The Facts about Israel’s War
on Gaza
By Adam Sheets
sheets186@gmail.com
Updated January 1, 2009
It is crucial that one has her/his facts straight about
Israel’s war on Gaza. What events brought about this dreadful situation? What needs
to be done to make it stop? These questions will be answered in the content of this
article, using concrete facts from a variety of news sources.
Let’s first investigate the recent cease-fire between
Israel and Hamas. The cease-fire began in June 2008. The terms were as follows:
- Israel would drastically reduce its military blockade of Gaza.
- Israel would halt all military incursions into Gaza.
- Hamas would halt all rocket attacks into Israel.
From the outset of the cease-fire, Israel did little to ease
its military blockade. As a result, Gazans continued to suffer from a lack of food, fuel,
financial aid, electricity, clean water, medical supplies, and more. This has been,
inarguably, an attack on innocent Palestinian civilians.
- Gaza faces a humanitarian "catastrophe" if Israel
continues to prevent aid reaching the territory by blocking crossing points, the head of
the main UN aid agency for the Palestinians said on Friday… Israel had restricted
goods into Gaza despite the truce, which calls on militants to halt rocket attacks in
return for Israel easing its embargo on the territory… Israel also held up deliveries
of European Union-funded fuel for the power plant, which generates about a third of the
electricity consumed by Gazans...
Ailments associated with insufficient food were
surfacing among the impoverished coastal strip's 1.5 million population, including growing
malnutrition.
--Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 21, 2008 [1]
- A former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson,
has told the BBC she was taken aback by the "terrible" conditions in Gaza on a
recent visit. Mrs Robinson said it was "almost unbelievable" that the world did
not care about what she called "a shocking violation of so many human
rights"… Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza after Hamas took control there in
2007… "Their whole civilisation has been destroyed, I'm not exaggerating,"
said Mrs Robinson…Israel says the blockade, under which it has allowed little more
than basic humanitarian aid into Gaza, is needed to isolate the militant group and
stop it and other militants from firing rockets into Israel. Israel came to a truce
with Palestinian groups in June this year, but Mrs Robinson said this had had little
effect on people's lives and "just brought a bitter taste in the mouth".
--BBC News, Nov. 4, 2008 [2]
- The UN in the Gaza Strip says it will run out of food aid in two
days unless Israel's blockade - which it describes as "shameful and
unacceptable" - eases. The UN refugee agency UNWRA, which distributes food to half of
Gaza's 1.5m people, called the blockade "a physical as well as a mental
punishment". Israel is now allowing a limited amount of fuel across the border, but
it is still blocking food deliveries… In a statement, UNWRA spokesman
Christopher Gunness said food distribution operations would end on Thursday unless Israeli
authorities allowed deliveries of wheat, luncheon meat, powdered milk and cooking oil
without delay. "This is both a physical as well as a mental punishment of the
population - of mothers and parents trying to feed their children - who are being forced
to live hand to mouth," he said… "It is a further illustration of the
barbarity of this inhuman blockade."… "It is also shameful and
unacceptable that the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza is being forced into yet another
cycle of crisis management," Mr Gunness added.
--BBC News, Nov. 11, 2008 [3]
- International aid agencies, including the International
Committee of the Red Cross, have said virtually no medical supplies were reaching Gaza.
--Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 9, 2008 [14]
- The UN has no more food to distribute in the Gaza Strip, the
head of relief efforts in the area has warned. John Ging said handouts for 750,000 Gazans
would have to be suspended until Saturday at the earliest, and called Gaza's economic
situation "a disaster". Israel earlier denied entry to a convoy carrying
humanitarian supplies… The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
distributes emergency aid to about half of Gaza's 1.5m population. "We have run out
[of food aid] this evening," said Mr Ging, UNRWA's senior official in Gaza.
"Unless the crossing points open... we won't be able to get that food into
Gaza," he told Reuters news agency… Also on Thursday, Israel refused
permission for a group of senior European diplomats to visit the coastal enclave. It has
also prevented journalists, including those from the BBC, from entering the territory.
--BBC News, Nov. 13, 2008 [4]
- Since June 2007, Israel has allowed little more than basic
humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip. Many there hoped that policy would change, five
months ago, when Hamas and Israel agreed to a truce. But while there were some increases
in the amount of aid allowed in, Israel's strict restrictions on the movement of goods and
people into and out of Gaza largely remained
… Serious fuel shortages have led to
widespread power cuts across Gaza City. That, in turn, has caused problems in pumping
water to homes, and sewage to treatment plants. Israel is preventing many aid workers, and
all journalists from entering Gaza too… "I never thought we would see days like
this," says Monther Shublak, head of Gaza's water authority. "The water system
was severely stretched even before this crisis, but now, things are much worse. For the
last four days, around 40% of people in Gaza City have had no access to running water in
their homes at all."… "But we are putting all of our resources into sewage
pumping. The health consequences of that system totally failing are too worrying to think
about, but it could happen unless things change."
--BBC News, Nov. 20, 2008 [5]
- Israel has refused to allow cash to enter Gaza in recent weeks
to ratchet up pressure on the ruling Hamas militant group. With the supply of currency
dwindling, banks have limited withdrawals over the past two weeks, and some have posted
signs telling customers they cannot take out any more money… The United Nations
halted cash handouts to 98,000 of Gaza's poorest residents last week, and economists and
bank officials warn that tens of thousands of civil servants won't be able to cash their
paychecks next month… "No society can operate without money, but that's the
situation we are reaching in Gaza," said Gaza economist Omar Shaban… Israel and
Egypt have restricted movement through Gaza's border crossings since the Islamic militants
of Hamas violently seized control of the coastal territory in June 2007. Since then,
closures have been eased or tightened, depending on the security situation. But even in
quiet times, when Gaza militants refrained from firing rockets at Israeli border towns,
only limited shipments of food, medicine and commercial goods were allowed in… Shlomo
Dror, an Israel Defense Ministry spokesman, questioned the seriousness of the currency
shortage. "We are used to the Palestinians inventing things and we are looking into
their claim," he said.
--Washington Post, Nov. 24, 2008 [6]
The Israeli government maintained that the blockade was a
necessary measure in order to stop rocket attacks. However, Hamas had ceased launching
rockets into Israel during the cease-fire and even arrested those of militant groups who
did fire a handful of rockets.
- Hamas arrested three Palestinians who fired rockets into Israel
from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, in the first such detentions since the Islamist group and
Israel agreed a truce last month, a militant faction said.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades… said Hamas men pursued two of its members after the attack into the
Jabaliya refugee camp. No one was hurt after two rockets hit southern Israel… The
ceasefire deal calls on Hamas to prevent cross-border rocket fire and attacks from the
Gaza Strip and for Israel to halt its raids and ease an economic blockade… Israel
tightened restrictions on the passage of people and goods to and from the impoverished
territory after Hamas seized control of it a year ago. United Nations officials said
Gaza's goods crossings were still shut rather often despite the agreement. "There is
not enough fuel, not enough food, there is not enough of anything," John Ging, an
official with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that aids refugees, said in Gaza.
--Globe and Mail Canadian News, July 10, 2008
[21]
Despite the intense blockade against Gazan civilians, the
cease-fire held until November 4, 2008. On that date, the Israeli military made an
incursion into Gaza and killed six Palestinians. The Israeli government sought to justify
these actions, saying that they suspected these Palestinians of plotting to kidnap Israeli
soldiers. Palestinian fighters responded to the attack by launching rockets into Israel.
Thus began the unraveling of the cease-fire.
- At least six Hamas militants have been killed after Israel's
first incursion into the Gaza Strip since June's truce. Israel said its troops had
uncovered a tunnel along central Gaza's frontier which had been dug by militants intending
to abduct Israeli soldiers. Clashes ensued when troops were sent to thwart the threat,
Israel said. One militant died, Palestinian reports say. A subsequent Israeli air strike
on Hamas positions in southern Gaza killed at least five fighters, medics said. An Israeli
army spokeswoman said the air strike targeted militants who had fired mortars at Israeli
forces... Tuesday evening's fighting broke out after Israeli tanks and a bulldozer
moved 250m into the central part of the coastal enclave, backed by military aircraft, says
the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Ramallah. Residents of central Gaza's el-Bureij refugee camp
said a missile fired from an unmanned Israeli drone flying over the area injured another
three Hamas gunmen. A truce between the two sides had held since it was declared on 19
June. Israel said the raid was not a violation of the ceasefire, but rather a legitimate
step to remove an immediate threat.
--BBC News, Nov. 5, 2008 [7]
- An Israel Air Force air strike in the southern Gaza Strip killed
at least five militants and wounded several others on Tuesday, Palestinians said. Earlier,
Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed a Hamas gunman and wounded two others on Tuesday in the
first armed clash in the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire was declared in the territory in
June, Palestinian medics said… An Egypt-brokered cease-fire agreement between
Israel and the Gaza Strip was signed earlier this year, and went into effect on June 19.
The IDF argued that the raid did not constitute a violation of the cease fire, but
instead was a legitimate step to remove an immediate threat to Israel from Gaza, which is
controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
--Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 5, 2008 [8]
- Two weeks ago, an already fragile humanitarian situation
resulting from the mounting effects of months of shortages, saw a dramatic downturn. The
fighting resumed, with an Israeli army incursion into Gaza and a retaliatory barrage of
militant rocket fire.
--BBC News, Nov. 20, 2008 [5]
As the cease-fire began to crumble, the violence from both
sides intensified. Efforts to redeem the cease-fire ultimately failed.
- Palestinian armed groups in Gaza remain committed to a truce
with Israel if Jerusalem reciprocates
, Hamas's Gaza leader said on Friday, even as
militants launched more attacks from the coastal territory… "I have met with
armed factions over the past two days and they stated their position clearly: they are
committed to calm as long as (Israel) abides by it," said Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's
most senior representative in Gaza.
--Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 21, 2008 [9]
- Hamas announced on Sunday that militant groups in Gaza have
agreed to cease cross-border attacks if Israel opens crossings into the coastal territory,
Ma'an news reported.
--Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 24, 2008 [10]
- After expressing contradictory positions on Sunday, Hamas'
leadership on Monday adopted a united stance: The cease-fire with Israel, which expires
this Friday, will not be extended… Hamas' spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Ayman Taha,
said the movement had concluded that there was no point in extending the truce "as
long as Israel isn't abiding by its terms" - though he added that talks on
continuing the cease-fire were still taking place. Specifically, Taha said, Israel was
supposed to have expanded the truce to the West Bank - something Hamas demanded but Israel
in fact never promised - and opened the Gaza border crossings, and "this hasn't
happened."
--Haaretz Israel News, Dec. 16, 2008 [11]
Following the end of the cease-fire, Israel moved closer to an
invasion of the territory. The Israeli government claimed that this was the only remaining
option to eliminate rocket attacks from Gaza. However, as cited in the sources above, this
was clearly not the case. Israel had failed to abide by the terms of the cease-fire. For
the overwhelming majority of the six-month truce, Israel had refused to ease its military
blockade of Gaza to any significant degree. In addition, it was the initial violator of
the cease-fire when it sent tanks and aircraft into Gaza and killed six Palestinians on
November 4, 2008. In fact, there is evidence that Israel was planning to strike Gaza even
while the cease-fire was still in effect.
- Barak told the assembled lawmakers that the defense
establishment spent months preparing for the Gaza operation.
--Haaretz Israel News, Dec. 29, 2008 [16]
- Sources in the defense establishment said Defense Minister
Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six
months ago, even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
--Haaretz Israel News, Dec. 31, 2008 [20]
In the interest of peace, Hamas, and especially Fatah, have
firmly established that they are willing to participate in negotiations that are based on
internationally recognized borders and rights.
- On June 6, 2006, Haniyeh met Dr. Jerome Segal of the University
of Maryland in the Gaza Strip… At the end of the meeting, Haniyeh dictated a short
message he asked Segal to transmit to President Bush… In the second paragraph,
Haniyeh laid out the political platform he maintains to this day. "We are so
concerned about stability and security in the area that we don't mind having a
Palestinian state in the 1967 borders and offering a truce for many years," he
wrote… Haniyeh called on Bush to launch a dialogue with the Hamas government.
"We are not warmongers, we are peace makers and we call on the American government to
have direct negotiations with the elected government," he wrote… In his own
letter, Segal emphasized that a state within the 1967 borders and a truce for many
years could be considered Hamas' de facto recognition of Israel. He noted that in a
separate meeting, Youssuf suggested that the Palestinian Authority and Israel might
exchange ambassadors during that truce period. This was not the only covert message from
Hamas to senior Bush administration officials. However, Washington did not reply to
these messages and maintained its boycott of the Hamas government.
--Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 14, 2008 [12]
- The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Saturday his
government was willing to accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel within the 1967
borders… Haniyeh told his guests Israel rejected his initiative… He said the
Hamas government had agreed to accept a Palestinian state that followed the 1967 borders
and to offer Israel a long-term hudna, or truce, if Israel recognized the Palestinians'
national rights
… In response to a question about the international community's
impression that there are two Palestinian states, Haniyeh said: "We don't have a
state, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank. Gaza is under siege and the West Bank is
occupied. What we have in the Gaza Strip is not a state, but rather a regime of an
elected government. A Palestinian state will not be created at this time except in the
territories of 1967."… "Our conflict is not with the Jews, our problem
is with the occupation," Haniyeh said.
--Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 9, 2008 [14]
- The Palestinian Authority has placed a full-page advert in
Israel's Hebrew newspapers to promote an Arab peace plan first proposed in 2002. The
Saudi-backed initiative offers Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for an end to
Israel's occupation of land captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It also proposes what
it calls a just solution for Palestinian refugees.
The Israeli government has noted
"positive aspects" in the plan but has not formally accepted it… Peace Now,
and Israeli campaign group, welcomed the publication of the adverts. "On behalf of a
majority of Israeli citizens who support peace with the Palestinian people on the basis of
a two state solution - we embrace the Arab Peace Initiative and urge both governments to
endorse it and negotiate the final status agreement in its spirit," a statement from
the group said… The text reads: "Fifty-seven Arab and Muslim countries will
establish diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for a full peace accord and the end
of the occupation."
--BBC News, Nov. 20, 2008 [13]
- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama proclaimed himself "very
impressed" with the Arab League's peace plan
when he discussed it with President
Shimon Peres during a brief visit to Israel four months ago, Peres said Tuesday… The
plan, originally proposed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2002 and later adopted by
the Arab League, states that Israel would receive full relations with the entire Arab
world in exchange for a full withdrawal from all the territory it captured in 1967,
including East Jerusalem, plus a solution to the refugee problem. The Bush Administration
has said it views the plan positively, but its own road map peace plan and the
understandings reached at last year's Annapolis summit have served as the basis of its
diplomatic program.
--Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 19, 2008 [15]
Since Israel began its strike, 4 Israelis and over 420
Palestinians have been killed, with 5 Israelis and over 2100 Palestinians injured [22].
The White House said that Israel will cease its attack when Hamas has agreed to a truce.
Hamas said they are open to any cease-fire propositions. A cease-fire has been proposed,
but Israel rejected this offer.
- "In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop
firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable ceasefire,"
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
--BBC News, Dec. 29, 2008 [17]
- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected international
calls for a 48-hour truce in the Gaza Strip to allow in more humanitarian aid
…
The 48-hour ceasefire plan to allow more aid into Gaza, was proposed by French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner. Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha told AFP news agency that his
group was open to any ceasefire propositions as long as they meant an end to the air
strikes and a lifting of the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
--BBC News, Dec. 31, 2008 [18]
The international community must continue to demand that a
cease-fire be implemented. In order to be successful, any agreement must call for 1) an
end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, 2) an end to the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and 3)
an end to all rocket attacks into Israel.
References:
[1] "UNRWA chief: Gaza on brink of humanitarian
catastrophe." Haaretz Israel News. 21 Nov. 2008. <http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1039834.html
>.
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[3] "UN warns over Gaza food blockade." BBC News.
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[5] "Gazans despair over blockade." BBC News.
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[6] "Gazans using tattered notes because of cash
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[12] "Haniyeh recognized Israel in 2006 letter to
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[22] "Fears grow of Gaza ground assault." Al
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[26] "Israelis and Palestinians Suffer Under Bombardments
– CNN.com Transcripts – Aired December 31, 2008 - 15:00 ET." CNN.
31 Dec. 2008. <http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0812/31/cnr.07.html>.