Israeli Human Rights Lawyer Attacked While Documenting Settler Raid on Gaza Aid Convoy DemocracyNow!, May 16, 2024 https://www.democracynow.org/2024/5/16/israel_attacks_gaza_aid . . . NERMEEN SHAIKH: Aid agencies are running out of food in southern Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing offensive in Rafah. The World Food Programme says it’s run out of stocks in Rafah and has suspended food aid distributions there for several days. No food has entered the two main border crossings in southern Gaza for more than a week, since the Israeli assault on Rafah began and Israeli forces seized control of and closed the border crossing with Egypt. Some 1.1 million Palestinians are on the brink of starvation, according to the U.N., while a full-blown famine is taking place in the north. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said today, quote, “The impact is devastating for over 2 million people.”
AMY GOODMAN: This comes just days after Israeli settlers blocked aid trucks headed to Gaza through the occupied West Bank from Jordan. Footage of the incident shows settlers raiding the aid trucks, throwing food into the road and setting fire to vehicles at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian truck drivers say they fear for their lives after the attack. . . . AMY GOODMAN: The attack on the aid convoy was the culmination of weeks of Israeli settlers attempting to block aid trucks from reaching Gaza. . . . AMY GOODMAN: — and we want to know: Who are these Israeli settlers? Who are the people that destroyed the aid truck? SAPIR SLUZKER AMRAN: Yeah, so, those are the people, settlers, that are, you know, living in the settlements. They’re Orthodox Jews. They’re from the national Zionist Jewish stream, Zionist stream. They have many supporters in government. They are the government. It’s not that they’re supporters. And we know that yesterday — I want to say something like that right now I can show you — I can add you right now, Amy, to a WhatsApp group, because they’re organizing right now to do it again. So, they have this information. No one is trying to stop them. I think maybe it’s not clear that nothing has changed from Monday. They are still doing it. I don’t know what is showing on the international media, what the Israeli government is publishing. But they are doing it right now, with their names, with their numbers, and they don’t care about presenting even theirselves and documenting theirselves, because they know that nothing is going to happen to them, no circumstances, no objects, and nothing will happen at all. So, they are connected to the government. We know that some of them are working with the government. We know that some of them — I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re funded from the government. We have MKs, members of the parliament, the Israeli parliament, that are supporting it and coming to those actions. We have someone that is a CEO of a right-wing organization that just got, a few months ago got — he has a photo with one of the MKs, the chairman of the Knesset, giving him a diploma to thank him for his service to Israel. OK? So, they are — last week, it was the mayor of one of the big cities in the south of Israel. They are the blood, and they are part of it. What you are doing is just, we can call it, privatization, privatization of the violence, which means that the government know. They hide because of the U.S. They have to pretend that they are obeying international law. But, in fact, they don’t want to. So they have these kids, they have these settlers, they have their supporters, that they are part of their political parties, and also they’re also funding them, to tell them, “Go to this crossing and handle it.” . . . *Human Rights Watch: Israeli Forces Attack Known Aid Worker Locations in Gaza* https://www.democracynow.org/2024/5/16/israel_attacks_gaza_aid . . . NERMEEN SHAIKH: Israeli forces have attacked humanitarian aid convoys and buildings in Gaza at least eight times since October, despite being given coordinates to ensure their protection. That’s according to a new report <https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/14/gaza-israelis-attacking-known-aid-worker-locations> by Human Rights Watch published this week. Israeli authorities did not issue advance warnings to any of the aid organizations before the attacks. In the eight incidents documented by Human Rights Watch, Israeli forces killed at least 15 people, including two children, and injured at least 16 others. More than 250 aid workers have been killed in Gaza over the past seven months, according to the U.N. AMY GOODMAN:For more, we’re joined by Belkis Wille, associate director with the Crisis, Conflict, and Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, their new report <https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/14/gaza-israelis-attacking-known-aid-worker-locations> titled “Gaza: Israelis Attacking Known Aid Worker Locations.” ... . . . BELKIS WILLE: Absolutely. As you said, it’s so important to see these attacks within the broader context. Every single aid group that we have spoken to that is operating right now inside of Gaza, those that came under attack and those who are also operating in Gaza and fearful of coming under attack, have told us very clearly that these attacks on aid workers have significantly limited their ability to meet the ongoing famine in some areas, as you said, impending famine in others. They’re so worried about their own staff being killed that they’re actually having to decide to send less people into Gaza, knowing that they’re opening them up to the risk of being killed, and, when inside Gaza, severely limiting their movements and minimizing their aid footprint, just so that they can minimize the chance of coming under attack. As you said, these attacks have hit hospitals. We’ve also seen a severe restriction put in place by the Israeli military preventing aid organizations and the U.N. from bringing aid directly to northern Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is by far the worst. NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Belkis, let’s talk about the support that Israel continues to receive from the U.S. despite the fact that a recent long-awaited State Department report has laid out several suspected international human rights violations by Israel and says that Israel likely used U.S.-supplied weapons in, quote, “incidents that raise concerns.” And yet, despite this report, the Biden administration suggests no changes in policy or any consequences against Israel. What are you calling on the U.S. to do? BELKIS WILLE: Well, first, to take that report head-on, frankly, it is surprising to have seen this conclusion that the U.S. government does not have enough information to be sure whether violations of international humanitarian law have occurred, specific ones. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Oxfam and many other organizations provided hundreds of pages of evidence to the U.S. government exactly about international humanitarian law violations being conducted by Israel in Gaza. . . . -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#30352): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/30352 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/106143564/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
