Gaza Siege

Israel’s military received orders to shell Israeli homes and even their own bases as they were overwhelmed by Hamas militants on October 7. How many Israeli citizens said to have been “burned alive” were actually killed by friendly fire? Several new testimonies by Israeli witnesses to the October 7 Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel adds to growing evidence that the Israeli military killed its own citizens as they fought to neutralize Palestinian gunmen. Tuval Escapa, a member of the […]

Another row is brewing between Israel and the Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas, over the release of Avraham Mengitsu, an Israeli citizen who, according to Israeli military sources, ‘slipped into Gaza’ on September 7, 2014.
The circumstances of Mengitsu’s entry into Gaza remain unclear, especially since Hamas’ political leader, Khaled Mashaal, denied that the military wing of Hamas is holding the Israeli citizen.

Members of the crew of the Marianne, which was seized by Israeli forces in international waters early on 29 June as it headed toward Gaza. Freedom Flotilla III
 
by Ali Abunimah                 The Electronic Intifada

One officer, a veteran of Gaza operations, who left the fighting area for a few hours, told Haaretz: “I’ve been to Shujaiyeh before, but I’ve never seen it – or Hamas – like this before. Their equipment and tactics are just like Hezbollah. Missile traps and IEDs everywhere – and they stay and fight instead of melting away like in the past.”

Israel’s current attack on a basically defenseless population in Gaza is a repeat of its massacres of Palestinians in November 2012, December 2008-January 2009 and June-July 2006. This time Israeli forces have already slaughtered over 500 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians, while about 20 Israelis, almost all soldiers, have been killed. The imbalance of these death tolls is staggering but not surprising.

Gaza Siege Intensifies, More Ethnic Cleansing Looms, but Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions Campaign Gathers Momentum

Dr A.Clare Brandabur
Fatih University, Istanbul

 

 
by Adri Nieuwhof                        Electronic Intifada

January 20, 2014
President Wallace Loh
Office of the President
University of Maryland
College Park, Md 20742
Dear President Loh;
I have read your response to the ASA boycott of Israeli academic institutions. In fact, if reports are correct, you said:

The siege on Gaza constitutes a form of collective punishment by the Israeli military occupation against the civilian population in Gaza which is a violation of international humanitarian law. This siege has been causing much human suffering and serious negative effects on all aspects of life.
The current situation in Gaza is especially on the verge of a full-scale humanitarian disaster due to extreme weather conditions that aggravated the lives of an already beleaguered and besieged population.