...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Wednesday, May 19, 2004
      ( 12:00 PM )
 
Rafah is Dying

You may not have been aware of it (since our media is so not interested in the plight of Palestinians anymore), but for the sixth day straight, the IDF has been conducting a wholesale wipeout of Palestinians. Rafah Kid reports:

The bloody attacks began on 13th May in retaliation for the death of 7 Israeli soldiers when they were blown up in their tank near the Egypt - Rafah border by the Palestinian resistance. They were on their way to demolish civilian homes in the Yebnah refugee camp adjacent to the border, home to over 30,000 refugees. Since September 2000, the IDF has been carrying out a campaign of home demolitions against seven residential neighbourhoods, which lie along the borderline, known as the “Philadelphia Road”. This policy has been justified with claims of fighting “terrorists” who are alleged to use the neighbourhoods as hideouts. The IDF is constructing a giant metal wall along the border and aim to create a 300 metre wide “buffer zone” for the wall by clearing rows of homes. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, the IDF has demolished 1867 Palestinian homes in Rafah making over 16,497 Palestinian homeless and has killed over 350 Palestinians – with 67 children among the dead.


Things have gotten even worse today with the news that the IDF has named its Rafah insurgency "Operation Rainbow":

An IDF Apache helicopter gunship fired 3 missiles at a peaceful Palestinian demonstration in Rafah in solidarity with the besieged civilians in Tel-Sultan neighborhood killing 15 people- with 10 children were among the dead - and injuring over 50 others. Still the death toll is increasing. The air missile attack occurred at Alawda square in the center of Rafah where thousands of Palestinians gathered peacefully to start a big demonstration around the town to condemn the IDF continuing crimes against humanity and the International community silence about what is happening in Tel-sultan area in the north of Rafah since two days. I phoned friends and my family in Rafah and they said they heard huge explosions in the city center followed by people screaming and ambulance sirens everywhere in the streets of Rafah.

[...]

The number of dead in Rafah has increased now to 53 Palestinians since the begining of the IDF operation Rainbow in Rafah.


The demonstration was peaceful, there were no weapons and the people were trying to show in numbers that they wanted to help their neighbors and stop the onslaught. But the demonstrators themselves were attacked.

While our country has lost much of its moral highground in the middle east because of our invasion and occupation of Iraq and our support of Sharon's plans, we could do much to heal relations by taking a bold step and condemning these operations and naming these as war crimes that the IDF is committing. If we continue to support the wholesale slaughter of innocent people by the Israeli army and we continue to position ourselves as being only the friend of Israel and not a friend to all the other peoples of that land, then we are dooming ourselves even more to a weakened voice and power in the middle east and the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, send some help to the people in Rafah.

UPDATE: The US has outdone Israel today: 45 and counting innocent people killed by US gunships at an Iraqi wedding. When will it all end? And how?

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