London Chess

Yeah, well we got our backs to the wall And we are broke We may be down -but not yet out We cant let them know-keep them guessing We thought we had them hooked But they hooked us instead What a mess How much will they sqeeze or screw us Ha Ha The boot is on the other foot We can squeeze or screw as much or little as we like As appropiate to our needs Remember the Opium wars Eventualy we kicked them out Capitalist---------------------------------- Ho Ho who will checkmate

Declaration Of Palestinian State-Made-Recongised

Its no use waiting It will never be done Israel and its supporters will see to that So this website, in the hope that others will follow Declare and recongise Palestine as a state forthwith Now building can begin If you want to help Palestine Declare-Recongise -Help Build Before Israel wipes it from the face of the earth

USA Supplies White Phosphorous Bombs To Israel To Use Against Palestine

News reports say USA Govt has supplied white phosphorous bombs to Israel for use against Palestine citizens

Colaborative Law-Have you Heard-ABC Radio Law Report

Never heard of it before Yet its been around officialy for nearly 20 yrs Todays ABC Radio law report was very educational Seems better way to go than conflict-cheaper too it seems Tune into ABC Radio /Law Report /Podcasts/ for the full story It is worth it Who said (some) lawyers are not human

Descent Into Hell

Its happening all over the world Hello, how are you today How far have you gone Descent into hell Tired of living Tired of: becoming subhuman stretching the dollar till cant stretch anymore always after freebies cant pay ones way like used to tip recycling customer scrounger loosing your home family break up eviction becoming ill-ill health cant pay bills recluse no money for social life helpless suffering watching others the same cost living keeps going up income dont go up accordingly doing without appearance dress deteriates people begin to look at you and say nothing the list is endless who can: stop cost living going up is the capitalist free enterprise finished-or needs adjusting to share amongst the people fairly stop the greedy financiers executives profit motive work for their country and fellow citizen and not greedy self ensure reasonable cost living for all has your govt:--opposition : failed got no answer wants to keep status quo cant or wont change its a living hell when will change come who will create change

OZ Minerals Saga-continued 2

According to news reports BHP Billetton is in the market to make an aquisition Could it be OZL?

Oz Minerals Saga-continues

Oz Minerals saga continues wit a ban on sale to China ,and no other buyer in sight Are all the speculators and vultures waiting for(what) events to unfold Maybe the Fed Govt should put everyone out of their misery and buy OZL for the nation In my view money is better spent on a prosporous gold and copper mine, than public servants who wont tell the Minister of Defence what goes on in his dept Even allegedly breaking into his computer and info etc Maybe Kevin Rudd and julia Gillard will wake up to these facts, before its too late Marxist theory does state that property and business can be owned by those of Marxist views So there is no political objection to own a gold and copper mine in the nations interest

Bush Fire Damage

Its been said bushfires are beneficial for the environment I say they are not Each time there is a bush fire, plants die There is regrowth But not enough to replace original loss Each bushfire mean less vegetation of trees and bushes etc Replaced by grass A fire hazard And introduced exotic weeds So the environment is changes What once was forrest can become a grass plain-then a desert of sand-less water

Trees May Cause Earth To Expand

It stands to reason that centrifugal force may cause an object to expand And Earth is subject to centifugal force Trees may also cause earth to expand By creating Oxygen which helps make water The more trees and vegetation= more oxygen = more water=larger Earth No information been made public via measuring instruments on the moon,if Earth is expanding Time someone said something on this subject

Oz Minerals Saga-continues

One wonders why (whats left of Oz Minerals management)they persist in believing China is the saviour of Oz minerals Are there not other interested parties--if not why not Is there something shareholders and public dont know Does Oz minerals smell for some reason? Most investors have said goodbye to their money And wonder why another company dont buy them out Or the Fed govt buy Oz minerals After all its said a gold and copper mine is on Fed Govt Land ABC Radio today at 7pm announces Oz Minerals is still trying to sell to China Without the gold and copper mine on Fed Govt Land Why dont the Fed govt Buy Oz minerals and stop wasting public money on hostile banks Money down the drain for sure And get an income for Aussie tax payers

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Eye Witness from Gaza: Sameh Habeeb Speaking Tour A first-hand account of what has happened and is still happening in Gaza from Sameh Habeeb, Palestinian photojournalist from Gaza Wednesday 25th March Southampton – 7:30pm University: lecture Room A, Nuffield Theatre Thursday 26th March Plymouth University 7:30pm Saturday 28 March 7:30pm - Calstock Village Hall, Calstock, Tamar Valley Monday 30th March – 8pm Walthamstow -Harmony Hall, Truro Road E17 7BY, London Tuesday 31st March Liverpool 7pm - Quaker Meeting House, School Lane, L1 3BT Thursday 2nd April Manchester - 7pm – Cross Street Chapel, Cross Street Friday 3rd April Durham/Newcastle area - 7pm Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Newcastle Road, Chester-le-Street Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 3:49 PM 2 comments LFPME/PSC report back event, committee room 9, House of Commons, March 11th, 9pm LFPME/PSC report back event, committee room 9, House of Commons, March 11th, 9pm The Britain-Palestine All-Party parliamentary Group visited the Gaza strip and West Bank between the 14th and 20th of February. Richard Burden MP, Andy Slaughter MP, Sarah Tether MP, Tony Lloyd MP, Sara Apps and Martin Linton MP reported back on what they saw. They were joined by LFPME’s Michelle Harris, musician Lowkey and Gazan journalist Sameh Habeeb. Richard Burden MP spoke of the destruction of the Gaza strip, describing the tented cities where the refugees live. Richard talked about an Israeli attack on a UN store, the destruction of a music school, and said that he saw evidence of white phosphorous at a hospital attacked by Israel. Richard also spoke of the need for Israel to be held to account for what had happened as the only way to prevent a repeat of the massacres. Andy Slaughter MP told those gathered about a round table meeting attended by members of Hamas, Fatah and independent politicians. At the meeting Fatah said they would respect the results of the next election in 2010. Andy said that the Palestinian politicians at the meeting now consider Israel as too extreme to deal with. He also revealed that Palestinians are fully in favour of a downgrading of the EU-Israel Association agreement and support an arms embargo on Israel. Andy also believes that Israel has completely abandoned the 2-state solution, reflected in the rapid increase in settlement building and expansion. Sarah Tether MP described seeing whole villages that had been razed to the ground: “as far as the eye could see, it was total destruction”, comparing the refugee crisis to the one that occurred in 1948. Residents that Sarah spoke to did not differentiate between the attacks of 1948, 1967 and 2008/9. She said that anger was “rare, passivity and acceptance have become normal”. Sarah met a man named Abdul Karim whose home had been destroyed by the Israelis, but who would return every day with his family to sit by the rubble of their house because they didn’t know what else to do. She told the gathering that official Liberal Democrat policy is now to impose an arms embargo on Israel and to suspend the EU-Israel Association agreement if Israel does not allow rebuilding materials in to Gaza. Sarah warned that we “can’t let Israel get away with it otherwise people in the Middle East will lose faith in the rule of law”. Tony Lloyd MP spoke of the economic situation, saying that the economic blockade is “bleeding the economy of Gaza” and said that opening the crossings would allow the Palestinians to trade with the world. Jamal El Khoudary The independent member of parliament from Palestine, chair of the board of directors at Gaza university and the head of the Popular committee against the siege, thanked the gathering for their solidarity, but asked for freedom and an independent state, not just aid. He said that the term “war” suggests a fight between two armies, and that what had happened in December 2008 and January 2009 was not war, but a “massacre of the innocent”, criticising the media for not showing these facts. Mr Khoudary spoke of destroyed Gazan infrastructure, and also said that the people of Gaza are no longer scared. He said that the first relief after the attack was from the people of Gaza, who showed their “steadfastness” by sharing what they could to try to survive. He asked “what can people say to their children when they ask ‘why?’ A child cannot understand that they are being attacked because they are Palestinian”. Mr Khoudhry outlined the challenges for the Palestinians and the solidarity movement: Rebuilding Gaza requires the borders to be opened, which means work by the Palestinians and the international solidarity movement The ending of the Israeli siege Ensuring that the Palestinian government in Gaza receives the money promised for rebuilding, Sara Apps hailed the resilience and adaptability of the Palestinian people after her visit to Gaza. She described the situation as “not a normal conflict, it is occupier against occupied” with “no place of refuge where people can feel reassured”. Sara said Israel had sent a message to the people of the Middle East: “You’re not safe anywhere”. She also noted the disparity in the value of life between Israelis and Palestinians, saying that this has been reflected in the “abnormal” reaction of the international community: “governments need to react normally, like the people have”. Martin Linton MP described the Gaza attack as “a captive population pummelled and shot at…completely at the mercy of Israeli troops”. Martin focused on what he had seen in the West Bank, describing roads that are only for the use of Jewish settlers. He said that there has been a 59 per cent increase in settlements since Condoleezza Rice negotiated a reduction. Martin said “bulldozers are the Israeli weapon in the West Bank”. Martin saw the graves of 2 students killed by Israel for protesting against the Gaza attack in the village of Na’alin, close to the Israeli border on December the 28th. It turned out that one of the men shot was a friend of one of his LFPME colleagues. He also noted the number of bulldozers, saying that Israel are “trying to build themselves in to the West Bank permanently…now is the time for maximum pressure from the UK government”. Michelle Harris pointed out that between 2000 and December 27th 2008, 13 Israelis were killed by rockets. Since 2005, 4920 Gazans have been killed by Israel, 25 per cent of them children. Michelle said that depriving the people of Gaza of water and medical aid is a war crime. She pointed out that Israel never ended its occupation of the Gaza strip, as it never left its air space or stopped controlling its seas. She noted that while there is constant talk of Hamas not recognising Israel’s right to exist, the reality is that Israel does not recognise the right of Palestinians to exist. She called on the solidarity movement to convince politicians to stop funding Israel and cease their support of Israel. Lowkey spoke of his tour of Palestine, describing how it “felt like a human experiment”. He said that Barack Obama is not hearing the voice of the solidarity movement and criticised the complicity of the media and powerful states in “trying to eradicate the word ‘Palestine’”. Sameh Habeeb, a Gazan journalist, described some of the horrific scenes he had witnessed while reporting the recent Israeli attacks. Sameh said that his visit to the UK is “the first time I am free”. He said his homeland is a “concentration camp” and that the Israeli attacks were not an attack on Hamas, but “a war against everything” in the Gaza strip. Sameh said that he had previously worked for the BBC, but said that he would now boycott them because of their conduct during the attacks saying “they have moved away from the ethics of journalism, nature and humanity”. Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 4:25 AM 1 comments Monday, March 23, 2009 Israel opens fire on Gaza Gaza Strip, 23 March 2009-(The PT)- Israeli army launched several air attacks on the Gaza Strip. Khan Younis City mid of the occupied Gaza Strip faced heavy Israeli bombings from the naval forces in the western part. Meanwhile, Israeli troops based in the eastern part of the City was attacked by heavy gunfire and shells. Medical sources reported that no injuries resulted in the attacks. Palestinian freedom fighters clashed with Israeli forces which tried last night to advance into the eastern part of Khan Yonuis, Faraheen. Israeli army used shells and rockets in its operation. Two ground-to-ground missiles were fired by Israeli forces which uprooted some agricultural lands in the area. Hamas armed brigades, Ez El Din El Qasa, announced that it has launched five mortar rockets into the army. Israeli army didn't on its part approve or debunk the hamas announcement. The Israeli escalation comes within very hard time for Palestinians. The so-called ceasefire still imposing hard siege leaving more people in hunger and sentencing more people to death. Three Palestinians were killed yesterday due to inability of leaving abroad for treatment. http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=300:israel-opens-fire-on-gaza&catid=3:newsflash&Itemid=204 Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 2:30 AM 3 comments Thursday, March 19, 2009 Dozens of British MPs attend solidarity meeting on Gaza in House of CommonThursday, March 19, 2009 Dozens of British MPs attend solidarity meeting on Gaza in House of Commons LONDON, (PIC)-- Dozens of British MPs including former lawmaker and Minister Tony Benn attended a massive assembly in solidarity with Gaza on Wednesday 11th March in the House of Commons at the invitation of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. This special meeting was also attended by representatives of British parties, political, social and religious organizations and student and labor unions. I made a prominent speech that touched the hearts of the attendees. Some of the audience were moved to tears when I described a number of tragic scenes that occurred during the last Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and explained the size of suffering experienced by the distressed Gazan people after war. I told some of the stories that have been appearing here on my blog and I described how Gaza has become a concentration camp. I also declared that I am boycotting the BBC, saying “they have moved away from the ethics of journalism, nature and humanity” and I urged the gathered MPs to do the same. My old friend Jamal El Khoudary, the independent member of parliament from Palestine, thanked the gathering for their solidarity, but asked for freedom and an independent state, not just aid. He said that the term “war” suggests a fight between two armies, and that what had happened in December 2008 and January 2009 was not war, but a “massacre of the innocent”, criticising the media for not showing these facts. Mr Khoudary spoke of destroyed Gazan infrastructure, and also said that the people of Gaza are no longer scared. He said that the first relief after the attack was from the people of Gaza, who showed their “steadfastness” by sharing what they could to try to survive. He asked “what can people say to their children when they ask ‘why?’ A child cannot understand that they are being attacked because they are Palestinian”. For her part, British MP Sarah Tether said in her speech that the humanitarian conditions in Gaza are extremely difficult and the citizens there live in a heartbreaking situation after Israel destroyed entire civilian areas. Tether urged the British government to move to end the Gaza tragedy and also called on the UN and the Security Council to play more active role for the protection of human rights in the occupied Palestinian areas and for the enforcement of the international law. Rabbi Jacob Zappa condemned the British government, the EU and the Security Council for their silence towards Israel's actions and aggression on the Palestinian people and its genocidal war in Gaza. -- Labour Friends of Palestine www.labourfriendsofpalestine.co.uk Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 5:13 PM 0 comments Labels: gaza sameh habeeb uk parliment london for gaza speaking Notes on My Speaking tour in the UK Online Dating With A Twist – Got Sent A Terrorist From Gaza! Pt2 http://canadiansforpalestine.ning.com/profiles/blogs/online-dating-with-a-twist-1 But it didn’t end there, in Westminster (Part 1) - our brief encounter was to be extended through the course of the week, as the PSC had launched a series of national events to build on the gains made since Israel’s latest misadventures in Gaza. Which, in their own words: “These Activist Days aim to involve new and recent members with local branches in building the campaign and extending the reach of PSC. More activist days will be set up over the next few months and we would like to hear from branches that would like to host them. We will focus on discussion on the current situation and dealing with difficult political issues. We will be looking at how to build support including; working locally, acting globally; getting the message out; liaison with local media; lobbying MP’s and MEP’s and involving all sections of the community. Local activists, members of the EC and a media expert will be present at each day to explore how best to achieve our aims.” The first of these Activist Days was to be in Bristol, almost my neck of the woods and the PSC hierarchy had very kindly asked me to host him overnight. So from our opposite ends of the country we both adorned ourselves on Bristol, where Sameh shared the platform with Betty Hunter, Director General of the PSC. Sameh shared with us his experiences of what it is like to be living under bombardment whilst trying to record and report on the event, as he did via phone to Sky News (see Part One) and also gave accounts of individual families such as that of Khaled Abed Rabbu, from Jabalia city in northern Gaza, who had witnessed the cold bloodied murder of two of his daughters on January 7th. Obviously, during his after-talk questions, the issue of Hamas’ popularity after all this carnage emerged as the hot-topic. Somebody mentioned that even Tony Blair had now called for them to be brought into the peace process - I had to intervene here, I hate this man with a passion, not only had he systematically killed the UK’s Labour Party, taken us into an illegal war but I could make a strong case for him being seriously complicit (as ‘so-called’ Peace Envoy) with Israel’s latest attempt to crush Hamas. I reminded everyone of his statements from early December of last year quoted in the Lebanon’s Daily Star, where he said, ‘he wanted to see the ‘right measures’ put in place to ensure that Hamas would be defeated in forthcoming elections,’ and asked whether anyone else felt that the recent trashing of the Gazan infrastructure had something to do with these and his ‘right measures..’ In the end Sameh said it hadn’t affected their popularity and had only strengthened their resolve. I couldn’t help but notice throughout the day that I wasn’t the only, general anti-war type, who had sort of drifted onto the issue of Palestine and while Betty Hunter told of the rise and rise of the PSC’s Annual National Lobby of Parliament, wondered why the Anti-War Movement as a whole hadn’t adopted this approach to their campaigning. OK, Palestine is still occupied but there have been at least a couple of positive developments of late - the recent creation of the Labour Party Friends of Palestine and also the UK government’s decision to backtrack on its original choice to rent part of a Leviev building in Tel Aviv for its new Embassy, after a letter-writing campaign was launched in protest, both suggest that the UK government might just be getting the message. One thing I certainly agreed with Betty on was that concerning Palestine, you just can’t do enough, I always feel like that. Then there were workshops and discussions about how to effectively lobby your elected representatives and ways and means of setting up, organising and advertising events in your own locality, all of which I found most beneficial, not least because of the European Elections approaching and because my own local peace group seem to have become most inactive and ineffectual and could well do with some fresh ideas which this event as a whole gave. Sameh doing what he seems to do very well... make friends.. The next one is to be in London: PSC Student Dayschool - After the University Occupations, Campaigning 4 Palestine Saturday 21st March 11am - 5pm University of London Union , Malet Street , London And will include some high profile speakers inc: Ken Livingstone (former Mayor of London), Betty Hunter, PSC Director General, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Sameh Habeeb, photojournalist from Gaza, Khaled Al-Mudallal, Palestinian student (formerly trapped in Gaza) and contain - Reports from Students involved in Recent Occupations with many others to be confirmed. More info: Then came the best bit, taking Sameh home and an utter delight! I had been looking forward to something like this for some time. So many times over the last year or so, I have phoned him up in Gaza and more often than not he would assume I’m just another journalist looking for info and he would start reeling off facts and figures of Israel’s latest means of collective punishment of his people and I have had to stop him in his tracks: ‘Hang on Sam, it’s me, your mate, I got all the news, how are you?’ etc. When he went on a whistle-stop tour of Italy last year his feet hardly touched the ground and while he is based in London for the present he is probably at the beck and call of the PSC, I just wanted him for a short time at least, away from it all and almost free… So we were off, from Bristol: To Taunton: To Minehead: After Sameh called me a ‘natural Gazan’ in Part One, I’d like to return the compliment and say he is a ‘natural Minehead-ian.’ I dragged him about town and tried coaxing him into a drink but he was having none of it, bless but the manner in which he just sort of blended in took me a little by surprise but without any help from me at all he made a few new friends to say the least. Sameh blending in, to the scenery even. Hey! We may have a few smugglers tunnels but no Israeli gunboats on these shores...yet! All went well, until he asked me to get him a haircut – on a Sunday! Don’t know why but Sameh now thinks I’m a terroWrist! All's well that ends well (the haircut) - my mate was well pleased to meet Sameh and get his sheers back! All I can say, after seeing Sameh on his way back to London, if this is Israel, the West and George W Bush’s ‘You’re either with us, or you’re with the….’ idea of a terrorist, then the world needs more… A big THANK YOU to the PSC for hosting Sameh in the UK & Bristol for putting on the above event. -- Sameh A. Habeeb, Photojournalist, Peace Activist & Founder of The Palestine Telegraph Newspaper London, United Kingdom UK Mob:0044- (0) 7949725139 Gaza Mob: 00972599306096 Sameh.habeeb@gmail.com Skype: Gazatoday, Facebook: Sameh A. habeeb Web: www.Paltelegraph.com www.gazatoday.blogspot.com Photos:http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 2:18 PM 2 comments Eye Witness from Gaza: Sameh Habeeb Speaking Tour Eye Witness from Gaza: Sameh Habeeb Speaking Tour A first-hand account of what has happened and is still happening in Gaza from Sameh Habeeb, Palestinian photojournalist from Gaza Friday 20th March Bethnal Green, London - 7pm, St John’s Church (side entrance) directly outside Bethnal Green Train Station Tuesday 24th March Portsmouth – 7:30pm Discovery Centre, Roman Catholic Cathedral, Edinburgh Road , PO1 32A Wednesday 25th March Southampton – 7:30pm University: lecture Room A, Nuffield Theatre Thursday 26th March Plymouth University 7:30pm Saturday 28 March 7:30pm - Calstock Village Hall, Calstock, Tamar Valley Monday 30th March – 8pm Walthamstow -Harmony Hall, Truro Road E17 7BY Tuesday 31st March Liverpool 7pm - Quaker Meeting House, School Lane, L1 3BT Wednesday 2nd April Manchester - 7pm – Cross Street Chapel, Cross Street Thursday 3rd April Durham Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 2:02 PM 1 comments Labels: gaza london sameh akram habeeb speaking out war Tuesday, March 3, 2009 From Gaza to London: Drawing Gaza by Photos and words Drawing Gaza by Photos and words Before, I wrote a diary called "from Gaza To Rome" Today I write "from Gaza To London" As a first speaker who survived the Israeli war on Gaza; I would be starting a very comprehensive speaking tour in the U.K. I'll be speaking at the parliament, touring at colleges and universities to bring more awareness about Palestine and the last war launched against Gaza. I just got to Cairo and I'm flying to London within hours. Just in the car, I started to make my first simple and humble report, however, I was so tired from the long hours of travel. I try in the below work to let you updated of the Gaza Strip. I'm having more repots and stories from Gaza; I would be releasing them so soon! The Israeli War left massive damage that nearly hit all aspects of life. I have written many stories but for sorry I had not the time to publish them due to dedicating my time to launch the first Palestinian Electronic Newspaper. A newspaper that would be very comprehensive and informative. It would deal with Palestine, Mideast, World and U.S News. However, I was documenting the aftermath step by step. I toured in most of devastated areas where I have seen massive insane damage and smelled easily death coming out of rubbles. I heard many sad accounts of killing and slow death. I turned myself to be introverted for some days and I lost the ability to write. I'm trying to gather all my power to write. In the Meantime, I would like to let you live in Gaza throughout my Photos! 1- Gazan Children: Moments of Ecstasy out of War Rubble. I spent nice moments along my friend Janet taking photos of young children in Juhr El Dik area mid of Gaza. The area was totally damaged. More than 150 houses partially and totally damaged. Many people were killed. Children there don't have any basics of life thus nothing called fun or joy could be recognized there. It's only death and fear hovering. http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb/GazanChildrenMomentsOfEcstasyOutOfWarRubble# 2- Snowy and Rainy Weather after the Gaza War. For the first time ever; Gaza was snowed. A nice white address covered most of the streets. For a moment, destruction and devastation hide behind that nice white dress. Quickly, snow melt and rubbles appeared again. http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb/SnowyAndRainyWeatherAfterTheGazaWar# 3- Devastation Mid Of Gaza Strip: Displaced Children There. The area witnessed heavy Israeli attacks in time of War. There is an account for Abu Hajaj family where more than 30 members kept in one house. They even had no bathroom. Thus, they were pushed to relieve nature in the same room they were kept in. Additionally, 2 women were killed. For long hours the red cross and paramedics tried to rescue them but the soldiers said no until they died. http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb/DevastationMidOfGazaCityDisplacedChildrenThere# 4- A Journey of Torture: Trying to Leave the Gaza Jail Successfully after the War, I managed to have a UK visa to speak in the parliament and tour in Britain, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Yet, I was trapped and not able to leave Gaza. I suffered a lot as well as thousands of people who tried to cross. For three days I tried but I failed. It was nice to have my camera with me. We stayed in the buses for more than 12 hours! You are invited to live the suffering here. http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb/AJourneyOfTortureTryingToLeaveTheGazaJail# -- Sameh A. Habeeb, B.A. Photojournalist & Peace Activist Humanitarian, Child Relief Worker Gaza Strip, Palestine Mob: 00972599306096 Tel: 0097282802825 E-mail: Sam_hab@hotmail.com Sameh.habeeb@gmail.com Skype: Gazatoday, Facebook: Sameh A. habeeb Web: www.gazatoday.blogspot.com Daily Photos:http://picasaweb.google.com/sameh.habeeb Posted by Sameh A. Palestine at 3:50 PM 8 comments Older Posts Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Subscribe To Gazatoday News Posts Atom Posts All Comments Atom All Comments Who is the main obstacle in Peace track in the Middle East? Gaza War: Over 1360 palestinians killed while 4 Israelis only. Is that fair? On the Real News powered by HARDTALK FROM GAZA powered by NEWS ABOUT GAZA powered by Who will End Israeli War On Gaza? My Pic Sameh Akram Habeeb Contributors palnasheed Sameh A. Palestine Slideshow From Gaza powered by Followers Take The Siege Away powered by How the Palestinian-Israeli Conflic will end? Blog Archive ▼ 2009 (42) ▼ March (7) Eye Witness from Gaza: Sameh Habeeb Speaking Tour LFPME/PSC report back event, committee room 9, Hou... Israel opens fire on Gaza Dozens of British MPs attend solidarity meeting on... Notes on My Speaking tour in the UK Eye Witness from Gaza: Sameh Habeeb Speaking Tour From Gaza to London: Drawing Gaza by Photos and w... ► February (6) The First Electronic Newspaper: The Palestine Tele... Project Life: World Orphan Rehabilitation Progra... DIGGING FOR THE TRUTH "My mother, my wife, and my three daughters all he... The New Nakhba in Jabalia Today's Photo: A little Survivor ► January (29) Were chickens firing rockets? Palestinian father mourns son killed in Gaza 28 Ja... Today's Photo Parents hope UNRWA psycho-social support will help... A child full of light will never see again International journalists to arrive in Gaza Tuesda... Gaza hospital appeals for nursing reinforcements Day 23 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 22 of Israeli War On Gaza Who Is Responsible for Gaza blight? Day 21 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 20 of Israeli War On Gaza Live Footage from Gaza Day 19 of Israeli War On Gaza News Report: Israeli troops attack Gaza City Day 18 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 17 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 16 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 15 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 14 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 13 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 12 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 11 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 10 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 9 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 8 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 7 of Israeli War On Gaza Day 6 of Israeli War On Gaza Why would Israel bomb a university? ► 2008 (35) ► December (10) Escalation goes on, more Israeli air raids kill mo... "I Heard the Missile Coming" News Update from Gaza A Bloody Day in Gaza: Over 230 killed, hundreds in... Hunger before the storm Calm is over; violence breaks out again Gaza Overwhelmed by Siege, Having No Joy or Eid Gaza: Beyond the blockade ► November (4) ► October (2) ► September (3) ► August (2) ► July (1) ► June (5) ► April (1) ► March (7)

Israelie Terror-For All Supporters of Israel-Shame On You

in a post on the UN-Truth blog, on 14 January. The HRW experts said in the report released today that "All of the white phosphorus shells that Human Rights Watch found came from the same lot manufactured in the United States in 1989 by Thiokol Aerospace, which was running the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant at the time. In addition, on January 4, 2009, Reuters photographed IDF artillery units handling projectiles whose markings indicate that they were produced in the United States at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in September 1991. Israel's willingness to investigate its use of white phosphorus is welcome, but history suggests that the likelihood of an objective examination is slim. Previous IDF investigations have failed to look objectively at alleged laws of war violations by Israeli soldiers and commanders. In the case of Operation Cast Lead, military investigators have already suggested that soldiers and commanders did no wrong, even before the investigations are complete...” Human Rights Watch recommended that Israel should establish its own independent commission of inquiry, and the United Nations should also appoint an independent international commission of inquiry, ”to investigate credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and southern Israel by the IDF and Hamas forces between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009, including the use of white phosphorus." The HRW report also says that "The United States government, which supplied Israel with its white phosphorus munitions, should also conduct an investigation to determine whether Israel used it in violation of international humanitarian law." The report also presented findings about the IDF attack with white phosphorus on the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City on 15 January -- the day United Nations Secretary-General BAN Ki-Moon arrived in the region. The most striking detail was how long it lasted -- between two-and-a-half and three hours. During which time, several UNRWA staff and officials were making frantic phone calls to various contacts in the IDF, who were somehow unable to bring the white phosphorus attack to a quick halt. A former U.S. Army officer now working with UNRWA, Scott Anderson told the HRW researchers that the IDF seemed "to be 'walking' the artillery fire across the area – firing shells along an arc at evenly spaced intervals". At the culmination of the attack, around 10 am, some six shells landed inside the UNRWA compound, where some 700 people had taken shelter. These white phosphorus shells set ablaze the [vehicle] workshop and two vast warehouses containing humanitarian food and medical supplies. According to the report, the densely packed sacks of flour continued to burn for 12 days, until January 27. The loss of donated supplies totalled millions of dollars, and UNRWA told HRW that the attack wounded one UN worker and two civilians who had sought shelter in the compound. The HRW reported that Claire Mitchell, UNRWA field legal officer, had records showing that five senior UNRWA staff made dozens of phone calls to the IDF during the attack: 'Scott [Anderson] started calling at around 8 a.m. to Major Aviad Silberman at Erez [crossing]', she said. 'Aidan O'Leary making calls regularly from shortly before 9 a.m. to Uri Singer and [retired Brigadier-] General [Baruch] Spiegel [head of the IDF's Humanitarian Coordination Cell] in Tel Aviv'. The report also noted that "UNRWA Gaza director John Ging said that he too had spoken with the IDF at the time of the attack. He and other UNRWA staff said they had given the IDF the GPS coordinates of all UN installations in Gaza before Operation Cast Lead began. Speaking at a press conference on January 15, Ging said that after the first shells hit the compound, UNRWA alerted the IDF of the exact location of its fuel trucks". Anderson confirmed the multiple phone calls to the IDF, the report said: " 'I was calling the IDF guys at Erez all the time', he said. 'They said they were trying to stop the shelling. It looks like there was nothing they could do." He added, 'I know that in the US Army it would not take that long to get the artillery fire to stop'." The IDF's chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Avi Beneyahu, the IDF has started an investigation. Earlier, a report in the Israeli press indicated that the IDF was looking into the possibility that one reserve unit of paratroopers may have misused white phosphorus on at least one occasion in one other location in the Gaza Strip." Two days later, on 17 January, the report says, "the IDF starting firing at least three artillery shells, which Human Rights Watch determined to be white phosphorus, over and in the immediate vicinity of a UN-run elementary school in Beit Lahiya. At the time, the school was housing roughly 1,600 people, who had sought refuge there from neighboring areas. Human Rights Watch found no indication that IDF units or Palestinian armed groups were operating in the area at the time The attack killed two young brothers when an already-detonated white phosphorus shell landed in a classroom on the top floor of the school; the shell also severely injured their mother and a cousin. The shelling also spread burning white phosphorus wedges all over the school and surrounding area, wounding 12 other people, setting fire to a classroom where displaced persons were sheltering, and damaging a nearby market. Human Rights Watch visited the site on January 23, six days after the attack, and saw white phosphorus wedges still burning when children dug them out of the sand". Within hours, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that IDF forces would implement a cease-fire within hours, starting at 0200 am on 18 January. Report by Marian Houk, a freelance journalist currently based in Jerusalem. A form of this article has been posted on her blog (www.un-truth.com), and by American Chronicle. Travel tips It's always important to take care of your health, whether you're at home or on the road, but there are some additional concerns that are important to keep in mind when you're traveling. Whether you're taking a trip with your family or plan to live abroad for several months for a study program, it's easier to get sick when you're in a new place because your body hasn't had a chance to adjust to the food, water, and air in a new environment. Traveling can bring you in contact with things that your body isn't used to. Continue reading for tips on keeping your travel experience as healthy as possible. Don't Take a Vacation From Health The stress and excitement of travel can make you more likely to get sick, but if you follow a few simple tips, you're more likely to stay healthy throughout your trip - and your trip will definitely be more enjoyable. The good news is that as a teen, your immune system is as strong as an adult's, but lack of sleep and a poor diet can make it easier for you to become sick. The first thing you should do if you're heading overseas is to find out what kinds of vaccinations you'll need in advance because different countries have different requirements. In the United States, contact your doctor or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a list of necessary vaccinations. You'll want to allow plenty of time for this step in case you need to get vaccines that require more than one dose.a->Report: IOF troops carried out 36 incursions in W. Bank during one week Saturday, 28 March 2009 19:50 Sameh Akram Habeeb NABLUS - The Palestinian center for human rights revealed in its weekly report that the IOF troops carried out during a one-week period at least 36 incursions in most of the West Bank cities, villages and refugee camps during which they kidnapped 26 Palestinian citizens and committed human rights abuses. During the reporting period, from 19 to 25 of March, the IOF troops kidnapped four Palestinian lawmakers and other numbers of leaders affiliated with Hamas, according to the center. The center strongly denounced the kidnappings, stressing that such mass punishment is banned by article 33 of the fourth Geneva convention on the protection of civilian individuals in time of war. The IOF troops also, during this period, continued to destroy and bulldoze more Palestinian lands in the West Bank for the expansion of the apartheid wall especially in the villages of Wadi Al-Rasha and Ras Tayra, south of Qalqilya. The IOF used as usual excessive force against Palestinian and foreign activists participating in peaceful anti-wall protests which resulted in eight injuries and dozens of suffocation cases among the protesters. The report also pointed out that the IOF troops carried out a limited incursion into the Gaza Strip on March 22 specifically in the Farrahin neighborhood, east of Khan Younis, and bulldozed agricultural lands, adding that the Israeli navy kidnapped during the reporting period nine Palestinian fishermen in Gaza waters. In a new development, the Israeli war ministry announced that it would carry out its biggest-ever war drill in all Palestinian occupied lands in anticipation of any massive missile attacks. Matan Vilnai, the deputy war minister, said that the goal of the drill is to get all Israelis introduced to the culture of emergency as if a war is about to break out tomorrow. The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said Friday that the Israeli security apparatuses would ratify during this week this drill called "turning point" which simulates attacks on Israel. In another context, Moshe Arens, a former Israeli minister, said that the war on Gaza had not achieved its objectives, stressing that war minister Ehud Barak failed to confront Hamas and stop its rocket attacks. In an article published in the Haaretz newspaper, Arenz underlined that the Israeli military operation against Gaza failed to put an end to rocket fire and to get captive soldier Gilad Shalit released and above all Israel paid dearly when it provoked the international public opinion against it as a result of the massive destruction it caused in Gaza. Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 March 2009 20:08 ) Newsflash Rain of Fire Jerusalem- Human Rights Watch released a damning report this week that the Israeli military had “deliberately or recklessly used white phosphorus munitions in violation of the laws of war” during the 22-day Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The New York-based human rights organization said that its experts had come to this conclusion for the following reasons: “First, the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus in populated areas until the last days of the operation reveals a pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage. Second, the IDF was well aware of the effects of white phosphorus and the dangers it poses to civilians. Third, the IDF failed to use safer available alternatives for smokescreens". The report, "Rain of Fire", was supposed to be released on Thursday. But, Fred Abrahams, the senior emergencies researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), and one of the co-authors of the report on the IOF's use of white phosphorus in Gaza, said on Wednesday afternoon in Jerusalem that the embargo was being lifted because of numerous leaks, which had already been published in the media. According to the HRW report, the Israeli troops began using white phosphorus in different areas of the Gaza Strip starting after the launch of a ground offensive on 3 January. Even though an HRW team of experts was unable to enter Gaza until Israel and Hamas declared separate cease-fires on 18 January, they did witness themselves the aerial attacks from Israeli territory around the Gaza perimeter. The HRW report says that "In incidents investigated by Human Rights Watch, Israeli forces used white phosphorus munitions in an indiscriminate or disproportionate manner in violations of the laws of war. In these incidents, even if the intended use of the white phosphorus was as an obscurant, it had the effect on the ground as a weapon. The rationale for an obscurant seems doubtful because there were either no Israeli forces in the vicinity to screen or such forces were for a considerable period in a stationary deployment. And if the purpose was to obscure military maneuvers, the IDF could have achieved similar obscuring effects through use of smoke artillery without causing the same degree of civilian harm ... As the incendiary effects of white phosphorus on civilians are well known, the civilian harm caused by white phosphorus use in populated areas was foreseeable". The report stated that "The IDF's deliberate or reckless use of white phosphorus munitions is evidenced in five ways. First, to Human Rights Watch's knowledge, the IDF never used its white phosphorus munitions in Gaza before, despite numerous incursions with personnel and armor. Second, the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus in populated areas until the last days of the operation reveals a pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage. Third, the IDF was well aware of the effects white phosphorus has and the dangers it can pose to civilians. Fourth, if the IDF used white phosphorus as an obscurant, it failed to use available alternatives, namely smoke munitions, which would have held similar tactical advantages without endangering the civilian population. Fifth, in at least one of the cases documented in this report – the January 15 strike on the UNRWA compound in Gaza City – the IDF kept firing white phosphorus despite repeated warnings from UN personnel about the danger to civilians. Under international humanitarian law, these circumstances demand the independent investigation of the use of white phosphorus and, if warranted, the prosecution of all those responsible for war crimes". HRW says that "The only unique benefit provided by white phosphorus is the ability to interfere with the infra-red spectrum, thus impeding the use of night vision and infra-red tracking systems used in anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). However, the IDF extensively used white phosphorus during the day, obviating the need to block night vision, and Human Rights Watch found no evidence that Hamas fired ATGMs". The report also says that "The use of white phosphorus as an obscurant in densely populated areas of Gaza violated the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life. This concern is amplified given the method of use observed by Human Rights Watch and evidenced in media photographs of air-bursting white phosphorus projectiles. Air-bursting spreads burning wedges in a radius up to 125 meters from the blast point, thereby exposing more civilians and civilian objects to potential harm than a localized ground burst". The HRW report details findings in six specific cases in which white phosphorus was used in Gaza. One of the cases is about Mohammad al-Haddad, who was terribly wounded while trying to save his parents and a brother and a sister who were burning to death in a car hit by white phosphorus while trying to escape their home during one of the "humanitarian interludes" the IDF declared after international outcry during the war: "The Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southeastern Gaza City is a relatively affluent residential area with wide streets and multi-story apartment buildings inhabited mostly by professionals and their families-what one resident called 'a secular stronghold' ... Ground fighting commenced when IDF troops began to enter the neighborhood from the south for limited periods around January 11, reportedly facing heavy mortar and gunfire from Palestinian armed groups. The fighting intensified around midnight on January 14-15, when Israeli forces advanced into Tel al-Hawa with troops and tanks… One resident told Human Rights Watch: 'My daughter told me there was a car on fire with people in it. I looked out and saw a young man who had lost control of himself trying to push his way into the burning car. When I got to the car he had fallen down and he was on fire. The shelling was ongoing and I dragged him to an alley and tried to talk to him, but he couldn't talk. One of his eyes had burned away and he was horribly injured'. According to the resident, he and the wounded man (Mohammad al-Haddad, 25) were stuck in the alley for 90 minutes as the shelling continued, and because they feared Israeli snipers in the area. Once the shelling subsided, he and two young men carried the wounded man to a neighbor's car and then drove him to al-Shifa hospital. At 2:30 p.m. he returned to the car and found that it had partially melted and the gas tank had exploded … In the smoking wreckage, he said, they found only a few bones of the four occupants. A piece of a skull and some teeth lay next to the vehicle, the resident said. Human Rights Watch spoke to al-Haddad in the burn unit at al-Shifa Hospital on January 27, and he corroborated the other testimony. According to Mohammad al-Haddad, the IDF started shelling Tel al-Hawa at 7 a.m. on January 15. He and his family waited in their home … until 11 a.m., he said, when Israel announced it would begin a temporary unilateral ceasefire. At that point, they got into their gray 1996 Volkswagen Golf. He explained what happened next: 'We drove about 100 meters to the intersection at the end of our street, when we were hit. The power of the explosion threw me from the car. I lost consciousness, but then I went back to the car, and that's where (my neighbor) said he found me. After that I woke up in the hospital'. In addition to losing his left eye, al-Haddad suffered third-degree burns to his legs, hands and forehead, and a broken jaw. His younger brother Salam, 18, is the only other surviving member of the family – he had left the family's house at 10 a.m., before the ceasefire began. The HRW report continued, "Dr. Nafiz Abu Sha'baan, head of the burn and plastic surgery unit at al-Shifa Hospital, treated Mohammad al-Haddad upon arrival. Dr. Abu Sha`baan said that he had not treated any white phosphorus wounds prior to Operation Cast Lead and that the hospital did not classify injuries as caused by white phosphorus due to a lack of diagnostic tools to make that assessment. However, Dr. Abu Sha'baan told Human Rights Watch that Mohammad's injuries appeared consistent with wounds caused by white phosphorus. 'We think it's from white phosphorus because the burns are very deep', he said. 'We already excised burnt tissue and now his wounds are getting worse. When we saw him the first time the wounds were more superficial than they are now. We've got to operate again tomorrow to excise more tissue'. Elsewhere in the report, HRW states that "Palestinian and foreign doctors who treated burn victims told Human Rights Watch about seeing intense and very deep burns. On some occasions the wounds began to burn again when cleaned, which is consistent with white phosphorus igniting on contact with oxygen. 'For the first time I'm seeing strange kinds of burns, very deep to the bone', one doctor at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City told Human Rights Watch. 'And they cause a bacterial infection unlike anything else'. Some seriously burned patients were evacuated to Egypt for treatment, especially if they needed skin grafts, because Gazan hospitals could not offer proper care. 'We have a lot of burns, actually chemical burns', a doctor in Cairo treating Gazans told Human Rights Watch. 'Most are third degree burns, which look like chemical burns and not ordinary burns. There is no skin and sometimes even no muscle'." The white phosphorus attacks recounted by Human Rights Watch in its just-released report, "Rain of Fire", were only part of horrors of war inflicted upon civilians in Gaza during the 22-day IDF Operation Cast Lead, 27 December to 18 January. Khuza'a village, east of Khan Younis, and not far from the Israeli border, was attacked intermittently for over three days by White Phosphorus, from 10 to 13 January. Then, on the 13th of January, as their homes were collapsing above their heads, women and children who were waving white flags while trying to flee were shot dead by Israeli soldiers. The HRW report said that "the village of Khuza'a is one of the closest Palestinian residential areas to Israel, in sight of IDF watchtowers. Open fields separate it from the armistice line. In a series of ground incursions between January 11 and 13, Israeli forces engaged Palestinian fighters, apparently killing three of them. At the same time, local officials said, 16 civilians died and dozens more were wounded, many by smoke inhalation from the extensive use of white phosphorus. On two separate occasions the IDF heavily used air-burst white phosphorus, artillery fired, killing one woman and injuring dozens of others, including one boy who burned his foot on a buried white phosphorus wedge 12 days after the attack. Residents and local human rights activists told Human Rights Watch that Palestinian fighters were active in the area, and an Islamic Jihad commander told the media that about one dozen fighters had directly engaged the IDF in Khuza'a. But these engagements appear to have been minimal, with the fighters mostly retreating whenever Israeli forces advanced. Even with the presence of these fighters, the IDF's extensive use of air-burst white phosphorus in a populated area was unlawful due to the munition's indiscriminate effects. In addition, if the purpose of the white phosphorus was to mask approaching troops, it is unclear why the IDF air-burst the white phosphorus over the neighborhood instead of ground-bursting it, which causes a denser smoke. The IDF's assault on Khuza'a began around 9:30 pm on January 10, with an intense artillery barrage in the area, including white phosphorus shells bursting over the al-Najjar district, inhabited primarily by a family of that name. According to three residents, interviewed separately, white phosphorus shells exploded above private homes, showering the area with burning wedges. Some homes in the area caught on fire, and neighbors helped each other to extinguish the flames." The HRW report added that "The day after the attack, January 11, IDF forces moved into the al-Najjar district of Khuza'a for the first time. From approximately 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. they stayed on the edge of the village, residents and local human rights activists said, and several homes were bulldozed. The IDF returned around 3 a.m. on January 12 and destroyed some more homes, but withdrew again around noon. The next assault took place around midnight on January 13, with heavy shelling, including the extensive use of air-burst white phosphorus ... The widespread use of white phosphorus in the area caused many injuries from smoke inhalation, residents and local human rights activists said. This was confirmed by Dr. Yusuf Abu Rish, the director of Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Yunis, where many of the wounded were taken. He told Human Rights Watch that the hospital received more than 150 patients on January 13, and most of them were suffering from smoke inhalation. 'Even the ambulance bringing the victims was full of a foul odor', he said. Many of the victims suffered from a shortness of breath, hysteria and muscle spasms'. Twelve patients arrived at the hospital dead that day, Dr. Abu Rish said, but that was from all attacks in the Khan Yunis area and not just from white phosphorus. Human Rights Watch reviewed the hospital's records and found that on January 13 doctors there had treated 13 persons for what the hospital called chemical burns. Two of these patients required transfer to Egypt for treatment." [This account is recounted in full in the report which is posted on HRW's website http://www.hrw.org/en/node/81726/section/5" But that was only part of the picture. On 14 January, Jessica Montell of B’Tselem was one of a group of leading Israeli human rights campaigners who told a press conference in Jerusalem that there was a “clear and present danger” to civilians during the IDF operation in Gaza. "The situation is intolerable and must be stopped", she said. That morning, B'Tselem had issued an urgent media alert reporting that on 13 January, civilians -- women and children, waving white flags -- who trying to flee their homes during these attacks in which White Phosphorus was used in Khuza'a were shot dead by IDF soldiers. "Even if Hamas people are hiding at a hospital, as long as fire has not come from that hospital, by international law there is no justification for military action, and a hospital does not become a legitimate target", Montell told reporters. Montell confirmed that her organization had received reports from eyewitnesses, which it transferred to the military, that a woman who walked out of her house in Khuza'a on 13th January, waving a white flag, had then been shot. Injured, and lying the ground where she had fallen, the woman had continued to wave the white flag until she was shot in the head. An ambulance which tried to reach the woman was fired at. Later in the day, a group of 30 civilians waving white flags was also shot at, and at least three more people died. Montell said she could not confirm greater numbers, but said that "This is not the first time that we get such information about the IDF shooting people who leave their houses with white flags, or waving white sheets." This report was recounted in a post on the UN-Truth blog, on 14 January. The HRW experts said in the report released today that "All of the white phosphorus shells that Human Rights Watch found came from the same lot manufactured in the United States in 1989 by Thiokol Aerospace, which was running the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant at the time. In addition, on January 4, 2009, Reuters photographed IDF artillery units handling projectiles whose markings indicate that they were produced in the United States at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in September 1991. Israel's willingness to investigate its use of white phosphorus is welcome, but history suggests that the likelihood of an objective examination is slim. Previous IDF investigations have failed to look objectively at alleged laws of war violations by Israeli soldiers and commanders. In the case of Operation Cast Lead, military investigators have already suggested that soldiers and commanders did no wrong, even before the investigations are complete...” Human Rights Watch recommended that Israel should establish its own independent commission of inquiry, and the United Nations should also appoint an independent international commission of inquiry, ”to investigate credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and southern Israel by the IDF and Hamas forces between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009, including the use of white phosphorus." The HRW report also says that "The United States government, which supplied Israel with its white phosphorus munitions, should also conduct an investigation to determine whether Israel used it in violation of international humanitarian law." The report also presented findings about the IDF attack with white phosphorus on the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City on 15 January -- the day United Nations Secretary-General BAN Ki-Moon arrived in the region. The most striking detail was how long it lasted -- between two-and-a-half and three hours. During which time, several UNRWA staff and officials were making frantic phone calls to various contacts in the IDF, who were somehow unable to bring the white phosphorus attack to a quick halt. A former U.S. Army officer now working with UNRWA, Scott Anderson told the HRW researchers that the IDF seemed "to be 'walking' the artillery fire across the area – firing shells along an arc at evenly spaced intervals". At the culmination of the attack, around 10 am, some six shells landed inside the UNRWA compound, where some 700 people had taken shelter. These white phosphorus shells set ablaze the [vehicle] workshop and two vast warehouses containing humanitarian food and medical supplies. According to the report, the densely packed sacks of flour continued to burn for 12 days, until January 27. The loss of donated supplies totalled millions of dollars, and UNRWA told HRW that the attack wounded one UN worker and two civilians who had sought shelter in the compound. The HRW reported that Claire Mitchell, UNRWA field legal officer, had records showing that five senior UNRWA staff made dozens of phone calls to the IDF during the attack: 'Scott [Anderson] started calling at around 8 a.m. to Major Aviad Silberman at Erez [crossing]', she said. 'Aidan O'Leary making calls regularly from shortly before 9 a.m. to Uri Singer and [retired Brigadier-] General [Baruch] Spiegel [head of the IDF's Humanitarian Coordination Cell] in Tel Aviv'. The report also noted that "UNRWA Gaza director John Ging said that he too had spoken with the IDF at the time of the attack. He and other UNRWA staff said they had given the IDF the GPS coordinates of all UN installations in Gaza before Operation Cast Lead began. Speaking at a press conference on January 15, Ging said that after the first shells hit the compound, UNRWA alerted the IDF of the exact location of its fuel trucks". Anderson confirmed the multiple phone calls to the IDF, the report said: " 'I was calling the IDF guys at Erez all the time', he said. 'They said they were trying to stop the shelling. It looks like there was nothing they could do." He added, 'I know that in the US Army it would not take that long to get the artillery fire to stop'." The IDF's chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Avi Beneyahu, the IDF has started an investigation. Earlier, a report in the Israeli press indicated that the IDF was looking into the possibility that one reserve unit of paratroopers may have misused white phosphorus on at least one occasion in one other location in the Gaza Strip." Two days later, on 17 January, the report says, "the IDF starting firing at least three artillery shells, which Human Rights Watch determined to be white phosphorus, over and in the immediate vicinity of a UN-run elementary school in Beit Lahiya. At the time, the school was housing roughly 1,600 people, who had sought refuge there from neighboring areas. Human Rights Watch found no indication that IDF units or Palestinian armed groups were operating in the area at the time The attack killed two young brothers when an already-detonated white phosphorus shell landed in a classroom on the top floor of the school; the shell also severely injured their mother and a cousin. The shelling also spread burning white phosphorus wedges all over the school and surrounding area, wounding 12 other people, setting fire to a classroom where displaced persons were sheltering, and damaging a nearby market. Human Rights Watch visited the site on January 23, six days after the attack, and saw white phosphorus wedges still burning when children dug them out of the sand". Within hours, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that IDF forces would implement a cease-fire within hours, starting at 0200 am on 18 January. Report by Marian Houk, a freelance journalist currently based in Jerusalem. A form of this article has been posted on her blog (www.un-truth.com), and by American Chronicle. Travel tips It's always important to take care of your health, whether you're at home or on the road, but there are some additional concerns that are important to keep in mind when you're traveling. Whether you're taking a trip with your family or plan to live abroad for several months for a study program, it's easier to get sick when you're in a new place because your body hasn't had a chance to adjust to the food, water, and air in a new environment. Traveling can bring you in contact with things that your body isn't used to. Continue reading for tips on keeping your travel experience as healthy as possible. Don't Take a Vacation From Health The stress and excitement of travel can make you more likely to get sick, but if you follow a few simple tips, you're more likely to stay healthy throughout your trip - and your trip will definitely be more enjoyable. The good news is that as a teen, your immune system is as strong as an adult's, but lack of sleep and a poor diet can make it easier for you to become sick. The first thing you should do if you're heading overseas is to find out what kinds of vaccinations you'll need in advance because different countries have different requirements. In the United States, contact your doctor or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a list of necessary vaccinations. You'll want to allow plenty of time for this step in case you need to get vaccines that require more than one dose.Report: IOF troops carried out 36 incursions in W. Bank during one week Saturday, 28 March 2009 19:50 Sameh Akram Habeeb NABLUS - The Palestinian center for human rights revealed in its weekly report that the IOF troops carried out during a one-week period at least 36 incursions in most of the West Bank cities, villages and refugee camps during which they kidnapped 26 Palestinian citizens and committed human rights abuses. During the reporting period, from 19 to 25 of March, the IOF troops kidnapped four Palestinian lawmakers and other numbers of leaders affiliated with Hamas, according to the center. The center strongly denounced the kidnappings, stressing that such mass punishment is banned by article 33 of the fourth Geneva convention on the protection of civilian individuals in time of war. The IOF troops also, during this period, continued to destroy and bulldoze more Palestinian lands in the West Bank for the expansion of the apartheid wall especially in the villages of Wadi Al-Rasha and Ras Tayra, south of Qalqilya. The IOF used as usual excessive force against Palestinian and foreign activists participating in peaceful anti-wall protests which resulted in eight injuries and dozens of suffocation cases among the protesters. The report also pointed out that the IOF troops carried out a limited incursion into the Gaza Strip on March 22 specifically in the Farrahin neighborhood, east of Khan Younis, and bulldozed agricultural lands, adding that the Israeli navy kidnapped during the reporting period nine Palestinian fishermen in Gaza waters. In a new development, the Israeli war ministry announced that it would carry out its biggest-ever war drill in all Palestinian occupied lands in anticipation of any massive missile attacks. Matan Vilnai, the deputy war minister, said that the goal of the drill is to get all Israelis introduced to the culture of emergency as if a war is about to break out tomorrow. The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said Friday that the Israeli security apparatuses would ratify during this week this drill called "turning point" which simulates attacks on Israel. In another context, Moshe Arens, a former Israeli minister, said that the war on Gaza had not achieved its objectives, stressing that war minister Ehud Barak failed to confront Hamas and stop its rocket attacks. In an article published in the Haaretz newspaper, Arenz underlined that the Israeli military operation against Gaza failed to put an end to rocket fire and to get captive soldier Gilad Shalit released and above all Israel paid dearly when it provoked the international public opinion against it as a result of the massive destruction it caused in Gaza. Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 March 2009 20:08 ) Newsflash Rain of Fire Jerusalem- Human Rights Watch released a damning report this week that the Israeli military had “deliberately or recklessly used white phosphorus munitions in violation of the laws of war” during the 22-day Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The New York-based human rights organization said that its experts had come to this conclusion for the following reasons: “First, the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus in populated areas until the last days of the operation reveals a pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage. Second, the IDF was well aware of the effects of white phosphorus and the dangers it poses to civilians. Third, the IDF failed to use safer available alternatives for smokescreens". The report, "Rain of Fire", was supposed to be released on Thursday. But, Fred Abrahams, the senior emergencies researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), and one of the co-authors of the report on the IOF's use of white phosphorus in Gaza, said on Wednesday afternoon in Jerusalem that the embargo was being lifted because of numerous leaks, which had already been published in the media. According to the HRW report, the Israeli troops began using white phosphorus in different areas of the Gaza Strip starting after the launch of a ground offensive on 3 January. Even though an HRW team of experts was unable to enter Gaza until Israel and Hamas declared separate cease-fires on 18 January, they did witness themselves the aerial attacks from Israeli territory around the Gaza perimeter. The HRW report says that "In incidents investigated by Human Rights Watch, Israeli forces used white phosphorus munitions in an indiscriminate or disproportionate manner in violations of the laws of war. In these incidents, even if the intended use of the white phosphorus was as an obscurant, it had the effect on the ground as a weapon. The rationale for an obscurant seems doubtful because there were either no Israeli forces in the vicinity to screen or such forces were for a considerable period in a stationary deployment. And if the purpose was to obscure military maneuvers, the IDF could have achieved similar obscuring effects through use of smoke artillery without causing the same degree of civilian harm ... As the incendiary effects of white phosphorus on civilians are well known, the civilian harm caused by white phosphorus use in populated areas was foreseeable". The report stated that "The IDF's deliberate or reckless use of white phosphorus munitions is evidenced in five ways. First, to Human Rights Watch's knowledge, the IDF never used its white phosphorus munitions in Gaza before, despite numerous incursions with personnel and armor. Second, the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus in populated areas until the last days of the operation reveals a pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage. Third, the IDF was well aware of the effects white phosphorus has and the dangers it can pose to civilians. Fourth, if the IDF used white phosphorus as an obscurant, it failed to use available alternatives, namely smoke munitions, which would have held similar tactical advantages without endangering the civilian population. Fifth, in at least one of the cases documented in this report – the January 15 strike on the UNRWA compound in Gaza City – the IDF kept firing white phosphorus despite repeated warnings from UN personnel about the danger to civilians. Under international humanitarian law, these circumstances demand the independent investigation of the use of white phosphorus and, if warranted, the prosecution of all those responsible for war crimes". HRW says that "The only unique benefit provided by white phosphorus is the ability to interfere with the infra-red spectrum, thus impeding the use of night vision and infra-red tracking systems used in anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). However, the IDF extensively used white phosphorus during the day, obviating the need to block night vision, and Human Rights Watch found no evidence that Hamas fired ATGMs". The report also says that "The use of white phosphorus as an obscurant in densely populated areas of Gaza violated the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life. This concern is amplified given the method of use observed by Human Rights Watch and evidenced in media photographs of air-bursting white phosphorus projectiles. Air-bursting spreads burning wedges in a radius up to 125 meters from the blast point, thereby exposing more civilians and civilian objects to potential harm than a localized ground burst". The HRW report details findings in six specific cases in which white phosphorus was used in Gaza. One of the cases is about Mohammad al-Haddad, who was terribly wounded while trying to save his parents and a brother and a sister who were burning to death in a car hit by white phosphorus while trying to escape their home during one of the "humanitarian interludes" the IDF declared after international outcry during the war: "The Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southeastern Gaza City is a relatively affluent residential area with wide streets and multi-story apartment buildings inhabited mostly by professionals and their families-what one resident called 'a secular stronghold' ... Ground fighting commenced when IDF troops began to enter the neighborhood from the south for limited periods around January 11, reportedly facing heavy mortar and gunfire from Palestinian armed groups. The fighting intensified around midnight on January 14-15, when Israeli forces advanced into Tel al-Hawa with troops and tanks… One resident told Human Rights Watch: 'My daughter told me there was a car on fire with people in it. I looked out and saw a young man who had lost control of himself trying to push his way into the burning car. When I got to the car he had fallen down and he was on fire. The shelling was ongoing and I dragged him to an alley and tried to talk to him, but he couldn't talk. One of his eyes had burned away and he was horribly injured'. According to the resident, he and the wounded man (Mohammad al-Haddad, 25) were stuck in the alley for 90 minutes as the shelling continued, and because they feared Israeli snipers in the area. Once the shelling subsided, he and two young men carried the wounded man to a neighbor's car and then drove him to al-Shifa hospital. At 2:30 p.m. he returned to the car and found that it had partially melted and the gas tank had exploded … In the smoking wreckage, he said, they found only a few bones of the four occupants. A piece of a skull and some teeth lay next to the vehicle, the resident said. Human Rights Watch spoke to al-Haddad in the burn unit at al-Shifa Hospital on January 27, and he corroborated the other testimony. According to Mohammad al-Haddad, the IDF started shelling Tel al-Hawa at 7 a.m. on January 15. He and his family waited in their home … until 11 a.m., he said, when Israel announced it would begin a temporary unilateral ceasefire. At that point, they got into their gray 1996 Volkswagen Golf. He explained what happened next: 'We drove about 100 meters to the intersection at the end of our street, when we were hit. The power of the explosion threw me from the car. I lost consciousness, but then I went back to the car, and that's where (my neighbor) said he found me. After that I woke up in the hospital'. In addition to losing his left eye, al-Haddad suffered third-degree burns to his legs, hands and forehead, and a broken jaw. His younger brother Salam, 18, is the only other surviving member of the family – he had left the family's house at 10 a.m., before the ceasefire began. The HRW report continued, "Dr. Nafiz Abu Sha'baan, head of the burn and plastic surgery unit at al-Shifa Hospital, treated Mohammad al-Haddad upon arrival. Dr. Abu Sha`baan said that he had not treated any white phosphorus wounds prior to Operation Cast Lead and that the hospital did not classify injuries as caused by white phosphorus due to a lack of diagnostic tools to make that assessment. However, Dr. Abu Sha'baan told Human Rights Watch that Mohammad's injuries appeared consistent with wounds caused by white phosphorus. 'We think it's from white phosphorus because the burns are very deep', he said. 'We already excised burnt tissue and now his wounds are getting worse. When we saw him the first time the wounds were more superficial than they are now. We've got to operate again tomorrow to excise more tissue'. Elsewhere in the report, HRW states that "Palestinian and foreign doctors who treated burn victims told Human Rights Watch about seeing intense and very deep burns. On some occasions the wounds began to burn again when cleaned, which is consistent with white phosphorus igniting on contact with oxygen. 'For the first time I'm seeing strange kinds of burns, very deep to the bone', one doctor at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City told Human Rights Watch. 'And they cause a bacterial infection unlike anything else'. Some seriously burned patients were evacuated to Egypt for treatment, especially if they needed skin grafts, because Gazan hospitals could not offer proper care. 'We have a lot of burns, actually chemical burns', a doctor in Cairo treating Gazans told Human Rights Watch. 'Most are third degree burns, which look like chemical burns and not ordinary burns. There is no skin and sometimes even no muscle'." The white phosphorus attacks recounted by Human Rights Watch in its just-released report, "Rain of Fire", were only part of horrors of war inflicted upon civilians in Gaza during the 22-day IDF Operation Cast Lead, 27 December to 18 January. Khuza'a village, east of Khan Younis, and not far from the Israeli border, was attacked intermittently for over three days by White Phosphorus, from 10 to 13 January. Then, on the 13th of January, as their homes were collapsing above their heads, women and children who were waving white flags while trying to flee were shot dead by Israeli soldiers. The HRW report said that "the village of Khuza'a is one of the closest Palestinian residential areas to Israel, in sight of IDF watchtowers. Open fields separate it from the armistice line. In a series of ground incursions between January 11 and 13, Israeli forces engaged Palestinian fighters, apparently killing three of them. At the same time, local officials said, 16 civilians died and dozens more were wounded, many by smoke inhalation from the extensive use of white phosphorus. On two separate occasions the IDF heavily used air-burst white phosphorus, artillery fired, killing one woman and injuring dozens of others, including one boy who burned his foot on a buried white phosphorus wedge 12 days after the attack. Residents and local human rights activists told Human Rights Watch that Palestinian fighters were active in the area, and an Islamic Jihad commander told the media that about one dozen fighters had directly engaged the IDF in Khuza'a. But these engagements appear to have been minimal, with the fighters mostly retreating whenever Israeli forces advanced. Even with the presence of these fighters, the IDF's extensive use of air-burst white phosphorus in a populated area was unlawful due to the munition's indiscriminate effects. In addition, if the purpose of the white phosphorus was to mask approaching troops, it is unclear why the IDF air-burst the white phosphorus over the neighborhood instead of ground-bursting it, which causes a denser smoke. The IDF's assault on Khuza'a began around 9:30 pm on January 10, with an intense artillery barrage in the area, including white phosphorus shells bursting over the al-Najjar district, inhabited primarily by a family of that name. According to three residents, interviewed separately, white phosphorus shells exploded above private homes, showering the area with burning wedges. Some homes in the area caught on fire, and neighbors helped each other to extinguish the flames." The HRW report added that "The day after the attack, January 11, IDF forces moved into the al-Najjar district of Khuza'a for the first time. From approximately 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. they stayed on the edge of the village, residents and local human rights activists said, and several homes were bulldozed. The IDF returned around 3 a.m. on January 12 and destroyed some more homes, but withdrew again around noon. The next assault took place around midnight on January 13, with heavy shelling, including the extensive use of air-burst white phosphorus ... The widespread use of white phosphorus in the area caused many injuries from smoke inhalation, residents and local human rights activists said. This was confirmed by Dr. Yusuf Abu Rish, the director of Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Yunis, where many of the wounded were taken. He told Human Rights Watch that the hospital received more than 150 patients on January 13, and most of them were suffering from smoke inhalation. 'Even the ambulance bringing the victims was full of a foul odor', he said. Many of the victims suffered from a shortness of breath, hysteria and muscle spasms'. Twelve patients arrived at the hospital dead that day, Dr. Abu Rish said, but that was from all attacks in the Khan Yunis area and not just from white phosphorus. Human Rights Watch reviewed the hospital's records and found that on January 13 doctors there had treated 13 persons for what the hospital called chemical burns. Two of these patients required transfer to Egypt for treatment." [This account is recounted in full in the report which is posted on HRW's website http://www.hrw.org/en/node/81726/section/5" But that was only part of the picture. On 14 January, Jessica Montell of B’Tselem was one of a group of leading Israeli human rights campaigners who told a press conference in Jerusalem that there was a “clear and present danger” to civilians during the IDF operation in Gaza. "The situation is intolerable and must be stopped", she said. That morning, B'Tselem had issued an urgent media alert reporting that on 13 January, civilians -- women and children, waving white flags -- who trying to flee their homes during these attacks in which White Phosphorus was used in Khuza'a were shot dead by IDF soldiers. "Even if Hamas people are hiding at a hospital, as long as fire has not come from that hospital, by international law there is no justification for military action, and a hospital does not become a legitimate target", Montell told reporters. Montell confirmed that her organization had received reports from eyewitnesses, which it transferred to the military, that a woman who walked out of her house in Khuza'a on 13th January, waving a white flag, had then been shot. Injured, and lying the ground where she had fallen, the woman had continued to wave the white flag until she was shot in the head. An ambulance which tried to reach the woman was fired at. Later in the day, a group of 30 civilians waving white flags was also shot at, and at least three more people died. Montell said she could not confirm greater numbers, but said that "This is not the first time that we get such information about the IDF shooting people who leave their houses with white flags, or waving white sheets." This report was recounted in a post on the UN-Truth blog, on 14 January. The HRW experts said in the report released today that "All of the white phosphorus shells that Human Rights Watch found came from the same lot manufactured in the United States in 1989 by Thiokol Aerospace, which was running the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant at the time. In addition, on January 4, 2009, Reuters photographed IDF artillery units handling projectiles whose markings indicate that they were produced in the United States at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in September 1991. Israel's willingness to investigate its use of white phosphorus is welcome, but history suggests that the likelihood of an objective examination is slim. Previous IDF investigations have failed to look objectively at alleged laws of war violations by Israeli soldiers and commanders. In the case of Operation Cast Lead, military investigators have already suggested that soldiers and commanders did no wrong, even before the investigations are complete...” Human Rights Watch recommended that Israel should establish its own independent commission of inquiry, and the United Nations should also appoint an independent international commission of inquiry, ”to investigate credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and southern Israel by the IDF and Hamas forces between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009, including the use of white phosphorus." The HRW report also says that "The United States government, which supplied Israel with its white phosphorus munitions, should also conduct an investigation to determine whether Israel used it in violation of international humanitarian law." The report also presented findings about the IDF attack with white phosphorus on the main UNRWA compound in Gaza City on 15 January -- the day United Nations Secretary-General BAN Ki-Moon arrived in the region. The most striking detail was how long it lasted -- between two-and-a-half and three hours. During which time, several UNRWA staff and officials were making frantic phone calls to various contacts in the IDF, who were somehow unable to bring the white phosphorus attack to a quick halt. A former U.S. Army officer now working with UNRWA, Scott Anderson told the HRW researchers that the IDF seemed "to be 'walking' the artillery fire across the area – firing shells along an arc at evenly spaced intervals". At the culmination of the attack, around 10 am, some six shells landed inside the UNRWA compound, where some 700 people had taken shelter. These white phosphorus shells set ablaze the [vehicle] workshop and two vast warehouses containing humanitarian food and medical supplies. According to the report, the densely packed sacks of flour continued to burn for 12 days, until January 27. The loss of donated supplies totalled millions of dollars, and UNRWA told HRW that the attack wounded one UN worker and two civilians who had sought shelter in the compound. The HRW reported that Claire Mitchell, UNRWA field legal officer, had records showing that five senior UNRWA staff made dozens of phone calls to the IDF during the attack: 'Scott [Anderson] started calling at around 8 a.m. to Major Aviad Silberman at Erez [crossing]', she said. 'Aidan O'Leary making calls regularly from shortly before 9 a.m. to Uri Singer and [retired Brigadier-] General [Baruch] Spiegel [head of the IDF's Humanitarian Coordination Cell] in Tel Aviv'. The report also noted that "UNRWA Gaza director John Ging said that he too had spoken with the IDF at the time of the attack. He and other UNRWA staff said they had given the IDF the GPS coordinates of all UN installations in Gaza before Operation Cast Lead began. Speaking at a press conference on January 15, Ging said that after the first shells hit the compound, UNRWA alerted the IDF of the exact location of its fuel trucks". Anderson confirmed the multiple phone calls to the IDF, the report said: " 'I was calling the IDF guys at Erez all the time', he said. 'They said they were trying to stop the shelling. It looks like there was nothing they could do." He added, 'I know that in the US Army it would not take that long to get the artillery fire to stop'." The IDF's chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Avi Beneyahu, the IDF has started an investigation. Earlier, a report in the Israeli press indicated that the IDF was looking into the possibility that one reserve unit of paratroopers may have misused white phosphorus on at least one occasion in one other location in the Gaza Strip." Two days later, on 17 January, the report says, "the IDF starting firing at least three artillery shells, which Human Rights Watch determined to be white phosphorus, over and in the immediate vicinity of a UN-run elementary school in Beit Lahiya. At the time, the school was housing roughly 1,600 people, who had sought refuge there from neighboring areas. Human Rights Watch found no indication that IDF units or Palestinian armed groups were operating in the area at the time The attack killed two young brothers when an already-detonated white phosphorus shell landed in a classroom on the top floor of the school; the shell also severely injured their mother and a cousin. The shelling also spread burning white phosphorus wedges all over the school and surrounding area, wounding 12 other people, setting fire to a classroom where displaced persons were sheltering, and damaging a nearby market. Human Rights Watch visited the site on January 23, six days after the attack, and saw white phosphorus wedges still burning when children dug them out of the sand". Within hours, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that IDF forces would implement a cease-fire within hours, starting at 0200 am on 18 January. Report by Marian Houk, a freelance journalist currently based in Jerusalem. A form of this article has been posted on her blog (www.un-truth.com), and by American Chronicle. Travel tips It's always important to take care of your health, whether you're at home or on the road, but there are some additional concerns that are important to keep in mind when you're traveling. Whether you're taking a trip with your family or plan to live abroad for several months for a study program, it's easier to get sick when you're in a new place because your body hasn't had a chance to adjust to the food, water, and air in a new environment. Traveling can bring you in contact with things that your body isn't used to. Continue reading for tips on keeping your travel experience as healthy as possible. Don't Take a Vacation From Health The stress and excitement of travel can make you more likely to get sick, but if you follow a few simple tips, you're more likely to stay healthy throughout your trip - and your trip will definitely be more enjoyable. The good news is that as a teen, your immune system is as strong as an adult's, but lack of sleep and a poor diet can make it easier for you to become sick. The first thing you should do if you're heading overseas is to find out what kinds of vaccinations you'll need in advance because different countries have different requirements. In the United States, contact your doctor or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a list of necessary vaccinations. You'll want to allow plenty of time for this step in case you need to get vaccines that require more than one dose.