of the United States, is to replenish the stocks in the UNRWA depot near Rafah and then take it from there to be used by trucks going around Gaza to where people are able to be.
Number four: This is bedrock, of course: enable humanitarian organizations to deliver aid throughout Gaza without impediment or interference. I haven’t witnessed in my many, many decades of dealing with war, an occasion on which so much attention is being paid to the requirements of international humanitarian law, otherwise called the rules of war.
One of them is to allow people to go where they decide to go, they will decide where they’re safe. They will decide when they want to move and not move. And the same goes for us – that we need safety to deliver aid to wherever those people go.
Number five: Allow us – humanitarian organizations – to expand the number of safe shelters for displaced people in schools and other public facilities across Gaza. This is an absolutely central part of UNRWA’s preparedness – UNRWA, which thank God for UNRWA, is in existence and is still the buffer between survival and tragedy for so many people in Gaza. And it needs the opportunity to expand the number of safe shelters across the south.
For example, it could take an agreement with the Palestinian Authority to use PA schools to expand shelters for those fleeing south. We’ve all heard about the way in which UNRWA institutions, schools, hospitals and elsewhere are flooded with IDPs .
We need to expand the numbers of such institutions in the south. I’m not saying that all the people will go all to these shelters where we raise the UN flag to say, this is a UN-protected institution. But it gives us at least a little bit more chance to help people be safe.
Number six: Improve a humanitarian notification mechanism. I expect it’s familiar to most of you. But in all countries in conflict – whether it’s Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, where I spent a lot of time, and indeed Gaza – for many, many years, the humanitarian community has used a notification system, a humanitarian notification system, to deconflict specific places which are protected, either protected under humanitarian law – like hospitals, schools and other places – or to tell the parties this is where we will be moving, from A to B to C, to deliver aid.
We notify the parties, whether it’s in Ukraine, or Gaza or elsewhere, of what our plans are, so that they are on notice not to attack us, to allow what humanitarian law again requires: the safe passage of humanitarian assistance.
Number seven: Part of the approach, in the south, is to set up, establish and work from relief distribution hubs. There will be people who take shelter, as I have already referred to, who can receive aid directly where they are. There will be other people who are in houses or moving around or other places to live in.
And we will need distribution hubs to which they can come or from which we can go to deliver food, medical supplies and other items to them on a continuous basis. I spent some time in the last year in Ukraine, for example, where these distribution hubs, especially through the winter, were key, the key part of a humanitarian operation. It should be no different in Gaza.
Number eight: Fundamental – allow civilians to move to safer areas and to voluntarily return to their residences in the north, if they so desire. The freedom of movement of civilians in war is a fundamental privilege and requirement of international humanitarian law. You will have seen various statements of my colleagues in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee about the idea of safe zones, opposing the idea of safe zones.
The United Nations has a history on safe zones. We remember Srebrenica, we remember what happened then, and we know the requirements – legally and operationally – to make a zone safe, including, by the way, for example, that all parties should agree to this being a safe zone. So, we are not enthusiastic about such safe zones. But we also insist that, in any case, it is not for us or others to decide where people should go.
They should decide, if they want to decide to go to where is designated and is proposed as a safe zone, let it be. Let it be their decision, and we will, of course, provide assistance to them there. But we will not be part of an establishment of a safe zone which does not meet the requirements that we have found, through our own bitter experience, so demanding.
Number nine: Funding, boring as it is, $1.2 billion of an emergency appeal for the operation. I think we are into million so far. I was talking yesterday to Lynn Hastings, the Humanitarian Coordinator, based in Jerusalem, for the Occupied Territory, and I was asking her the question you write, which is: What do you really need now? She said fuel, money – money to fund the operation. We have incidentally around 460 trucks in Al Arish, in Rafah area, ready to go in.
And I am very grateful to hear today through the Secretary-General himself, that the Israeli Government has decided, and we thank them, not to put a cap on the number of trucks going in. We have the trucks, we need the fuel, and we need the money to fund the delivery. And then we can do the job that we are there to do.
Finally: Implement a humanitarian ceasefire. There has been a huge, huge discussion, particularly in the Security Council and elsewhere, on the difference between truces and hudnas and pauses and ceasefire. I have spent 50 years dealing with different words to describe something which is essentially very, very simple: Silence the guns. Stop the fighting to allow the people to move safely.
Do it for as long as possible. Allow them to move safely on their own, not hindered and not pushed. And silence those guns long enough to give the people of Gaza a breather from the terrible, terrible things that have been put on them these last few weeks. This is very, very important.
So, these points together constitute for us an approach which we are applying – it’s been going for some time – which we are applying for Gaza and we would apply elsewhere, if for example, the Occupied Territory became severely afflicted.
It’s not new. It won’t be perfect. It will be messy. It requires from the parties an adherence to humanitarian law and humanity. It requires from the international community funding urgently and quickly and requires from us and my colleagues the courage, which I think they have shown amply in these last few weeks, to go where others would not, but where the Gazans are and where they need their presence.
This article is based on a press briefing in Geneva on 15 November 2023.
Martin Griffiths is UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
Source: Reported estimates from various sources with links provided in text.
Opinion by Joseph Chamie (portland, usa)
Inter Press Service
PORTLAND, USA, Nov 14 (IPS) – Tragically, the numbers of deaths of men, women and children in Israel and the Gaza Strip have surged to unprecedented levels following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
After more than a month of fighting, the reported numbers of deaths are evolving and being constantly revised and updated as the war has continued.
The estimated numbers of deaths between 7 October and 13 November provide a preliminary assessment of the extent of the death toll for Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as well as for others (Table 1).
Source: Reported estimates from various sources with links provided in text.
According to the Israeli officials, the revised number of Israeli deaths – with about 70 percent of them having been identified as civilians – resulting from the Hamas attack in southern Israel is estimated at approximately 1,200.
Those killed in Israel on 7 October also include some foreigners and dual nationals. At least 31 U.S. citizens, 39 French citizens and 34 Thai citizens were killed during the attacks, according to authorities in those countries. The Israeli military has also reported that 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed during the 7 October attack.
On the 7 October attack, Israeli authorities have reported that more than 240 individuals from more than 40 countries, including young children and the elderly, were taken hostage and believed to be held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.
An estimated 20 hostages are reported to have subsequently died as a result of the conflict. In addition to those estimated deaths, at least 46 Israeli soldiers are reported to have been killed in combat since the ground invasion began.
With a total population of approximately 9.8 million, the Israeli death rate resulting from the current Israel-Hamas conflict is approximately 13 deaths per 100,000 population.
In response to the 7 October Hamas attack, the death toll in the Gaza Strip from Israeli military operations is estimated as of 13 November at 11,240 Palestinians with an estimated 4,630 being children, according to health officials in Gaza.
However, the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip could even be higher than being cited, given its dense confines and with approximately 2,700 people reported missing.
With an estimated total population of 2.2 million in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian death rate for the population of Gaza due to the Israeli-Hamas conflict is approximately 510 deaths per 100,000 population.
Besides the Israeli and Palestinian deaths in Israel and Gaza since 7 October, others have been killed. Nearly 200 Palestinians in the West Bank are reported to have been killed amid an increase in Israeli military raids and incursions.
Also, 101 employees of the United Nations have been killed since the Israeli-Hamas war began, according to the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA). The agency stressed that it is the deadliest conflict ever for the United Nations in such a short period of time.
In addition, at least 42 journalists and media workers reporting on the conflict have been killed.
The various estimated numbers of deaths resulting from the Israel-Hamas conflict that are presented above continue to be revised and updated. After the current Israel-Hamas hostilities have concluded, a comprehensive assessment will be necessary to provide a more accurate and detailed picture of those who have died as a result of the conflict.
Tragically, the death toll resulting from the Israel-Hamas conflict is already too high. As some have remarked, far too many have been killed and far too many have suffered from this current round of fighting. Also importantly, as many around the world are urging, the time for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate “???????“ ,“????”, or a “peace” solution is now.
Joseph Chamie is a consulting demographer, a former director of the United Nations Population Division and author of numerous publications on population issues, including his recent book, “Population Levels, Trends, and Differentials”.
NEW YORK, Nov 13 (IPS) – Unless Israel establishes an exit strategy and an end-game that will lead to a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in full coordination with the US and Saudi Arabia, the war against Hamas will only be another brutal violent episode that will prepare the ground for the next conflagration that will engulf the West Bank and potentially set the entire region on fire.
What Is Israel’s End-Game in Gaza?
As the Israel-Hamas war grinds on, the international call for a ceasefire or at a minimum a pause in the fighting for a couple of days to allow for the delivery of badly needed necessities is absolutely essential at this juncture. It is glaringly evident that there is growing international sympathy towards the Palestinians, given the magnitude of destruction and loss of life.
This humanitarian crisis of such incredible scale is overshadowing the unconscionable slaughter of 1,400 people in Israel and the kidnapping of 248 others. Sadly though, although Israel has the right to self-defense, the campaign to eradicate Hamas is increasingly resembling a war of revenge and retribution. It has caused tremendous destruction and human suffering.
After only four weeks, nearly 11,000 in Gaza are dead, one-third of them children under the age of 18, there is a horrifying scarcity of food, medicine, water, and fuel, and nearly half the population is now internally displaced.
This calamity is unfolding in front of our eyes and must stop, even temporarily, to help save the lives of many of the tens of thousands who are wounded, bury the dead, and avert wide-spread starvation. And even though a temporary cessation of hostilities benefits Hamas, it is still worth undertaking not only to alleviate the horrifying suffering of the entire population in Gaza, but also to open a window for negotiating the release of as many hostages as possible, especially all women and children, in exchange for the pause in fighting.
Whereas Israel’s stated goal from the onset was and still justifiably is the destruction of Hamas, Israel has not offered as yet any clear exit strategy nor endgame. Once Hamas is completely defeated, which is still a tall order, Israel with the support of the US and Saudi Arabia in particular will have to offer a sound alternative that meets the Palestinians’ aspiration and render Hamas irrelevant.
President Biden should demand that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his military brass develop, in coordination with the US, a clear exit strategy and an end-game consistent with Israel’s, the Palestinians’, and the US’ national interests.
The protests that have taken place across major cities in the US over the weekend, including Washington, DC, are arguably some of the biggest that we’ve seen in a long time. These calls for a ceasefire or a pause in the fighting for humanitarian reasons are exerting pressure on Biden to change his near-unconditional support of Israel’s war efforts, which he can no longer ignore. This is particularly important because the US’ unwavering support of Israel makes the Biden administration complicit to the unfolding tragedy, which is intensely criticized from the ranks of leading Democrats as well.
What should be the end game? I believe there are three possible scenarios, two of which are impractical in a sense that they will not lead to a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli control over Gaza
First, Netanyahu is claiming that he wants to maintain security over Gaza, but he’s not saying who will govern and administer the Strip. Does he want to reoccupy all of Gaza or just the northern half, which may explain why he wanted the Palestinians to head south. President Biden is very correct to suggest that the reoccupation of Gaza, be that in part or in full, will be nothing short of a disaster for Israel and will only guarantee the prolongation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Moreover, it should be emphasized here that given Israel’s experience in the occupied West Bank, maintaining security was only marginally successful at best as evidenced by the continuing violence between Israeli forces and Palestinians, which has been increasingly escalating.
Netanyahu is a fool to assume that he can maintain control over Gaza by establishing a security apparatus when the Hamas-affiliated militants in Gaza will subject the Israeli forces to terrorist attacks that will exact a heavy toll in blood and treasure. The violence in the West Bank will pale in comparison to what Hamas’ militants in Gaza will still be capable of doing against Israeli forces without an end in sight.
Resettling Palestinians in Egypt
The second option, which Netanyahu has been exploring with Egypt, would allow the settling of a few hundred thousand Palestinians in the Sinai; Egypt would assume administrative responsibility in Gaza while Israel maintains security. Egyptian President Sisi flatly rejected any future involvement with the Palestinians in Gaza, other than facilitating through the Rafah crossing the passage of people for justifiable reasons as well as the transfer of goods.
The Egyptian government considers Hamas a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is outlawed in Egypt. For this reason, Egypt has also blockaded Gaza to prevent the infiltration of Hamas militants into the country.
Moreover, Egypt has troubles of its own. The economy is in a dire situation, and its concerns over security are mounting. Egypt simply does not want to add more to its domestic problems. Thus, they are not interested in any solution that will burden them with the Palestinians. That said, President Sisi was clear that regardless of how this war ends, a framework for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be established, otherwise it will be only a question of time when this war will invite another.
Transitional period for Gaza with UN supervision
The third option may well be more viable as it would entail a transitional period whereby the United Nations would assume responsibility. Administratively, as is well known, UNWRA has been on the ground for decades, providing aid and development services, including education, healthcare, microfinance, and job training.
Although it has not been involved in the running of Gaza itself, UNWRA is very familiar with the scene in Gaza. It is familiar with the population’s needs, the prevailing socio-economic conditions, and the day-to-day problems Gazans face. UNWRA is in the best possible position to assume greater responsibility under a modified and expanded mandate, provided that it receives the manpower and the funding necessary.
In conjunction with UNWRA’s added administrative responsibilities, it will be necessary to establish a peacekeeping force to be in charge of security. This force ought to be comprised exclusively of the Arab states that are at peace with Israel, namely the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and Morocco, as well as Egypt.
It should be made clear that although post-Hamas the West Bank and Gaza should be governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA), this should not and in fact cannot happen for at least a year to 18 months following the establishment of a UN administrative authority in Gaza.
During this period, the Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza would prepare themselves politically for a new election. The current PA is corrupt to the bone; President Abbas is rejected and despised by the majority of Palestinians and must go. Only a new, fresh, and uncorrupt newly-elected leadership that enjoys the confidence of the people can succeed.
On the Israeli side, no one should hold their breath waiting for Netanyahu and his gang of zealous coalition partners to agree on anything that even resembles an independent Palestinian state. Once the war ends, Netanyahu will face an inquiry about the unprecedented disaster that took place under his watch and he will have to resign or be ousted. Here too, a new government will have to be established in Israel which must commit itself from the onset to a two-state solution.
Once the above two prerequisites are in place, the UN administrative authority will then relinquish its role and responsibility to the PA.
The Arab states should condition their commitment to provide a peacekeeping force upon Israel’s acceptance of a two-state solution. That is, once such a peacekeeping force is created, the process of peacebuilding ought to commence in earnest toward that end. Any interim solution must be used only as a vehicle toward a final resolution, otherwise it would serve as nothing less than a respite from waiting for another disaster to unfold.
The role of the US and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia and the US can play a major, in fact indispensable, role in this regard: The US has and continues to be the ultimate guarantor of Israel’s national security, and President Biden has done more than any of his predecessors in this regard and demonstrated that in the most unambiguous way by his unflagging support of Israel.
He must make it very clear (and is in a position to do so) to Netanyahu or his successor that the US’ unwavering support bears considerable political cost to America both domestically as well as internationally. Many countries around the world view the US as complicit to the unfolding horror in Gaza. President Biden must put in place a framework for a two-state solution, which he has been advocating for many decades.
The negotiating peace process will certainly take more than year to complete. 2024 is an election year in the US, but regardless of who the next president might be, Biden will have to stick to the plans because another Israeli-Palestinian conflagration will inescapably involve the US. It’s time for the US to put its foot down, no longer give Israel carte blanche to do as it pleases, and condition further support, financial and military, to genuine efforts to negotiate in good faith and reach a peace agreement.
Saudi Arabia can complement the US initiative with its own most significant role by seizing on the breakdown in the Israeli-Palestinian relations and offering an unprecedented breakthrough to bring an end to the conflict. The Saudis should make it clear that once the war ends, they will be ready to normalize relations with Israel on the condition that a new Israeli government agree to a two-state solution and negotiate continuously until an agreement is reached.
This war must end, leaving Hamas dramatically weakened and in disarray. But Hamas’ ultimate defeat will not be on the battlefield, it will be by creating an alternative to Hamas’ governance from which the Palestinians will greatly benefit. That contrast ought to be made clearly and immediately to demonstrate to the Palestinians that Hamas was not only the enemy of Israel but the enemy of ordinary Palestinians. Yes, all Palestinians in Gaza want to live in peace and prosper but were deprived of living a normal life because of Hamas’ violent resistance to Israel, squandering every resource to fight Israel while leaving the people despairing and hopeless.
Israel should not prolong this tragic war by even one unnecessary day. Indeed, if this war lasts another month or two, it is almost certain that 20,000 to 30,000 Palestinians, mostly innocent civilians, and scores of Israeli soldiers will be killed. The continuation of the terrifying death and destruction in Gaza along with Israeli losses will only deepen the hate, enmity, and distrust between Israel and the Palestinians and make a solution to the conflict ever more intractable.
Every Israeli should ask him/herself the painful question: do we want to memorialize the death of 1,400 innocent Israelis butchered by Hamas by killing, however inadvertently, 20,000 Palestinians? Is that how the Israeli victims should be commemorated? This is something that every Israeli needs to think about.
Yes, Israel can and will win every battle against Hamas, but it will lose the war unless a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians begins once the war comes to an end, under the auspices of the US and Saudi Arabia, which must lead to a two-state solution.
For more information on how a sustainable peace agreement based on a two-state solution can be reached, please refer to my essay in World Affairs https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00438200211066350
“The Case for an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian Confederation: Why Now and How?”
Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. [email protected]
Girl stands among the ruins in Gaza. The UNDP warns that the continued war with its loss of life and infrastructure could take years to recover from. Credit: UNICEF/UNI448902/Ajjour
by Naureen Hossain (united nations)
Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 13 (IPS) – One month into the war in Gaza, Palestine has already seen major setbacks in development that will have severe ramifications for the people of Palestine that will impact any future efforts toward its economic recovery.
A new report from UNDP and the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA) has projected the fallout of Palestine’s socioeconomic development as the conflict in Gaza enters its second month. Titled The Gaza War: Expected Socioeconomic Impacts on the State of Palestine, the joint report warns that the loss of life and infrastructure because of the conflict and military siege will have long- and short-term consequences on the entire state and will see a serious regression in development that would take years for the state to recover from.
Since October 7, military operations in the Gaza Strip have caused dramatic downward trajectories in the state’s economy, public infrastructure, and development.
Rola Dashti, the Executive Secretary for UN-ESCWA, remarked on the “unprecedented deprivation of resources” since the conflict escalated. In a press briefing, she warned that this deprivation of resources, including public services, health, utilities, and freedom of movement, are emblematic of multidimensional poverty.
Over 45 percent of housing has been destroyed by bombardments; 35,000 housing units have been totally destroyed, and 212,000 units have been partially damaged. Over 40 percent of education facilities have been destroyed, which has left over 625,000 students with no access to education.
The report estimates that Palestine’s GDP is expected to decline by 4.2 percent within the first month of the war. A further loss of GDP is expected by 8-12 percent if the war continues into the second and third months. The poverty level is also expected to rise to 20-45 percent. These projections were predicted for the duration of the war, going on up to three months. As the economic value is largely centralized in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, it will have a ripple effect across the region. Unemployment in Gaza was already an issue, with a rate of 46 percent, compared to 13 percent at the West Bank. Yet, since the start of the war, around 390,000 jobs have been lost. The continued military involvement has already caused disruptions to trade and the agriculture and tourism sectors.
Other effects of the war, such as a reduction in trade and investments, will only further add to the overall insecurity of the State. There is also the risk that investors will take a more cautious approach when the region displays such volatility. The impact on neighboring countries would be to redirect resources from development to expanding security.
Hospitals have been contending with repeated attacks since the start of the war while keeping operations going as supplies dwindle. Sixteen out of the 35 hospitals in Gaza have been forced to suspend their operations due to fuel shortages. This included Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, the only hospital that was providing maternal health services, where 80 percent of its patients were women and children. On Wednesday night, a spokesperson announced that the hospital would be forced to close down operations due to fuel shortages.
The threat to their safety and disruptions to education, healthcare, housing, and employment have already forcibly displaced over 1.5 million people in Palestine in just one month. The number of fatalities in this current conflict has now exceeded 10,000, including 4,104 children. It stands in stark contrast to the death toll during the major conflict in 2014, which capped at 2251. As Dashti told reporters, “There are faces behind these staggering numbers.”
Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for the Arab States for UNDP Abdallah Al Dadari mourns the loss in overall human development. These compounding losses and setbacks will “bring back to 2005, in terms of development”, he said.
Should a ceasefire be put into effect, even immediately, the time for recovery will be long and complex. Al Dadari remarked that rebuilding the lost infrastructure would be a challenge. He added that efforts toward a “top-down reconstruction” that did not include the participation and consideration of the Palestinian people would have “structural deformities” shortly thereafter. Many of the facilities, including hospitals, support centers, and schools, were established and supported by humanitarian organizations, such as UNRWA. Palestine is dependent on these facilities and on humanitarian assistance.
The UN report concludes that post-war recovery efforts should take a different approach, one that will not only deal with the immediate humanitarian and economic needs of the affected civilians through funding. The root causes of the conflict and the tensions in the region must be addressed, Dashti said. With a guarantee from all involved parties, is there a possibility for what the UN calls sustainable peace?
SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Nov 09 (IPS) – The governments of Israel and the United States are now in disagreement over how many Palestinian civilians it’s okay to kill. Last week — as the death toll from massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza neared 10,000 people, including several thousand children — top U.S. officials began to worry about the rising horrified outcry at home and abroad. So, they went public with muted misgivings and calls for a “humanitarian pause.” But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that he would have none of it.
Such minor tactical discord does little to chip away at the solid bedrock alliance between the two countries, which are most of the way through a 10-year deal that guarantees $38 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel. And now, as the carnage in Gaza continues, Washington is rushing to provide extra military assistance worth $14 billion.
Days ago, In These Times reported that the Biden administration is seeking congressional permission “to unilaterally blanket-approve the future sale of military equipment and weapons — like ballistic missiles and artillery ammunition — to Israel without notifying Congress.” And so, “the Israeli government would be able to purchase up to $3.5 billion in military articles and services in complete secrecy.”
While Israeli forces were using weapons provided by the United States to slaughter Palestinian civilians, resupply flights were landing in Israel courtesy of U.S. taxpayers. Air & Space Forces Magazine published a photo showing “U.S. Air Force Airmen and Israeli military members unload cargo from a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III on a ramp at Nevatim Base, Israel.”
Pictures taken on Oct. 24 show that the military cargo went from Travis Air Force Base in California to Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Israel. Overall, the magazine reported, “the Air Force’s airlift fleet has been steadily working to deliver essential munitions, armored vehicles, and aid to Israel.” And so, the apartheid country is receiving a huge boost to assist with the killing.
The horrific atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7 have opened the door to protracted horrific atrocities by Israel with key assistance from the United States.
Oxfam America has issued a briefing paper decrying the Pentagon’s plans to ship tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells to the Israeli military. The organization noted that “Israel’s use of this munition in past conflicts demonstrates that its use would be virtually assured to be indiscriminate, unlawful, and devastating to civilians in Gaza.”
Oxfam added: “There are no known scenarios in which 155mm artillery shells could be used in Israel’s ground operation in Gaza in compliance with international humanitarian law.”
During the last several weeks, “international humanitarian law” has been a common phrase coming from President Biden while expressing support for Israel’s military actions. It’s an Orwellian absurdity, as if saying the words is sufficient while constantly helping Israel to violate international humanitarian law in numerous ways.
“Israeli forces have used white phosphorus, a chemical that ignites when in contact with oxygen, causing horrific and severe burns, on densely populated neighborhoods,” Human Rights Watch senior legal adviser Clive Baldwin wrote in late October. “White phosphorus can burn down to the bone, and burns to 10 percent of the human body are often fatal.”
Baldwin added: “Israel has also engaged in the collective punishment of Gaza’s population through cutting off food, water, electricity, and fuel. This is a war crime, as is willfully blocking humanitarian relief from reaching civilians in need.”
At the end of last week, the Win Without War organization noted that “senior administration officials are increasingly alarmed by how the Israeli government is conducting its military operations in Gaza, as well as the reputational repercussions of the Biden administration’s support for a collective punishment strategy that clearly violates international law. Many worry that the U.S. will be blamed for the Israeli military’s indiscriminate attacks on civilians, particularly women and children.”
News reporting now tells us that Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken want a bit of a course correction. For them, the steady large-scale killing of Palestinian civilians became concerning when it became a PR problem.
Dressed up in an inexhaustible supply of euphemistic rhetoric and double-talk, such immoral policies are stunning to see in real time. And, for many people in Gaza, literally breathtaking.
Now, guided by political calculus, the White House is trying to persuade Israel’s prime minister to titrate the lethal doses of bombing Gaza. But as Netanyahu has made clear in recent days, Israel is going to do whatever it wants, despite pleas from its patron.
While, in effect, it largely functions in the Middle East as part of the U.S. war machine, Israel has its own agenda. Yet the two governments are locked into shared, long-term, overarching strategic interests in the Middle East that have absolutely no use for human rights except as rhetorical window-dressing.
Biden made that clear last year when he fist-bumped the de facto ruler of oil-rich Saudi Arabia, a dictatorship that — with major U.S. assistance — has led an eight-year war on Yemen costing nearly 400,000 lives.
The war machine needs constant oiling from news media. That requires ongoing maintenance of the doublethink assumption that when Israel terrorizes and kills people from the air, the Israeli Defense Force is fighting “terrorism” without engaging in it.
Another helpful notion in recent weeks has been the presumption that — while Hamas puts out “propaganda” — Israel does not. And so, on Nov. 2, the PBS NewsHour’s foreign affairs correspondent Nick Schifrin reported on what he called “Hamas propaganda videos.”
Fair enough. Except that it would be virtually impossible for mainstream U.S. news media to also matter-of-factly refer to public output from the Israeli government as “propaganda.” (I asked Schifrin for comment, but my several emails and texts went unanswered.)
Whatever differences might surface from time to time, the United States and Israel remain enmeshed. To the power elite in Washington, the bilateral alliance is vastly more important than the lives of Palestinian people. And it’s unlikely that the U.S. government will really confront Israel over its open-ended killing spree in Gaza.
Consider this: Just weeks before beginning her second stint as House speaker in January 2019, Rep. Nancy Pelosi was recorded on video at a forum sponsored by the Israeli American Council as she declared: “I have said to people when they ask me — if this Capitol crumbled to the ground, the one thing that would remain is our commitment to our aid, I don’t even call it aid — our cooperation — with Israel. That’s fundamental to who we are.”
Even making allowances for bizarre hyperbole, Pelosi’s statement is revealing of the kind of mentality that continues to hold sway in official Washington. It won’t change without a huge grassroots movement that refuses to go away.
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is the author of many books including War Made Easy. His latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, was published in summer 2023 by The New Press.
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 09 (IPS) – The killings of thousands of civilians in the ongoing Middle East conflict are largely the result of an uneven battle—a nuclear-armed Israel, equipped with some of the most sophisticated American weapons systems, fighting a rag-tag militant group, Hamas.
Against this backdrop, a leading human rights organization, is appealing to Israel’s key allies—including the US, UK, Canada and Germany—to suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel “so long as its forces commit widespread, serious abuses amounting to war crimes against Palestinian civilians with impunity”.
Iran and other governments, says Human Rights Watch (HRW), should also cease providing arms to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, so long as they systematically commit attacks amounting to war crimes against Israeli civilians.
But the killings by the Israelis far outnumber the killings by Hamas, according to conservative estimates. Since October 7, about 1,400 Israelis and other nationals have been killed, and more than 10,000 Palestinians,40 percent of them children.
“Civilians are being punished and killed at a scale unprecedented in recent history in Israel and Palestine,” said Bruno Stagno, chief advocacy officer at Human Rights Watch. “The United States, Iran and other governments risk being complicit in grave abuses if they continue to provide military assistance to known violators.”
Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of HRW, was quoted as saying Israel dropping several large bombs in the middle of a densely populated refugee camp was completely and predictably going to lead to a significant and disproportionate loss of civilian lives and therefore a war crime.
Describing Israel’s military “as part of the US war machine”, Norman Solomon, national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, told IPS the solid bedrock alliance between Israel and the US has ensured the continuation of a 10-year deal that guarantees $38 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel.
And now, as the carnage in Gaza continues, he pointed out, Washington is rushing to provide extra military assistance worth $14 billion.
During the last several weeks, he said, “international humanitarian law” has been a common phrase coming from President Biden while expressing support for Israel’s military actions.
It’s an Orwellian absurdity, as if saying the words is sufficient, while constantly helping Israel to violate international humanitarian law in numerous ways, declared Solomon.
HRW said future military transfers to Israel in the face of ongoing serious violations of the laws of war risk making the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany complicit in these abuses if they knowingly and significantly contribute to them. Providing weapons to Palestinian armed groups, given their continuing unlawful attacks, risks making Iran complicit in those violations.
US President Joseph R. Biden has requested US$14.3 billion for further arms to Israel in addition to the $3.8 billion in US military aid Israel receives annually.
On November 2, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide that military aid to Israel. Since October 7, the United States has either transferred or announced it is planning to transfer Small Diameter Bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits, 155mm artillery shells, and a million rounds of ammunition, among other weapons.
The United Kingdom has licensed the sale of GBP£442 million worth of arms ($539 million) to Israeli forces since 2015, including aircraft, bombs, and ammunition. Canada exported CDN$47 million ($33 million) in 2021 and 2022. Germany issued licenses for €862 million ($916 million) in arms sales to Israel between 2015 and 2019, according to HRW.
Hamas leadership publicly said in January 2022 that it received at least US$70 million in military assistance from Iran, but did not specify during what period of time this support was provided.
“How many more civilian lives must be lost, how much more must civilians suffer as a result of war crimes before countries supplying weapons to Israel and Palestinian armed groups pull the plug and avoid complicity in these atrocities?” Stagno said.
The United Nations, once described the deaths and destruction in the eight-year-old civil war in Yemen as “the world’s worst humanitarian disaster”.
The killings of mostly civilians have been estimated at over 100,000, with accusations of war crimes against a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose primary arms supplier is the US.
And now, the killings of Palestinians in Gaza have come back to haunt the Americans in a new war zone. But still, the US is unlikely to be hauled before the International Criminal Court (ICC)., nor was it charged for human rights abuses, torture, and war crimes committed in Afghanistan and Iraq in a bygone era.
“If U.S. officials don’t care about Palestinian civilians facing atrocities using U.S. weapons, perhaps they will care a bit more about their own individual criminal liability for aiding Israel in carrying out these atrocities,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), an American non-profit organization that advocates democracy and human rights in the Middle East.
“The American people never signed up to help Israel commit war crimes against defenseless civilians with taxpayer funded bombs and artillery,” she noted.
Last month, Josh Paul, a longstanding official at the State Department’s political-military bureau resigned because of what he said was immoral US support and lethal aid for Israel’s bombings in Gaza.
According to the State Department, Israel has been designated as a Major Non-NATO Ally under U.S. law. This status provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation and is a powerful symbol of their close relationship with the United States.
Consistent with statutory requirements, it is the policy of the United States to help Israel preserve its Qualitative Military Edge (QME), or its ability to counter and defeat any credible conventional military threat from any individual state or possible coalition of states or from non-state actors, while sustaining minimal damages and casualties.
This requires a quadrennial report to Congress, for arms transfers that are required to be Congressionally notified, and a determination that individual arms transfers to the region will not adversely affect Israel’s QME.
Strengthening their military relationship further, the United States and Israel have signed multiple bilateral defense cooperation agreements, including: a Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement (1952); a General Security of Information Agreement (1982); a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (1991); and a Status of Forces Agreement (1994).
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