The quest to bomb, besiege, bully and blockade Gaza out of existence
17 May 2021: While we unreservedly condemn violence on all sides, it is illogical to compare rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians by Hamas with Israel’s disproportional use of fighter jets, hellfire missiles, Merkava 4 tanks, missile boats and helicopter gunships, that has caused thousands of Palestinian lives and untold civilian infrastructural damage, over the last twenty years.
Hamas has committed attacks on civilians does not erase the fact that Israel’s egregious violence violate basic humanitarian laws regarding proportionality.
In fact, the UN Charter forbids acquisition of land by force, the Geneva Conventions forbids banning refugees from returning to their homes, UN resolutions and international law charters forbid occupying armies from settling their population on seized territories. Worse still, the suffocating land, air and sea blockade on Gaza, the world’s only open air prison remains the epitome of Israel’s moral bankruptcy.
Silence is consent therefore the question is no longer where or when to act, but how will we respond?
Where the UN, OIC, Gulf Cooperation Council, US Congress, UK Parliament, mainstream media and countries with economic ties with Apartheid Israel have all collectively failed, we urge the International Criminal Court (ICC) to proceed with its now iron-clad indictable case against Israel (and its enablers) for its continuing unabated list of war crimes.
–The Gaza Fund–
| 2006* | 2008* | 2012* | 2014* | 2021* | Ratio | |
| Israeli Soldiers | 5 | 10 | 2 | 67 | 1 | |
| Hamas Resistance | 124 | 236 | 62 | 2251 | 80 | 32.3x |
| Israeli Civilian (Wounded) | 44 | 182 | 219 | 87 | 114 | |
| Palestinian Civilian (Wounded) | 650 | 5303 | 971 | 11,231 | 2000 | 31.1x |
| Israeli Civilians (Killed) | 6 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 12 | |
| Palestinian Civilians (Killed) | 416 | 926 | 105 | 1462 | 256 | 102x |
NOTES:
(1) The 2006* Op. Summer Rains + Autumn Clouds’ included among others, air strikes on Gaza Power Plants, Waste Water Treatment Plant, three Bridges and Electricity Networks. Amnesty International called it a war crime;
(2) The 2008* Op. Cast Lead (a.k.a Gaza Massacre) damaged 10 Water or Sewage Lines, 34 Health Facilities & Israel was widely condemned for its unlawful use of White Phosphorus (chemical weapons);
(3) 2012* Op. Pillar of Defense/Cloud included bombings among others, of a Water Tower, 12 Water Wells and Agricultural Land;
(4) 2014* Op. Protective Edge: The Sydney Morning Herald reported that “almost every piece of critical infrastructure, from electricity to water to sewage, has been seriously compromised by either direct hits from Israeli air strikes and shelling or collateral damage. Amnesty International said the crippling of the power station amounted to “collective punishment of Palestinians“. Human Rights Watch has stated that “damaging or destroying a power plant, even if it also served a military purpose, would be an unlawful disproportionate attack under the laws of war“.
(5) 2021* Op. Guardians of the Wall: The partial list of infrastructure damage include at least 18 medical facilities (including 6 hospitals and 11 clinics) destroyed by the disproportional Israeli bombardment. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), 1,042 housing and commercial units, spread over 258 buildings, were destroyed by Israel. 769 further units suffered severe damage while at least 53 schools were damaged.The media offices of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera as well as 60 condominiums, was destroyed on 15 May, prompting a global outcry.
