Cap Phantom

Since 2000, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations have been perpetrating terrorist attacks against Israel, including suicide bombings in the heart of Israeli cities, shooting attacks on vehicles, murders of families in their homes, and unrelenting rocket and mortar fire on Israeli towns and villages – resulting in the deaths of more than 1,100 Israelis, the wounding of thousands more, and the terrorization of millions. These terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians are meant to disrupt negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and to prevent a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Middle East. Hamas has sought to promote the political agenda in its Charter: to exterminate the State of Israel and establish a Muslim state over all the territory of historic “Palestine.”

In June 2007, Hamas executed a violent and bloody coup d’état in the Gaza Strip, persecuting members of the legitimate Palestinian Authority, neutralizing the Palestinian Authority’s military and political power and setting up a radical Muslim entity in its place. Aided and abetted by Iran and Syria, Hamas conducted an ongoing terrorist campaign against Israel, using the Gaza Strip as the launching pad for its terrorist attacks. The frequency and intensity of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel increased dramatically – in 2008, nearly 3,000 rockets and mortars were fired at Israeli homes, schools, kindergartens, shops, clinics, factories and other civilian infrastructure. Israeli civilians were compelled to race to bomb shelters several times a day and lived in constant fear of where the next rockets would hit.

A TOP Israeli official has ruled out immediate final accord with the Palestinians any time soon, casting a pall over the United States (U.S.) Middle East envoy’s latest effort to get peace talks moving again.

Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, the Associated Press (AP) reported yesterday, suggested that the two sides come up with a long-term interim arrangement that would ensure prosperity, security and stability.

He recommended leaving the toughest issues – such as the status of disputed Jerusalem and a solution for Palestinian refugees who lost homes amid war – “to a much later stage.”

He did not elaborate or give a timeline.

“Anyone who says that within the next few years an agreement can be reached ending the conflict … simply doesn’t understand the situation and spreads delusions, ultimately leading to disappointments and an all-out confrontation here,” Lieberman told Israel Radio.

Other conflicts have been defused with the sides making a “dramatic decision” to renounce violence and enter into a period of calm that would allow an accord, Lieberman said.

“People have learned to live with it,” he said.

Lieberman’s suggestion will not necessarily translate into peace policy, which is set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s office wouldn’t comment when asked if Lieberman’s comments reflected his opinion or government policy. But other senior Netanyahu confidants share similar skeptical views on peace-making.

Lieberman’s approach runs counter to U.S. efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal quickly. The Palestinians have said they will not agree to an interim peace deal that would put off a resolution of the conflict indefinitely.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will tell visiting U.S. envoy George Mitchell that he will not resume peace talks until Israel freezes settlement expansion and the two sides set out a clear agenda for resumed peace-making, according to Jibril Rajoub, a key member of Abbas’ Fatah Party.

Abbas could be hard-pressed to back down because of the furor he has unleashed at home by suspending efforts to bring Israel before a war crimes tribunal in connection with its winter war in the Gaza Strip.

Nearly 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the war, including hundreds of civilians. Israel, which lost 13 civilians and soldiers in the war, launched the campaign to end years of Hamas rocket fire on Israeli border towns.

U.S. President Barack Obama brought Abbas and Netanyahu together in New York last month in an effort to jump-start talks that broke down months ago. So far, no breakthroughs have been announced.

Since the New York summit, Mitchell met with representatives of Netanyahu and Abbas in the United States, before returning to the region this week. He had meetings with Lieberman and Israeli Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, lined up yesterday and with Netanyahu and Abbas today.

While Lieberman was speaking pessimistically about efforts to reach a deal, Mitchell was doggedly pressing ahead.

“We’re going to continue with our efforts to achieve an early re-launch of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, because we believe that’s an essential step toward achieving the comprehensive (Middle East) peace to which I earlier referred,” he told reporters as he entered a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

In an interview with the Israeli Haaretz daily, Jordan’s King Abdullah II also warned of further stagnation in peace talks, saying that because of the impasse, “we are sliding back into the darkness.”

Mitchell has been labouring for months to pressure Israel to curb settlement construction. Israel has agreed to limited and temporary restrictions on building in the West Bank, but has resisted a total freeze. It has rejected any limitations on construction in east Jerusalem.

The Palestinians want the West Bank and east Jerusalem for part of their future state, along with the Gaza Strip, now ruled by Islamic Hamas militants.

Meanwhile, Romania has unveiled a monument in memory of some 300,000 Jews and Gypsies killed during the Holocaust in the country. The country had denied in the past that the extermination happened.

President Traian Basescu said it was Romania’s duty to “recognise the genocide during World War II” and to honour the victims.

Basescu was joined by Holocaust survivors, both Jewish and Gypsies, and other leaders during the unveiling of the _5 million (US$7.35 million) marble and concrete tomblike monument.

Romania today has only 6,000 Jews. The country’s role in the Holocaust and the deportation of Jews were ignored by the Communists and minimised by subsequent governments after communism collapsed in 1989.

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Far from taking measures to protect Palestinian civilians during the fighting in Gaza, Hamas forces prevented humanitarian relief, coordinated by the IDF with various international aid organizations, from reaching its intended recipients. While the IDF observed humanitarian pauses in fighting, Hamas fired rockets during these periods, attacked crossing points into Gaza through which much-needed supplies arrived, and hijacked those supplies once they crossed the border.

All of these actions violate the Law of Armed Conflict, which requires parties to allow the entry of humanitarian supplies and to guarantee their safety.

During the period between January 8, 2009 and January 17, 2009, Hamas fired a total of 44 rockets and mortars at Israel during humanitarian pauses. Hamas and other terrorist organizations have also continued a practice of launching attacks against crossing points, which provide the only entry points for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Hamas’ attacks on crossing points continued during the Gaza engagement, but perhaps the most serious interference with humanitarian relief efforts by Hamas consisted of hijacking humanitarian supplies once they arrived in Gaza. On January 12, 2009 it was reported by the Jerusalem Post that “Hamas raided some 100 aid trucks that Israel had allowed into Gaza, stole their contents and sold them to the highest bidders.”

There were numerous reports of Hamas confiscating aid shipments meant for Palestinian civilians. Among these was a report by UNRWA on February 3,2009, that Hamas armed assailants seized, by force, 3,500 blankets and 406 food parcels from its distribution center at the Shati refugee camp. This action was strongly condemned by U.N. officials, who demanded an immediate return of the aid. On February 5, 2009, UNRWA suspended all imports of aid into the Gaza Strip after 10 truckloads of flour (equivalent to 100 tons) and rice (equivalent to 200 tons) imported from Egypt for UNRWA were taken from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza.

Hamas’ willful and repeated interference with the supply of essential goods and services to Gaza qualifies as a grave breach of the Law of Armed Conflict and a war crime under international law.

Israel’s humanitarian effort included several components:

Ensuring continuous supplies of humanitarian aid through the crossing points, such as food, medical supplies and fuel. Coordination of evacuations and other humanitarian movements within the Gaza Strip and between Gaza and Israel. Unilateral suspensions of military operations to enable re-supply of the population and humanitarian relief activities. Ensuring the functioning of essential infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

On the eve of the operation in Gaza, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a specific meeting with representatives of the ICRC and other organizations to establish clear channels of cooperation, and to ensure the continuing flow of humanitarian supplies and medical assistance to Gaza during the operation.

During the Gaza operation itself, the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration (“CLA”) operated a 24 hour operations room tasked with communicating with the IDF and international organizations to deal with real time problems and requests.

A total of 1,511 trucks carrying 37,162 tons of supplies entered the Gaza Strip from Israel through the Kerem Shalom and Karni crossings from the commencement of the Gaza operation and for its duration. The IDF coordinated the entry of 706 trucks carrying donations from international organizations and various countries and consignments of medical supplies received from various sources during the Gaza operation.

A special medical coordination center was set up in the Gaza District CLA, which dealt with assistance to civilians in danger and with evacuation of the wounded and dead from areas of hostilities.

The IDF also set up and manned (24/7) an Infrastructure Coordination Center to monitor the situation in Gaza, identify needs and coordinate repairs to infrastructure in areas of hostilities, at risk to the lives of Israeli technicians.

Beginning January 7, 2009, the IDF unilaterally suspended military operations for at least three hours each day (“humanitarian pauses”), to enable re-supply of the population and other humanitarian relief activities. It is important to understand that, in contrast to Hamas’ actions which jeopardized the civilian populations of Gaza and obstructed the distribution of humanitarian supplies, Israel put into place significant systems and resources to try to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the civilian population were met.

22 days of war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip

Between 2000 and 2008 Israeli citizens were bombarded by about 12,000 rockets and mortar bombs, including nearly 3,000 rockets and mortar bombs in 2008 alone.

December 27, 2008 – After 8 years under missile attacks Israel responds. Operation Cast Lead in Gaza begins.
January 3, 2009 – The ground stage of the operation commences.
January 18, 2009 – After 22 days of fighting in Gaza, Israel ends the operation, unilaterally declaring that it is holding its fire. All Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.

In June 2007, Hamas violently took over the Gaza Strip, overthrowing the legitimate Palestinian Authority and neutralizing the Authority’s security forces. In its place, Hamas set up a radical Muslim entity.

- The Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip

Supported by Iran and Syria, Hamas used the Gaza Strip as its launching pad to conduct ongoing terrorist attacks against Israel. Hamas amassed an extensive armed force of more than 20,000 armed operatives in Gaza. They constantly worked to increase the quality and range of their weapons and by late 2008, its rocket fire was capable of reaching some of Israel‘s largest cities and strategic infrastructure.

About 12,000 rockets and mortar bombs were launched against Israel between 2000 and 2008, including nearly 3,000 rockets and mortar bombs in 2008 alone.

These deliberate attacks caused deaths, injuries, and extensive property damage. They forced businesses to close and terrorized tens of thousands of residents into abandoning their homes.

- The Hamas terror war against Israel

Israel pursued numerous non-military efforts to try and stop the violent attacks, including urgent appeals to the U.N. Secretary General and successive Presidents of the Security Council as well as diplomatic overtures directly and through intermediaries.

Despite these efforts, Hamas escalated its cross-border attacks included a raid into Israeli territory from Gaza in June 2006 and the abduction of an IDF soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit. More than three years later remains in captivity, having been held incommunicado without access to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or any other international body.

- Gilad Shalit: In terrorist captivity since 25 June 2006

Israel‘s resort to force in the Cast Lead Operation in Gaza was both a necessary and a proportionate response to Hamas‘ attacks.

During this Operation, Israeli commanders and soldiers were guided by International Humanitarian Law, including the principles of distinction and proportionality.

Both before and during the Gaza Operation, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) went to great lengths to ensure that humanitarian aid reached the Palestinian population, including by facilitating the delivery of 1,511 trucks carrying 37,162 tons.

The IDF took extensive precautions to avoid or limit harm to civilians in Gaza, while pursuing its objectives of stopping Hamas’s incessant rocket and mortar fire on Israeli civilians and property.

Hamas, on the other hand, committed clear grave violations of international law and human rights, both before and during the Gaza Operation.