2 million Gazans are squeezed into 20% of their land, as Israeli bombers and snipers keep killing; UNICEF vehicles hit by Israeli gunfire; peace activists arrested in US Capitol; Israeli luminaries call Netanyahu an “existential threat” to Israel and US; Rashida Tlaib: “Netanyahu’s Congress speech is a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”; Schumer says he will attend Netanyahu’s Congress speech; Israeli gov’t heavily funding illegal Israeli outposts; 350 “experts” endorse Kamala Harris for her Israel support; Olympics news; Israeli forces killing spree in West Bank; seven major labor unions demand that Biden pull the plug on Israel aid; China brokers reconciliation deal with Palestinian factions
By IAK staff, from reports.
Israel blocks Palestinians from 80 percent of Gaza
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says the Israeli military has placed more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip “under evacuation orders or designated as a no-go zone”.
“We just keep hearing the same question: Where do I go?” UNRWA said on X, quoting its spokeswoman’s remarks to the BBC’s Radio 4.
It comes a day after Israel ordered thousands of people to flee from the eastern parts of the Khan Younis governorate to al-Mawasi in the west.
Death toll from Israeli bombing in Khan Younis rises to 89
At least 89 people have been killed in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis governorate, according to the enclave’s Government Media Office, since Israel launched a new military operation in the area yesterday morning, without giving civilians time to flee. Hundreds of people are also reported injured.
UNICEF vehicles attacked with gunfire in central Gaza
Two clearly marked UNICEF vehicles were hit with live ammunition today while waiting at a designated holding point near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint. They were en route to reunite five children, including a baby, with their father.
One vehicle was struck by three bullets, but… pic.twitter.com/6dhjmqqk55— Adele Khodr (@AdeleKhodr) July 23, 2024
NOTE: The targeting of aid workers in Gaza by Israel has been a long-standing pattern. Since October 2023, at least 278 aid workers were reported killed in Gaza, including 201 UN staff members.
Following an Israeli attack on a high-profile humanitarian aid convoy in early April, MSF official Christopher Lockyear decried what was already a norm: “This pattern of attacks is either intentional or indicative of reckless incompetence.”
Children in the Gaza Strip are intentionally shot by Israeli snipers, says orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Perlmutter from North Carolina, who was there during the end of April and first few weeks of May.
Perlmutter told CBS News Sunday Morning on 21 July that throughout all his… pic.twitter.com/jUtzLrpkHb
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) July 23, 2024
US Capitol Police arrest activists calling for Israel arms embargo
Al Jazeera reports: The rotunda of an office building in the United States Capitol complex filled in minutes with hundreds of people who appeared as if from nowhere, as part of a surprise protest against Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Let Gaza live,” they chanted in unison inside the Cannon House Office Building, removing their outer garments to reveal matching red T-shirts.
One side of the shirt read, “Jews say stop arming Israel.” The other side: “Not in our name.”
Tuesday’s coordinated protest, led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), took Congressional staffers and law enforcement agents aback, as it came together within minutes.
But the crackdown started almost immediately after the protesters assembled. Capitol Police quickly declared the area a closed “zone” and arrested hundreds of demonstrators who refused to leave.
“This is a moment in history where we have to say we stood up for Palestinian freedom. We stood up to end this genocide,” said protester Liv Kunins-Berkowitz.
“For so many of us, we are the descendants who survived ethnic cleansing and genocide. Our ancestors and grandparents taught us that the worst thing to do in these moments is to be a bystander.”
The activists are of all faiths, races, and ethnicities. They’re working to overcome the powerful Israel lobby.
BREAKING: 400 American Jews mark Netanyahu's arrival by refusing to leave Congress until our government listens to the will of the people and STOPS ARMING ISRAEL! pic.twitter.com/WElpHLMHjn
— Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) July 23, 2024
Seven major US labor unions call on Biden to ‘shut off military aid to Israel’
The Guardian reports: Seven major US labor unions representing about 6 million workers sent a letter to Joe Biden on Tuesday calling on his administration to “immediately halt all military aid to Israel” ahead of a visit to the US from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, this week.
The unions that signed on to the letter include the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), International Union of Painters (IUPAT), National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW) and United Electrical Workers (UE).
“Our unions are hearing the cries of humanity as this vicious war continues,” said Mark Dimondstein, the APWU president, in a press release. “Working people and our unions are horrified that our tax dollars are financing this ongoing tragedy. We need a ceasefire now, and the best way to secure that is to shut off US military aid to Israel.”
The UAW stated, “This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to come to Congress to ask our government to keep supporting this war [in Gaza]. We reject this insult to all those calling for peace and justice.”
Amnesty issues fresh warning about US complicity in Israeli war crimes
NOTE: Weapons transfers to armed Palestinian groups also fall within Amnesty’s call for embargo – although in reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance.
Israeli executives, former security officials denounce Netanyahu ahead of address to US Congress
Andalou Agency reports: Dozens of Israeli executives, academics, and former national security officials denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, warning in a letter to US congressional leaders that he represents an “existential threat” to the US and Israel.
The letter signed by 31 Israelis comes on the eve of Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress where many lawmakers are expected to not attend or stage protests to interrupt the Israeli leader’s speech. It is addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“We cannot overstate this: Prime Minister Netanyahu poses an existential threat to the State of Israel. He has no clear strategic objectives for the war in Gaza, no plan for the day after, nor a strategy for how to deal with the existential threat of Iran. For decades, he has been inciting Israelis against each other, damaging our national social fabric, dramatically harming our defense capabilities, eroding our economy and devastating our international standing,” the authors wrote. A copy of the letter was posted publicly by CNN.
“Further, Netanyahu severely harms the US national security interests through his approach to this war, which adversely impacts American policy in the Middle East and beyond and further endangers Israel,” they added.
Prominent signatories include former Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Haloutz, ex-Mossad Director Tamir Pardo, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Nobel Prize Laureate Aaron Ciechanover and Israel’s former UN envoy Gabriela Shalev.
Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is a ‘celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians’
Middle East Eye reports: Palestinian-American Representative Rashida Tlaib called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress “a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”.
Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, said that “Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court.”
She further remarked, “Make no mistake: this event is a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. It is a sad day for our democracy when my colleagues will smile for a photo op with a man who is actively committing genocide.
“It is hypocritical to claim concern about the massive death toll of innocent civilians, then turn around and welcome the person responsible for these war crimes to our Capitol. Their silence is betrayal, and history will remember them accordingly. Our government must stop supporting and funding this genocide now.”
Israel was founded in 1948 through a war of ethnic cleansing.
Schumer says he will attend Netanyahu’s Congress speech despite ‘disagreements’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at Congress:
“Even though I disagree with many of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies, I will attend this speech because the United States’ relationship with Israel remains ironclad and transcends any prime minister.”
Schumer endorsed Kamala Harris for president.
Ha’aretz reports: The Democratic Majority for Israel wholeheartedly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the party’s nomination for the upcoming presidential election.
Israeli government quietly sends millions to unauthorized West Bank settler outposts
Associated Press reports: The Israeli government has budgeted millions of dollars to protect small, illegal, unauthorized Jewish farms in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, underwriting tiny outposts meant to grow into full-fledged , illegal settlements, according to an anti-settlement monitoring group.
Documents uncovered by Peace Now illustrate how Israel’s pro-settler government has quietly poured tens of millions of dollars into the unauthorized outposts, which are separate from its more than 100 officially recognized – but also illegal – settlements. Some of those outposts have been linked to settler violence against Palestinians and are sanctioned by the U.S.
The group estimates approximately 500 people live on the small, unauthorized farms and 25,000 more live in larger outposts. Those outposts, while not officially authorized by the government, often receive tacit support before they are retroactively legalized.
Rights groups say the expanding network of remote farms atop West Bank hilltops are the primary drivers of violence and displacement of Palestinians.
On Friday, the top United Nations court said Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is unlawful and called for an immediate halt to settlement construction.
NOTE: While there has been an uptick in settler violence since October 7th, every one of the more than 700,000 Israeli settlers living on Palestinian land are violating international law.
Israel has illegally built around 280 settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and incentivized Israeli Jews to live in them.
Many Palestinians believe that Israeli settlements and settlers on Palestinian land are the main barrier to any lasting peace agreement.
Settlers, moreover, have a history of violence against Palestinians, often with the assistance of Israeli military forces.
NOTE: The International Solidarity Movement recently posted this video of Israeli settlers brutally attacking both Palestinians and international volunteers – one day after the ICJ ruled that the Israeli occupation and settlements are illegal.
350 foreign policy and national security personages endorse Kamala Harris, highlighting her involvement in the U.S.’ ‘defense of Israel when Iran attacked in April’
Ha’aretz reports: 350 leading foreign policy and national security experts endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy for U.S. President, calling her “the best qualified person to lead our nation as commander in chief.”
“She has been by the president’s side in the Oval Office and in the Situation Room managing high-stakes international crises and advising on the toughest decisions,” they wrote, highlighting “the United States’ defense of Israel when Iran attacked in April 2024.”
Among those to sign the letter include former U.S. Ambassadors to Israel Tom Nides and Daniel Kurtzer, former Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Frank Lowenstein, former national security advisers Susan Rice and Thomas E. Donilon, former secretaries of state John F. Kerry and Hillary Clinton; former secretaries of defense Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta; and former top intelligence officials Michael Hayden and James Clapper.
NOTE: While it’s not hard to find cheerleaders for Israel in its genocidal war on Gaza, voters themselves are not so enthusiastic: A Gallup poll in March showed that 55 percent of respondents disapproved of the Israeli military’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Among Democratic Party voters, the percentage was even higher, with 75 percent of respondents expressing a negative view of Israel’s actions, while 60 percent of independents also said they disapproved.
Politicians have failed to grasp the significance of millions of Americans across the country protesting for ceasefire and an end to military aid to Israel – wrongly accusing them of antisemitism and ignoring their message.
RECOMMENDED READING:
How Israel twists antisemitism claims to project its own crimes onto Palestinians.
AIPAC: Has the pro-Israel lobby bribed and bought the US Democratic Party?
It isn’t Netanyahu who is acting against the will of his people, it’s Biden
Palestinians accuse Israel of Olympic Truce breach
Al Jazeera reports: The Palestine Olympic Committee has called for the “immediate exclusion of Israel from the Paris Olympics 2024”.
In a letter to Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee, the Palestinians said Israel has been engaged in violations that include illegal colonial settlement, occupation and annexation, as well as genocidal incitement.
The letter also stressed that there has been a breach of the Olympic truce. The UN General Assembly Resolution on the Paris 2024 Olympics mandates an Olympic truce from July 19 to September 15, 2024, to ensure a peaceful environment for the Games.
“However, Israel has violated this truce within the first 24 hours by continuing its bombing on Gaza, resulting in the killing of at least 70 Palestinians. This contravention underscores the urgent need for OIC and FIFA to act in line with its statutes and promote respect for international human rights law,” the letter said.
The letter was also sent to FIFA President Gianni Infantino by the Palestine Football Association.
NOTE: At least 265 Palestinian sportsmen have been killed in Israeli attacks since last October, according to the Palestinian Football Association.
“The victims include players, administrators and technical staff, including 11 in the West Bank” Jibril Rajoub, head of the association, told reporters.
“Dozens of athletes remain under the rubble, and we are unable to count their number,” he said. “Many athletes are also held in Israeli jails.”
RECOMMENDED READING: Palestinians launch first national amputee football team in Gaza
Many West Bank deaths on Tuesday
- Five Palestinians were killed Tuesday by Israeli occupation army gunfire in Tulkarm camp, including three men, a young girl, and a 50-year-old woman. Four of the bodies were confiscated by Israeli forces. The men were reportedly a Qassam commander and two members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
- A 13-year-old child from the town of Bal’a, east of Tulkarem, succumbed Tuesday to critical injuries he sustained by Israeli forces’ live bullets about two weeks ago.
- A 39-year-old Palestinian man was Tuesday morning killed by Israeli occupation forces in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron.
- A young man, age 22, was Tuesday killed by Israeli occupation army gunfire from the town of Shuyoukh, northeast of Hebron.
This morning, Palestine Red Crescent crews transported two injured persons with live bullet wounds, one of them in critical condition, from #Tulkarm_camp. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces prevented our crews from reaching the site bombed by the occupation inside the camp…
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) July 23, 2024
Palestinians hail new reconciliation deal amid Israeli opposition
Andalou Agency reports: A China-mediated agreement to heal the years-long rift between Palestinian factions and form a national unity government has been met with Palestinian praise and Israeli opposition.
The Palestinian groups on Monday reached a reconciliation agreement following three days of intensive talks in the Chinese capital Beijing to end their political division since 2007.
Representatives of 14 Palestinian groups, including the rival Fatah and Hamas movements, signed a new statement pledging to end the division and strengthen unity.
The agreement aims at maintaining Palestinian control over the Gaza Strip following the end of Israel’s ongoing offensive on the enclave.
Signatories of the agreement said they would form an interim national unity government to supervise the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip and hold new elections.
“The Beijing declaration is an additional positive step towards achieving Palestinian national unity,” Husam Badran, a member of Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.
He said the factions agreed to form a national unity government to supervise Gaza reconstruction and prepare the conditions for holding elections.
The agreement also underlined the right of the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation and to self-determination based on international laws and UN Charter.
Palestinians living inside Israel face home demolition
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