• UPCOMING EVENTS
• PALESTINIAN/ISRAELI MEDIA: Palestinian media: International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) (en) | The Palestine News Network (PNN) (en /ar/he/fr) | Ma'an News Agency (MNA) (en /ar) | Electronic Intifada (ei) (en) | PFLP (anti-stalinist socialist/communist) (en /ar) | Palestinian Information Center (PIC) (en/ ar) | WAFA - Palestine News Agency (en /ar/he/fr) | blogs: [1] | [2] | IMC Israel: Israel Indymedia (en/he)
• TODAY'S ACTIONS UPDATE: what's happened today around the activist world
• TODAY'S NEWS UPDATE what's happened today in the (un-)real world, especially Gaza
• BOYCOTT: International boycott of Israeli products launched from West Bank | Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement | Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel | US End the Occupation | UK BDS
• UNDERREPORTED TOPICS: white phosphorus | war crimes | refuseniks (Israelis who refuse to kill) | repression of the media | Israeli piracy | Recent kidnappings
• WORLDWIDE SOLIDARITY PROTESTS

TRANSLATION MISMATCH WARNING: The contents of this article may be frequently updated by the www-features (en) and www-editoriales (es) collectives, so the version of the article in the language in which you are reading this may be out-of-date. Probably the English and Spanish versions will be most frequently updated.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

• Germany: many
• 2009-01-18, 2009-01-21, Spain
• The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) are visiting Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Egypt, from 17-20 January 2009 in order to express their solidarity with the civilian population of the Gaza Strip who are under continuing Israeli attacks.
• 2009-01-20, 2009-01-21, "They've got a bomb" - global musical solidarity event

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PALESTINIAN / ISRAELI MEDIA:

Palestinian media: International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) (en) | The Palestine News Network (PNN) (en /ar/he/fr) | Ma'an News Agency (MNA) (en /ar) | Electronic Intifada (ei) (en) | PFLP (anti-stalinist socialist/communist) (en /ar) | Palestinian Information Center (PIC) (en/ ar) | WAFA - Palestine News Agency (en /ar/he/fr) | blogs: [1] | [2] | IMC Israel: Israel Indymedia (en/he)

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TODAY'S ACTIONS UPDATE:

what's happened today around the activist world

• 2009-01-17, 900 demonstrators in Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand, Rakon kills! Direct Action against invasion of Gaza

archive: yesterday and earlier

• 2009-01-16, southern Israel/northern Gaza: Hundreds of Israelis, Palestinians and International supporters of the Physicians for Human Rights Organisation attempted to take part in a solidarity action and protest this morning.
• 2009-01-16, many southern Bethlehem villages, Palestine: Weekly nonviolent resistance demonstrates for Gaza
• 2009-01-16, Ni'lin, Palestine: 11 injured in the weekly protest of Ni'lin near Ramallah: Scores of Palestinians from the village of Ni'lin, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, On Friday, conducted a protest against the illegal Israeli wall being built on the village land by the Israeli settlement and annexation project.
• 2009-01-16, Bil'in, Palestine: Five injured and dozens suffered teargas inhalation during the Bil'in Weekly Demonstration: On Friday midday the residents of Bil'in village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah demonstrated against the Israeli's rejection of the international efforts for ceasefire.
• 2009-01-15 International waters: Israel Threatens to Shoot Unarmed Civilians aboard Mercy Ship
• 2009-01-15 San Francisco, USA: Activists Lockdown at Israeli Consulate in San Francisco as Gaza Massacre Intensifies
• 2009-01-14 Los Angeles, USA: Jews Shut Down Israeli Consulate -LA | International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network | Jewish People of Conscience | early morning action

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TODAY'S NEWS UPDATE

what's happened today in the (un-)real world, especially Gaza

• The slaughter continues: in 22 days, 1200 Palestinians have been killed and 5300 injured.
• Israeli state repression against Israelis continues: over 900 Israelis have been arrested in Israel over the past recent weeks.

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BOYCOTT:

International boycott of Israeli products launched from West Bank | Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement | Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel | US End the Occupation | UK BDS

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UNDERREPORTED TOPICS:

• white phosphorus

  The Israeli use of US supplied white phosphorus shells as air-burst incendiaries above the civilian population of Gaza is not only a barbaric crime against humanity but it's an illegal war crime, however the corporate media coverage of this crime, is progressing very slowly, especially in the USA. The International Middle East Media Centre has a special, in-depth article on White Phosphorus and its use in Gaza.

  Vittorio Arrigoni, in Gaza with Free Gaza/ISM has reported that "In front of Al Auda hospital we witnessed and filmed white phosphorous bombs being used about five hundred metres from where we were, too far to be absolutely certain there were any civilians underneath the Israeli Apaches, but so terribly close to us all the same." He goes on to write "The Geneva Treaty of 1980 forbids white phosphorous being used directly as a war weapon in civilian areas, allowing it only as a smoke screen or for lighting. There's no doubt that using this weapon in Gaza, a strip of land concentrating the highest population rate in the world, is a crime all on its own. Doctor Abdel told me that at Al Shifa hospital they don't have the medical and military competence to say for sure whether the wounds they examined on certain corpses were indeed provoked by white phosphorous bullets."

  Human Rights Watch have reported that "On January 9, Human Rights Watch researchers on a ridge overlooking Gaza from the northwest observed multiple air-bursts of artillery-fired WP that appeared to be over the Gaza City/Jabaliya area." They go on to say that "the technique evidenced in media photographs and viewed by Human Rights Watch researchers on January 9 \[is one of\] of air-bursting WP projectiles, which spreads the burning wafers over a wider area, thereby increasing the likelihood of civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects." The conclude that "Human Rights Watch believes that the use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas of Gaza violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life." In the past there have been harsh criticisms of Human Rights Watch and their coverage of the conflict.

  While the alternative media has had many reports of the use of white phosphorus there has been little coverage in the mainstream corporate media, especially in the US. The Times of London has been on of the few corporate media outlets that has run this story, on the 8th January they reported that "Photographic evidence has emerged that proves that Israel has been using controversial white phosphorus shells during its offensive in Gaza... There is also evidence that the rounds have injured Palestinian civilians, causing severe burns. The use of white phosphorus against civilians is prohibited under international law. The Times has identified stockpiles of white phosphorus (WP) shells from high-resolution images taken of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) artillery units on the Israeli-Gaza border this week. The pale blue 155mm rounds are clearly marked with the designation M825A1, an American-made WP munition... There were indications last night that Palestinian civilians have been injured by the bombs, which burn intensely. Hassan Khalass, a doctor at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, told The Times that he had been dealing with patients who he suspected had been burnt by white phosphorus. Muhammad Azayzeh, 28, an emergency medical technician in the city, said: “The burns are very unusual. They don't look like burns we have normally seen. They are third-level burns that we can't seem to control.” "

  The lack of corporate media coverage in the US of Israel's use of white phosphorus appears to be changing with the 12th January CNN and LA Times coverage. Meanwhile in Israel The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Amos Guiora, an "expert on international law" considers that "that proper leafleting - provided it really provided sufficient warning for civilians to flee - could be essential in defending Israel against such allegations", allegations of the war crime of using white phosphorus against civilians.

  In addition to white phosphorus the Newweapons Committee have reported that there is Mounting evidence is emerging that Israel is experimenting new non-conventional weapons on civilian population in Gaza. "It is happening again what we saw in Lebanon two years ago", says Paola Manduca, genetics teacher and researcher at the University of Genoa and member of New Weapons Research Committee (NWRC), "where Israel used white phosphorus, Dense inert metal explosive (DIME), thermobaric bombs, cluster bombs and uranium ammunitions. Still today there are unexploded bombs and radioactivity on the ground". Emerging evidence now shows that at least some of these weapons are in use in the Gaza Strip, though it is not possible to verify this directly, due to the lack of access to the area. “The images of the dead and wounded and the news from witness coming from the area of aggresion show significant resemblance with those gathered and verified during the July - August war in 2006 in Lebanon”, explains Mrs Manduca. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor, member of a non- governmental organization Norwac, who works currently at the Gaza's largest hospital, Shifa, denounces that “many arrive with extreme amputations, with both legs crushed”, wounds, he explains, “that I suspect are inflicted by Dime weapons”.

  See also: Fallujah by the Sea: Aping America, Israel Unleashes Chemical Weapons in Gaza | White Phosphorus being used on Gaza | Phosphorus Bombs, the Slaughter of Innocents and Corporate Media Crimes | IMEMC Special: White Phosphorus and its use in Gaza

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• war crimes

  LINKS: "Wanted posters" for Barak, Livni, Olmert, and 12 others suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity

  Promises or legal actions under international law regarding war crimes, crimes against humanity and/or genocide

  • 2001-01-23, charges filed by international attorneys against 15 Israeli officials at the ICC in the Hague; independent war crimes charges are also being laid in France, Belgium and Spain and may be laid in Morocco
  • 2009-01-15, IMEMC: 90 organizations, mainly French, to prosecute Israel for War Crimes author
  • 2009-01-15 Flashpoints: ISM Observers document potential war-crimes in Rafa, Khan Younis, and Gaza City
  • 2009-01-15: Amnesty International breaks a taboo referring not only to war crimes but also to crimes against humanity: "As evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity mounts daily in Gaza, ..." (emphasis added)
  • 2009-01-14: president of United Nations General Assembly says that Gaza massacre is genocide
  • 2009-01-14: Israel may face UN court ruling on legality of Gaza conflict
  • 2009-01-14, PNN: Suit filed in the Hague for crimes against humanity
  • see the end of this article on ICTI
  • Iran asks the UN Secretary General to send a fact-finding committee to Gaza Strip for probes regarding breach of 1925 protocol of Geneva Convention by Israel.
  • Who will save Israel from itself? Mark Levine
  • ICTI: Nobel peace prize winner Mairead Maguire
  • Demands grow for Gaza war crimes investigation
  • There are certain targets in Gaza that Israel must not shell, said Palestinian professor of international law Hana Issa on Sunday.

  Analyses: The Geopolitics of Genocide

  What is the context of the Gaza Massacre?
  • Gaza Catastrophe: Resource Conflict? Natural Gas, Palestinian Elections, and Israel's Subversion of the 'Peace Process'
  • Ilan Pappé: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine and Israel's righteous fury and its victims in Gaza
  • Is this the start of a wider Middle East war? Unusually Large Weapons Shipment to Israel: Plan for a broader Middle East war? and Blue Star Rampage: Israel's dress rehearsal for Lebanon

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• refuseniks (Israelis who refuse to kill)

  LINKS: seruv.org.il | yeshgvul.org

  • Shministim continue doing jail time
  • A letter to a pilot's mother
  • Feminist anti-military demo
  • Videos of Shministim conscription refusal solidarity demo and ex-pilots' daily demos in front of air force base
  • Photos and report from ex-pilots' daily demos at air force base
  • Photos and report from Shministiot conscription refusal
  • Photos of Smile Liberation Front, Captain Falafel, in Sderot
  • Refusal during war on Gaza
  • Demonstration in Tel-Aviv supporting refusal call during war on Gaza
  • yeshgvul.org latest info
  • a good video from Alternative Focus, from 2006
  • Breaking the Silence: Soldiers Speak about the Occupied Territories
  • the Shministim, who refuse mandatory military service
  
  
  

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• repression of the media

  • 2009-01-15, Gaza City: Media, United Nations and Interior Minister targeted | Journalist and cameraman injured as Israeli warplanes attack media compound in Gaza
  
  
  
  • Media conscription in Israel
  
  
  

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• Israeli piracy

  LINKS: Free Gaza Movement

  "For decades, Israel [has] been hijacking boats in international waters between Cyprus and Lebanon, killing or kidnapping passengers, sometimes bringing them to prisons in Israel, including secret prison/torture chambers, to hold as hostages for many years." Since the year 2000, Israel has killed at least 14 fishermen, injured 200 fishermen, and damaged or stolen many boats. Apart from the goal of political repression, an additional reason for the piracy is suspected to be the natural gas reserves discovered in 1999 off the Gazan coast [1] [2]. Control of the gas reserves is being negotiated between Israel, British Gas, an "Athens based company" and the Palestinian Authority, which would get only 10% of the profits under an initially proposed deal.

  During the Dec 08/Jan 09 Gaza Massacre, Free Gaza civilian boats were twice met by the Israel navy in international waters, both times at least 90 miles off the Gazan coast. On 30 Dec 2008, a Free Gaza boat carrying journalists, doctors, elected politicians and medical and food supplies to Gaza was shot at and physically damaged by the Israeli navy. On 15 Jan 2009, another similar boat was threatened with being shot. The Israeli warships stated that they were willing to commit war crimes in order to prevent the boat from reaching Gaza.

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• Recent kidnappings

  LINKS: Adala | Women's Organization for Political Prisoners (WOFPP)

  Israel holds many thousands of kidnapped Palestinians in its prisons, and it kidnapped hundreds of Palestinians from occupied Palestine during the Dec 08/Jan 09 Gaza Massacre. Most of those kidnapped are civilians. Israeli forces have also killed people who expressed their political opinions by participating in street demonstrations.

  Kidnappings

  • 2009-01-24, Qabatiya, WB: Israeli military searches and ransacks private homes, kidnaps five Palestinian civilians [1], [2] Mohamed Khazamia, 17, Hamad Abu Ayisha, 19, Ahmad Fo'ad, 16, Osamah Abu Zied, 19, and Mohamed Hanayisha, 32, in Qabatiya
  • 2009-01-22, Nablus, WB: Israeli military kidnaps three civilians, Yasser Mana', age 20, Tarik Al Ka'bi and Mohamed Abu Ziton, in Nablus
  • 2009-01-21, Sa'eer, WB: Israeli military kidnaps six civilians, Riad Jaradat, Fadi Jaradat, Ha'er Jaradat and three others, in Sa'eer
  • 2009-01-12, villages north of Hebron, WB: Israeli military kidnaps three civilians, Omer Mohamed, 32, and Shaouqi Warssnah, 37, in Beit Omer, and Hamza Al Farokh, 14, in Sa'eer, two villages a few km north of Hebron
  • 2008-12-27 to 2008-12-30, Israeli army/police kidnap about 200 young people who expressed their political opinions by participating in street demonstrations, in Jerusalem old city, Shaofat Refugee Camp, and Al Toor neighbourhood.
  • AIC staff member detained for 11 day interrogation
  • Activist Mousa Abu-Maria STILL in administrative detention - Mousa's arrest
  • Solidarity action
  • Tess Scheflan from Activestills follows repression in Jerusalem at Friday prayers during war on Gaza
  • Ni'ilin demonstrations continue despite lethal repression
  
  
  

  Killings of demonstrators

  • FUNERALS
  • Eyewitness account of killings
  
  
  

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