New Evidence of Gaza Child Deaths

(from BBC World News)

Four-year-old Samar Abed Rabbu is a little girl with a captivating smile to melt the heart of the most hardened correspondent

When we first came across her in the hospital in the Egyptian town of El-Arish, just over the border from Gaza, she was playing with an inflated surgical glove beneath the covers.

The doctors had puffed air into the glove, trying to distract her from the further pain they had to inflict inserting a drip.

Samar had been shot in the back at close range. The bullet damaged her spine, and she is unlikely to walk again.

At her bedside, her uncle Hassan told us the family had been ordered out of their home by Israeli soldiers who were shelling the neighbourhood.

A tank had parked in front of the house, where around 30 people were taking shelter.

The women and children - mother, grandmother and three little girls - came out waving a white flag and then, he said, an Israeli soldier came out of the tank and opened fire on the terrified procession.

Samar's two sisters, aged seven and two, were shot dead. The grandmother was hit in the arm and in the side, but has survived.

Young victims

One of the most alarming features of the conflict in Gaza is the number of child casualties. More than 400 were killed. Many had shrapnel or blast injuries sustained as the Israeli army battled Hamas militants in Gaza's densely populated civilian areas.

But the head of neurosurgery at the El-Arish hospital, Dr Ahmed Yahia, told me that brain scans made it clear that a number of the child victims had been shot at close range.

Samar's uncle said the soldier who had shot his niece was just 15m (49ft) away. ''How could they not see they were shooting at children?'' he asked.

When we finally got into Gaza, we tried to investigate further.

Finding a house, even with an address, in a neighbourhood that has been bombed into oblivion, where all landmarks have been obliterated and even the locals cannot find their bearings, is not easy.

But we eventually met a man who knew Samar's family and took us to the family house, or what was left of it.

The four-storey building has been concertinaed to the ground.

Father's agony

Khalid Abed Rabbu wears on his face all the pain of Israel's bloody three-week campaign in Gaza. In his hand he carried the teddy bear that had belonged to his daughter, Samar's six-year-old sister.

Its head had been blown off, apparently in the same burst of gunfire that had cut his daughter in half.

He described the events of that night almost identically to his brother. There were minor discrepancies, but he too believes his daughters were shot in cold blood.

Khaled Abedrabou found toys in the wreckage of his house

"There were soldiers leaning against the tank eating crisps," he said. "But then one of them jumped down and walked towards the house with an M16 automatic rifle."

He showed me a photo of his eldest daughter under shrouds in the mortuary.

"What has my family done to Israel," he cried. "What has Samar done to deserve all this pain?"

We have put the family's allegations to the Israelis. So far they have told us that they can not comment on specific cases.

Their spokesman said they had made every effort to limit civilian casualties but were fighting a terrorist organisation that often uses the civilian population as cover.

Troubled neighbourhood

The Israelis say is evidence that on many occasions when civilians were killed their troops had been responding to incoming fire.

There are reports of the neighbourhood where the family lived, known as Ezbat Abed Rabbu, had been used by militant fighters in the past. During an incursion in the spring of 2008 the Israelis took over Khalid's house for two days.

But Khalid insists he is not Hamas, he is not a fighter. He said he worked for the Palestinian Authority and is a member of Fatah, Hamas's political rivals.

"There were no fighters here," he added, picking up crisp bags printed with Hebrew lettering that the soldiers seemed to have left behind. "Do you think soldiers eat crisps sitting on their tanks when there is incoming fire?"

Samar's father and her uncle have not spoken to each other since she left Gaza for treatment in Egypt, yet in separate interviews they told us the three girls were outside the house, in plain view, when they were shot.

We toured the part of Jabaliya where the Abed Rabbus lived. In an area that must cover at least a square mile, there are no houses left - no mosques, no factories and no orchards. The entire neighbourhood has been devastated.

It may be true that fighters were hiding in the alleys of Jabaliya. It is possible that rockets were being fired from here towards Israel.

But for the people who lived here, this is a story of wanton destruction. The world must now decide whether the Israeli action here was justified under the rules of war.

Obama Redraws Middle East Policy

As my friends from the Middle-East would agree, we need a positive change, a change that will not thrust the idea of "American Democracy" on them. Rather U.S. should act as "a guide at the side" and help them formulate their own ideas and ideals of governance. Let's pray that the Obama administration successfully assists in bringing about peace in the Middle East. However, I also hope that they remember that the Middle East has different values and culture, and respects that. (Behrooz K.Y. Avari)


(below is an article from the Australian Newspaper -- The Age)

US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signalled greater diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. Photo: KEVIN LAMARQUE

ON HIS third day in office, US President Barack Obama has dramatically shifted America's stance towards the Middle East conflict.

He has called on Israel to open its borders with Gaza to allow humanitarian aid and commerce to flow and said one of America's most talented negotiators would try to broker a more extensive peace in the troubled region.

Mr Obama also announced plans to close the contentious detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year and to ban all forms of "enhanced interrogation" used by the CIA, branding them torture and contrary to American values.

The announcements are signals to the world — particularly the Arab world — that the new administration will pursue vigorous diplomatic engagement, abide by international obligations and return to what Mr Obama termed the nation's "core values".

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived at her department to rousing applause as she told staff she would welcome debate and good ideas.

"The President is committed to making diplomacy and development the partners in our foreign policy along with defence. And we must be smarter about how we exercise our power," she said.

The most tangible evidence of the new approach was in Mr Obama's statements on Gaza, when he offered a more even-handed assessment of the problems underlying the conflict.

Under the former president, George Bush, America had been strongly supportive of the Israeli actions in Gaza and had blamed Hamas for bringing suffering on its own people. The US was also a reluctant supporter of ceasefire negotiations.

Mr Obama said: "Just as the terror of rocket fire aimed at innocent Israelis is intolerable, so too is a future without hope for the Palestinians. I was deeply concerned by the loss of Palestinian and Israeli life in recent days, and by the substantial suffering and humanitarian needs in Gaza …

"As part of a lasting ceasefire, Gaza's border crossings should be open to allow the flow of aid and commerce, with an appropriate monitoring regime with the international and Palestinian Authority participating."

Mr Obama said the US would "actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians" in the wake of the recent Gaza conflict.

"The outline for a durable ceasefire is clear: Hamas must end its rocket fire; Israel will complete the withdrawal of its forces from Gaza; the US and our partners will support a credible anti-smuggling and interdiction regime, so that Hamas cannot re-arm," he said.

Mr Obama announced the appointment of George Mitchell — the man who helped forge a peace agreement in Northern Ireland — to begin work on brokering an agreement as US special envoy for the Arab-Israeli conflict. Richard Holbrooke, former US ambassador to the United Nations, has been appointed as representative for Afghanistan-Pakistan.

The moves signalled another shift from the foreign policy of the Bush administration, which had resisted appointing a high-profile envoy for Middle East peace.

Mr Obama also made good on his campaign promises to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay within a year and end immediately the use of torture by the CIA. The order sets up a commission to look at options for relocating the remaining 245 inmates. This is likely to include asking allies, such as Australia, to consider taking inmates.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has already rejected similar overtures from Mr Bush, but Portugal and Switzerland have indicated they may be willing to take some. Other options include moving inmates to US military prisons, returning some to their native countries, and finding third countries to take them.

The President also signed an order saying that all interrogations conducted by the US would abide by the army field manual, effectively banning the CIA from using "enhanced interrogation" techniques including waterboarding.

Thailand: Stop Forced Returns of Karen Refugees to Burma

The Karens are a tribal ethnic group in Burma, and make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population.The Karen have fought for independence from Burma since January 31, 1949. Consequently, that day is recognized amongst the Karen as Karen Revolution Day.

(below is an article from Human Rights Watch 07/17/2008)

Thai security forces should immediately stop forcing Karen refugees and asylum seekers to return to Burma from refugee camps in Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today.

Forced repatriation of Karen refugees from Mae Ra Ma Luang camp on July 17, 2008. © PrivateThe Karen, an ethnic group who have fled armed conflict and human rights violations in Burma, face persecution and violent reprisals by the Burmese military government if forced to return, Human Rights Watch said.

“Forcing civilians back into an active war zone may be an easy answer for Thailand, but it’s brutal – a completely inhumane and unacceptable solution,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Thai government should cooperate with international relief agencies and UNHCR to ensure that it upholds the rights of civilians under international law.”

On July 17, local Thai paramilitary forces, the tahaan prahn (literally “hunter-killer soldiers”) rounded up 52 Karen from two refugee camps in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province along the Burma border, 39 – mostly women and children – from Mae Ra Ma Luang refugee camp and 13 from Mae La Oon camp. They permitted 17 students to stay on the Thai side, but sent 35 refugees across the border to the Ei Tu Hta relocation site in Burma.

The refugees, part of a larger group of more than 280 who fled to the Thai camps in early 2008 during a major military offensive in Eastern Burma, were told late on July 16 that they would be forced back the following day. According to local refugee sources, tahaan prahn commanders announced that all new arrivals since April will eventually be forced back to Burma.

Although Thailand has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, it is bound by the principle of non-refoulement, a firm prohibition in customary international law on returning refugees to any country where they are likely to be persecuted or their lives are at risk.

“The Thai government has ignored its obligations to protect refugees fleeing persecution and violence in Burma,” said Adams. “Sending these people back over conflict zones dominated by the Burmese army is disgraceful.”

Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the European Union, the United States, and other states to pressure the Thai government to immediately cease the refoulement of refugees and continue to provide sanctuary to people fleeing fighting or persecution in Burma.

“The Thai government cynically launched this illegal operation during the first day of a major Buddhist holiday, Choul Vosa, or Buddhist Lent,” Adams said. “This, along with the Thai media’s preoccupation with escalating border tensions with Cambodia over the Preah Vihear temple, provides effective cover for Thailand’s serious breach of international law.”

Ei Tu Hta relocation site in Burma, located along the Salween River, has grown during the past two years to nearly 4,300 civilians who have fled attacks and abuses by the Burmese army. The overcrowded camp receives limited international and local health and food assistance, which is often blocked by local Thai security forces. In addition, the camp faces the constant risk of attack because of its proximity to Burmese army encampments.

Thai security forces only permitted the 52 civilians sent to Ei Tu Hta camp on July 18 to carry two weeks’ supply of food and basic plastic sheeting, and prohibited the refugees from carrying mosquito nets or cooking utensils.

More than 100 civilians arrive at Ei Tu Hta camp each month as the Burmese army continues its offensive in Northern Karen State despite the monsoon rains. Human Rights Watch believes that there are now more than 90 Burmese army battalions (more than 10,000 troops) operating in the area. The soldiers are forcing Karen civilians into relocation sites, or burning their villages and food stocks with the aim to clear the area.

More than 50,000 civilians have fled or been displaced by the army offensive against civilians in Eastern Burma, which has been ongoing since 2006. They join more than half a million internally displaced civilians in Eastern Burma. The offensive in Eastern Burma is the largest operation by the Burmese military in several years. It has been denounced by international groups, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in a June 2007 statement, and Amnesty International in a June 2008 report.

Refugee protection in Thailand has sharply deteriorated during the past several years, as the Royal Thai Government’s procedures for registering refugees has been bogged down. There are an estimated 20,000 unregistered people out of 148,000 in the nine Karenni and Karen minority refugee camps along the border, many of whom would likely qualify as refugees. Without registration, most are not eligible for food and shelter, nor do they receive formal protection from the UNHCR. In March 2007, Thai security forces forcibly returned nearly 100 Rohingya Muslim men from Western Burma to an area controlled by a pro-SPDC armed group along the Thailand Burma border.

For more than a year, Thai security forces and Ministry of Interior officials have been threatening unregistered refugee camp residents with forcible return. The hundreds who arrived at the two Karen camps of Mae Ra Ma Luang and Mae Ra Moe have been routinely threatened with return since May by local security forces, claiming to act on behalf of the central authorities in Bangkok.

“The root causes of why people flee Burma haven’t changed, but states such as Thailand continue to turn a blind eye to serious abuses while continuing to do business with the Burmese government,” Adams said. “Thailand should raise concern about Burmese human rights violations that cause forced displacement as well as responding humanely to its victims seeking asylum at their borders and in their territories.”

Radical in the White House

(An article in New York Times 01/21/2009 by Thomas Friedman)

For one day, for one hour, let us take a bow as a country. Nearly 233 years after our founding, 144 years after the close of our Civil War and 46 years after Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, this crazy quilt of immigrants called Americans finally elected a black man, Barack Hussein Obama, as president. Walking back from the inauguration, I saw an African-American street vendor wearing a home-stenciled T-shirt that pretty well captured the moment — and then some. It said: “Mission Accomplished.”

But we cannot let this be the last mold we break, let alone the last big mission we accomplish. Now that we have overcome biography, we need to write some new history — one that will reboot, revive and reinvigorate America. That, for me, was the essence of Obama’s inaugural speech and I hope we — and he — are really up to it.

Indeed, dare I say, I hope Obama really has been palling around all these years with that old Chicago radical Bill Ayers. I hope Obama really is a closet radical.

Not radical left or right, just a radical, because this is a radical moment. It is a moment for radical departures from business as usual in so many areas. We can’t thrive as a country any longer by coasting on our reputation, by postponing solutions to every big problem that might involve some pain and by telling ourselves that dramatic new initiatives — like a gasoline tax, national health care or banking reform — are too hard or “off the table.” So my most fervent hope about President Obama is that he will be as radical as this moment — that he will put everything on the table.

Opportunities for bold initiatives and truly new beginnings are rare in our system — in part because of the sheer inertia and stalemate designed into our Constitution, with its deliberate separation of powers, and in part because of the way lobbying money, a 24-hour news cycle and a permanent presidential campaign all conspire to paralyze big changes.

“The system is built for stalemate,” said Michael J. Sandel, the Harvard University political theorist. “In ordinary times, the energy and dynamism of American life reside in the economy and society, and people view government with suspicion or indifference. But in times of national crisis, Americans look to government to solve fundamental problems that affect them directly. These are the times when presidents can do big things. These moments are rare. But they offer the occasion for the kind of leadership that can recast the political landscape, and redefine the terms of political argument for a generation.”

In the 1930s, the Great Depression enabled Franklin Roosevelt to launch the New Deal and redefine the role of the federal government, he added, while in the 1960s, the assassination of John F. Kennedy and “the moral ferment of the civil rights movement” enabled Lyndon Johnson to enact his Great Society agenda, including Medicare, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.

“These presidencies did more than enact new laws and programs,” concluded Sandel. “They rewrote the social contract, and redefined what it means to be a citizen. Obama’s moment, and his presidency, could be that consequential.”

George W. Bush completely squandered his post-9/11 moment to summon the country to a dramatic new rebuilding at home. This has left us in some very deep holes. These holes — and the broad awareness that we are at the bottom of them — is what makes this a radical moment, calling for radical departures from business as usual, led by Washington.

That is why this voter is hoping Obama will swing for the fences. But he also has to remember to run the bases. George Bush swung for some fences, but he often failed at the most basic element of leadership — competent management and follow-through.

President Obama will have to decide just how many fences he can swing for at one time: grand bargains on entitlement and immigration reform? A national health care system? A new clean-energy infrastructure? The nationalization and repair of our banking system? Will it be all or one? Some now and some later? It is too soon to say.

But I do know this: while a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, so too is a great politician, with a natural gift for oratory, a rare knack for bringing people together, and a nation, particularly its youth, ready to be summoned and to serve.

So, in sum, while it is impossible to exaggerate what a radical departure it is from our past that we have inaugurated a black man as president, it is equally impossible to exaggerate how much our future depends on a radical departure from our present. As Obama himself declared from the Capitol steps: “Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed.”

We need to get back to work on our country and our planet in wholly new ways. The hour is late, the project couldn’t be harder, the stakes couldn’t be higher, the payoff couldn’t be greater.

Testimony: "I Fear Nothing Now"

Testimony, The Electronic Intifada, 7 January 2009

Nael Shaeth, 40, a father of four, talked to IRIN by telephone from his home in al-Naser neighborhood, central Gaza, about the challenges faced by people who have been trapped in their homes since the Israeli offensive on Gaza began on 27 December:

Scenes of destruction are everywhere. When you walk in the streets you see many damaged buildings. Some of them are totally damaged and cannot be repaired. They need to be rebuilt anew.

Nobody leaves his or her house unless there is something extremely urgent. The last time I went out was before yesterday to refill my car with fuel. But I go to visit my mother who lives nearby to check on her. That day I passed by a bakery where I had to stand in a long queue to buy some bread. We usually wait for an hour in queues to buy bread as only two or three bakeries in our area are still functioning. When it is your turn, the quantity they give you depends on the available supply of wheat and cooking gas.

Prices [of commodities] are rising. In grocery shops some items are available and some are not. And even some of what is available might have become spoilt now, after three days of continuous electricity cuts in our area. I heard that some areas have had no electricity since the start of the bombardment nine days ago.

When the electricity is cut, water supplies are directly affected. We use electricity to pump water from tanks on the ground to rooftop tanks -- from where it is distributed to the different flats ... Now even if you have water, you might not be able to use it unless you try to carry it. Even when you manage to get water, it is difficult to take a shower in very cold water ... Solar heating systems don't work properly in winter.

My four children are terrorized because of the attacks -- especially the youngest [two] aged six and 11. With severe bombardments outside and lack of electricity inside, they refuse to go to the toilet on their own at night. They want someone to accompany them. We are also subject to psychological pressure. A few hours back I heard that a friend had died.

January is one of the coldest months of the year ... but in these cold conditions, we have to leave windows partially open to prevent them from shattering in the bombardments.

Despite this extremely difficult situation, I fear nothing now and do not have any concerns. I believe in God and that everyone has to die one way or another. It is better to die in this honorable way. These are not my personal beliefs, all Gazans believe the same.

This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the copyright page for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Let Our Children Live

Nurit Peled-Elhanan writing from Israel, Live from Palestine, 22 January 2007


Bassam Aramin spent nine years in an Israeli jail for being a member of the Fatah in the Hebron area and trying to throw a grenade at an Israeli army Jeep which was patrolling in Occupied Hebron. On Wednesday morning, an Israeli soldier shot his nine-year-old daughter, Abir, in the head. The soldier will not spend an hour in jail. In Israel, soldiers are not imprisoned for killing Arabs. Never. It does not matter whether the Arabs are young or old, real or potential terrorists, peaceful demonstrators or stone throwers. The army has not conducted an inquiry in Abir Aramin's death. Neither the police nor the courts have questioned anyone. There will be no investigation. As far as the Israeli Defense Forces are concerned, the shooting did not happen. The army's official account of her death is that she was hit by a stone that one of her classmates was throwing "at our forces."

We who live in Israel know that stones thrown by 10-year-olds do not blow brains out. Just as we see every day the Israeli jeeps circling Palestinian children on their way to and from school and greet them with stun-bombs, "rubber" bullets and riot control gas.

A bullet penetrated Abir Aramin's skull, while she was walking to school with her sister. I saw her just afterwards at Hadassah Hospital, where she slept quietly in a huge hospital bed. Abir's face was white. Her huge eyes were closed. By then, she was already brain-dead, and the doctors decided to allow the rest of her to die. I saw clearly that her head had been shot from behind. A young student who witnessed her shooting told journalists that the Israeli border police, part of the IDF, drove up to the girls as they came out of their school examinations: "The girls were afraid and started running away. The border police followed them in the direction in which they were retreating. Abir was afraid and stood against one of the shops at the side of the road. I was standing near her. The border policeman shot through a special hole in the window of his jeep that was standing very close to us. Abir fell to the ground ... I saw that she was bleeding from the head."

Abir Aramin

Abir Aramin is dead. The doctors at Hadassah will not disclose the cause of her death to her parents or her friends. Her family has requested an autopsy. Her father, Bassam Aramin, is one of the founders of Combatants for Peace. My son, who served as an Israeli soldier in the occupied territories, is also a member. They are friends. Bassam told us that he cannot rest until his daughter's killer convinces him that nine-year-old Abir threatened his life or the lives of the other soldiers in his jeep. I fear he will never have the chance to rest.

Abir Aramin has joined in the underground kingdom of dead children the thousands of other children killed in this country and the territories it occupies. She will be welcomed by my own little girl, Smadar. Smadar was killed in 1997 by a suicide bomber. If her killer had survived, I know he would have been sent to prison for his crime and his house would have been demolished on the rest of his family.

In the meantime, I sit with her mother Salwa and try to say, "We are all victims of occupation." As I say it, I know that her hell is more terrible than mine. My daughter's murderer had the decency to kill himself when he murdered Smadar. The soldier who killed Abir is probably drinking beer, playing backgammon with his mates and going to discotheques at night. Abir is in a grave.

Abir's father was a warrior who fought the occupation -- officially a "terrorist," although it is a strange logic that terms those who resist the occupation and dispossession of their people as terrorists. Bassam Aramin is still a fighter -- but as a peace activist. He knows, as I know, that his little dead girl takes all the reasons for this war to her grave. Her small bones could not bear the burden of life, death, vengeance and oppression that every Arab child here grows up with.

Bassam, as a Muslim, believes he must pass a test -- as a man of honour not to seek revenge, not to give up, not to neglect the struggle for dignity and peace on his own land. When he asked me where we find strength to go on, I said the only thing I could think of: from the children who are left to us. His other children, my three living sons. From the other Palestinian and Israeli children who have a right to live without their elders forcing them into being occupiers or occupied. The so-called enlightened, western world does not get what is happening here. The whole enlightened world stands aside and does nothing to save little girls from murderous soldiers. The enlightened world blames Islam, as it once blamed Arab nationalism, for all the atrocities the non-Islamic world is inflicting upon Muslims. The enlightened west fears little girls with scarves on their heads. It is terrified of boys in keffiyehs. And in Israel, children are educated to fear, most of all, the fruits of the Muslim womb. Therefore, when they become solldiers, they see nothing wrong in killing Palestinian children "before they grow." But Basam and Salwa and all of us -- Jewish and Arab victims of the Israeli occupation -- want to live together just as we die together. We see our children sacrificed on the altar of an occupation that has no basis in law or justice. And, outside, the enlightened world justifies it all and sends more money to the occupiers.

If the world does not come to its senses, there will be nothing more to say or write or listen to in this land except for the silent cry of mourning and the muted voices of dead children.