Hamas pledges to back Palestinian bid to join ICC

[Jefferson23]

Senior Hamas official says the group isn't concerned about becoming a target of a war crimes probe: 'We are under occupation ... our fighters are defending their people.'

By Ibrahim Barzak and Mohammed Daraghmeh Aug. 23, 2014 | 1:53 PM

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Hamas has signed a pledge to back any Palestinian bid to join the International Criminal Court, two senior officials in the group said Saturday. Such a step could expose Israel — as well as Hamas — to war crimes investigations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has debated for months whether to join the court, a step that would transform his relations with Israel from tense to openly hostile and could also strain his ties with the United States.

The decision by Hamas to sign a document in support of a court bid removes a major obstacle, though it's not clear if Abbas now will go ahead. A hesitant Abbas has said he would not make any decision without the written backing of all Palestinian factions. Last month, he obtained such support from all factions in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Hamas, which is not a PLO member, has said it would study the idea. Its decision to support the court option came after almost seven weeks of a deadly cross-border war with Israel and several failed cease-fire efforts.

remainder: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612057

[Jefferson23]

1. LIVE UPDATES: Abbas to seek UN deadline for Israeli occupation, sources say

Abbas calls for resumption of Cairo talks; Gaza factions will no longer adhere to cease-fires, Hamas says; rockets intercepted over Ashdod, Ashkelon and Negev; mortar hits dining hall in southern kibbutz; 11 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza since Friday, Palestinians say.

By Haaretz | Aug. 23, 2014 | 3:10 PM

3:11 P.M. The IDF threatens to strike any Gaza house from which rockets or mortar shells are fired, deviating from its previous retaliatory policies.

In leaflets airdropped over the Gaza Strip in recent hours, the military said that "every house from which militant activity is carried out, will be targeted," and warned residents to stay away "from where fire was directed at Israel." So far, the IDF has been targeting houses from which fire at army forces was spotted, or houses used as command centers or arms stashes, but from now on will also strike civilian homes from which mortar shells are fired.

An army officer said the new retaliatory policy follows "hundreds of instances in which civilian homes were used" to fire rockets or mortar shells toward Israel. According to the officer, militants travel through the homes to the launching pads, situated in adjacent farming areas. The IDF also sent text messages to Gaza residents urging them to prevent "terrorists from using your property for their purposes," and warned them to steer clear "immediately from where they are active."

Since the collapse of the truce last Tuesday, over 520 rockets and mortar shells were fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, of which 70 rockets were intercepted. The IDF has since struck about 240 targets in the Strip. (Gili Cohen)

3:02 P.M. Iron Dome intercepts rocket in the Ashkelon area in southern Israel. Earlier, rocket sirens were sounded in the area. (Shirly Seidler)

2:10 P.M. Palestinian sources say PA President Mahmoud Abbas intends to ask the United Nations for a resolution that would set a deadline for the Israeli occupation. Media outlets in Qatar report that the move was discussed in meetings held in Doha between Abbas, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani over the past two days.


http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612036

[Jefferson23]

2. Iran to send aid to Gaza via Egypt

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran plans to send aid to the beleaguered Gaza Strip after Egypt said it would allow the shipment to enter the Palestinian territory, an Iranian diplomatic source said on Friday.

The official IRNA news agency said Cairo had agreed to transfer humanitarian aid bound for the coastal enclave, citing a foreign ministry source in Tehran.

The source said a first Iranian Red Crescent shipment of 100 tons of medicine and food would be flown "soon" to Cairo.

"The package weighs 100 tons and consists of food and medication," IRNA quoted the source as saying.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=722610

[Jefferson23]

3. Gaza protests in West Bank turn violent

Aug. 22, 2014 Palestinian riot police take position as they try to stop protesters from clashing with Israeli troops in Hebron.

Mohamad Torokman/Reuters

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaza-protests-in-west-bank-turn-violent/2014/08/22/00c99056-2a12-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a_gallery.html#item1

[Jefferson23]

4. Hamas signs Palestinian application for ICC membership

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- Hamas has signed a proposal for the Palestinians to apply to join the International Criminal Court at which legal action could be taken against Israel, a senior official of the movement said Saturday.

"Hamas signed the document which (Palestinian) president (Mahmoud Abbas) put forth as a condition that all factions approve, before he goes to sign the Rome Statute, which paves the way for Palestine's membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC)," Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzouq wrote on his Facebook page.

The Palestinian declaration came after two days of talks in Qatar between Abbas and Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal, whose movement is the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP that the Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful force in Gaza, "is currently the only Palestinian faction that has not signed" the document.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=722727

[Jefferson23]

5. Palestinian campaign for Israel arms boycott takes aim at Italy

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have launched a campaign to pressure Italy to pull out of joint military exercises with the Israeli military in September, as a global movement for an arms boycott of Israel gained strength in the wake of the recent assault.

Dozens of Gazans took pictures of themselves holding signs across the besieged coastal enclave demanding Italy end its military cooperation with Israel in the exercise, which is expected to take place on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia in September.

The pictures, taken across Gaza with backgrounds that include destroyed homes, hospitals, and the tiny coastal enclave's bombed seaport, include signs asking Italy not to "train the pilots who bomb us," and show "solidarity" by standing with "the oppressed."

The campaign comes in the wake of Israel's brutal assault on the Gaza Strip over the last six weeks, which has killed more than 2,090 Palestinians, injured more than 10,550, and left more than 100,000 homeless.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=722568

[Jefferson23]

6. Gaza salvo continues: Kibbutz dining hall suffers direct hit

Day after 4-year-old Daniel Tragerman was killed by a mortar shell, Hamas militants fire more rockets at kibbutz in Sha'ar Hanegev, with one slamming into communal dining hall.

Ynetnews
Latest Update: 08.23.14, 13:08 / Israel News





http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4562346,00.html

[Jefferson23]

7. Holocaust survivors condemn Israel for 'Gaza massacre,' call for boycott

In response to Elie Wiesel advertisement comparing Hamas to Nazis, 327 Jewish Holocaust survivors and descendants publish New York Times ad accusing Israel of 'ongoing massacre of the Palestinian people.'

By Haaretz | Aug. 23, 2014 | 5:24 PM

Hundreds of Holocaust survivors and descendants of survivors have signed a letter, published as an advertisement in Saturday's New York Times, condemning "the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza" and calling for a complete boycott of Israel.

According to the letter, the condemnation was prompted by an advertisement written by Elie Wiesel and published in major news outlets worldwide, accusing Hamas of "child sacrifice" and comparing the group to the Nazis.

The letter, signed by 327 Jewish Holocaust survivors and descendants of survivors and sponsored by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, accuses Wiesel of "abuse of history" in order to justify Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip:

in full:http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612072

[Jefferson23]

8. Sirens in central Israel; Gaza building toppled in strike

IDF: Gaza homes used for rocket fire will be targeted; Palestinians reports apartments building collapses after Israeli strike; Hamas executes 4 more 'collaborators'; Egypt calls for unlimited cease-fire; Netanyahu: Hamas uses same murderous methods as ISIS.

By Haaretz | Aug. 23, 2014 | 8:29 PM

A 4-year-old boy was killed and eight were wounded on Friday following a series of rocket and mortar shell barrages launched from Gaza. Some 100 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Israel over a 24-hour period.

Daniel Tregerman, the child killed when a mortar shell hit a car in a kibbutz by the Gaza border, is the first Israeli child to be killed in this round of violence.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to step up the Israeli strikes in Gaza.

"In this difficult moment, I wish to strengthen the people of Israel," Netanyahu said. "Hamas will pay a heavy price for this terrible terrorist attack. The IDF and the Shin Bet will intensify their operations against Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza until the goals of Operation Protective Edge will be reached."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612036

[Jefferson23]

9. IAF strikes 12-story Gaza City building, causing it to collapse

Residents warned prior to attack; at least 10 wounded; IDF says building was center of terror activity, housed several Hamas operation rooms.

Elior Levy, News Agencies
Latest Update: 08.23.14, 20:08 / Israel News

The Israel Air Force fired 2 missiles at a 12-story building in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City on Saturday evening, causing the building to collapse and sending a huge ball of fire and a black cloud of smoke into the air. The force of the blast shook neighboring buildings.

Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra said at least 10 people, including four children, were wounded in the strike.
Police said a warning missile hit the roof of the building about five minutes before the airstrike. The building has 48 apartments.

The IDF Spokesman said the building was a center of terror activity, and housed several Hamas operation rooms.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4562353,00.html

[Jefferson23]

10. Legal Analysis of Israel’s attacks against the Occupied Gaza Strip

Briefing Note V: An Unprecedented Mandate for Accountability - The UNHRC Commission of Inquiry into Violations of International Law Committed since 13 June 2014

Introduction: Since 8 July, over 1,900 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. According to estimates by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, around 83 percent of those killed are civilians, including over 431 children. Reports indicate that on 28 July Israeli forces undertook an aerial attack on a playground in Shati’ refugee camp, on the beach front in Gaza City, killing at least 10 children and injuring at least 40 others. The injured from Shati’ refugee camp were transferred to al-Shifa’ hospital, which had been hit by an Israeli strike in a separate incident one hour earlier; it is one of at least nine health facilities to be hit since the start of attacks on the Gaza Strip. On 30 July, Israeli shelling hit a United Nations (UN) girls’ school killing 19 Palestinians and injuring 90 others. Last week, another UN school was hit in Beit Hanoun, killing 15 people and injuring approximately 200 others. These accounts are mere samples of the Israeli attacks that have targeted civilians and civilian objects since 8 July and have claimed the lives of a devastating number of Palestinians.

On 23 July 2014, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) voted to establish an independent international Commission of Inquiry to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law associated with recent Israeli military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)[1]. This brief outlines possible implications of such a Commission in an effort to hold perpetrators accountable for violations of international law committed against protected persons and objects within the context of the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine.


Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions

The text of the HRC resolution establishing a body to investigate violations of international law committed since 13 June in the OPT creates ‘an independent, international commission of inquiry’. This terminology differs from previous HRC resolutions establishing independent bodies charged with investigations over alleged violations of international law in the OPT. In previous inquiries – including the 2013 comprehensive investigation on the impact of Israeli settlements, as well as inquiries looking into the 2006 Israeli military attack on Beit Hanoun, and the 2008-2009 “Operation Cast Lead” in the Gaza Strip – the HRC referred to the term ‘fact-finding mission’ in establishment of the independent body mandated to conduct investigations[2].

Despite the difference in terminology, ‘fact-finding mission’ and ‘commission of inquiry’ can be interpreted in a similar light. Inquiry is defined in legal literature as “a method to ascertain facts, whereby an impartial investigative body elucidates the facts relating to a dispute between states in order to produce a finding on the disputed facts for the purpose of a successful peaceful settlement of the dispute”[3]. Similarly, certain literature also defines ‘fact-finding’ as a ‘method of ascertaining facts’ through the evaluation and compilation of various information sources.[4] ‘Fact-finding’ is also defined by the UN General Assembly 1991 Declaration on Fact-finding in the Field of the Maintenance of International Peace and Security as “any activity designed to obtain detailed knowledge of the relevant facts of any dispute or situation which the competent United Nations organs need in order to exercise effectively their functions in relation to the maintenance of international peace and security”[5].

From an accurate analysis of these definitions, it emerges that there are no substantial differences between ‘inquiry’ and ‘fact-finding’, both in terms of the content (ascertaining facts) and scope (contributing to dispute settlement) of such activities. This may explain why, many legal experts and academics have started to refer to the terms ‘fact-finding missions’ and ‘commissions of inquiry’ interchangeably as synonyms,[6] despite the fact that the Commission of Inquiry into Syria established by the HRC in 2011 referred to ‘fact-finding’ as just one of its assigned tasks.[7]

http://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/topics/gaza/842-briefing-note-v-an-unprecedented-mandate-for-accountability-the-unhrc-commission-of-inquiry-into-violations-of-international-law-committed-since-13-june-2014

[Jefferson23]

11. Schools shut for 500,000 Gaza students as Israeli bombing continues

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Half a million schoolchildren in the Gaza Strip will be unable to start the fall semester this week as the coastal enclave reels from the effects of an ongoing Israeli assault that has damaged at least 277 schools so far.

Although schools were scheduled to open on Saturday, nearly one-third are still being used shelters for some of the 485,000 Gazans displaced by Israeli bombardment, including 100,000 who have been left homeless.

Palestinian Minister of Education Khawla al-Shakhshir told Ma'an on Friday that the although the new school year will begin on Sunday for 700,000 students in the West Bank, it has been "delayed until further notice" in Gaza.

The Deputy Minister of Education in Gaza Ziad Thabet told a Ma'an reporter that re-opening schools in Gaza depends on "evacuating schools that are used as shelters, providing other places for displaced families and preparing schools to receive students."

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=722630

[Jefferson23]

12. Rocket hits empty home in Western Galilee; 2 lightly hurt in Be'er Sheva from shrapnel

Rocket alert siren sounded in Upper and West Galileee; earlier, one rocket intercepted over Petah Tikvah; some 100 rockets fired from Gaza at Israel since midnight.

Ynetnews
Latest Update: 08.23.14, 23:13 / Israel News

Two people were lightly wounded from rocket shrapnel in Be'er Sheva on Saturday night after two rockets hit a parking lot and a park in the city, police said. Shortly before that, a rocket fired from southern Lebanon hit an empty home in the Western Galileee after rocket alert sirens blared through the Upper and Western Galilee.

Lebanese reports indicated that two rockets had been fired into Israel from Dheira in southern Lebanon, three kilometers from the border with Israel. According to the reports, security forces from Lebanon began searching for the locations from where the rockets were fired.

A Lebanese source said IAF helicopters were seen flying over the area of ​​the border.

Some 100 rockets were fired at Israel on Saturday, with one of the rockets hitting a communal dining hall in Nahal Oz, the very same kibbutz in which 4-year-old Daniel Tregerman was killed from a mortar hit the day before. Damage was caused to the structure, but fortunately there were no injuries.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4562346,00.html

[Jefferson23]

13. IDF concerned that Hamas tracking high-level visits

Visit to Kibbutz Nahal Oz by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon cancelled after security detail comes under fire.

By Gili Cohen and Amos Harel

The defense establishment is concerned that Hamas has been able to identify when senior officials and IDF officers are visiting Israeli communities in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip.

On several recent occasions, the organization has fired rockets and mortar shells at kibbutzim in the area exactly when they were being visited by high-ranking officials.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612126

[Jefferson23]

14. Gaza Survey: 87.6% in favor of long term truce

A poll from the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion shows that Gazans largely oppose ISIS, want truce with Israel, but not under terms of disarmament.

Ynetnews
Published: 08.23.14, 21:05 / Israel News

In a survey released Saturday by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), the majority of Gaza's residents said that they supported a long-term agreement for peace with Israel, but that disarmament of the Gaza Strip was an unacceptable demand from the Jewish State.

PCPO workers went door to door to ask their subjects some important questions and 87.6% of those asked said that they wanted a long-term agreement to be reached to stop the fighting, but even more, 93.2% said that disarmament of Hamas and the Gaza Strip was out of the question.


Internationally overseen disarmament of the Gaza Strip has been one of Israel's chief demands in order to come to a long-term truce, citing that Hamas has repeatedly used periods of calm to rearm and acquire greater military capabilities for the next cross-border fight.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4562550,00.html

[Jefferson23]

15. LIVE UPDATES: Israeli army targets Hamas' Mohammed al-Ghoul in air strike

Three wounded in mortar attack on southern Israel; rocket explodes north of Tel Aviv; Lebanon locates rocket launchers used in strike on Israel; Daniel Tragerman, 4, laid to rest; IDF says Syria rocket attack was deliberate.

By Haaretz | Aug. 24, 2014 | 5:15 PM |

Rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip early Sunday morning, after a relatively quiet night on Israel's southern front. In the Golan Heights, five rockets were fired from Syria overnight. No injuries were reported. Late Saturday night, a rocket was fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. At least eight people sustained light injuries in the attack, including three children.

Israel launched more airstrikes on Gaza on Sunday after taking its military campaign to a new level by flattening an 11-storey apartment tower on Saturday, following a warning to residents to evacuate. The bombing attack, which brought Al Zafer Tower in Gaza City crashing to the ground, marked the first time Israel had destroyed so large a structure in the current round of fighting. The Israel Defense Forces said the building contained a command center belonging to Hamas militants, and that it had fired a non-explosive warning rocket on Saturday, 10 minutes before attacking. Local residents said the high-rise housed 44 families. Medical officials said 17 people were wounded in the Israeli strike.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered security forces to step up strikes on Saturday, after a mortar shell attack on a kibbutz near the Gaza border killed four-year-old Daniel Tragerman. A funeral was held for Tragerman on Sunday morning.



For Saturday's live updates, click here

Latest updates [Sunday]:

5:15 P.M. Reports emerging from Gaza that five people, including three children and their mother, were killed in an Israel Defense Forces attack in the Tel A-Zatar neighborhood north of Gaza City. Aircraft reportedly struck the Judeh family home without prior warning. The Palestinian health ministry has put the day's death toll at 13. (Jack Khoury)

4:59 P.M. IDF: Over 80 projectiles have been fired at Israel from Gaza on Monday. Of those, 75 rockets and mortars have exploded in Israeli territory. (Gilli Cohen)

4:55 P.M. Four rockets explode outside communities in Sdot Negev Regional Council (Shirley Seidler)

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.612139

[Jefferson23]

16. 7 Palestinians including baby girl killed in Israeli airstrikes

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Seven Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Sunday and dozens more wounded as Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip continued for the 48th day, while rockets fired from Lebanon and Syria into Israel threatened to escalate the conflict.

The airstrikes early Sunday on Gaza brought the total death total in Israel's massive assault to 2,111 with more than 10,500 injured, as the United Nations said that more than 460,000 Palestinians were still displaced and living in shelters across the densely packed coastal enclave.

Five Palestinians were killed and dozens others were injured around noon as airstrikes continued to pound Gaza after two were killed overnight.

An Israeli airstrike killed a teenage boy and a baby girl and injured five others in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=722822

[Jefferson23]

17. West Bank students start school year in solidarity with Gaza peers

NABLUS (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Ministry of Education has decided to dedicate the first day of the academic school year to solidarity with the besieged Gaza Strip, where around 500,000 students are unable to attend classes due to the ongoing Israeli offensive, a local official said.

Issam Dabaseh, secretary-general of the teachers' union in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, told Ma'an that the ministry had decided to dedicate the first day of the 2014-15 academic year, which begins Sunday, to discussing the assault on Gaza with the estimated 700,000 Palestinian students in West Bank schools.

He added that classes would be suspended at 11:00 a.m. and students along with their teachers would head to the centers of their towns and villages across the West Bank to protest in solidarity with the Gaza Strip.

The Palestine Liberation Organization estimates that 277 schools have been damaged in the Israeli offensive, which has also killed 565 children.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=722859

[Jefferson23]

18. Israel to close Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslims Monday

HEBRON (Ma'an) -- The Israeli authorities will close the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslim worshipers on Monday for a Jewish holiday, the Hebron office of the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments said Sunday.

In a statement released Sunday, the ministry's office quoted the chief guard of the Ibrahimi Mosque as saying that the mosque will be "completely at the disposal of settlers who will perform religious Jewish rituals" to mark the beginning of the new Hebrew month of Elul.

Hebron is a frequent site of tensions due to the presence of 500 Israeli settlers in the Old City, many of whom have illegally occupied Palestinian houses and forcibly removed the original inhabitants. They are protected by thousands of Israeli forces.

In 1994, an Israeli settler opened fire on Muslim worshipers in the Ibrahimi Mosque, killing 29 and injuring more than 100 Palestinians.

Settlers and Israeli forces regularly target local Palestinians for harassment, and many have been forced from their homes as a result.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=722849

[Jefferson23]

19. Netanyahu: No immunity for anyone who fires rockets

After Egypt urged sides to renew talks, Egyptian diplomat says Cairo expects to receive responses from both Israel and Hamas by Monday; Israeli leaders say operation not over yet.

Shahar Chai
Published: 08.24.14, 11:25 / Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet Sunday for its weekly meeting, after southern Israel was hit with 15 rockets in the morning, and Saturday night saw at least five rockets fired from Syria and Lebanon at the northern Golan Heights and the Western Galilee, hitting an empty house.


"In recent days we have proven there is no immunity for those who fire at Israel's citizens. This is true in all sectors and regarding all borders. We are determined to complete the mission," Netanyahu said in refrence to rocket fire at Israel from both the north and the south.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4562805,00.html

[Jefferson23]

20. 'We were the happiest family'

4-year-old boy killed by mortar laid to rest

Daniel Tregerman, first Israeli child victim of Gaza rockets, laid to rest; 'I find solace in the fact that you were a loved and happy child until your last minute,' mother says; President Rivlin: We knew terrorists had no regard for blood of their children, would not spare our own.

Matan Tzuri, Shahar Hai
Latest Update: 08.24.14, 12:41 / Israel News



http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4562688,00.html

[Jefferson23]

21. Praying in the Rubble of Gaza

#t=0

[Jefferson23]

22. Netanyahu: Israeli schools not protected against rocket fire won't open

Ahead of the new academic year, Defense Ministry says it will financially assist families near Gaza who wish to relocate.

By Jonathan Lis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that schools which are not protected against rocket fire will not be opened when the school year begins on September 1.

At the weekly government meeting, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said that any family wishing to leave areas that have come under rocket fire from Gaza will receive full financial assistance from the Defense...

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.612210

[Jefferson23]

23. IDF still waiting to learn Deif's fate, senior commander says

Air Force instructed to prepare for drawn out fighting, increases attacks on mortar launchers after death of 4-year-old, injury of 3 Israeli Arabs.

Yoav Zitun
Published: 08.24.14, 19:05 / Israel News

The IDF was still waiting for intelligence that would tell them whether or not the attempt on Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif's life was successful, a senior IAF official said Sunday.


"We hope Army Intelligence slowly but surely brings the information we're waiting for," the official said.

"We're focusing on the defensive effort, finding and gathering intelligence, and on the offensive against senior (Hamas) officials. We're continuing to narrow down the search for officials," he said, adding he believes the army will get to more high-ranked terrorist leaders.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4563129,00.html

[Jefferson23]

24. 5 including three children killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza home

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Five Palestinians were killed Sunday afternoon including three children when an Israeli airstrike hit a house in the Tal al-Zaatar neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll since midnight to 13.

Witnesses told Ma'an reporter that an Israeli missile hit a house without any warning. As a result, five members of the family were killed.

Earlier in the afternoon, an Israeli airstrike at the Courts complex in Gaza City injured four people.

Israeli warplanes also fired more than 11 missiles at Abu Maaroof neighborhood in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip injuring ten people.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723013

[Jefferson23]

25. Israel turning to other arms sources amid uncertainty of U.S., EU sales

Israel’s Western weapons sources are no longer a sure thing; Haaretz found that former Soviet republics are pitching in.

By Gili Cohen

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612278

[Jefferson23]

26. B’Tselem strongly condemns executions of individuals suspected of collaborating with Israel

Published:
24 Aug 2014

According to media reports, armed Hamas operatives killed over twenty Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for allegedly collaborating with Israel. Images of the executions were published in the media. According to media reports, since Thursday 21 August 2014, some 25 Palestinians were executed, including seven persons in a central square in Gaza City. In view of current conditions in the Gaza Strip, B’Tselem cannot investigate these reports in depth or provide names and precise figures regarding the people killed in these incidents.

International humanitarian law entirely prohibits any state or organization to carry out summary executions, regardless of the nature of the allegations. Such actions are a grave breach of international law and all persons involved in their perpetration bear personal, criminal liability.

B’Tselem condemns the use of capital punishment, which is immoral, and believes that this penalty ought to be unlawful, no matter the circumstances.

http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20140824_btselem_condemns_executions

[Jefferson23]

27. Analysis || Internationalizing Gaza disadvantages Israel

Hamas is leery about resuming cease-fire negotiations, hoping to ensure permission for a port and an airport. Then eyes will turn to the ICC.


By Zvi Bar'el

The calls by Egypt and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the shooting to stop are being accompanied by detailed conditions for resuming talks, which are being discussed by all parties.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612192

[Jefferson23]

28. There's no way to completely stop rocket fire, top Israeli officer says

High-ranking air force figure says Israel is working to eliminate launchers and top Hamas militants; adds: Gaza-area communities may always face rockets.

By Gili Cohen

Under the current circumstances, areas of Israel that are close to the border with the Gaza Strip will continue to face rockets and mortar shells fired from the territory because there is no way to completely stop this activity, whether from the air or the ground. That, according to a high-ranking officer in the Israel Air Force, who spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.612280

[bemildred]

32. No military way.

Nevertheless, vast portions of the planet manage to avoid the possibility of people building amateur tockets to fire at their neighbors by given the people who live there better things to do.

[Jefferson23]

33. Tsk, tsk. They would be off message then..but of course you are entirely correct and there

has been no shortage of good people pointing this out for years. One day, maybe we'll get there, bemildred.

[Jefferson23]

29. Israel targets Rafah crossing

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes fired three missiles at the Rafah crossing late Sunday, causing major damage to a yard in the terminal, a Gaza official said.

Mahir Abu Sabha said the missiles created 15-meter deep craters at the crossing, which will remain open.

"We will operate over the rubble and nothing will prevent us from continuing our work," Abu Sabha said.

Israeli forces targeted the outer hall, which serves as a waiting area, earlier during its military offensive on the besieged enclave.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723125

[Jefferson23]

30. Hamas dismisses warnings from Israeli PM

?pubId=665003303001


Group says Netanyahu "resorting to threats" after telling Gaza residents to avoid Hamas sites which are Israeli targets.

Last updated: 25 Aug 2014 05:05

Hamas has dismissed as a sign of weakness warnings from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Gaza residents to leave any site where Palestinian fighters are operating, saying the locations could be attacked.

In a statement on Sunday, Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said: "The [Israeli] occupation has failed in confronting the resistance in the field, and has resorted to threats of assassination and other threats designed to scare us.

"But the will of our people will not be broken."

Speaking earlier, Netanyahu said: "I call on the inhabitants of Gaza to vacate immediately every site from which Hamas is carrying out terrorist activity. Every one of these places is a target for us."

Netanyahu's comments came as Israeli air strikes pounded the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least 16 people.

http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2014/08/netanyahu-gazans-leave-hamas-sites-israel-palestine-20148249232140680.html

[Jefferson23]

31. Parents of Daniel Tregerman: We will never return home to Nahal Oz

Parents of four-year-old killed by Gaza mortar fire recall painful last moments with their son; mother:
'There is no chance we'll return.'



Itay Blumenthal
Latest Update: 08.25.14, 15:02 / Israel News

Three days after their son, Daniel Tregerman, was killed in Kibbutz Nahal Oz by mortar fire from Gaza, his parents have chosen to address the press.

Doron, the father, recalled the tragedy. "The lethal mortar hit after a few had fallen in the area; the siren sounded while we were at home. The kids were playing in the living room, there was a siren – and the siren scares everyone. We reach for the kids, Uri, and Daniel on my left, Yuval on my right."

He added, with great difficulty, "it all happened so fast, in three seconds. You realize it was not in an open area, that if it didn't land on top of you, it hit right on the other side of the wall. A hit that arrives in 3-4 seconds, in those seconds Daniel went outside and Daniel, I felt, passed in front of my eyes."

The father said his wife insisted he call for help. "I told her there is nothing she can do except for sooth the children. I already know there was no need for anyone to come. I went outside, I was by Daniel for a second or two; I covered him. That's it."

He emphasized: "We are trying to leave this inferno and we are leaving Daniel behind."

in full: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4563633,00.html

[Jefferson23]

34. Official: 3 Israel-Gaza power lines damaged

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Three Israeli power lines that provide the Gaza Strip with electricity were damaged Monday, the director of public relations in Gaza’s power plant said.

Jamal al-Dardasawi told Ma'an that the power schedule went down from six hours to four hours after three Israeli power lines were damaged; two of them were broken from the Israeli side.

Al-Dardasawi added that repairing these lines depends on the approval of an Israeli company.

He added that the company was working with the power authority and specialized parties to repair the lines.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723233

[Jefferson23]

35. Israeli forces break into shop in Hebron, damage property

HEBRON (Ma’an) – Israeli troops broke into a shop in al-Salam Street in Hebron in the southern West Bank and damaged its contents on Monday morning, locals said.

Witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli military forces broke into the store all of the sudden and started to damage properties and goods inside before they confiscated some and left.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723096

[bemildred]

36. Gaza militants fire over 115 rockets at Israel as conflict drags on

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip launched more than 115 rockets at Israel on Monday, and Israeli forces hit back with airstrikes that killed at least three suspected militants and struck targets including two mosques and a school, Israeli officials said.

Nearly a week after the latest cease-fire collapsed, mediator Egypt was still trying to cajole Israel and the Palestinians to return to indirect talks in tandem with a new temporary truce.

Israel has said it won’t negotiate while mortar and rocket fire continues. Israeli media reports said the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, which is represented on the Palestinian negotiating team, signaled willingness to observe a new short-term cease-fire. However, it was not immediately clear whether Hamas, which controls Gaza, would accept the initiative.

At least 10 Palestinians died in the latest round of bombardment, Palestinian health officials reported. The 7-week-old conflict has killed more than 2,100 people in Gaza. Israel’s death toll stands at 68, all but four of them soldiers.

http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-gaza-fighting-20140825-story.html

[bemildred]

37. Israeli strike in Gaza kills Palestinian reporter

GAZA CITY

A Palestinian reporter was killed on Monday by an Israeli artillery barrage on Gaza City, bringing to 14 the total number of journalists killed during Israel's weeks-long onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

"Abdullah Mortaji, 25, died when Israel shelled Gaza City," Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency.

The death of Mortaji, who worked for the Al-Aqsa Media Network, brings to 14 the total number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israel since hostilities began on July 7.

Over the same period, at least 2132 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in relentless Israeli attacks.

http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/378898--israeli-strike-in-gaza-kills-palestinian-reporter

[bemildred]

40. Charred U.S. dollars fluttering in street after Israeli missile blows up car with alleged Hamas mone

When an Israeli missile destroyed a car in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, bags of American money split open and sent charred U.S. dollars fluttering in the street, a witness reported.

Israel identified the man killed inside the car as Muhammad Al-Ghoul, who the Israeli military says is responsible for handling Hamas “terror funds” and financial transactions, the New York Times reported.

After the missile attack, plainclothes security personnel were on scene collecting the scattered money, a witness told the Times .

The airstrike came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the war in Gaza could persist “even after the start of the school year” in September.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/25/charred-u-s-dollars-fluttering-in-street-after-israeli-missile-blows-up-car-with-alleged-hamas-money-man-inside/

[bemildred]

38. Gaza factions: Israel won't dare invade again

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – The Israeli army won’t dare to enter Gaza another time after the Palestinian resistance “rubbed the nose of their so-called elite brigades in the dirt in Gaza,” the Popular Resistance Committees said Monday.

In a statement, the group added that “the enemy’s leaders should ask their soldiers about what they suffered in Gaza when their folly led them to stage a ground invasion into Gaza.”

The statement said that the group’s military wing, the Salah al-Din Brigades, is entirely prepared to fight on the ground if the Israeli forces decide to invade the coastal enclave.

Similarly, the al-Mujahidin Brigades, another military group operative in the Gaza Strip, described Israeli threats to “renew the ground battle in Gaza as valueless.”

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=723137

[bemildred]

39. Hamas political chief asks White House to step up in Gaza: ‘This is the real holocaust’

The political leader of Hamas is calling for the White House to step in and end “the holocaust” he alleges Israeli forces have carried out against Palestinians.

"You as the leader of the most powerful state in the world, I ask you to call (on) Israel to stop its aggression on Gaza — and to lift the siege and open the cross borders and to rebuild Gaza," Khaled Meshaal told Yahoo! News in exclusive comments, directed at President Obama, published Monday. "This is our (demand)."

“What is the difference between what (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu, (Israeli Defense Minister Moshe) Yaalon and (Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Benny) Gantz are doing — killing thousands of civilians, children, women, entire neighborhoods, targeting mosques, destroying hospitals and schools,” Meshaal added, in some of his most brazen remarks made yet. “What's the difference between that and what the Nazis did in the 1930s and '40s? And what Hitler did. This is the real holocaust."

Meshaal’s comments came after the latest cease-fire between Israel and Hamas definitively broke down over the weekend.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/hamas-political-chief-asks-white-house-step-gaza-holocaust-article-1.1916032

[Jefferson23]

41. Palestinians rescue settlers after West Bank attack

Yedaya and Hadassah Sharchaton were driving through an Arab village in the West Bank with their baby daughter when Palestinians started hurling rocks at them - they were surprised when other residents of the village came to their aid.

Akiva Novick
Published: 08.25.14, 23:39 / Israel News

A Jewish family driving through a Palestinian village in the West Bank on Saturday night was pelted with rocks by the residents of the village. But after losing control of their car and flipping over, they were surprised to find that the passersby that came to offer them their help were also Palestinians.



http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4563835,00.html

[oberliner]

42. Palestinians hurled large rocks at a car with a one-year old baby in it?

That doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do.

[Jefferson23]

43. Israel ignores calls to lift Gaza siege

Indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks under the sponsorship of the Egyptian government have collapsed, but if and when negotiations resume, they will most likely pick up where the talks left off.

Despite Israeli arguments to the contrary, the 11-point Egyptian proposal appears to be closer to the Israeli point of view. The only real problem for Israel has been a public relations problem. They are afraid of any agreement that might give Palestinians the appearance of victory.

The main issues that remain to be resolved focus on Palestinian freedom of movement and the status of Palestinian seaports and airports. Other unresolved issues are the release of the recent Palestinian prisoners, including parliament members, and the timing of the lifting of some elements of the Israeli siege. Palestinians and Egyptians have not added the Rafah border crossing to the discussion because they plan to resolve that issue in bilateral talks. Europeans have come out strongly in support of the return to the 2005 arrangement where the Presidential Guard manned the crossing with supervision from the European Union Border Mission in Rafah.

Palestinians insist that the Gaza ports are guaranteed in the Oslo Accord and therefore are an already established right. The Palestinian delegation wanted at a minimum to continue working on preparing these ports. Israel destroyed the airport runway in 2002. Work on the seaport had not started. Palestinian experts have traveled to the Netherlands to learn how to take care of breaking waves, a potential problem that has historically been the reason why Gaza has not had a seaport. Israel is adamant in rejecting at present any work on the ports, making such an effort connected with proof of demilitarization by Hamas and Islamic Jihad and a commitment not to dig any tunnels toward Israel

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/fail-cease-fire-israel-refuse-lift-gaza-siege.html#ixzz3BSJMHtJn

[Jefferson23]

44. For a Gaza Athlete, There Is Nowhere to Run

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — Everything looked about the same in this town near Gaza’s northern border with Israel: piles of smashed concrete to the left and right, up ahead and in the rearview. As we drove through the destruction earlier this month, Fares Akram, my Gaza-based reporting partner, somehow recognized a certain street as one we had been on four months before, to visit Nader al-Masri, Gaza’s premier distance runner.

There are few street addresses in Gaza, never mind Google Maps, but asking directions of passers-by will usually get you where you need to go. When Fares rolled down the window to confirm his suspicion that we were in Mr. Masri’s neighborhood, a series of strangers nodded and pointed the way — but not before clapping their hands against each other at an angle, in what has become a universal sign here. Roughly, it means “all gone.”

We had written about Mr. Masri in April, because Israel had denied exit permits to him and two dozen other runners who wanted to compete in a marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Now, I searched the pile that had been his home for any sign of his vast collection of trophies and medals from 40 international competitions.

Two of his cousins helped us navigate. “That was my home there,” Naaman al-Masri, 63, said as he pointed to nothingness. Reziq al-Masri, 37, said of a bundle of dead branches, “This was a garden here — Nader and I used to sit here and make barbecue.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/world/middleeast/for-a-gaza-athlete-there-is-nowhere-to-run.html?_r=0

[oberliner]

45. "Mr. Khoudary had left Gaza to do some business in the West Bank during the cease-fire..."

How is that possible?

[Jefferson23]

46. Friends of Israel

The lobbying group AIPAC has consistently fought the Obama Administration on policy. Is it now losing influence?

By Connie Bruck

September 1, 2014

On July 23rd, officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee—the powerful lobbying group known as AIPAC—gathered in a conference room at the Capitol for a closed meeting with a dozen Democratic senators. The agenda of the meeting, which was attended by other Jewish leaders as well, was the war in the Gaza Strip. In the century-long conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the previous two weeks had been particularly harrowing. In Israeli towns and cities, families heard sirens warning of incoming rockets and raced to shelters. In Gaza, there were scenes of utter devastation, with hundreds of Palestinian children dead from bombing and mortar fire. The Israeli government claimed that it had taken extraordinary measures to minimize civilian casualties, but the United Nations was launching an inquiry into possible war crimes. Even before the fighting escalated, the United States, Israel’s closest ally, had made little secret of its frustration with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “How will it have peace if it is unwilling to delineate a border, end the occupation, and allow for Palestinian sovereignty, security, and dignity?” Philip Gordon, the White House coördinator for the Middle East, said in early July. “It cannot maintain military control of another people indefinitely. Doing so is not only wrong but a recipe for resentment and recurring instability.” Although the Administration repeatedly reaffirmed its support for Israel, it was clearly uncomfortable with the scale of Israel’s aggression. AIPAC did not share this unease; it endorsed a Senate resolution in support of Israel’s “right to defend its citizens,” which had seventy-nine co-sponsors and passed without a word of dissent.

AIPAC is prideful about its influence. Its promotional literature points out that a reception during its annual policy conference, in Washington, “will be attended by more members of Congress than almost any other event, except for a joint session of Congress or a State of the Union address.” A former AIPAC executive, Steven Rosen, was fond of telling people that he could take out a napkin at any Senate hangout and get signatures of support for one issue or another from scores of senators. AIPAC has more than a hundred thousand members, a network of seventeen regional offices, and a vast pool of donors. The lobby does not raise funds directly. Its members do, and the amount of money they channel to political candidates is difficult to track. But everybody in Congress recognizes its influence in elections, and the effect is evident. In 2011, when the Palestinians announced that they would petition the U.N. for statehood, AIPAC helped persuade four hundred and forty-six members of Congress to co-sponsor resolutions opposing the idea.

During the Gaza conflict, AIPAC has made a priority of sending a message of bipartisan congressional support for all of Israel’s actions. Pro-Israel resolutions passed by unanimous consent carry weight, but not nearly so much as military funding. During the fighting, Israel has relied on the Iron Dome system, a U.S.-funded missile defense that has largely neutralized Hamas’s rockets. Although the U.S. was scheduled to deliver $351 million for the system starting in October, AIPAC wanted more money right away. On July 22nd, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had sent a letter to Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, seeking an immediate payment of $225 million.

In the conference room, the senators sat on one side of a long table, the Jewish leaders on the other. Robert Cohen, the president of AIPAC, justified Israel’s assault, agreeing with Netanyahu that Hamas was ultimately responsible for the deaths of its own citizens. At one point, Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, asked about conservative trends in Israel, a participant recalled. “He said that he supports Israel, but he’s concerned that Israel is headed toward a one-state solution—and that would be so damaging and dangerous for everyone involved.”

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel

[Israeli]

47. Aha .....

Ref : "" At one point, Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, asked about conservative trends in Israel, a participant recalled. “He said that he supports Israel, but he’s concerned that Israel is headed toward a one-state solution—and that would be so damaging and dangerous for everyone involved.” ""

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113478262

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/israel-palestinians-binational-state-right-wing-netanyahu.html#

[oberliner]

48. This is a really interesting piece

I hope folks read through the entire article. I almost wish it was an OP.