Een onderzoek van mensenrechtenexperts van de Verenigde Naties heeft uitgewezen dat bij de raid van Israël op het Gaza-flotilla oorlogsmisdaden zijn gepleegd door opzettelijk te moorden. Het was verder een compleet onwettige actie onder het internationaal recht, zo meldt de Britse krant The Guardian.
Eerder had de VN-Veiligheidsraad de aanval al veroordeeld.
De verklaring van de VN
ISRAELI ACTION AGAINST GAZA FLOTILLA ‘UNLAWFUL’ – UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL PANEL
Israeli forces violated human rights and international humanitarian law during the 31 May incident involving a convoy of aid ships bound for Gaza, the United Nations Human Rights Council’s international, independent fact-finding mission has concluded.
In a 56-page report, the fact-finding mission, which is separate from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s four-member panel of inquiry into the same incident, found that the action of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in intercepting one of the ships, the Mavi Marmara, on the high sea was “clearly unlawful.”
Nine civilians lost their lives and several more were seriously injured in the incident against the flotilla that departed from Turkey and was trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been the subject of an Israeli blockade since 2007.
“The conduct of the Israeli military and other personnel towards the flotilla passengers was not only disproportionate to the occasion but demonstrated levels of totally unnecessary and incredible violence,” the report states.
“It betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality. Such conduct cannot be justified or condoned on security or any other grounds. It constituted grave violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law.”
The report, which was made public yesterday, presents a factual description of the events leading up to the interception of each of the six ships in the flotilla as well as a seventh ship intercepted on 6 June, the deaths of nine passengers and wounding of many others, and the detention of passengers in Israel and their deportation.
The three-member mission said there is clear evidence to support prosecutions of crimes such as wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health.
It also voiced regret that the Israeli Government declined to cooperate with the mission, and that this is not the first time that this has happened.
“On yet another occasion of an enquiry into events involving loss of life at the hands of the Israeli military, the Government of Israel has declined to cooperate in an inquiry not appointed by it or on which it was significantly represented.”
The mission, chaired by Judge K. Hudson-Phillips, former judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, interviewed more than 100 witnesses in Geneva, London, Istanbul and Amman during the course of its work.
Sir Desmond de Silva, Queen’s Counsel, who was chief prosecutor of the Sierra Leone War Crimes Tribunal, and Shanthi Dairiam, human rights expert of Malaysia and former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, are also on the team, which will present its report to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council next week. (VN: sept 23, 2010)
Zie ook in de Britse krant The Guardian:
"UN panel accuses Israel of war crimes for 'unlawful' assault on Gaza flotilla"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/23/un-panel-israel-war-crimes
Zie ook:
VN-Veiligheidsraad veroordeelt dodelijke aanval op Gaza-hulpkonvooi
Posts tonen met het label israel. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label israel. Alle posts tonen
zaterdag 25 september 2010
vrijdag 23 juli 2010
Ban Ki-moon spoort Israelische en Palestijnse leiders aan tot krachtige stappen naar vrede
BAN URGES ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN LEADERS TO TAKE ‘BOLD STEPS’ TOWARDS PEACE
With the coming weeks critical in moving towards direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the leaders of both sides to surmount domestic political pressures and take “bold steps” to achieve peace in the region.
With proximity talks under way, “it is vital for the parties to refrain from provocations and seize this opportunity,” Mr. Ban said in a message to a United Nations meeting under way in Lisbon, Portugal.
A two-State solution is vital for Israel “to maintain its democratic character and identity and gain security and legitimacy throughout the region,” he stressed, adding that it is also essential for Palestinians “to achieve genuine freedom and national self-determination, and to end the occupation.”
In the address, delivered by Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Mr. Ban cautioned that the clock is ticking for a two-State solution.
Earlier this month, in a move welcomed by the Secretary-General and other UN officials, the Israeli Government announced it was increasing the scope and quantity of materials allowed into Gaza. Since then, new food and productive items have entered the Strip and the volume of imports into the area has risen steadily.
Mr. Ban today welcomed recent Israeli moves towards a new policy on Gaza, but stressed that “full and swift implementation is crucial, as are further measures beyond those announced,” as well as an end to the blockade.
For its part, he emphasized, Hamas should enforce an extended ceasefire and move ahead with Egypt’s reconciliation proposals with the “legitimate Palestinian Authority of President [Mahmoud] Abbas.”
On the issue of prisoners, the Secretary-General said that he continues to call for the conclusion of a prisoner exchange agreement. “It serves no Palestinian interest to keep Corporal Gilad Shalit in captivity; access should be granted to him and he should be released,” Mr. Ban said about the Israeli soldier who has been detained for more than four years.
The media seminar being held in the Portuguese capital is the 18th such gathering organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), and aims to sensitize public opinion on the issue of Palestine and the peace process.
“The growing use of new media in the Middle East offers truly exciting opportunities to reach wider audiences, particularly young people,” the Secretary-General said today.
“I encourage young Israelis and Palestinians to use these new tools to spread positive messages that will encourage a culture of peace, coexistence and better understanding between their people”
The focus of this year’s gathering is the role of women from both sides in achieving security in the Middle East, with this year marking the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the historic Security Council resolution 1325, which stresses the importance of giving women equal participation and full involvement in peace and security matters.
“The core message of that landmark text – sustainable peace is possible only with the perspectives, leadership and full participation of women – is one we must take to heart in all regions, including the Middle East,” Mr. Ban told the Lisbon event, voicing hope that both sides will step up women’s involvement in the search for peace.
Some 120 people from the region, including both Israelis and Palestinians, and from the rest of the world are expected to attend the two-day seminar which kicked off today, including Government officials, representatives of civil society organizations, academics and journalists.
Five panel sessions will be held during the seminar on topics such as the role of the Israeli and Palestinian media in reducing tensions and the part that mayors from both sides can play in advancing peace.
The participants include Jorge Sampaio, the former Portuguese president and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, set up under UN auspices to promote better cross-cultural relations worldwide, and Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
(UN: New York, Jul 22 2010)
With the coming weeks critical in moving towards direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the leaders of both sides to surmount domestic political pressures and take “bold steps” to achieve peace in the region.
With proximity talks under way, “it is vital for the parties to refrain from provocations and seize this opportunity,” Mr. Ban said in a message to a United Nations meeting under way in Lisbon, Portugal.
A two-State solution is vital for Israel “to maintain its democratic character and identity and gain security and legitimacy throughout the region,” he stressed, adding that it is also essential for Palestinians “to achieve genuine freedom and national self-determination, and to end the occupation.”
In the address, delivered by Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Mr. Ban cautioned that the clock is ticking for a two-State solution.
Earlier this month, in a move welcomed by the Secretary-General and other UN officials, the Israeli Government announced it was increasing the scope and quantity of materials allowed into Gaza. Since then, new food and productive items have entered the Strip and the volume of imports into the area has risen steadily.
Mr. Ban today welcomed recent Israeli moves towards a new policy on Gaza, but stressed that “full and swift implementation is crucial, as are further measures beyond those announced,” as well as an end to the blockade.
For its part, he emphasized, Hamas should enforce an extended ceasefire and move ahead with Egypt’s reconciliation proposals with the “legitimate Palestinian Authority of President [Mahmoud] Abbas.”
On the issue of prisoners, the Secretary-General said that he continues to call for the conclusion of a prisoner exchange agreement. “It serves no Palestinian interest to keep Corporal Gilad Shalit in captivity; access should be granted to him and he should be released,” Mr. Ban said about the Israeli soldier who has been detained for more than four years.
The media seminar being held in the Portuguese capital is the 18th such gathering organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), and aims to sensitize public opinion on the issue of Palestine and the peace process.
“The growing use of new media in the Middle East offers truly exciting opportunities to reach wider audiences, particularly young people,” the Secretary-General said today.
“I encourage young Israelis and Palestinians to use these new tools to spread positive messages that will encourage a culture of peace, coexistence and better understanding between their people”
The focus of this year’s gathering is the role of women from both sides in achieving security in the Middle East, with this year marking the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the historic Security Council resolution 1325, which stresses the importance of giving women equal participation and full involvement in peace and security matters.
“The core message of that landmark text – sustainable peace is possible only with the perspectives, leadership and full participation of women – is one we must take to heart in all regions, including the Middle East,” Mr. Ban told the Lisbon event, voicing hope that both sides will step up women’s involvement in the search for peace.
Some 120 people from the region, including both Israelis and Palestinians, and from the rest of the world are expected to attend the two-day seminar which kicked off today, including Government officials, representatives of civil society organizations, academics and journalists.
Five panel sessions will be held during the seminar on topics such as the role of the Israeli and Palestinian media in reducing tensions and the part that mayors from both sides can play in advancing peace.
The participants include Jorge Sampaio, the former Portuguese president and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, set up under UN auspices to promote better cross-cultural relations worldwide, and Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
(UN: New York, Jul 22 2010)
maandag 14 juni 2010
VN-Veiligheidsraad veroordeelt dodelijke aanval op Gaza-hulpkonvooi
De Veiligheidsraad van de Verenigde Naties veroordeelde eerder deze maand de Israelische aanval op een konvooi hulpschepen dat op weg was naar Gaza. Bij de aanval vonden 9 opvarenden van het hulpkonvooi de dood en raakten tientallen mensen gewond.
SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS DEADLY RAID ON GAZA AID SHIPS
The Security Council today condemned Monday’s deadly Israeli military interception of a convoy of aid ships bound for Gaza, calling for a “prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation.”
At least ten people were killed when Israeli forces took control of a six-ship flotilla yesterday morning in international waters, according to press reports. The convoy was said to have been carrying educational, medical and construction materials, as well as hundreds of activists from different countries.
In the run-up to yesterday’s incident, which was also condemned by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other United Nations officials, Israel has stated it would not let the vessels reach Gaza. The UN urged last week “that all involved act with a sense of care and responsibility and work for a satisfactory resolution.”
In a presidential statement issued early this morning, the Council said that it “deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force during the Israeli military operation in international waters against the convoy sailing to Gaza.”
The 15-member body called on Israel to immediately release the ships and civilians sailing on them, allow the countries involved to retrieve their deceased and wounded, and ensure the delivery of the humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Council stressed that “the situation in Gaza is not sustainable,” again voicing its “grave concern” over the humanitarian situation in the area and emphasizing the need for the regular movement of goods and people.
The UN has repeatedly spoken out against the closure of Gaza and raised concern over the insufficient flow of material into the area to meet basic needs and spur reconstruction. Mr. Ban cautioned in a recent meeting that the closure “creates unacceptable suffering, hurts forces of moderation and empowers extremists.”
The Council today underscored that the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “an agreement negotiated between the parties,” reiterating that “only a two-State solution, with an independent and viable Palestinian State living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel and is other neighbours, could bring peace to the region.”
Voicing support for the proximity talks that started between the two sides last month, the Council urged the parties to act with restraint and avoid unilateral and provocative moves.
The UN Human Rights Council is holding a special meeting in Geneva on yesterday’s incident.
(VN: Jun, 1 2010)
SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS DEADLY RAID ON GAZA AID SHIPS
The Security Council today condemned Monday’s deadly Israeli military interception of a convoy of aid ships bound for Gaza, calling for a “prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation.”
At least ten people were killed when Israeli forces took control of a six-ship flotilla yesterday morning in international waters, according to press reports. The convoy was said to have been carrying educational, medical and construction materials, as well as hundreds of activists from different countries.
In the run-up to yesterday’s incident, which was also condemned by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other United Nations officials, Israel has stated it would not let the vessels reach Gaza. The UN urged last week “that all involved act with a sense of care and responsibility and work for a satisfactory resolution.”
In a presidential statement issued early this morning, the Council said that it “deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force during the Israeli military operation in international waters against the convoy sailing to Gaza.”
The 15-member body called on Israel to immediately release the ships and civilians sailing on them, allow the countries involved to retrieve their deceased and wounded, and ensure the delivery of the humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Council stressed that “the situation in Gaza is not sustainable,” again voicing its “grave concern” over the humanitarian situation in the area and emphasizing the need for the regular movement of goods and people.
The UN has repeatedly spoken out against the closure of Gaza and raised concern over the insufficient flow of material into the area to meet basic needs and spur reconstruction. Mr. Ban cautioned in a recent meeting that the closure “creates unacceptable suffering, hurts forces of moderation and empowers extremists.”
The Council today underscored that the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “an agreement negotiated between the parties,” reiterating that “only a two-State solution, with an independent and viable Palestinian State living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel and is other neighbours, could bring peace to the region.”
Voicing support for the proximity talks that started between the two sides last month, the Council urged the parties to act with restraint and avoid unilateral and provocative moves.
The UN Human Rights Council is holding a special meeting in Geneva on yesterday’s incident.
(VN: Jun, 1 2010)
zondag 23 mei 2010
Wederopbouw Gaza stokt door blokkade van Israël
De schade die 18 maanden geleden werd aangericht tijdens het offensief van Israël in de Gazastrook is nog lang niet hersteld. Een woordvoerder van de Verenigde Naties wijt de stagnerende wederopbouw aan de Israëlische blokkade.
Door de blokkade die al 3 jaar duurt kunnen bouwmaterialen niet worden ingevoerd. Alleen kleinere spullen kunnen Gaza binnengebracht worden via de tunnels aan de grens met Egypte.
De verklaring van de VN
GAZA STILL AWAITING RECONSTRUCTION OVER A YEAR AFTER ISRAELI OFFENSIVE, UN REPORT FINDS
Sixteen months after an Israeli military offensive inflicted widespread damage in the Gaza Strip, about three quarters of the damaged buildings and infrastructure have still not been repaired, a new United Nations report says.
The report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), produced in partnership with the Gaza-based Engineering and Management Consulting Center, estimates that another $527 million will need to be spent to reconstruct all the buildings damaged during Operation Cast Lead, which took place in December 2008 and January 2009.
About $173 million has already been provided through compensation and grants to carry out mostly small-scale repairs, according to the report, One Year After, which was issued today. Those repairs have often been conducted using recycled rubble and other materials brought in from Egypt via cross-border tunnels becau
se of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, instituted for what it called security reasons after Hamas took power there in 2007.
Israel launched the 23-day Operation Cast Lead at the end of 2008 with the stated aim of trying to halt repeated rocket attacks against it from Gaza. More than 1,400 people were killed and at least 5,000 others were injured.
The report -- which focuses on both early recovery and reconstruction needs -- says educational facilities such as schools are among the categories of buildings hardest hit since the offensive. More than 82 per cent of such facilities remain unrepaired or unreconstructed today.
Private homes are also affected, with almost none of the 3,425 homes that were destroyed in the conflict having been reconstructed. An estimated 75 per cent of agricultural land and premises and 60 per cent of private businesses are also still damaged.
But the report notes that Gaza has been assisted by $151 million given by donors in the form of job-generation schem
es, food aid and other projects.
Gaza also experienced "a degree of economic recovery" last year, with a fall in unemployment rates, a rise in the number of operating industrial facilities as well as continued informal trade through the tunnels.
"However, the sustainability of this limited recovery is questionable," the report states, citing the declining purchasing power of the estimated 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza and their dependence on outside aid.
(VN, May 23, 2010)
Door de blokkade die al 3 jaar duurt kunnen bouwmaterialen niet worden ingevoerd. Alleen kleinere spullen kunnen Gaza binnengebracht worden via de tunnels aan de grens met Egypte.
De verklaring van de VN
GAZA STILL AWAITING RECONSTRUCTION OVER A YEAR AFTER ISRAELI OFFENSIVE, UN REPORT FINDS
Sixteen months after an Israeli military offensive inflicted widespread damage in the Gaza Strip, about three quarters of the damaged buildings and infrastructure have still not been repaired, a new United Nations report says.
The report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), produced in partnership with the Gaza-based Engineering and Management Consulting Center, estimates that another $527 million will need to be spent to reconstruct all the buildings damaged during Operation Cast Lead, which took place in December 2008 and January 2009.
About $173 million has already been provided through compensation and grants to carry out mostly small-scale repairs, according to the report, One Year After, which was issued today. Those repairs have often been conducted using recycled rubble and other materials brought in from Egypt via cross-border tunnels becau
se of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, instituted for what it called security reasons after Hamas took power there in 2007.
Israel launched the 23-day Operation Cast Lead at the end of 2008 with the stated aim of trying to halt repeated rocket attacks against it from Gaza. More than 1,400 people were killed and at least 5,000 others were injured.
The report -- which focuses on both early recovery and reconstruction needs -- says educational facilities such as schools are among the categories of buildings hardest hit since the offensive. More than 82 per cent of such facilities remain unrepaired or unreconstructed today.
Private homes are also affected, with almost none of the 3,425 homes that were destroyed in the conflict having been reconstructed. An estimated 75 per cent of agricultural land and premises and 60 per cent of private businesses are also still damaged.
But the report notes that Gaza has been assisted by $151 million given by donors in the form of job-generation schem
es, food aid and other projects.
Gaza also experienced "a degree of economic recovery" last year, with a fall in unemployment rates, a rise in the number of operating industrial facilities as well as continued informal trade through the tunnels.
"However, the sustainability of this limited recovery is questionable," the report states, citing the declining purchasing power of the estimated 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza and their dependence on outside aid.
(VN, May 23, 2010)
donderdag 1 oktober 2009
Missie VN vindt bewijs oorlogsmisdaden Israël en Palestijnse militanten
In september maakte de Verenigde naties bekend dat er bewijzen zijn gevonden dat beide partijen in de oorlog in Gaza oorlogsmisdaden hebben gepleegt.
De verklaring van de VN:
UN MISSION FINDS EVIDENCE OF WAR CRIMES BY BOTH SIDES IN GAZA CONFLICT
The United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict at the start of this year has found evidence that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, which may amount to crimes against humanity.
“We came to the conclusion, on the basis of the facts we found, that there was strong evidence to establish that numerous serious violations of international law, both humanitarian law and human rights law, were committed by Israel during the military operations in Gaza,” the head of the mission, Justice Richard Goldstone, told a press briefing today.
“The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes and possibly, in some respects, crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defense Force (IDF).”
“There’s no question that the firing of rockets and mortars [by armed groups from Gaza] was deliberate and calculated to cause loss of life and injury to civilians and damage to civilian structures. The mission found that these actions also amount to serious war crimes and also possibly crimes against humanity,” he said.
The 575-page report by the four-person mission was released today, ahead of its presentation to the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva on 29 September.
“The mission finds that the conduct of the Israeli armed forces constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of wilful killings and wilfully causing great suffering to protected persons and as such give rise to individual criminal responsibility,” the report’s executive summary said. “It also finds that the direct targeting and arbitrary killing of Palestinian civilians is a violation of the right to life.”
It went on to criticize the “deliberate and systematic policy on the part of the Israeli armed forces to target industrial sites and water installations,” and the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields.
On the objectives and strategy of Israel’s military operation, the mission concluded that military planners deliberately followed a doctrine which involved “the application of disproportionate force and the causing of great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilian populations.”
On the firing of mortars from Gaza, the mission concluded that they were indiscriminate and deliberate attacks against a civilian population and “would constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity.” It added that their apparent intention of spreading terror among the Israeli civilian population was a violation of international law.
The report recommended that the Security Council should require Israel to take steps to launch appropriate independent investigations into the alleged crimes committed, in conformity with international standards, and report back on these investigations within six months.
It further called on the Security Council to appoint a committee of experts to monitor the proceedings taken by the Israeli Government. If these did not take place, or were not independent and in conformity with international standards, the report called for the Security Council to refer the situation in Gaza to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
It also called on the Security Council to require the committee of experts to perform a similar role with regard to the relevant Palestinian authorities.
At today’s briefing, Justice Goldstone said the mission had investigated 36 incidents that took place during the Israeli operation in Gaza, which he said did not relate to decisions taken in the heat of battle, but to deliberate policies that were adopted and decisions that were taken.
As an example, he described one such incident: a mortar attack on a mosque in Gaza during a religious service, which killed 15 members of the congregation and injured many others. Justice Goldstone said that even if allegations that the mosque was used as sanctuary by military groups and that weapons were stored there were true, there was still “no justification under international humanitarian law to mortar the mosque during a service,” because it could have been attacked during the night, when it was not being used by civilians.
Justice Goldstone added that the report reflected the unanimous view of the mission’s four members.
(VN: New York, Sep 15, 2009)
Zie ook:
Hamas en Israël moeten ook zelf hun misdaden oorlog in Gaza onderzoeken
De verklaring van de VN:
UN MISSION FINDS EVIDENCE OF WAR CRIMES BY BOTH SIDES IN GAZA CONFLICT
The United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict at the start of this year has found evidence that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, which may amount to crimes against humanity.
“We came to the conclusion, on the basis of the facts we found, that there was strong evidence to establish that numerous serious violations of international law, both humanitarian law and human rights law, were committed by Israel during the military operations in Gaza,” the head of the mission, Justice Richard Goldstone, told a press briefing today.
“The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes and possibly, in some respects, crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defense Force (IDF).”
“There’s no question that the firing of rockets and mortars [by armed groups from Gaza] was deliberate and calculated to cause loss of life and injury to civilians and damage to civilian structures. The mission found that these actions also amount to serious war crimes and also possibly crimes against humanity,” he said.
The 575-page report by the four-person mission was released today, ahead of its presentation to the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva on 29 September.
“The mission finds that the conduct of the Israeli armed forces constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in respect of wilful killings and wilfully causing great suffering to protected persons and as such give rise to individual criminal responsibility,” the report’s executive summary said. “It also finds that the direct targeting and arbitrary killing of Palestinian civilians is a violation of the right to life.”
It went on to criticize the “deliberate and systematic policy on the part of the Israeli armed forces to target industrial sites and water installations,” and the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields.
On the objectives and strategy of Israel’s military operation, the mission concluded that military planners deliberately followed a doctrine which involved “the application of disproportionate force and the causing of great damage and destruction to civilian property and infrastructure, and suffering to civilian populations.”
On the firing of mortars from Gaza, the mission concluded that they were indiscriminate and deliberate attacks against a civilian population and “would constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity.” It added that their apparent intention of spreading terror among the Israeli civilian population was a violation of international law.
The report recommended that the Security Council should require Israel to take steps to launch appropriate independent investigations into the alleged crimes committed, in conformity with international standards, and report back on these investigations within six months.
It further called on the Security Council to appoint a committee of experts to monitor the proceedings taken by the Israeli Government. If these did not take place, or were not independent and in conformity with international standards, the report called for the Security Council to refer the situation in Gaza to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
It also called on the Security Council to require the committee of experts to perform a similar role with regard to the relevant Palestinian authorities.
At today’s briefing, Justice Goldstone said the mission had investigated 36 incidents that took place during the Israeli operation in Gaza, which he said did not relate to decisions taken in the heat of battle, but to deliberate policies that were adopted and decisions that were taken.
As an example, he described one such incident: a mortar attack on a mosque in Gaza during a religious service, which killed 15 members of the congregation and injured many others. Justice Goldstone said that even if allegations that the mosque was used as sanctuary by military groups and that weapons were stored there were true, there was still “no justification under international humanitarian law to mortar the mosque during a service,” because it could have been attacked during the night, when it was not being used by civilians.
Justice Goldstone added that the report reflected the unanimous view of the mission’s four members.
(VN: New York, Sep 15, 2009)
Zie ook:
Hamas en Israël moeten ook zelf hun misdaden oorlog in Gaza onderzoeken
woensdag 15 juli 2009
Israëlische soldaten erkennen oorlogsmisdaden in Gaza
Israëlische gevechtsmilitairen hebben erkend dat ze Palestijnse burgers hebben gebruikt als menselijk schild.
Ook hebben ze zonder noodzaak ongewapende inwoners van Gaza gedood en op de onjuiste manier granaten met witte fosfor gebruikt om gebouwen in brand te steken.
Dat heeft de Israëlische organisatie Breaking the Silence (Doorbreek het Zwijgen) bekendgemaakt. De misdaden werden gepleegd als onderdeel van hun drie weken durende aanval op de Gaza-strook van afgelopen winter.
De gruweldaden blijken uit 54 getuigenissen die militairen hebben afgelegd die in Gaza hebben gediend.
Breaking the Silence meldt: “Fifty-four testimonies of Israeli combat soldiers who participated in Operation Cast Lead reveal gaps between the reports given by the army following January’s events; the needless destruction of houses; firing phosphorous in populated areas and an atmosphere that encouraged shooting anywhere.”
De militairen hadden verregaande geweldsinstructies. Er heerste een sfeer dat er overal geschoten mocht worden en er werd fosfor afgevuurd op bewoonde gebieden. Daarnaast werden er burgers meegevoerd naar binnen bij huiszoekingen.
De verklaringen zijn afgelegd door Israëlische militairen, dienstplichtigen en reservisten. De soldaten konden anoniem getuigen.
Volgens verslaggevers is de organisatie Breaking the Silence zeer integer. Soldaten kunnen er terecht wanneer ze in gewetensnood verkeren.
Het Israëlische leger beweert dat vanwege de anonimiteit van de verklaringen er geen bewijs is dat het om echte militairen gaat en dat de juistheid van de getuigenissen niet kan worden gecontroleerd.
Een woordvoerder van het leger zei dat Hamas juist degene is die burgers gebruikte als menselijk schild en zich verschool in ziekenhuizen.
Israël wilde met de aanval op Gaza een eind maken aan raketaanvallen van Hamas vanuit Gaza.
Bij de aanval van Israël werden volgens de Verenigde Naties 1.400 Palestijnen gedood, waaronder ruim 900 burgers. Israël beweert dat er 300 burgers zijn omgekomen. Ook 13 Israëliërs vonden de dood tijdens de oorlog, 10 soldaten en 3 burgers.
Het rapport van 110 pagina’s met 16 video’s van Breaking the Silence, een organisatie die in 2004 werd opgericht door Israëlische reservisten, biedt een blik binnen een militaire campagne die onderwerp is van een onderzoek van de Verenigde Naties naar oorlogsmisdaden, dat nog steeds loopt.
Begin deze maand verklaarde Amnesty International al dat Israël oorlogsmisdaden pleegde bij het offensief in Gaza. Hamas werd ervan beschuldigd dat ze burgers in gevaar had gebracht door het afschieten van raketten op Israël.
Een uitgebreid verslag van Dion Nissenbaum in de McClatchy Newspapers:
Israëlische militairen Gaza erkennen “moreel schemergebied”
De site van de organisatie Breaking the Silence
http://www.shovrimshtika.org/oferet/index_e.asp
Mensenrechtenorganisaties over Gaza
“Complete coverage of Israel/Gaza”
Op de site van de mensenrechtenorganisatie Human Rights Watch:
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/israel-gaza
Zie ook: Amnesty International over de oorlog:
Israël pleegde oorlogsmisdaden in Gaza
Beelden van het gebruik van witte fosfor
Ook hebben ze zonder noodzaak ongewapende inwoners van Gaza gedood en op de onjuiste manier granaten met witte fosfor gebruikt om gebouwen in brand te steken.
Dat heeft de Israëlische organisatie Breaking the Silence (Doorbreek het Zwijgen) bekendgemaakt. De misdaden werden gepleegd als onderdeel van hun drie weken durende aanval op de Gaza-strook van afgelopen winter.
De gruweldaden blijken uit 54 getuigenissen die militairen hebben afgelegd die in Gaza hebben gediend.
Breaking the Silence meldt: “Fifty-four testimonies of Israeli combat soldiers who participated in Operation Cast Lead reveal gaps between the reports given by the army following January’s events; the needless destruction of houses; firing phosphorous in populated areas and an atmosphere that encouraged shooting anywhere.”
De militairen hadden verregaande geweldsinstructies. Er heerste een sfeer dat er overal geschoten mocht worden en er werd fosfor afgevuurd op bewoonde gebieden. Daarnaast werden er burgers meegevoerd naar binnen bij huiszoekingen.
De verklaringen zijn afgelegd door Israëlische militairen, dienstplichtigen en reservisten. De soldaten konden anoniem getuigen.
Volgens verslaggevers is de organisatie Breaking the Silence zeer integer. Soldaten kunnen er terecht wanneer ze in gewetensnood verkeren.
Het Israëlische leger beweert dat vanwege de anonimiteit van de verklaringen er geen bewijs is dat het om echte militairen gaat en dat de juistheid van de getuigenissen niet kan worden gecontroleerd.
Een woordvoerder van het leger zei dat Hamas juist degene is die burgers gebruikte als menselijk schild en zich verschool in ziekenhuizen.
Israël wilde met de aanval op Gaza een eind maken aan raketaanvallen van Hamas vanuit Gaza.
Bij de aanval van Israël werden volgens de Verenigde Naties 1.400 Palestijnen gedood, waaronder ruim 900 burgers. Israël beweert dat er 300 burgers zijn omgekomen. Ook 13 Israëliërs vonden de dood tijdens de oorlog, 10 soldaten en 3 burgers.
Het rapport van 110 pagina’s met 16 video’s van Breaking the Silence, een organisatie die in 2004 werd opgericht door Israëlische reservisten, biedt een blik binnen een militaire campagne die onderwerp is van een onderzoek van de Verenigde Naties naar oorlogsmisdaden, dat nog steeds loopt.
Begin deze maand verklaarde Amnesty International al dat Israël oorlogsmisdaden pleegde bij het offensief in Gaza. Hamas werd ervan beschuldigd dat ze burgers in gevaar had gebracht door het afschieten van raketten op Israël.
Een uitgebreid verslag van Dion Nissenbaum in de McClatchy Newspapers:
Israëlische militairen Gaza erkennen “moreel schemergebied”
De site van de organisatie Breaking the Silence
http://www.shovrimshtika.org/oferet/index_e.asp
Mensenrechtenorganisaties over Gaza
“Complete coverage of Israel/Gaza”
Op de site van de mensenrechtenorganisatie Human Rights Watch:
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/israel-gaza
Zie ook: Amnesty International over de oorlog:
Israël pleegde oorlogsmisdaden in Gaza
Beelden van het gebruik van witte fosfor
donderdag 2 juli 2009
Israël pleegde oorlogsmisdaden in Gaza
Tijdens het offensief in Gaza begin dit jaar heeft Israël zich schuldig gemaakt aan oorlogsmisdaden. Dat meldt Amnesty International in een rapport waaruit door veel media wordt geciteerd.
Het Israëlische leger heeft buitensporig veel geweld gebruikt en willekeurig huizen en kantoren vernietigd. Duizenden huizen werden verwoest.
Ruim 900 van de 1400 gedode Palestijnen waren burgers. Israel beweert dat er 300 burgers zijn omgekomen.
Het rapport "Operation Cast Lead: 22 Days of Death and Destruction" toont aan dat Israël heeft gefaald om op een adequate manier het gedrag van zijn strijdkrachten, waaronder oorlogsmisdaden, in Gaza te onderzoeken.
In het rapport, dat 117 pagina's beslaat, stelt Amnesty dat het omkomen van honderden burgers niet kan worden afgedaan als fouten of bijkomende schade, zoals Israël beweert.
Amnesty veroordeelt ook de inzet door het Israelische leger van zwaar geschut en witte fosfor. Met de fosfor kan een rookgordijn worden gelegd voor oprukkende troepen, maar het duurde nog dagen voordat soldaten in de aanval gingen.
Amnesty noemt ook de raketaanvallen van Hamas op Israël oorlogsmisdaden. Zo heeft Hamas burgers bewust in gevaar gebracht. Verder wordt Hamas aangerekend dat ze raketten afvuurden vanuit woonwijken.
De Palestijnen gebruikten burgers niet als menselijk schild, maar de Israëlische militairen deden dat.
Aan Israëlische kant vielen in de oorlog 13 doden. Dit waren 3 burgers en 10 militairen. 4 van deze soldaten kwamen om door “eigen vuur”.
Volgens de mensenrechtenorganisatie blijven er verontrustende vragen bestaan. Zo werden op daken spelende Palestijnse kinderen en medici die gewonden behandelden gedood met zeer precieze raketten. De gebruikers daarvan hadden het doel duidelijk voor ogen.
VN-onderzoek
De Verenigde Naties zijn ook bezig met een onderzoek naar de oorlog, maar Israël weigert daaraan mee te werken omdat deze commissie partijdig zou zijn.
"'De weigering van Israël om met de onafhankelijke VN- onderzoekscommissie van Richard Goldstone samen te werken, is het bewijs dat het land geen openbare controle wil en geen verantwoording wil afleggen," zo zegt Donatella Rovera.
Rovera is hoofd van de Amnesty International onderzoeksmissie naar Gaza en het zuiden van Israël.
Het rapport van Amnesty International:
http://www.amnesty.nl/index?w=51199&PHPSESSID=1ae8b01d09a3d28d98528875f5dfff38
Robvandam (Robson)
Het Israëlische leger heeft buitensporig veel geweld gebruikt en willekeurig huizen en kantoren vernietigd. Duizenden huizen werden verwoest.
Ruim 900 van de 1400 gedode Palestijnen waren burgers. Israel beweert dat er 300 burgers zijn omgekomen.
Het rapport "Operation Cast Lead: 22 Days of Death and Destruction" toont aan dat Israël heeft gefaald om op een adequate manier het gedrag van zijn strijdkrachten, waaronder oorlogsmisdaden, in Gaza te onderzoeken.
In het rapport, dat 117 pagina's beslaat, stelt Amnesty dat het omkomen van honderden burgers niet kan worden afgedaan als fouten of bijkomende schade, zoals Israël beweert.
Amnesty veroordeelt ook de inzet door het Israelische leger van zwaar geschut en witte fosfor. Met de fosfor kan een rookgordijn worden gelegd voor oprukkende troepen, maar het duurde nog dagen voordat soldaten in de aanval gingen.
Amnesty noemt ook de raketaanvallen van Hamas op Israël oorlogsmisdaden. Zo heeft Hamas burgers bewust in gevaar gebracht. Verder wordt Hamas aangerekend dat ze raketten afvuurden vanuit woonwijken.
De Palestijnen gebruikten burgers niet als menselijk schild, maar de Israëlische militairen deden dat.
Aan Israëlische kant vielen in de oorlog 13 doden. Dit waren 3 burgers en 10 militairen. 4 van deze soldaten kwamen om door “eigen vuur”.
Volgens de mensenrechtenorganisatie blijven er verontrustende vragen bestaan. Zo werden op daken spelende Palestijnse kinderen en medici die gewonden behandelden gedood met zeer precieze raketten. De gebruikers daarvan hadden het doel duidelijk voor ogen.
VN-onderzoek
De Verenigde Naties zijn ook bezig met een onderzoek naar de oorlog, maar Israël weigert daaraan mee te werken omdat deze commissie partijdig zou zijn.
"'De weigering van Israël om met de onafhankelijke VN- onderzoekscommissie van Richard Goldstone samen te werken, is het bewijs dat het land geen openbare controle wil en geen verantwoording wil afleggen," zo zegt Donatella Rovera.
Rovera is hoofd van de Amnesty International onderzoeksmissie naar Gaza en het zuiden van Israël.
Het rapport van Amnesty International:
http://www.amnesty.nl/index?w=51199&PHPSESSID=1ae8b01d09a3d28d98528875f5dfff38
Robvandam (Robson)
dinsdag 20 januari 2009
Grote dapperheid van VN-personeel in Gaza tijdens aanval Israel
In de donkerste uren van de Israëlische aanval op Gaza, toen hun eigen hoofdkwartier werd beschoten en in vlammen opging, toen kinderen stierven of gruwelijk gewond raakten, putte de hoogste functionaris van de VN op de grond innerlijke kracht uit de onverschrokkenheid van zijn personeel – en vanuit het oogpunt van zijn land van herkomst, Ierland, van verzoening tussen vijanden vol haat.
"Tegenover de onmenselijkheid van de aanval op Gaza waren de personeelsleden van de VN in Gaza de symbolen van menselijkheid en moed," aldus het hoofd van de VN organisatie voor Hulp aan Palestijnse Vluchtelingen, de Ier John Ging.
John Ging liet zich onder meer inspireren door het personeel van de ambulances die met gevaar voor eigen leven naar de frontlinie gingen om daar mensen te redden.
Dinsdag heeft de secretaris-generaal van de VN, Ban Ki=moon, bij een bezoek aan het zwaar geteisterde Gaza een onderzoek geëist naar de aanval door Israël. Het Istraëlische leger viel onder meer scholen van de VN aan en het hoofdkwartier in Gaza.
Bij de aanval op een school van de VN vielen zeker 46 doden. Israëlische officieren verklaarden dat er niet door militanten vanuit de school werd geschoten.
Ging, die 10.000 personeelsleden heeft in Gaza die voor de hulp aan 750.000 aan Palestijnse vluchtelingen in Gaza zorgen, zei in een verklaring die dinsdag werd uitgegeven “dat de grote meerderheid van de Gazanen in vrede met Israël wil leven”.
De verklaring van de VN over de moedigheid van haar personeel tijdens de aanval op Gaza
Personeel VN in Gaza ongekend dapper tijdens oorlog
VN-chef Ban Ki-moon eist onderzoek naar aanval op Gaza
Secretaris-generaal Ban Ki-moon van de Verenigde Naties heeft dinsdag bij een bezoek aan de Gazastrook gezegd dat hij een onderzoek eist naar de aanvallen van Israël op VN-gebouwen in het gebied.
De Israëlische krant Haaretz meldde op 13 januari dat officieren van het Israëlische leger verklaard hebben dat er niet werd geschoten vanuit de VN-school die door een Israëlische tank onder vuur werd genomen.
Bij de aanval werden 40 Palestijnen die hun toevlucht hadden gezocht in het schoolgebouw gedood.
Beelden die werden vrijgegeven waarop was te zien dat er uit het schoolgebouw werd geschoten kwamen uit 2007, toen de VN het gebouw verlaten had en het werd overgenomen door militanten.
“TheUnited Nations is claiming Israeli military officers have admitted there was no Palestinian gunfire emanating from inside an UNRWA school in Gaza which was shelled by an IDF tank.”
He noted that all the footage released by the IDF of militants firing from inside the school was from 2007 and not from the incident itself. "There are no up-to-date photos," Gunness said. "In 2007, we abandoned the site and only then did the militants take it over."
Dozens of Palestinians were killed in the shelling.
De BBC voelde een Israëlische regeringswoordvoerder al stevig aan de tand over de aanval op de school van de VS.
Ban noemde volgens De Volkskrant de crisis in de Gazastrook een “collectief politiek falen”. Hij waarschuwde dat het huidige bestand broos is en riep Israël en Hamas op “maximale terughoudendheid” te betrachten en het staakt-het-vuren te koesteren.”
“Tijdens een ceremonie bij het uitgebrande VN-kantoor in Gaza eiste Ban een onderzoek naar Israëlische aanvallen op VN-gebouwen in het gebied, waaronder een school waar Palestijnse burgers toevlucht hadden gezocht,” aldus de krant.
Eerder eiste de Hoge Commissaris voor de Rechten van de Mens, Navi Pillay, een onderzoek naar de aanvallen van Israel op het ingesloten gebied.
De Israëlische krant Haaretz meldde op 13 januari dat officieren van het Israëlische leger verklaard hebben dat er niet werd geschoten vanuit de VN-school die door een Israëlische tank onder vuur werd genomen.
Bij de aanval werden 40 Palestijnen die hun toevlucht hadden gezocht in het schoolgebouw gedood.
Beelden die werden vrijgegeven waarop was te zien dat er uit het schoolgebouw werd geschoten kwamen uit 2007, toen de VN het gebouw verlaten had en het werd overgenomen door militanten.
“TheUnited Nations is claiming Israeli military officers have admitted there was no Palestinian gunfire emanating from inside an UNRWA school in Gaza which was shelled by an IDF tank.”
He noted that all the footage released by the IDF of militants firing from inside the school was from 2007 and not from the incident itself. "There are no up-to-date photos," Gunness said. "In 2007, we abandoned the site and only then did the militants take it over."
Dozens of Palestinians were killed in the shelling.
De BBC voelde een Israëlische regeringswoordvoerder al stevig aan de tand over de aanval op de school van de VS.
maandag 19 januari 2009
Veel leed in Gaza, Verenigde Naties starten hulpacties
Op de eerste volle dag van het bestand tussen Israël en Hamas zijn de VN een hulpactie begonnen in Gaza. Volgens de VN zijn er 1.340 doden waarvan 460 kinderen en 106 vrouwen. Er zijn 5.320 gewonden waaronder 1.855 kinderen en 795 vrouwen.
“1,340 dead, 460 of them children and 106 women, and 5,320 wounded, 1,855 of them children and 795 women.”
VN-gezant John Ging beschreef gruwelijke scènes van mensen die lichamen uit het puin halen.
“Het is werkelijk een traumatische tijd voor iedereen,” zo zei hij. “Er is een gevoel van opluchting dat de strijd is afgelopen en de uitdaging die ons wacht is bangstigend…," aldus Ging.
Ondertussen heeft Saudi-Arabië een miljard toegezegd voor de wederopbouw van Gaza. De schade in het gebied bedraagt tegen de 2 miljard dollar.
De BBC meldt dat “Gaza op een gebied lijkt dat is getroffen door een aardbeving.”
Volgens de VN zijn ongeveer 50.800 Palestijnen nu dakloos geraakt en ongeveer 400.000 mensen zitten zonder stromend water.
Israël lanceerde de aanval op 27 december om een eind te maken aan beschietingen van Hamas met raketten.
Bij de Israëlische bombardementen werd onder meer gebruik gemaakt van brandbommen met fosfor.
Ook burgerdoelen werden niet ontzien waardoor er honderden doden en duizenden gewonden onder de burgerbevolking zijn gevallen.
Gaza leeft in ruïnes, een reportage van de Britse krant The Guardian
De verklaring van de Verenigde Naties
UN already assessing Gaza relief needs on first full day of halt to fighting
The United Nations has already started assessing the devastating damage and relief needs in the Gaza Strip on the first full day of a truce in fighting between Israel and Hamas, with the overall bill possibly reaching billions of dollars, amid a feeling of “overwhelming grief” among the 1.5 million inhabitants there, senior officials said today.
“The pervasive sense here among the population is one of overwhelming grief, so many families have been destroyed in so many ways,” the top UN official in Gaza reported from ground zero, noting that at his last briefing on Friday he had hoped they would not have a further death toll.
“But we did, and again the number of children that were killed since Friday were 42 out of 159 in total,” Gaza Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) John Ging to journalists in New York by video link, adding that two of those children died in an UNRWA school that was shelled on Saturday.
“Another terrible tragedy, two little boys, two brothers, five and seven, indisputably innocent, but also now dead,” he added. “What we have now is people back out, trying to come to terms with what has happened.”
According to Palestinian figures that the UN has called credible, the casualty toll from the thee week offensive, which Israel said it launched to stop Hamas rocket attacks against it from Gaza, now stands at 1,340 dead, 460 of the children and 106 women, and 5,320 wounded, 1,855 of them children and 795 women, with a large proportion of the injuries severe, including burns and amputations. Thirteen Israeli were reported killed, including four from rocket fire.
“It may not be very clear who actually won this conflict, if that concept means anything in Gaza but it’s pretty clear who lost and that’s the civilian population of Gaza, and to a much lesser extent the civilian population of southern Israel,” UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told the same news briefing, adding that he intended to visit Gaza in the next few days.
He said all the main crossings, which Israel has frequently closed in response to Hamas rocket attacks, were open today, and infrastructure repairs had allowed 100,000 more people to receive water, although 400,000 were still without it, but sewage was still flooding the streets of some towns in the north. Some 50 UN facilities were damaged.
The number of supply trucks that crossed over into Gaza today topped 170, but this was relatively few compared to the daily rate of over 600 in 2005. Mr. Holmes said a Flash Appeal for urgent funding would be launched within 10 days, and while declining to give specific figures, he put the humanitarian relief needs in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and the overall bill including reconstruction as likely to be in the billions.
Mr. Ging said that although he expected 20,000 of the people who had sought refuge in UNRWA schools to return to their homes tonight, that would still leave 35,000 seeking shelter. Aid operations are now running at full swing and people have access to basic aid, but it will still take a couple of days to repair infrastructure to supply water, he added.
He stressed the terrible scenes of people removing bodies from the rubble. “It’s a really traumatic time for everybody,” he said. There’s a sense of relief that the fighting has stopped and now the challenge facing us is daunting…
“My message to everybody is a simple one. We need to, number one, to ensure for the people of Gaza that they will be confident that accountability will be achieved for them, for their loss, through a legal process. Otherwise we concede to the agenda of extremism which is the rule of the gun. And secondly, and equally important, is to restore them to a dignified existence.
“The people here have paid the price once again. The death toll is evidence of the price they have paid. We have to prioritize them. There are political complexities, of course, to overcome operational challenges.
“But the bottom line is to restore them to a dignified existence, to give them a perspective which is positive, to mitigate against the agenda of extremism here to which violence is very much an important component. It feeds extremism and poverty and despair. To counter all of that we need to restart the economy here and that will involve opening up the crossing points, and not just for humanitarian assistance but to reactivate the economy.”
The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in its capacity as facilitator of the UN early recovery team, has already announced that it will work with the West-Bank Palestinian Authority to assess damage and devise plans for rebuilding. The PA is committed to a two-state solution with both Israel and Palestine living side by aside in peace, while Hamas, which seized power in Gaza from the PA in 2007, does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Immediate responses will include the removal of unexploded ordnance and the clearing of rubble so that social and economic reconstruction may begin.
Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) Lifeline Gaza, launched a week ago at Egypt's border with Gaza to raise awareness and resources for victims of the conflict, has already helped deliver urgently needed nutritious food in Khan (south), Der el Balah (centre) and Gaza City. Lifeline Gaza seeks $81 million for food and logistics for 365,000 people in peril.
(VN: Jan 19, 2009)
“1,340 dead, 460 of them children and 106 women, and 5,320 wounded, 1,855 of them children and 795 women.”
VN-gezant John Ging beschreef gruwelijke scènes van mensen die lichamen uit het puin halen.
“Het is werkelijk een traumatische tijd voor iedereen,” zo zei hij. “Er is een gevoel van opluchting dat de strijd is afgelopen en de uitdaging die ons wacht is bangstigend…," aldus Ging.
Ondertussen heeft Saudi-Arabië een miljard toegezegd voor de wederopbouw van Gaza. De schade in het gebied bedraagt tegen de 2 miljard dollar.
De BBC meldt dat “Gaza op een gebied lijkt dat is getroffen door een aardbeving.”
Volgens de VN zijn ongeveer 50.800 Palestijnen nu dakloos geraakt en ongeveer 400.000 mensen zitten zonder stromend water.
Israël lanceerde de aanval op 27 december om een eind te maken aan beschietingen van Hamas met raketten.
Bij de Israëlische bombardementen werd onder meer gebruik gemaakt van brandbommen met fosfor.
Ook burgerdoelen werden niet ontzien waardoor er honderden doden en duizenden gewonden onder de burgerbevolking zijn gevallen.
Gaza leeft in ruïnes, een reportage van de Britse krant The Guardian
De verklaring van de Verenigde Naties
UN already assessing Gaza relief needs on first full day of halt to fighting
The United Nations has already started assessing the devastating damage and relief needs in the Gaza Strip on the first full day of a truce in fighting between Israel and Hamas, with the overall bill possibly reaching billions of dollars, amid a feeling of “overwhelming grief” among the 1.5 million inhabitants there, senior officials said today.
“The pervasive sense here among the population is one of overwhelming grief, so many families have been destroyed in so many ways,” the top UN official in Gaza reported from ground zero, noting that at his last briefing on Friday he had hoped they would not have a further death toll.
“But we did, and again the number of children that were killed since Friday were 42 out of 159 in total,” Gaza Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) John Ging to journalists in New York by video link, adding that two of those children died in an UNRWA school that was shelled on Saturday.
“Another terrible tragedy, two little boys, two brothers, five and seven, indisputably innocent, but also now dead,” he added. “What we have now is people back out, trying to come to terms with what has happened.”
According to Palestinian figures that the UN has called credible, the casualty toll from the thee week offensive, which Israel said it launched to stop Hamas rocket attacks against it from Gaza, now stands at 1,340 dead, 460 of the children and 106 women, and 5,320 wounded, 1,855 of them children and 795 women, with a large proportion of the injuries severe, including burns and amputations. Thirteen Israeli were reported killed, including four from rocket fire.
“It may not be very clear who actually won this conflict, if that concept means anything in Gaza but it’s pretty clear who lost and that’s the civilian population of Gaza, and to a much lesser extent the civilian population of southern Israel,” UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told the same news briefing, adding that he intended to visit Gaza in the next few days.
He said all the main crossings, which Israel has frequently closed in response to Hamas rocket attacks, were open today, and infrastructure repairs had allowed 100,000 more people to receive water, although 400,000 were still without it, but sewage was still flooding the streets of some towns in the north. Some 50 UN facilities were damaged.
The number of supply trucks that crossed over into Gaza today topped 170, but this was relatively few compared to the daily rate of over 600 in 2005. Mr. Holmes said a Flash Appeal for urgent funding would be launched within 10 days, and while declining to give specific figures, he put the humanitarian relief needs in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and the overall bill including reconstruction as likely to be in the billions.
Mr. Ging said that although he expected 20,000 of the people who had sought refuge in UNRWA schools to return to their homes tonight, that would still leave 35,000 seeking shelter. Aid operations are now running at full swing and people have access to basic aid, but it will still take a couple of days to repair infrastructure to supply water, he added.
He stressed the terrible scenes of people removing bodies from the rubble. “It’s a really traumatic time for everybody,” he said. There’s a sense of relief that the fighting has stopped and now the challenge facing us is daunting…
“My message to everybody is a simple one. We need to, number one, to ensure for the people of Gaza that they will be confident that accountability will be achieved for them, for their loss, through a legal process. Otherwise we concede to the agenda of extremism which is the rule of the gun. And secondly, and equally important, is to restore them to a dignified existence.
“The people here have paid the price once again. The death toll is evidence of the price they have paid. We have to prioritize them. There are political complexities, of course, to overcome operational challenges.
“But the bottom line is to restore them to a dignified existence, to give them a perspective which is positive, to mitigate against the agenda of extremism here to which violence is very much an important component. It feeds extremism and poverty and despair. To counter all of that we need to restart the economy here and that will involve opening up the crossing points, and not just for humanitarian assistance but to reactivate the economy.”
The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in its capacity as facilitator of the UN early recovery team, has already announced that it will work with the West-Bank Palestinian Authority to assess damage and devise plans for rebuilding. The PA is committed to a two-state solution with both Israel and Palestine living side by aside in peace, while Hamas, which seized power in Gaza from the PA in 2007, does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Immediate responses will include the removal of unexploded ordnance and the clearing of rubble so that social and economic reconstruction may begin.
Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) Lifeline Gaza, launched a week ago at Egypt's border with Gaza to raise awareness and resources for victims of the conflict, has already helped deliver urgently needed nutritious food in Khan (south), Der el Balah (centre) and Gaza City. Lifeline Gaza seeks $81 million for food and logistics for 365,000 people in peril.
(VN: Jan 19, 2009)
Bestand tussen Israël en Hamas: enorme verwoesting en leed in Gaza
Eindelijk is er dan een bestand van kracht geworden nadat de wereld wekenlang getuige was van bloedige aanvallen waarbij onder meer fosforbommen door Israël werden ingezet en meer dan 1.000 Palestijnen de dood vonden.
In Gaza zijn enorme verwoestingen aangericht en in de oorlog vonden zeker 1.150 Palestijnen en 13 Israëli’s de dood.
Onder de Palestijnse doden bevinden zich honderden kinderen.
De Israelische premier Olmert wil zijn troepen nu zo snel mogelijk terugtrekken.
De Volkskrant meldt “dat Hamas het staak-het-vuren zondag met onmiddelijke ingang afkondigde voor zowel haar eigen strijders als voor verwante groeperingen”.
“Israël krijgt een week de tijd om haar troepen uit de Gazastrook terug te trekken. Daar is het leger zondag aan het einde van de middag mee begonnen,” aldus de krant.
Hamas staakte zondag de strijd nadat Israël een eenzijdig staakt-het-vuren in de Gazastrook had afgekondigd. Dit ging in de nacht van zaterdag op zondag om 01.00 uur Nederlandse tijd in.
Zondagochtend, voor de aankondiging van Hamas, was het nog wel onrustig in het gebied.
Volgens eerste schattingen is er in de Gaza-strook voor 1,4 miljard dollar schade aangericht.
In de oorlog werden zeker 1.150 Palestijnen gedood. Aan Israëlische kan vonden 3 burgers en 10 soldaten de dood.
Meer dan de helft van de Palestijnse slachtoffers zijn burgers waaronder honderden kinderen.
De BBC meldt dat er in de puinhopen in Gaza nog steeds lichamen worden gevonden.
In Gaza zijn enorme verwoestingen aangericht en in de oorlog vonden zeker 1.150 Palestijnen en 13 Israëli’s de dood.
Onder de Palestijnse doden bevinden zich honderden kinderen.
De Israelische premier Olmert wil zijn troepen nu zo snel mogelijk terugtrekken.
De Volkskrant meldt “dat Hamas het staak-het-vuren zondag met onmiddelijke ingang afkondigde voor zowel haar eigen strijders als voor verwante groeperingen”.
“Israël krijgt een week de tijd om haar troepen uit de Gazastrook terug te trekken. Daar is het leger zondag aan het einde van de middag mee begonnen,” aldus de krant.
Hamas staakte zondag de strijd nadat Israël een eenzijdig staakt-het-vuren in de Gazastrook had afgekondigd. Dit ging in de nacht van zaterdag op zondag om 01.00 uur Nederlandse tijd in.
Zondagochtend, voor de aankondiging van Hamas, was het nog wel onrustig in het gebied.
Volgens eerste schattingen is er in de Gaza-strook voor 1,4 miljard dollar schade aangericht.
In de oorlog werden zeker 1.150 Palestijnen gedood. Aan Israëlische kan vonden 3 burgers en 10 soldaten de dood.
Meer dan de helft van de Palestijnse slachtoffers zijn burgers waaronder honderden kinderen.
De BBC meldt dat er in de puinhopen in Gaza nog steeds lichamen worden gevonden.
donderdag 15 januari 2009
Israël schiet gebouw van de VN in Gaza in brand
Het Israëlische leger heeft donderdag een compound van de Verenigde Naties onder vuur genomen in Gaza-Stad.
In het complex lagen onder meer voorraden opgeslagen zoals brandstof, waterpompen en voedsel. Er heeft 6 uur lang brand gewoed. Voedsel en medicijnen gingen daardoor verloren.
Secretaris-generaal Ban Ki-moon van de VN heeft woedend gereageerd op de beschieting. Later op de dag zei Israel niet verantwoordelijk te zijn voor de aanval.
Ook het mediakantoor van het persbureau Reuters en het ziekenhuis van Gaza werden woensdag volgens de Britse krant The Guardian getroffen.
VN-gezant John Ging heeft in een verklaring gezegd dat aan Israëlische verbindingsofficieren kenbaar was gemaakt dat het VN-gebouw door granaatscherven werd geraakt en dat het Israëlische leger op de hoogte was van de ligging van het complex.
Hij beweert dat er geen militanten van Hamas in of rond het gebouw waren. Israël beweert vanuit het gebouw te zijn beschoten.
Ging zei verder dat er meteen een andere locatie wordt gezocht om de activiteiten van de VN in Gaza voort te zetten.
De verklaring van de Verenigde Naties over de beschieting van het VN-hoofdkantoor in Gaza.
SENIOR OFFICIAL GIVES EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF ISRAELI SHELLING OF UN GAZA COMPOUND
At about 10 a.m. local, the first Israeli shell, from a tank or artillery, crashed into the United Nations main centre in Gaza City today, an hour after 700 Palestinians fleeing intense fighting crowded into the compound and UN officials informed Israeli liaison officers of the dangers of shelling in the area and that shrapnel was coming into the buildings.
“Before the direct strike, we were told, ‘yes we’ve registered that the shrapnel’s coming into your compound, we know the dangers, we’ve informed the operational people on the ground, don’t worry, you won’t be hit’,” the Gaza Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNRWA, John Ging, told a news conference in New York, speaking by video link from ground zero.
After the strike on the 20th day of the Israeli offensive launched with the stated aim of ending Hamas rocket attacks into Israel, the Agency, which supplies aid to 750,000 Palestinian refugees in Gaza, half the total population, redoubled its liaison efforts.
“We were highlighting that there were great dangers, particularly and noteworthy that we had five trucks full of fuel ready since early morning to be dispatched to re-supply various centres and also water pumping stations and sewage pumping stations and we alerted the Israeli Defence Forces of their exact location,” Mr. Ging said.
Within an hour there was a large explosion and fire erupted in the workshop area where the trucks were parked. As the trucks were moved, six other rounds were fired into the same area and international staff identified them as burning like phosphorous.
“It looked like phosphorous, it smelled like phosphorous and it burned like phosphorous, so that’s why I’m calling it phosphorous,” Mr. Ging said, speaking 60 metres from the first explosion at the vocational training centre, and 150 metres from the second, voicing amazement that only three people were injured in both incidents.
“The place went up in flames. Our workshop was the part that was hit most severely. It went on fire, as did part of the warehouse. Of course, we had to take cover until we got reassurances that there wouldn’t be further firing...There were exploding petrol tanks in the garage itself,” he added, noting that the fire service took two hours to arrive because of the fighting in the area.
“Unfortunately, it was too late to save the warehouse where we had hundreds of tons of food and medicine that were to be dispatched today to our centres, the health centres and food centres.”
It took six hours to get the fire under control and it was still smouldering hours after that. Israel said it was responding to Hamas fire from the vicinity of the UNRWA headquarters. Mr. Ging stressed that there were no militants in or firing from the compound, calling for an independent investigation.
But he emphasized that the Israeli liaison officers with whom UNRWA works are “very sincere, very conscientious and very hard-working” and were obviously passing on the details and trying to reassure the UN.
“It presents us with a new challenge,” he said of the shelling. “This was the hub of our operations, the nerve centre of our operations… But of course we have to adapt to the new challenge and we’re opening up other warehouses outside the compound so that we can keep the operation going…
“The bottom line is of course that the humanitarian plight of the people continues to necessitate our efforts here, we have to keep going notwithstanding the dangers and the risks but also the new challenges that we face. I would put it to you this way, that we had a first hand experience here today in this compound of what the poor people of Gaza have been living with on a daily basis for the last 20 days and nights,” he added.
“So our appeal is not just for the safety of the UN staff and compounds and locations and convoys but even more important, the civilian population, the innocent men, women and children who continue to die and be killed in this conflict and injured in unacceptable numbers by any measure and of course the scale of destruction continues, you would expect when built-up areas are subjected to artillery and tank fire.”
Mr. Ging said the video-conference with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was in Jerusalem on an intensive diplomatic mission to secure a ceasefire, was “a great morale booster” for all UN staff in Gaza.
“It’s hard to find the right words for the real awfulness of what is happening in Gaza currently,” UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told the same news conference, voicing his own “total sense of shock and dismay and outrage” at the UNRWA shelling. “It’s an absolute miracle that we don’t have a huge casualty list from these hits.”
Giving an overview of the Gaza situation, Mr. Holmes said the casualty figures “continue to rise in truly horrifying ways,” with the death toll reported by the Gazan Ministry of Health now standing at 1,086, of whom 346 were children and 79 women, and the injured at 4,790 – 1,709 of them children and 724 women.
On a comparable population scale that was the equivalent of having 33,000 people dead or injured in New York, or 1.2 million killed or wounded in the United States as a whole, he added.
Some 43,000 people had fled their homes to seek refuge in UNRWA schools and hundreds of thousands of others were likely seeking shelter with relatives or friends in areas of the Gaza Strip less affected by the conflict.
On a more positive note, there was an improvement in aid crossing over from Israel into Gaza with 105 trucks getting in. But that compared with 500 to 600 a day before Israel started imposing border closures in response to Hamas rocket attacks. Israel also extended its daily lull for supplies to be distributed from three hours to four hours today, but Mr. Holmes said that was still inadequate.
(VN: 15-01-2008)
In het complex lagen onder meer voorraden opgeslagen zoals brandstof, waterpompen en voedsel. Er heeft 6 uur lang brand gewoed. Voedsel en medicijnen gingen daardoor verloren.
Secretaris-generaal Ban Ki-moon van de VN heeft woedend gereageerd op de beschieting. Later op de dag zei Israel niet verantwoordelijk te zijn voor de aanval.
Ook het mediakantoor van het persbureau Reuters en het ziekenhuis van Gaza werden woensdag volgens de Britse krant The Guardian getroffen.
VN-gezant John Ging heeft in een verklaring gezegd dat aan Israëlische verbindingsofficieren kenbaar was gemaakt dat het VN-gebouw door granaatscherven werd geraakt en dat het Israëlische leger op de hoogte was van de ligging van het complex.
Hij beweert dat er geen militanten van Hamas in of rond het gebouw waren. Israël beweert vanuit het gebouw te zijn beschoten.
Ging zei verder dat er meteen een andere locatie wordt gezocht om de activiteiten van de VN in Gaza voort te zetten.
De verklaring van de Verenigde Naties over de beschieting van het VN-hoofdkantoor in Gaza.
SENIOR OFFICIAL GIVES EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF ISRAELI SHELLING OF UN GAZA COMPOUND
At about 10 a.m. local, the first Israeli shell, from a tank or artillery, crashed into the United Nations main centre in Gaza City today, an hour after 700 Palestinians fleeing intense fighting crowded into the compound and UN officials informed Israeli liaison officers of the dangers of shelling in the area and that shrapnel was coming into the buildings.
“Before the direct strike, we were told, ‘yes we’ve registered that the shrapnel’s coming into your compound, we know the dangers, we’ve informed the operational people on the ground, don’t worry, you won’t be hit’,” the Gaza Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNRWA, John Ging, told a news conference in New York, speaking by video link from ground zero.
After the strike on the 20th day of the Israeli offensive launched with the stated aim of ending Hamas rocket attacks into Israel, the Agency, which supplies aid to 750,000 Palestinian refugees in Gaza, half the total population, redoubled its liaison efforts.
“We were highlighting that there were great dangers, particularly and noteworthy that we had five trucks full of fuel ready since early morning to be dispatched to re-supply various centres and also water pumping stations and sewage pumping stations and we alerted the Israeli Defence Forces of their exact location,” Mr. Ging said.
Within an hour there was a large explosion and fire erupted in the workshop area where the trucks were parked. As the trucks were moved, six other rounds were fired into the same area and international staff identified them as burning like phosphorous.
“It looked like phosphorous, it smelled like phosphorous and it burned like phosphorous, so that’s why I’m calling it phosphorous,” Mr. Ging said, speaking 60 metres from the first explosion at the vocational training centre, and 150 metres from the second, voicing amazement that only three people were injured in both incidents.
“The place went up in flames. Our workshop was the part that was hit most severely. It went on fire, as did part of the warehouse. Of course, we had to take cover until we got reassurances that there wouldn’t be further firing...There were exploding petrol tanks in the garage itself,” he added, noting that the fire service took two hours to arrive because of the fighting in the area.
“Unfortunately, it was too late to save the warehouse where we had hundreds of tons of food and medicine that were to be dispatched today to our centres, the health centres and food centres.”
It took six hours to get the fire under control and it was still smouldering hours after that. Israel said it was responding to Hamas fire from the vicinity of the UNRWA headquarters. Mr. Ging stressed that there were no militants in or firing from the compound, calling for an independent investigation.
But he emphasized that the Israeli liaison officers with whom UNRWA works are “very sincere, very conscientious and very hard-working” and were obviously passing on the details and trying to reassure the UN.
“It presents us with a new challenge,” he said of the shelling. “This was the hub of our operations, the nerve centre of our operations… But of course we have to adapt to the new challenge and we’re opening up other warehouses outside the compound so that we can keep the operation going…
“The bottom line is of course that the humanitarian plight of the people continues to necessitate our efforts here, we have to keep going notwithstanding the dangers and the risks but also the new challenges that we face. I would put it to you this way, that we had a first hand experience here today in this compound of what the poor people of Gaza have been living with on a daily basis for the last 20 days and nights,” he added.
“So our appeal is not just for the safety of the UN staff and compounds and locations and convoys but even more important, the civilian population, the innocent men, women and children who continue to die and be killed in this conflict and injured in unacceptable numbers by any measure and of course the scale of destruction continues, you would expect when built-up areas are subjected to artillery and tank fire.”
Mr. Ging said the video-conference with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was in Jerusalem on an intensive diplomatic mission to secure a ceasefire, was “a great morale booster” for all UN staff in Gaza.
“It’s hard to find the right words for the real awfulness of what is happening in Gaza currently,” UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told the same news conference, voicing his own “total sense of shock and dismay and outrage” at the UNRWA shelling. “It’s an absolute miracle that we don’t have a huge casualty list from these hits.”
Giving an overview of the Gaza situation, Mr. Holmes said the casualty figures “continue to rise in truly horrifying ways,” with the death toll reported by the Gazan Ministry of Health now standing at 1,086, of whom 346 were children and 79 women, and the injured at 4,790 – 1,709 of them children and 724 women.
On a comparable population scale that was the equivalent of having 33,000 people dead or injured in New York, or 1.2 million killed or wounded in the United States as a whole, he added.
Some 43,000 people had fled their homes to seek refuge in UNRWA schools and hundreds of thousands of others were likely seeking shelter with relatives or friends in areas of the Gaza Strip less affected by the conflict.
On a more positive note, there was an improvement in aid crossing over from Israel into Gaza with 105 trucks getting in. But that compared with 500 to 600 a day before Israel started imposing border closures in response to Hamas rocket attacks. Israel also extended its daily lull for supplies to be distributed from three hours to four hours today, but Mr. Holmes said that was still inadequate.
(VN: 15-01-2008)
Intensive care vol met kinderen, "militairen Israel schieten op kinderen"
Er zijn berichten dat Israelische soldaten gericht van dichtbij op kinderen schieten. Intussen heeft de intensive care van het ziekenhuis in Gaza een groot gebrek aan medische apparatuur.
De BBC heeft een video gepubliceerd met zeer ernstig gewonde kinderen in het ziekenhuis.
Video BBC Intensive Care in Gaza
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7829208.stm
In het ziekenhuis van de Egyptische plaats El-Arish ligt een tweejarig meisje dat zegt dat ze is neergeschoten door een Israëlische soldaat. Haar ruggenmerg is beschadigd en ze kan misschien nooit meer lopen.
BBC-verslaggever Christian Fraser meldt: “Her spinal chord has been severed and she will probably never walk again. "I was hit by a bullet," Samer tells me, clutching her teddy bear.
"The Israeli soldiers shot me while I was on the steps with my little sister."
De onderstaande video is van Al Jazeera. Er zijn de laatste dagen mensen die kritiek uitoefenen op deze zender om hun verslaggeving.
Maar Al Jazeera is niet embedded bij het Israelische leger.
De video bevat schokkende beelden.
Een bezoeker op een forum schreef: "Al Jazeera doet daar ten minste wat aan terwijl wereldleiders toekijken. El Jazeera blijft niet zwijgen."
Artsen behandelen zeer zwaargewonde mensen en vragen aan wetenschappers in de hele wereld wat voor soort wapens er worden ingezet die deze verwondingen veroorzaken?
Over verwondingen verklaart een arts onder meer aan de BBC: “I have been working here for 25 years and I have never seen anything like this before. I have never seen this number of injuries or such severe injuries among civilians, children two and three years old.”
En: “We are asking for the help of all physicians across the world - what type of weapons cause these injuries and how do you deal with them? “
Het Israëlische leger heeft donderdag een compound van de Verenigde Naties onder vuur genomen in Gaza-Stad.
Zie ook
Israël schiet gebouw van de VN in Gaza in brand
De BBC heeft een video gepubliceerd met zeer ernstig gewonde kinderen in het ziekenhuis.
Video BBC Intensive Care in Gaza
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7829208.stm
In het ziekenhuis van de Egyptische plaats El-Arish ligt een tweejarig meisje dat zegt dat ze is neergeschoten door een Israëlische soldaat. Haar ruggenmerg is beschadigd en ze kan misschien nooit meer lopen.
BBC-verslaggever Christian Fraser meldt: “Her spinal chord has been severed and she will probably never walk again. "I was hit by a bullet," Samer tells me, clutching her teddy bear.
"The Israeli soldiers shot me while I was on the steps with my little sister."
De onderstaande video is van Al Jazeera. Er zijn de laatste dagen mensen die kritiek uitoefenen op deze zender om hun verslaggeving.
Maar Al Jazeera is niet embedded bij het Israelische leger.
De video bevat schokkende beelden.
Een bezoeker op een forum schreef: "Al Jazeera doet daar ten minste wat aan terwijl wereldleiders toekijken. El Jazeera blijft niet zwijgen."
Artsen behandelen zeer zwaargewonde mensen en vragen aan wetenschappers in de hele wereld wat voor soort wapens er worden ingezet die deze verwondingen veroorzaken?
Over verwondingen verklaart een arts onder meer aan de BBC: “I have been working here for 25 years and I have never seen anything like this before. I have never seen this number of injuries or such severe injuries among civilians, children two and three years old.”
En: “We are asking for the help of all physicians across the world - what type of weapons cause these injuries and how do you deal with them? “
Het Israëlische leger heeft donderdag een compound van de Verenigde Naties onder vuur genomen in Gaza-Stad.
Zie ook
Israël schiet gebouw van de VN in Gaza in brand
woensdag 14 januari 2009
“Mensen in Gaza worden op beestachtige manier gedood”
"De situatie is gruwelijk voor iedereen. In elk uur dat verstrijkt worden onschuldige vrouwen, mannen, kinderen op een beestachtige manier gedood," zo zei John Ging, de VN-gezant voor Hulp aan Palestijnse Vluchtelingen.
De VN-gezant in Gaza smeekte dan ook Ban Ki-moon om een staakt-het-vuren tot stand te brengen. John Ging roemde het personeel van ambulances. Er dreigen ziektes uit te breken. De situatie is verschrikkelijk en wordt vergeleken met “horror”.
Er zijn al ongeveer 1.000 Palestijnen gedood door de aanval van Israël. Meer dan 4.000 mensen raakten gewond. De artsen die er zijn zetten alles op alles om levens te redden.
John Ging deed zijn dramatische oproep volgens een verklaring van de VN “vanaf Ground Zero” aan VN-secretaris-generaal Ban Ki-moon die nu het Midden-Oosten bezoekt om steun te vinden voor het tot stand brengen van een bestand.
Ging, die in Gaza verblijft, prees in het bijzonder het personeel van de ziekenwagens. Hij zei dinsdag in een videoverbinding.
“De dapperste mensen zijn de ambulancechauffeurs. Zij zijn samen met het personeel van de ambulance degenen die rechtstreeks naar de frontlinie gaan waar wordt geschoten om mensen te redden die gewond zijn geraakt om ze de levensreddende behandeling te geven die ze nodig hebben.”
Er is nog steeds een tekort aan meel en in Gaza is 80 procent van het drinkwater niet meer veilig. 500.000 Gazanen hebben nog steeds geen toegang tot stromend water. John Ging waarschuwde voor een mogelijke uitbraak van cholera of andere ziektes.
Ondertussen hebben 40.000 mensen hun huizen verlaten en zijn gevlucht naar schoolgebouwen van de VN.
Door gebrek aan brandstof levert de elektriciteitscentrale van Gaza slechts 40 procent van haar capaciteit.
De Israëlische minister van Defensie Barak heeft woensdag verklaard “dat Israël vrijwel alle doelen in de aanval op Hamas heeft bereikt”. De stad Gaza is ondertussen door het Israëlische leger geheel omsingeld.
De Volkskrant meldt dat de Europese Unie en Israël de gesprekken over het verbeteren van de relaties hebben bevroren. Dat maakte het hoofd van een delegatie van de Europese Commissie donderdag (?) bekend.
De krant meldt dat “beide partijen besloten dat het gepast is een time-out te nemen. Beide partijen realiseren zich dat het een geschikte tijd is voor een time-out”, aldus Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal.
VN-chef Ban Ki-moon is woensdag begonnen aan zijn tocht door het Midden-Oosten met een bezoek aan de Egyptiche hoofdstad Cairo. Hij zal verder besprekingen voeren met de leiders van Israël, het bezette Palestijnse Gebied, Jordanië, Turkije, Libanon en Syrië.
Hij wil kenbaar maken dat het van levensbelang is dat er een onmiddellijk staakt-het-vuren wordt bereikt en dat er dringend, zonder beperkingen, humanitaire hulp noodzakelijk is.
Het plan van de VN bestaat uit het stopzetten van de raketaanvallen door Hamas en het terugtrekken van de Israëlische troepen uit Gaza, internationale samenwerking om een eind te maken aan het smokkelen van wapen naar Gaza en het volledig openstellen van de grensovergangen naar Gaza.
Er zijn al ongeveer 1.000 Palestijnen gedood door de aanval van Israël. Meer dan 4.000 mensen raakten gewond.
Ondertussen gaan de aanvallen op Gaza verder. Israël werpt ook weer fosforbommen af.
In Gaza staat een webcam opgesteld die live beelden geeft over de stad
http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=386&ar=NanaTV01&dr=02:30:00%20-%202k%20-
Hier onder video van beschietingen met fosfor
De verklaring van de VN van dinsdag 13 januari:
PLEASE SECURE CEASEFIRE, UN GAZA OFFICIAL TELLS BAN ON EVE OF MIDEAST MISSION
A senior United Nations official in Gaza warned today that “tragically the horror continues,” with 19 children reported killed and 52 injured in just the last 24 hours of Israeli-Hamas fighting, even as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the Security Council on his upcoming trip to the region to speed up diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire.
“For the Secretary-General our message will be as it has been consistently: Please, we have to get an end to the fighting, nowhere in Gaza is safe, the situation here is horrific for everybody,” the Gaza Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) John Ging, told a news conference in New York, speaking by video link from ground zero.
“Every hour that passes here, innocent women, men and children are dying and being injured in a very brutal way,” he said, adding that the fighting overnight in Gaza City was “very excessive” as the offensive which Israel launched with the stated aim of stopping Hamas rocket attacks against it moved towards its 19th day.
The overall toll is now put at more than 900 Palestinians killed, 42 per cent of them women and children, and some 4,000 wounded, nearly 50 per cent women and children. Mr. Ging said that, as with the reported child casualties over the past 24 hours, the UN had been unable to verify the numbers, but the Palestinian reports have seemed credible. There has been a massive amount of destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and homes, he added.
He paid particular tribute to the Palestinian ambulance drivers. “For me the bravest are the ambulance drivers. They’re the ones, and the ambulance staff, that are going right in to the frontline where they’re shooting and firing to rescue those who have been injured and get them the life-saving treatment that they need,” he said. “More lives will be lost every day and every night but for their tremendous courage and bravery under fire.”
Mr. Ban told the Council in closed consultations that at each stop on his trip beginning in Cairo tomorrow he would stress to the leaders of Egypt, Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria the vital need for an immediate and durable ceasefire and for the urgent provision of humanitarian aid without restriction.
At a news conference yesterday he laid out the basic essentials for settling the crisis at talks with the parties underway in Cairo: agreement on an immediate ceasefire, with at a minimum a halt to rocket attacks by Hamas militants and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza; international cooperation to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; and full re-opening of border crossings into Gaza.
Mr. Ging said 5,000 more people fled their homes overnight seeking shelter in UNRWA schools, bringing the total to 40,000, although this represented only a fraction of those seeking refuge, since many others had gone to relatives and friends. He paid homage to the dignity of the people as they sought to cope with the horrors of the crisis.
Assistance was getting through some of the crossings from Israel, with 90 trucks passing today but that, together with the daily three-hour lull instituted by Israel to allow for distribution, was not nearly sufficient, he said. Shortage of flour was still a major problem, and fuel was still lacking with the Gaza power station operating at only 40 per cent capacity.
Sewage pumps are still not functioning due to the lack of electricity, diminished fuel supplies for back-up generators, and the lack of spare parts, 500,000 Gazans still do not have access to running water, and 80 per cent of drinking water is not safe for human consumption, according to the UN World Health Organization WHO guidelines, while in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, sewage is flowing in the streets.
Mr. Ging said public health was “a very real concern” with the possibility of cholera or other disease outbreaks, as Israel’s daily three-hour lulls were not nearly enough time to repair the destroyed water infrastructure.
He also reiterated his call for an independent investigation, and accountability, over Israel’s deadly mortar attack near an UNRWA school and bombing of a house in Zaitoun last week amid continuing conflicting reports about the incidents. But he said he “very much appreciated” Israeli cooperation on UN aid delivery after last week’s killing of an UNRWA driver in an authorized run, highlighting a marked improvement in coordinating convoys for food and medicine.
He stressed, however, how difficult it was to deliver aid in a conflict zone, noting that while he was at an Israeli checkpoint at Netzarim today they came under attack.
And on a more personal level, he bemoaned the ongoing lack of cash in the blockaded strip, noting that he had been told yesterday that Israeli approval for a transfer had been given yesterday, but now was told it had not.
The shortage has kept 94,000 special hardship cases, “the poorest of the poor,” from receiving any UN cash aid since 18 November, while his own staff got only half of their December salaries. “Of course they (my staff) reminded me today – and I have to take it on the chin – that the Hamas staff have all been paid (by Hamas),” he said.
(VN, New York, 13 januari 2009)
De VN-gezant in Gaza smeekte dan ook Ban Ki-moon om een staakt-het-vuren tot stand te brengen. John Ging roemde het personeel van ambulances. Er dreigen ziektes uit te breken. De situatie is verschrikkelijk en wordt vergeleken met “horror”.
Er zijn al ongeveer 1.000 Palestijnen gedood door de aanval van Israël. Meer dan 4.000 mensen raakten gewond. De artsen die er zijn zetten alles op alles om levens te redden.
John Ging deed zijn dramatische oproep volgens een verklaring van de VN “vanaf Ground Zero” aan VN-secretaris-generaal Ban Ki-moon die nu het Midden-Oosten bezoekt om steun te vinden voor het tot stand brengen van een bestand.
Ging, die in Gaza verblijft, prees in het bijzonder het personeel van de ziekenwagens. Hij zei dinsdag in een videoverbinding.
“De dapperste mensen zijn de ambulancechauffeurs. Zij zijn samen met het personeel van de ambulance degenen die rechtstreeks naar de frontlinie gaan waar wordt geschoten om mensen te redden die gewond zijn geraakt om ze de levensreddende behandeling te geven die ze nodig hebben.”
Er is nog steeds een tekort aan meel en in Gaza is 80 procent van het drinkwater niet meer veilig. 500.000 Gazanen hebben nog steeds geen toegang tot stromend water. John Ging waarschuwde voor een mogelijke uitbraak van cholera of andere ziektes.
Ondertussen hebben 40.000 mensen hun huizen verlaten en zijn gevlucht naar schoolgebouwen van de VN.
Door gebrek aan brandstof levert de elektriciteitscentrale van Gaza slechts 40 procent van haar capaciteit.
De Israëlische minister van Defensie Barak heeft woensdag verklaard “dat Israël vrijwel alle doelen in de aanval op Hamas heeft bereikt”. De stad Gaza is ondertussen door het Israëlische leger geheel omsingeld.
De Volkskrant meldt dat de Europese Unie en Israël de gesprekken over het verbeteren van de relaties hebben bevroren. Dat maakte het hoofd van een delegatie van de Europese Commissie donderdag (?) bekend.
De krant meldt dat “beide partijen besloten dat het gepast is een time-out te nemen. Beide partijen realiseren zich dat het een geschikte tijd is voor een time-out”, aldus Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal.
VN-chef Ban Ki-moon is woensdag begonnen aan zijn tocht door het Midden-Oosten met een bezoek aan de Egyptiche hoofdstad Cairo. Hij zal verder besprekingen voeren met de leiders van Israël, het bezette Palestijnse Gebied, Jordanië, Turkije, Libanon en Syrië.
Hij wil kenbaar maken dat het van levensbelang is dat er een onmiddellijk staakt-het-vuren wordt bereikt en dat er dringend, zonder beperkingen, humanitaire hulp noodzakelijk is.
Het plan van de VN bestaat uit het stopzetten van de raketaanvallen door Hamas en het terugtrekken van de Israëlische troepen uit Gaza, internationale samenwerking om een eind te maken aan het smokkelen van wapen naar Gaza en het volledig openstellen van de grensovergangen naar Gaza.
Er zijn al ongeveer 1.000 Palestijnen gedood door de aanval van Israël. Meer dan 4.000 mensen raakten gewond.
Ondertussen gaan de aanvallen op Gaza verder. Israël werpt ook weer fosforbommen af.
In Gaza staat een webcam opgesteld die live beelden geeft over de stad
http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=386&ar=NanaTV01&dr=02:30:00%20-%202k%20-
Hier onder video van beschietingen met fosfor
De verklaring van de VN van dinsdag 13 januari:
PLEASE SECURE CEASEFIRE, UN GAZA OFFICIAL TELLS BAN ON EVE OF MIDEAST MISSION
A senior United Nations official in Gaza warned today that “tragically the horror continues,” with 19 children reported killed and 52 injured in just the last 24 hours of Israeli-Hamas fighting, even as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the Security Council on his upcoming trip to the region to speed up diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire.
“For the Secretary-General our message will be as it has been consistently: Please, we have to get an end to the fighting, nowhere in Gaza is safe, the situation here is horrific for everybody,” the Gaza Director of Operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) John Ging, told a news conference in New York, speaking by video link from ground zero.
“Every hour that passes here, innocent women, men and children are dying and being injured in a very brutal way,” he said, adding that the fighting overnight in Gaza City was “very excessive” as the offensive which Israel launched with the stated aim of stopping Hamas rocket attacks against it moved towards its 19th day.
The overall toll is now put at more than 900 Palestinians killed, 42 per cent of them women and children, and some 4,000 wounded, nearly 50 per cent women and children. Mr. Ging said that, as with the reported child casualties over the past 24 hours, the UN had been unable to verify the numbers, but the Palestinian reports have seemed credible. There has been a massive amount of destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and homes, he added.
He paid particular tribute to the Palestinian ambulance drivers. “For me the bravest are the ambulance drivers. They’re the ones, and the ambulance staff, that are going right in to the frontline where they’re shooting and firing to rescue those who have been injured and get them the life-saving treatment that they need,” he said. “More lives will be lost every day and every night but for their tremendous courage and bravery under fire.”
Mr. Ban told the Council in closed consultations that at each stop on his trip beginning in Cairo tomorrow he would stress to the leaders of Egypt, Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria the vital need for an immediate and durable ceasefire and for the urgent provision of humanitarian aid without restriction.
At a news conference yesterday he laid out the basic essentials for settling the crisis at talks with the parties underway in Cairo: agreement on an immediate ceasefire, with at a minimum a halt to rocket attacks by Hamas militants and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza; international cooperation to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; and full re-opening of border crossings into Gaza.
Mr. Ging said 5,000 more people fled their homes overnight seeking shelter in UNRWA schools, bringing the total to 40,000, although this represented only a fraction of those seeking refuge, since many others had gone to relatives and friends. He paid homage to the dignity of the people as they sought to cope with the horrors of the crisis.
Assistance was getting through some of the crossings from Israel, with 90 trucks passing today but that, together with the daily three-hour lull instituted by Israel to allow for distribution, was not nearly sufficient, he said. Shortage of flour was still a major problem, and fuel was still lacking with the Gaza power station operating at only 40 per cent capacity.
Sewage pumps are still not functioning due to the lack of electricity, diminished fuel supplies for back-up generators, and the lack of spare parts, 500,000 Gazans still do not have access to running water, and 80 per cent of drinking water is not safe for human consumption, according to the UN World Health Organization WHO guidelines, while in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, sewage is flowing in the streets.
Mr. Ging said public health was “a very real concern” with the possibility of cholera or other disease outbreaks, as Israel’s daily three-hour lulls were not nearly enough time to repair the destroyed water infrastructure.
He also reiterated his call for an independent investigation, and accountability, over Israel’s deadly mortar attack near an UNRWA school and bombing of a house in Zaitoun last week amid continuing conflicting reports about the incidents. But he said he “very much appreciated” Israeli cooperation on UN aid delivery after last week’s killing of an UNRWA driver in an authorized run, highlighting a marked improvement in coordinating convoys for food and medicine.
He stressed, however, how difficult it was to deliver aid in a conflict zone, noting that while he was at an Israeli checkpoint at Netzarim today they came under attack.
And on a more personal level, he bemoaned the ongoing lack of cash in the blockaded strip, noting that he had been told yesterday that Israeli approval for a transfer had been given yesterday, but now was told it had not.
The shortage has kept 94,000 special hardship cases, “the poorest of the poor,” from receiving any UN cash aid since 18 November, while his own staff got only half of their December salaries. “Of course they (my staff) reminded me today – and I have to take it on the chin – that the Hamas staff have all been paid (by Hamas),” he said.
(VN, New York, 13 januari 2009)
dinsdag 13 januari 2009
Zware gevechten in Gaza-Stad uitgebroken
Israëlische troepen zijn de buitenwijken van Gaza-Stad binnengetrokken en zijn verwikkeld in straatgevechten met militanten.
De BBC meldt dat getuigen hebben verklaard dat Israëlische special forces verschillende honderden meters zijn binnengedrongen in verschillende wijken.
Er wordt intens geweervuur gemeld en er vinden beschietingen plaats met artillerie en vanuit de lucht. Ook vanuit zee zou de stad onder vuur worden genomen.
Er wordt melding gemaakt van gevechten in dichtbevolkte wijken van Gaza-Stad.
De Verenigde Naties hebben ondertussen hun grote bezorgdheid geuit over de situatie die vooral voor kinderen gruwelijk wordt genoemd.
De Volkenorganisatie heeft al verschillende keren opgeroepen tot een onmiddellijk staakt-het-vuren.
De BBC meldt dat getuigen hebben verklaard dat Israëlische special forces verschillende honderden meters zijn binnengedrongen in verschillende wijken.
Er wordt intens geweervuur gemeld en er vinden beschietingen plaats met artillerie en vanuit de lucht. Ook vanuit zee zou de stad onder vuur worden genomen.
Er wordt melding gemaakt van gevechten in dichtbevolkte wijken van Gaza-Stad.
De Verenigde Naties hebben ondertussen hun grote bezorgdheid geuit over de situatie die vooral voor kinderen gruwelijk wordt genoemd.
De Volkenorganisatie heeft al verschillende keren opgeroepen tot een onmiddellijk staakt-het-vuren.
Effect van conflict op kinderen van Gaza “vernietigend”
“Honderden kinderen zijn gedood of gewond, veel ernstig. Veel anderen hebben hun geliefden verloren.” Volgens het Comité voor de Rechten van het Kind van de VN is de situatie voor kinderen gruwelijk.
Het United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child heeft zich dinsdag diep bezorgd getoond over het verwoestende effect dat het conflict in Gaza heeft op kinderen en gewaarschuwd dat de huidige gebeurtenissen zeer ernstig zijn voor een hele generatie kinderen.
Het comité meldde in een verklaring die werd uitgegeven in Geneve dat de aanhoudende strijd en de verwoesting van middelen van bestaan en fundamenten van de infrastructuur het recht ontnemen om gebruik te kunnen maken van gezondheidszorg, onderwijs en familieleven.
Meer dan 40 procent van de ongeveer 900 Palestijnen die zijn gedood door het offensief van Israel zijn vrouwen en kinderen. Bijna de helft van de 3.860 gewonden zijn ook vrouw of kind, aldus de Verenigde Naties die zegt te beschikken over betrouwbare informatie.
Het Rode Kruis meldde vorige week dat ze 4 kleine kinderen naast hun dode moeders vonden. De kinderen waren te verzwakt om nog zelfstandig te kunnen lopen. De hulporganisatie mocht erst dagenlang geen hulp verlenen in de getroffen wijk.
De VN verklaren dat de rechten die zijn vastgelegd, waaronder het recht op leven, overleven en ontwikkeling en om beschermd te worden tegen elke vorm van geweld duidelijk zijn geschonden tijdens deze crisis.
Het Comité voor de Rechten van het Kind steunt de oproep van andere hoge VN-functionarissen om een onmiddellijk staakt-het-vuren in acht te nemen en benadrukt dat al de partijen de bescherming van kinderen moeten garanderen in het conflict.
De organisatie waarschuwt ook voor de invloed van nog meer oorlog en vernietiging op de jeugd van Gaza en zegt dat de “emotionele en psychologische effecten van deze gebeurtenissen voor een hele generatie kinderen ernstig zullen zijn”.
Het Comité voor de Rechten van het Kind is een van de 8 mensenrechtenorganisaties die tot taak hebben om de overeenkomsten op het gebied van de mensenrechten die landen hebben ondertekend te observeren.
Foto reportage van de Turkse televisie kinderen in Gaza. Er staan foto’s in die zeer pijnlijk zijn en een aantal ontroerende.
http://www.trt.net.tr/Galeri/Resim.aspx?GaleriResimKodu=9e07b751-f743-40a2-9049-a610a6fdbc42&dil=en
Fosforbommen en kinderen. Al Jazeera toont aanvallen met fosforbommen
De verklaring van het Comité voor de Rechten van het Kind van de VN
EFFECT OF CONFLICT ON GAZA’S CHILDREN ‘DEVASTATING,’ SAYS UN RIGHTS MONITORING BODY
The United Nations body monitoring a key global treaty enshrining the rights of children voiced its deep concern today at the impact of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has killed or injured hundreds of young people, and warned that the effects of recent events on an entire generation of children will be severe.
“The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is deeply concerned at the devastating effects that the current military engagement in Gaza is having on children,” the 18-member body said in a statement issued in Geneva, where it is currently in session.
“Hundreds of children have been killed or injured, many seriously. Many others have lost their loved ones. The continuous fighting and destruction of livelihoods and basic infrastructures, severely compromise enjoyment of human rights especially in relation to health, education and family life,” the Committee added.
Over 40 per cent of the nearly 900 Palestinians killed in the Israeli offensive, launched on 27 December with the stated aim of ending Hamas rocket attacks into Israel, and almost half of the 3,860 wounded, are women and children, according to reports cited as credible by the UN.
The Committee stressed that the rights enshrined in the Convention, including the right of children to life, survival and development and to be protected from all forms of violence, have been “blatantly violated during this crisis.” It recalled that human rights law, including the Convention, applies at all times, including in situations of armed conflict.
Under article 38 of the Convention, which has been ratified by 193 States, parties – in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts – shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.
In addition, the preamble of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict – to which Israel is a party – States parties condemn “the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict and direct attacks on objects protected under international law, including places that generally have a significant presence of children, such as schools and hospitals.”
The Committee said this affirmation is undermined by the fact that many children have lost their lives as a result of “manifest disrespect” for their protection and that of their schools, including some administered by the United Nations itself.
Some 30 people were killed and 55 others injured, five of them critically, when three artillery shells landed at the perimeter of a school, run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in the Jabaliya refugee camp, last week.
Some 35,000 Gazans fleeing the ongoing violence have taken shelter in 38 UNRWA locations, including in more than two dozen schools.
The Committee joins other senior UN officials in urging an immediate ceasefire, as called for in last week’s Security Council resolution, and emphasized that all parties must ensure the protection of children during the conflict and abide by the relevant provisions of international law.
It also warned of the consequences of more war and destruction on Gaza’s youth, stating that “the emotional and psychological effects of these events on an entire generation of children will be severe.”
The UN Committee on Rights of the Child is one of eight human rights treaty bodies whose role is to monitor signatory States’ implementation of key international human rights treaties.
(VN: 13 januari 2009)
zondag 11 januari 2009
VN-agentschap lanceert “Operatie Lifeline Gaza” om duizenden hongerigen te voeden
Het Wereldvoedselprogramma (WFP) van de Verenigde Naties heeft zaterdag een initiatief aangekondigd om voedsel te distribueren voor het groeiend aantal hongerigen in Gaza.
De operatie “Redding van Gaza” heeft tot doel om voor voedsel te zorgen voor honderdduizenden mensen die opgesloten zitten door het conflict.
Volgens een verklaring van de Verenigde Naties was het aantal doden op vrijdag al opgelopen tot 792. Er zijn meer dan 3.200 gewonden geteld.
De Volkskrant meldde zondag dat het aantal Palestijnen dat sinds 27 december is gedood ongeveer 880 bedraagt, zo meldden hulpverleners zondag.
Volgens de krant zijn naar schatting 3500 Palestijnen gewond geraakt. Veel slachtoffers zijn burgers zoals de meer dan 235 kinderen, circa honderd vrouwen en twaalf medische hulpverleners die zijn gedood.
Voedselhulp
De Verenigde Naties meldden verder dat de regering van Egypte heeft toegezegd om te zorgen voor bedrijven die kunnen zorgen voor voedsel voor het WFP.
Het WFP heeft voedselvoorraden opgeslagen voor 360.000 mensen om de komende drie maanden door te komen, maar door de zware gevechten zijn de distributiemogelijkheden beperkt.
Het WFP heeft verschillende keren opgeroepen tot een snelle uitbreiding van de hulpverlening in Gaza.
Ondanks de zeer onveilige situatie is er door de staf van de VN tijdens het conflict aan 75.000 mensen hulp verleend.
De verklaring van de VN van zaterdag:
UN AGENCY LAUNCHES 'OPERATION LIFELINE GAZA' TO FEED THOUSANDS OF HUNGRY
The United Nations food agency today announced an initiative to help ramp up food distribution to the growing number of hungry people in the Gaza Strip, where a military offensive Israel says it launched in response to Hamas rocket attacks is in its 15th day.
Operation Lifeline Gaza is a World Food Programme (WFP) scheme aiming to provide ready-to-eat, culturally acceptable food to hundreds of thousands of people caught in the conflict.
"We are proposing an immediate, innovative solution to hunger in an unusually challenging situation, where many people are suffering from a complete breakdown in access to food and clean water," said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.
"Even in the limited windows of opportunity when we can distribute food we have to remember that many people lack the means to cook and prepare meals for their families," said Ms. Sheeran, who went to the Egyptian border with Gaza on Friday.
As of yesterday, the violence had already killed an estimated 792 people and wounded over 3,200 in the occupied Palestinian territory, according to reports cited as credible by UN officials.
"We are in the business of feeding hungry people in difficult situations - in earthquake zones, droughts, or after tsunamis - but Gaza presents one of the toughest challenges we have faced because access to the hungry is so limited," said Ms. Sheeran.
Ms. Sheeran announced Operation Lifeline Gaza after meeting yesterday with the head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, Suzanne Mubarak, and the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Rachid Mohamed Rachid.
The Egyptian government, which gathered a large number of companies in Cairo at the launch of the new initiative, has pledged to facilitate the proposal by offering assistance to businesses that can provide food to WFP.
WFP has made repeated appeals for a rapid expansion of humanitarian access to Gaza as its staff has continued working throughout the conflict, providing food assistance to more than 75,000 people despite the high levels of insecurity.
While WFP has sufficient food stocks to feed around 360,000 people for the next three weeks, the heavy fighting has limited the possibility of wide-scale distributions. Many truck drivers and fork lift truck operators have been unwilling to work fearing for their safety and the civilian population is often too frightened to go to food distribution points.
(VN: Jan 10 2009)
De operatie “Redding van Gaza” heeft tot doel om voor voedsel te zorgen voor honderdduizenden mensen die opgesloten zitten door het conflict.
Volgens een verklaring van de Verenigde Naties was het aantal doden op vrijdag al opgelopen tot 792. Er zijn meer dan 3.200 gewonden geteld.
De Volkskrant meldde zondag dat het aantal Palestijnen dat sinds 27 december is gedood ongeveer 880 bedraagt, zo meldden hulpverleners zondag.
Volgens de krant zijn naar schatting 3500 Palestijnen gewond geraakt. Veel slachtoffers zijn burgers zoals de meer dan 235 kinderen, circa honderd vrouwen en twaalf medische hulpverleners die zijn gedood.
Voedselhulp
De Verenigde Naties meldden verder dat de regering van Egypte heeft toegezegd om te zorgen voor bedrijven die kunnen zorgen voor voedsel voor het WFP.
Het WFP heeft voedselvoorraden opgeslagen voor 360.000 mensen om de komende drie maanden door te komen, maar door de zware gevechten zijn de distributiemogelijkheden beperkt.
Het WFP heeft verschillende keren opgeroepen tot een snelle uitbreiding van de hulpverlening in Gaza.
Ondanks de zeer onveilige situatie is er door de staf van de VN tijdens het conflict aan 75.000 mensen hulp verleend.
De verklaring van de VN van zaterdag:
UN AGENCY LAUNCHES 'OPERATION LIFELINE GAZA' TO FEED THOUSANDS OF HUNGRY
The United Nations food agency today announced an initiative to help ramp up food distribution to the growing number of hungry people in the Gaza Strip, where a military offensive Israel says it launched in response to Hamas rocket attacks is in its 15th day.
Operation Lifeline Gaza is a World Food Programme (WFP) scheme aiming to provide ready-to-eat, culturally acceptable food to hundreds of thousands of people caught in the conflict.
"We are proposing an immediate, innovative solution to hunger in an unusually challenging situation, where many people are suffering from a complete breakdown in access to food and clean water," said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.
"Even in the limited windows of opportunity when we can distribute food we have to remember that many people lack the means to cook and prepare meals for their families," said Ms. Sheeran, who went to the Egyptian border with Gaza on Friday.
As of yesterday, the violence had already killed an estimated 792 people and wounded over 3,200 in the occupied Palestinian territory, according to reports cited as credible by UN officials.
"We are in the business of feeding hungry people in difficult situations - in earthquake zones, droughts, or after tsunamis - but Gaza presents one of the toughest challenges we have faced because access to the hungry is so limited," said Ms. Sheeran.
Ms. Sheeran announced Operation Lifeline Gaza after meeting yesterday with the head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, Suzanne Mubarak, and the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Rachid Mohamed Rachid.
The Egyptian government, which gathered a large number of companies in Cairo at the launch of the new initiative, has pledged to facilitate the proposal by offering assistance to businesses that can provide food to WFP.
WFP has made repeated appeals for a rapid expansion of humanitarian access to Gaza as its staff has continued working throughout the conflict, providing food assistance to more than 75,000 people despite the high levels of insecurity.
While WFP has sufficient food stocks to feed around 360,000 people for the next three weeks, the heavy fighting has limited the possibility of wide-scale distributions. Many truck drivers and fork lift truck operators have been unwilling to work fearing for their safety and the civilian population is often too frightened to go to food distribution points.
(VN: Jan 10 2009)
Rode Kruis vindt in Gaza 4 kleine kinderen naast hun dode moeders
Na dagen aandringen mocht het Rode Kruis eindelijk de gebombardeerde wijk Zaytun van Gaza in. Daar troffen ze 4 ernstig verzwakte kinderen aan naast hun overleden moeders.
De hulporganisatie kreeg geen toestemming van Israël al de gewonden te evacueren of in de wijk te zoeken naar nog meer gewonden.
De hulporganisatie spreekt van een schending van het Internationaal Humanitair Recht. Israel stond dagenlang niet toe dat er hulp werd verleend, en verleende zelf geen hulp aan gewonde mensen.
Het Rode Kruis noemt de situatie "niet te tolereren".
Vanwege de zeer ernstige situatie: het volledige verslag van het Committee Internationale Rode Kruis
Gaza: ICRC demands urgent access to wounded as Israeli army fails to assist wounded Palestinians
Geneva/Jerusalem/Tel Aviv (ICRC) - On the afternoon of 7 January, four Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulances and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) managed to obtain access for the first time to several houses in the Zaytun neighbourhood of Gaza City that had been affected by Israeli shelling.
The ICRC had requested safe passage for ambulances to access this neighbourhood since 3 January but it only received permission to do so from the Israel Defense Forces during the afternoon of 7 January.
The ICRC/PRCS team found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses. They were too weak to stand up on their own. One man was also found alive, too weak to stand up. In all there were at least 12 corpses lying on mattresses.
In another house, the ICRC/PRCS rescue team found 15 other survivors of this attack including several wounded. In yet another house, they found an additional three corpses. Israeli soldiers posted at a military position some 80 meters away from this house ordered the rescue team to leave the area which they refused to do. There were several other positions of the Israel Defense Forces nearby as well as two tanks.
"This is a shocking incident," said Pierre Wettach, the ICRC's head of delegation for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red Crescent to assist the wounded."
Large earth walls erected by the Israeli army had made it impossible to bring ambulances into the neighbourhood. Therefore, the children and the wounded had to be taken to the ambulances on a donkey cart. In total, the ICRC/PRCS rescue team evacuated 18 wounded and 12 others who were extremely exhausted. Two corpses were also evacuated. The ICRC/PRCS will recover the remaining corpses on Thursday.
The ICRC was informed that there are more wounded sheltering in other destroyed houses in this neighbourhood. It demands that the Israeli military grant it and PRCS ambulances safe passage and access immediately to search for any other wounded. Until now, the ICRC has still not received confirmation from the Israeli authorities that this will be allowed.
The ICRC believes that in this instance the Israeli military failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded. It considers the delay in allowing rescue services access unacceptable.
De hulporganisatie kreeg geen toestemming van Israël al de gewonden te evacueren of in de wijk te zoeken naar nog meer gewonden.
De hulporganisatie spreekt van een schending van het Internationaal Humanitair Recht. Israel stond dagenlang niet toe dat er hulp werd verleend, en verleende zelf geen hulp aan gewonde mensen.
Het Rode Kruis noemt de situatie "niet te tolereren".
Vanwege de zeer ernstige situatie: het volledige verslag van het Committee Internationale Rode Kruis
Gaza: ICRC demands urgent access to wounded as Israeli army fails to assist wounded Palestinians
Geneva/Jerusalem/Tel Aviv (ICRC) - On the afternoon of 7 January, four Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulances and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) managed to obtain access for the first time to several houses in the Zaytun neighbourhood of Gaza City that had been affected by Israeli shelling.
The ICRC had requested safe passage for ambulances to access this neighbourhood since 3 January but it only received permission to do so from the Israel Defense Forces during the afternoon of 7 January.
The ICRC/PRCS team found four small children next to their dead mothers in one of the houses. They were too weak to stand up on their own. One man was also found alive, too weak to stand up. In all there were at least 12 corpses lying on mattresses.
In another house, the ICRC/PRCS rescue team found 15 other survivors of this attack including several wounded. In yet another house, they found an additional three corpses. Israeli soldiers posted at a military position some 80 meters away from this house ordered the rescue team to leave the area which they refused to do. There were several other positions of the Israel Defense Forces nearby as well as two tanks.
"This is a shocking incident," said Pierre Wettach, the ICRC's head of delegation for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red Crescent to assist the wounded."
Large earth walls erected by the Israeli army had made it impossible to bring ambulances into the neighbourhood. Therefore, the children and the wounded had to be taken to the ambulances on a donkey cart. In total, the ICRC/PRCS rescue team evacuated 18 wounded and 12 others who were extremely exhausted. Two corpses were also evacuated. The ICRC/PRCS will recover the remaining corpses on Thursday.
The ICRC was informed that there are more wounded sheltering in other destroyed houses in this neighbourhood. It demands that the Israeli military grant it and PRCS ambulances safe passage and access immediately to search for any other wounded. Until now, the ICRC has still not received confirmation from the Israeli authorities that this will be allowed.
The ICRC believes that in this instance the Israeli military failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded. It considers the delay in allowing rescue services access unacceptable.
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