The Conflict Continues 2005-now

1. The Conflict Continues 2005-now Beit Hanina, 2008

2. Manifestations of the Occupation Controlling ALL movement Limited Access to Health Care Limiting Education Settler Harassment

3. Israeli Settlers Withdrawn from Gaza • Starting Aug. 15, tens of thousands of Israeli troops will oversee the evacuation of the settlers from 21 different communities in Gaza and four smaller settlements in the West Bank. They will assist settlers with moving their belongings as well. Some Palestinian security forces will also participate. On Aug. 17, settlers who have not voluntarily left will be forcibly removed and may lose personal property, according to IDF commanders. Israeli soldiers will then demolish settlers' homes. • Many, but not all, Jewish residents of Gaza believe that the land is part of what they call "Eretz Yisrael" -- Greater Israel -- and thus biblically ordained for Jews. Other Israelis believe that withdrawal will not make Israel more secure from Palestinian attack. Some settlers, backed by supporters from outside Gaza, say they will not leave voluntarily on Aug. 15, raising the prospect of violent clashes between the IDF and Israeli citizens. The withdrawal marks the first time since Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982 that it has relinquished Jewish settlements to Arab control. 8,500 Jewish settlers In announcing the "Disengagement Plan" in December 2003, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the withdrawal was to increase security of residents of Israel, relieve pressure on the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and reduce friction between Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, claims that the withdrawal is the result of violent Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081000713.html

4. Palestinian Legislative Elections 2006 • January 25, 2006 – Jimmy Carter – Head of International Observers calls elections freest he has ever witnessed • Elections ended one era and started a new one with a sweeping referendum • Hamas won 76 of 132 legislative seats • First time in 40 years that Fatah did not dominate Palestinian politics • Mahmoud Abbas still head of PA but will see his power challenged • Represents complete departure from Oslo era

5. Hamas as a Political Entity • Hamas is a multi-faceted organization (military, social, political, and religious) • Hamas victory as a political force does not necessarily represent victory as a resistance or religious movement. • Grew out of 1987 Intifada – origin was Muslim Brotherhood • Guiding Purpose: End the Occupation of Palestine • Does not recognize Israel’s right to exist • Considered a terrorist organization by Israel and USA

6. Hamas Stance on Israel Excerpted from article Khalid Mish’al wrote in The Guardian (UK) on 1/31/06 • Our message to the Israelis is this: we do not fight you because you belong to a certain faith or culture. Jews have lived in the Muslim world for 13 centuries in peace and harmony; they are in our religion "the people of the book" who have a covenant from God and His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be respected and protected. Our conflict with you is not religious but political.We have no problem with Jews who have not attacked us - our problem is with those who came to our land, imposed themselves on us by force, destroyed our society and banished our people. • We shall never recognise the right of any power to rob us of our land and deny us our national rights. We shall never recognise the legitimacy of a Zionist state created on our soil in order to atone for somebody else's sins or solve somebody else's problem. But if you are willing to accept the principle of a long-term truce, we are prepared to negotiate the terms. Hamas is extending a hand of peace to those who are truly interested in a peace based on justice. - Khalid Mish'al is the head of the political bureau of Hamas Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jan/31/comment.israelandthepalestinians

7. Gaza Cut Off 2006 • Foreign aid from US and Palestinian tax money collected by Israel cut off from Palestinians in Occupied Territories after Hamas was elected. Encouraged other major Western Powers to do the same. This hurt Palestinians economically. Also meant that in Gaza they lacked basic necessities such as flour, gas, and medicine. • “The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger," Dov Weisglass, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told the Israeli media.” • The goal of the financial squeeze, according to a recent New York Times report, is to destabilize a new Hamas Palestinian government so that it would fail, thereby prompting new elections. • Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice explained the U.S. decision to cut off aid to the new government by saying, “The principle is very clear. We’re not going to fund a Hamas-led government.” • US aided Fatah and PA with arms to fight against Hamas – resulted in two separate political entities

8. Israel-Lebanon War (against Hezbollah) Summer 2006

9. Israel-Lebanon War (against Hezbollah) July 12-August 14, 2006 • The war began on 12 July, when Israel launched waves of air strikes on Lebanon after Hezbollah killed three soldiers and captured two more on the northern border. (A further five troops were killed by a land mine when their tank crossed into Lebanon in hot pursuit.) Hezbollah had long been warning that it would seize soldiers if it had the chance, in an effort to push Israel into a prisoner exchange. Israel has been holding a handful of Lebanese prisoners since it withdrew from its two-decade occupation of south Lebanon in 2000. • A month of fighting – mostly Israeli aerial bombardment of Lebanon, and rocket attacks from the Shi'ite militia Hezbollah on northern Israel in response – ended with more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians and a small but unknown number of Hezbollah fighters dead, as well as 119 Israeli soldiers and 43 civilians (18 who were Arab). • One of the main justifications for Hezbollah's continuing resistance – that Israel failed to withdraw fully from Lebanese territory in 2000 • Israel's fired at least a million cluster bombs, old munitions supplied by the US with a failure rate as high as 50 per cent, in the last days of fighting. The tiny bomblets, effectively small land mines, were left littering south Lebanon after the UN-brokered ceasefire, and are reported so far to have killed 30 civilians and wounded at least another 180. Israeli commanders have admitted firing 1.2 million such bomblets, while the UN puts the figure closer to 3 million. • Hezbollah claimed victory • Source: Jonathon Cook (http://www.antiwar.com/cook/?articleid=11459)

10. Cease-Fire Broken • In June 2008, Hamas once again entered into a cease-fire with Israel, which it scrupulously observed until November 4, when Israel invaded and launched airstrikes against Gaza, killing six Palestinians.[74] With Israel having undermined the truce, the violence once again escalated, with daily attacks on Gaza and rocket fire on Israel.On December 27, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a full scale military assault on the Gaza Strip. The apparent goal, according to Richard Goldstone, who headed U.N. investigation into the assault, was to collectively punish the Palestinians of Gaza for having Hamas as their government.[75] But if the intent was to cause the people of Gaza to turn against their elected representatives, it failed. Source: http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2010/01/20/the-rise-of-hamas-in-gaza/

11. Hamas Rockets & Kidnapping of IDF Soldier • On June 24, 2006 Israeli soldiers raided Gaza and abducted two Palestinians, Osama and Mustafa Abu Muamar, whose father was a member of Hamas, but who the group said were not themselves members.[44] The next day, Palestinian militants entered Israel through a tunnel, killed two Israeli soldiers, and captured a third, Corporal Gilad Shalit. • Shalit was held in Gaza until October 17, 2011 and released as part of a prisoner exchange deal.. Hamas had tried to use him as a bargaining tool for the release of Palestinian political prisoners. 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released but forced to live in exile. • As of 1 February 2012, there were 4,489 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 309 administrative detainees, 5 women and 166 children (Source: Addameer) • The cease-fire being broken resulted in Hamas firing rockets into southern Israel as a way to resist the social, political, and economic siege of the Gaza Strip. • Hamas rockets targeted Israeli settlements. People had to hide in bomb shelters for safety. Throughout the period of the “Operation Cast Lead” 3 Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers were killed.

14. The Invasion of Gaza (12/2008-01/09) • The cease-fire is broken. Two narratives, many theories on what prompted the attacks on Gaza. • General Officer Commanding (GOC) Southern Command Yoav Galant: Israel was going to “send Gaza decades into the past” while achieving “the maximum number of enemy casualties.” (Haaretz, 12/23/08) • December 22: Hamas chair Mahmoud Zahar gives an interview to an Israeli television station, despite being a prime target for assassination. He reiterates the willingness of Hamas to renew the cease-fire agreement with Israel on the condition that they open up the border crossings. (Haaretz, 12/23/08) • December 27th, 2008 – January 18th, 2009 Israel indiscriminately attacks Gaza. Palestinians only defense is to try and hide, although there were not many hiding places. Resistance continued through the use of rockets and ground battles, although they were ill-equipped compared to Israel. • What was happening received widespread media attention although Israel allowed NO media into the actual territory, citing safety concerns, even after repeated media pleas for entry. • NO to very limited UN Aid allowed into territories, workers attacked

19. During the Siege 22 days of aerial bombardment and ground assault • No safe place to go • No access to health care (hospitals overcrowded, lack medicine) • No clean water • No electricity • All schools closed • Bombs dropping all the time • Ground Attacks

20. The Aftermath 22 days of aerial bombardment and ground assault • At least 1,285 Palestinians dead; 895 were civilians, including 280 children and 111 women. Another 167 were civil police officers mostly killed on the first day of bombing during their graduation from a training course. At least 50 people were killed in various UN facilities where they had gathered to find refuge because their refugee camp was unsafe. • 2,400 houses completely destroyed and 20,000 homes partially destroyed • Infrastructure destroyed includes: • *28 public civilian facilities (ministries, municipalities, governates, • fishing • harbors, and Palestinian Legislative Council buildings) • *29 educational institutions (including Gaza’s Islamic University and • American High School) • *30 mosques • *10 charitable societies • *60 police stations • *121 industrial commercial shops • 13 Israelis are killed (3 civilians and 10 soldiers)

21. The World Response

22. The World Response Widespread Protests ALL over the WORLD condemning Israeli military actions Protests Take Place In: The United States Morocco Jordan Australia London Greece Egypt Norway Germany Sweden Libya Qatar Syria Lebanon Sudan Algeria …Any many others LONDON

23. Goldstone Report • Israel and Hamas committed WAR CRIMES during Invasion of Gaza • Israel implicated on a larger level • White Phosphorus Used by Israel (Against Geneva Conventions) • Israel rejects the Goldstone Report. US supports them in their decision. • No other investigation has been done.

24. Flotillas to Gaza • The Mavi Marmara was a Turkish ship that was part of the Freedom Flotilla endeavoring to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. • May 2010: Israeli forces boarded the Mavi Marmara; 8 Turkish activists and one 19-yr old Turkish-American citizen were killed. • Israel refused to apologized to Turkey • In response, the once friendly relationship between Turkey and Israel becomes Cold. • Israel claimed the right to blockade the flotilla in the interest of their security. Framed the events from their perspective because of confiscation of all recoding and communication devices. • Other aid flotillas attempted to reach Gaza (Irish, Canada) These missions were also derailed

25. Palestinian bid to UNSeptember 2011 • Mahmoud Abbas, Head of PA, submits bid to UN for recognition of Palestine as a state • UN Security council cannot come to resolution; US said they would veto, therefore bid is stalled. If a council resolution was passed, almost assured that bid would pass. • UNESCO accepts Palestine as a full member but then loses all USA funding. UNESCO is the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. • Israel: bid negates peace process and is a unilateral and dangerous move. • USA tried to urge Palestinians not to submit their bid.