Hamas calls for Israel ties on Gaza civilian needs

[bemildred]

The Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Fawzi Barhoum, told Haaretz on Thursday that the militant group, which earlier seized control of the last symbols of Fatah supremacy in the Strip, is interested in remaining in contact with Israel to attending to the needs of the civilian population there.

---

Haniyeh rejected the possibility of a separate Palestinian state in Gaza, without the West Bank, an option that has been raised by Israelis, among others. He said Hamas would impose order in Gaza, and he called for an end to violence.

The Hamas leader's news conference followed Abbas' decision late Thursday to declare a state of emergency and to dissolve the Hamas-Fatah coalition government, following Hamas' near-complete takeover in the Gaza Strip.

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The PA chairman also intends to call for the deployment of a multi-national force in Gaza, and plans to appoint an independent politician as the new Palestinian prime minister, to replace Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, his aides said earlier.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/871472.html

[Tom Joad]

1. Because of the continuing occupation, Israel still is responsible for human needs in Gaza.

[Jim Sagle]

2. Just because Chumpsky says there's still an occupation doesn't make it so.

:rofl:

[Tom Joad]

3. ???

[Tom Joad]

4. Must be all the killing of Palestinians has put you in a fun mood.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tom Joad]

7. What business is that of yours?

I will tell you, however, that is not dealing as much with the unbridled hate that seems to flow through here all too often. We all have our limits.

There are many constructive things to be done besides posting here, ms M. You would be surprised.

When you see people post things like:
"These are PALESTINIANS FIGHTING PALESTINIANS. Sounds win-win to me."
and the same poster is around to post another day, then why bother?

This is a kinda repulsive place, msM. Too many people who take pleasure in the deaths and suffering of others... one shouldn't have to deal with them too much.

[Jim Sagle]

8. Projection...it's an insidious thing.

[AviBaruch]

15. Firing rockets at homes in Israel has you in a good one as well.

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. 9 Israeli Human rights organizations still consider the Gaza occupied

And so does International Law:

http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255db800470aa485255d8b004e349a/f7c5f26122c733598525707b006097a9!OpenDocument
___________

. Nine Israeli human rights organizations

issued an unprecedented joint call to the international community to ensure human rights in the Gaza Strip. The statement comes in light of the dire humanitarian situation there:

link:

http://www.btselem.org/English/Gaza_Strip/20061116_Brief_on_Gaza.asp

Some 80% of the population is extremely poor, living on less than $2 a day. A majority of the population is dependant on food aid from international donors.

In the past four months, the Israeli military has killed over 300 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Over half of those killed were unarmed civilians who did not participate in the fighting. Among the dead, 61 were children.

About 70% of Gaza 's potential workforce is out of work or without pay.

On 28 June, Israel bombed Gaza ' s only independent power station, which produced 43% of the electricity needed by the residents in Gaza . Since then, most of the population has electricity between 6 and 8 hours each day, with disastrous consequences on water supply, sewage treatment, food storage, hospital functioning and public health.

The Gaza Strip is almost entirely sealed off from the outside world, with virtually no way for Palestinians to get in or out. Exports have been reduced to a trickle; imports are limited to essential humanitarian supplies.
Israel cannot shirk its responsibility for this growing crisis. Even after its Disengagement in 2005, Israel continues to hold decisive control over central elements of Palestinian life in the Gaza Strip:

Israel continues to maintain complete control over the air space and territorial waters.

Israel continues to control the joint Gaza Strip-West Bank population registry , preventing relocation between the West Bank and Gaza , and family unification.

Israel controls all movement in and out of Gaza , with exclusive control over all crossing points between Gaza and Israel , and the ability to shut down the Rafah crossing to Egypt .

Israeli ground troops conduct frequent military operations inside Gaza .
Israel continues to exercise almost complete control over imports and exports from the Gaza Strip.

Israel controls most elements of the taxation system of the Gaza Strip, and since February has withheld tax monies legally owed to the PA, and amounting to half of the to tal PA budget.
The broad scope of Israeli control in the Gaza Strip creates a strong case for the claim that Israel 's occupation of the Gaza Strip continues, along with an obligation to ensure the welfare of the civilian population. Regardless of the legal definition of the Gaza Strip, Israel bears legal obligations regarding those spheres that it continues to control. Israel has the right to defend itself. However, all military measures taken by Israel must respect the provisions of international humanitarian law.

The following Israeli human rights organizations call on the international community to ensure that Israel respects the basic human rights of residents of the Gaza Strip, and that all parties respect international humanitarian law:

B'Tselem: the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories * Association for Civil Rights in the Israel *Amnesty International–Israel Section * Bimkom: Planners for Planning Rights * HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual * Gisha: Center for the Legal Protection of Freedom of Movement * Physicians for Human Rights-Israel * Public Committee Against Torture in Israel * Rabbis for Human Rights "

link:

http://www.btselem.org/English/Gaza_Strip/20061116_Brief_on_Gaza.asp

.

[pelsar]

10. Hamas doesnt agree....

Islamists declare Gaza 'liberated'

so who does one believe, hamas and the way they see gaza...they do after all live there

or israelis who dont?

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21909613-401,00.html

____

wasnt the situation reversed a few years ago?..palestenains declared (and you probably agreed) that gaza was occupied....now the palestenians have declared it liberated and suddenly you disagree with them?

[Douglas Carpenter]

11. the statement from the Palestinian representatives at the U.N. declares Gaza still occupied

link:

http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255db800470aa485255d8b004e349a/f7c5f26122c733598525707b006097a9!OpenDocument

If Hamas disagrees (and I am not sure that is actually Hamas' official position)I think Hamas is wrong. I am not now nor have I ever been a Hamas supporter.

.

[pelsar]

12. the UN rep...

is from Hamas?...cause Hamas is now in control of Gaza.....it doesnt make a difference if you are a hamas supporter, it appears that they are the "ruling party in gaza".....and as such they're opinion carries a lot of weight when it relates to gaza, surely more than the now defunct PA

if gaza is occupied, he might want to claim its occupied by hamas now....they control it far more than israel.

[AviBaruch]

14. what continuing occupation?

please elaborate.

[bemildred]

6. Israel weighs transfer of frozen tax funds to PA

---

U.S. officials said the Bush administration will now work to prevent the Gaza violence from spilling over to the West Bank. The United States therefore aims to accelerate the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to allow Abbas to present some achievements.

The American administration is also interested in improving living conditions in the West Bank to demonstrate to the Palestinians that they are better off under Fatah than Hamas.

Abbas, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. President George W. Bush are reportedly in favor of deploying multinational forces in the Strip to maintain order, as Hamas has consolidated near-absolute control of the area.

Political sources in Jerusalem were skeptical Thursday of the prospect of deploying multinational forces in the Strip any time soon. Egypt has made it clear it does not intend to send troops. "No one will come there," a senior political official said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/871482.html

[maddezmom]

13. U.S., Israel weigh easing sanctions to boost Abbas

U.S., Israel weigh easing sanctions to boost Abbas By Adam Entous
Fri Jun 15, 5:19 AM ET



JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States, European states and Israel are considering rapidly easing sanctions in the occupied West Bank to try to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Western and Israeli officials said on Friday.

A senior European Union diplomat involved in the discussions said Abbas "has strongly requested that we (the EU) support him fully... I think we would generally support this idea, in which form I cannot tell you."

A senior Israeli official said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. President George W. Bush would discuss at a meeting next week a series of "gestures" that could be taken quickly, including the release to Abbas of a portion of the Palestinian Authority's tax revenues being withheld by Israel.

Western and Israeli officials said the goal would be to strengthen Abbas, his secular Fatah faction and other "moderates" in the West Bank, while isolating Hamas Islamists who seized control of the Gaza Strip in fierce fighting.

more;http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070615/wl_nm/palestinians_funds_dc

[pelsar]

16. so will hamas keep on attacking the israeli border points?

the places where the trucks enter containing food and materials?.....

this should be interesting......call for israel to bring in essentials and also attack the very points where the israelis are bringing in their essentials....

perhaps they should ask Egypt to help them with their citizens?

[AviBaruch]

17. This illustrates the fundamental teenage nature of Palestinian militants

They hate their parent (Israel), but still need them for allowance.

I had hoped Israel leaving Gaza would have allowed them to leave the nest, but they've turned into the slacker stoners living at home, eating cookie dough all day and wasting their lives.

That and occasionally killing a few Israelis.

[pelsar]

18. they are teenagers...

with an avg age of 15 in the gaza strip with a strong religious/cult education....when they do join the militias they arent much more than radicalized unemployed teenagers/young men in a "macho" tribal oriented society with automatic weapons- a very bad combination

[AviBaruch]

19. Which is quite sad

because over in Israel, they're trying to figure out what sector to go into once their tour of duty is over.