© Mohammed KareemImage of Gaza marchers posted by Mohammed Kareem, April 13, 2018.
Today is the third Friday of the protests at the Gaza border fence called the Great March of Return. Over 110 have already been wounded this morning, per Palestinian media reports. Many suffered teargas inhalation.
The Gaza marchers seem to be highly cognizant of the effects of their actions right now. From Mohammed Kareem, a Gaza journalist, this morning:
Today is Friday, and there will be another wave of #GreatReturnMarch .. We still attached to the peacefulness of protests. We still attached to face the israeli bullets unarmed and unarmoured, only by our bare chestsIt is the day of burning the Israeli flag. David Halbfinger of the New York Times tweeted this impressive image:
© David HalbfingerDay of burning Israeli flag at Gaza border, photo by David Halbfinger, April 13, 2018
Comment:
"We are deeply disturbed by the tragic loss of life over the past two weeks of protests carried out within the territory of Gaza, with more than a dozen Palestinians killed by sniper fire - including an unarmed teenager and a respected photojournalist - and many hundreds more injured by live ammunition.
"While it appears that the vast majority of Palestinians who have gathered to protest have been peaceful, we object to reported cases of non-peaceful actions carried out by some Gaza protesters, and we call on them to exercise their rights nonviolently. We also urge Israeli soldiers to refrain from shooting live ammunition at unarmed Palestinian protesters from hundreds of meters away, across the fence separating the two territories.
"We strongly reject the dangerous contention made on April 8 by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman that 'there are no innocent people in the Gaza Strip.' Media reports suggest that on Friday, Israeli soldiers will once again be ordered by high command - in contravention of international law - to engage in sniper fire on Gaza residents who come within 300 meters of the border fence or engage in other non-life-threatening actions.
"We applaud Israeli human rights groups that are calling on Israeli soldiers to resist such illegal orders from their superiors, and are urging IDF forces to fully comply with international law and exercise utmost restraint in their use of deadly force. Such measures must only be used as a last resort to stop an imminent threat to life."
Comment: "Reported cases of non-peaceful actions carried out by some Gaza protesters" - like throwing stones? Sorry, but that's nowhere near what the Israelis do, not to mention the fact that living under brutal oppression, the Palestinians are entitled to defend themselves as best as they can.
This follows a tepid statement from Mass. Senator Elizabeth Warren, sent to the Intercept:
"I am deeply concerned about the deaths and injuries in Gaza," Warren said. "As additional protests are planned for the coming days, the Israel Defense Forces should exercise restraint and respect the rights of Palestinians to peacefully protest."At least she said something, thereby joining Bernie Sanders and the outspoken Congresswoman Betty McCollum in criticism of the Israeli government. Several leading senators declined to comment on the shootings, to the Intercept's Zaid Jilani, among them rising Dem stars Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, and Cory Booker. No surprise.
The Institute for Middle East Understanding comments on the targeting of journalists:
The killing of Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja by Israeli forces receives international condemnation and underscores Israel's refusal to recognize the legitimacy of Palestinian journalists as professionals.al Monitor has this grisly anonymous assertion:
An Israeli reporter who requested anonymity told Al-Monitor that the reason why journalists were targeted that particular week, unlike the previous week during protests, might be connected to concerns about being targeted by international institutions.There is also the Adalah report that Israel prevented the passage of two wounded protesters from Gaza to West Bank hospitals. As a result, the two men each have lost a leg to amputation; one is in danger of losing the remaining leg (Quick question for all you two-state-solutioners- won't Israel continue to control the corridor between Gaza and the West Bank under partition; and wouldn't that control result in such arbitrary tyrannical consequences then too?).
In the al-Monitor article, Ori Nir of Peace Now criticizes the targetings of journalists. "The video and images clearly show six or seven journalists dressed as reporters [wearing vests marked 'PRESS'] and were shot on the same day...." To my reckoning, he is the one leading liberal Zionist to be critical of the shootings. There's been a lot of silence from that quarter.
Comment: The message is clear: Don't report what we're doing!
Update: If Not Now is demonstrating at Senator Dianne Feinstein's office, calling on her to join Sanders and Warren, and be on the right side of history, by condemning the killings of protesters.
They add: "The @SFPD have just arrived on site. Rather than condemn the violence happening in Gaza @SenFeinstein would rather send in the police to take care of us. WE WILL NOT BE SILENT."
This is excellent:
Reading the names of Palestinian protestors mercilessly killed in Gaza by the IDF. We're the next generation of Jewish leaders and we won't allow these atrocities to be committed in our name. @SenFeinstein: be on the right side of history. Condemn the violence now! #HowManyMoreIn a further sign of the anger on the left, a Democrat is running for his party's nomination to Congress in a South Carolina district who calls Gaza what it is, a massacre. Michael F. Brown reports at EI on Mal Hyman, who says:
There is only one way to describe IDF's actions: a massacre. Since U.S. government is one of the biggest supporters of Israel, the onus is on us to send the message that these kinds of massacres goes against every human rights principle.
Comment: Who can witness Israel's joy at murdering innocent people and not feel compelled to condemnd it? Why has only a handful of members of the US Congress spoken up? Can we consider those who keep quiet as being complicit on these crimes?