Cartoon du Jour by Khalil Bendib
On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI said he was very worried about the situation in Gaza, and called on all sides to work to stop the bloodshed and to immediately resume direct and concrete negotiations.
“I am following with deep worry the news about the grave deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip, and I want to express my closeness to the civilian population, which is suffering the consequences of the acts of violence,” Pope Benedict said in his Sunday address in St Peter’s Square in Rome.
The European Union presidency, currently held by Finland, issued a statement on Sunday deploring “the growing number of civilian casualties the Israeli military operation has caused”.
“The right of all states to defend themselves does not justify disproportionate use of violence or actions which are contrary to international humanitarian law,” the statement said.
The International Red Cross also criticised Israel for the killing of two medical workers, saying that the paramedics and their vehicle were clearly marked.
Letter: European inaction and complicity as Gaza burns
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 6 November 2006
I wholeheartedly agree with that part of your statement which says, “Violence will only aggravate an already grave situation in the region.” But violence will not be ended by empty condemnation of the victims and craven appeasement of the occupier. It will end when governments like yours take action to make Israel, as the occupying colonial power, accountable. If you do not want Palestinians to have to resort to any form of violence, then you should provide an alternative. Before the eyes of the world, Israeli occupation forces opened fire with live ammunition on a demonstration by courageous and exemplary unarmed Palestinian women in Beit Hanoun. EU member states have done nothing to assist Palestinians to peacefully resist, even as Israel mows them down with machine guns.
If your stated desire for peace is serious and sincere, here are six steps you can call for immediately: [More]
Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza town
7 November 2006 Associated Press
Hundreds of Beit Hanoun residents, who spent most of last week trapped in their homes as troops and militants fought in the town’s streets, surveyed the damage the Israeli army had left behind.
Khalil Yazgi, a 45-year-old Beit Hanoun resident, looked on as children and women picked through the rubble of the four-story structure that had been home to his extended family of 50 people.
“If I was against the rockets now I will encourage people to launch rockets from every spot, from everywhere because rockets are not a pretext for what is going on here,” Mr Yazgi said.
“This is an act of terror … if you look around, it’s as though a crazy cow walked through a porcelain shop.”
During the fighting, some militants took refuge inside a mosque to escape troops, who quickly surrounded the building with armoured vehicles.
On Friday, women loyal to the ruling Palestinian group, Hamas, marched to the mosque to free them. Troops fired on the protesters, killing two and wounding 10 others.
Hamas sources today said Israeli tanks had fired two shells at the home of Jamila Shanti, the politician said to have organised the women’s demonstration. One person was killed and several others were wounded.
Ms Shanti was not in the house, east of the town of Jebaliya, at the time of the attack, but said she had been told her sister-in-law was killed.
IDF Gaza operation fails to stop Kassams
7 November 2006 The Jerusalem Post
After six days of intensive anti-terrorism warfare in Gaza, the IDF reportedly began moving its forces out of the northern part of the Strip late Monday night, according to Palestinian Arabs.
Operation Autumn Cloud saw at least 55 Arabs killed as the Israeli forces dealt a blow to the proliferating terrorist infrastructure in the area abandoned by the Israel government in September 2005.
The military efforts did not, however, curtail the Arab firing of Kassam rockets from Gaza towards Jewish targets in the south of the country.
A Palestinian boy watches people as they inspect the destroyed al-Naser mosque.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinian boys sit outside their family’s destroyed house.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
