This evening in Israel

[avid]

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/08...crime-charges/

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is afraid of a possible international lawsuit by Palestinians against the Zionist regime to face war crime charges, an analyst tells Press TV.

In an interview with Press TV on Friday, Jim W. Dean said Netanyahu is appealing to US lawmakers to dodge war crime charges over Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.

“By doing this and putting a show on doing it publicly, he is showing that they are really afraid of this…,” Dean added.

The analyst stated that Netanyahu is seeking the help of US Congressmen to assist Tel Aviv avert war crime charges and, thus, continue its war on Gaza.

“What he is asking the Congress to do is to aid and abet Israel getting away with these war crimes that they have been committing, which basically is giving them the potential to continue to do these,” he said.

Dean added that “all supporters” of Israel must be also sued in international courts for helping the Tel Aviv regime with its crimes.

The Israeli military aggression against Gaza, which began on July 8, has claimed lives of more than 1,900 Palestinians, including more than 400 children, and injured over 10,000 others.

A 72-hour truce in Gaza ended Friday morning without any agreement to extend it. Shortly after the expiry of the truce, the Israeli regime resumed pounding the Gaza Strip and Israeli tanks were redeployed to their previous positions during the Gaza war.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu reportedly met with US officials on Wednesday, asking them to ensure that Palestinians’ bid to go to ICC does not succeed after Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki met with ICC officials in The Hague earlier this week to file a complaint detailing war crimes committed by the Israeli army over the past few weeks in Palestine."

video of interview on above link

[panopticon]

Israel to declare Gaza 'enemy territory' to avoid payouts to inhabitants
By Barak Ravid, August 7th, 2014

Decision would mean Israel would not be liable for damage incurred to residents of the Strip as a result of Israeli actions during Operation Protective Edge.

The cabinet is expected to declare the Gaza Strip as enemy territory. A senior Israeli official said the decision would mean that Israel would not be liable for damage incurred to residents of the Strip as a result of Israeli actions during Operation Protective Edge.

The resolution on the decision was posted to the website of the Prime Minister’s Office Thursday afternoon, but a few hours later it was decided that it would not be brought for a vote at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

In 2007, three months after Hamas came to power in the Gaza Strip, the cabinet declared the area hostile territory, instituting restrictions on movement by its inhabitants and of merchandise and fuel into the area.

The proposal states that the decision is intended “to give additional legal expression to the status of the Gaza Strip in keeping with the law on civil damages.”

The Defense Ministry’s legal advisor, Ahaz Ben-Ari, wrote in an opinion appended to the proposal that “a difficulty exists on the international level in that the declaration will be perceived mistakenly as an attempt by the State of Israel to evade its responsibility to examine claims of breaching of the rules of armed conflict.” Ben-Ari said the preamble of the draft law would resolve this difficulty.

The preamble states that the declaration “will not affect the obligation of the State of Israel to investigate claims of ostensible breaches of the rules of armed conflict. The decision detracts not at all from this obligation.”

According to the Defense Ministry, such a decision would greatly reduce the resources needed to deal with suits that might be brought by Palestinians because of damage done by the Israel Defense Forces as well as by future IDF action. Ben- Ari wrote that “most of these suits are in any case rejected as they are the outcome of actions of war.”

Ben-Ari also wrote that the damage by the IDF “stemmed from the actions of Hamas which places its command posts, weapons stores and rocket-launching sites in built up areas in the Gaza Strip, hiding behind innocent civilians and preventing them from leaving their homes.”

Source

[Observer1964]

Jewish Lobby got journalist fired over a ‘Gaza Cartoon’
Mike Carlton, 68, Australia’s veteran journalist and author, has resigned after his employer Sydney Morning Herald suspended him under pressure from country’s powerful Jewish Lobby.

Australian Jewish groups had slammed the newspaper over Carlton’s July 26 column in which he accused the Zionist entity of “waging its own war of terror on the entire Gaza population”. The column was accompanied by a cartoon (shown above), which was widely condemned as “anti-Jew” by leaders of country’s organized Jewry which also threatened to take legal action against the newspaper under country’s “Hate Law”.

Initially, the newspaper defended the cartoon, explaining that Le Lievre’s drawing was inspired by “news photographs of Israeli Jews seated in chairs and lounges, observing the Israeli shelling of Gaza.”

But then, as expected, the Jewish Lobby invoked the “Six Million Died” smoking gun to demonize the newspaper. The Australian Jewish News wrote: “Not only were we treated to baseless accusations of ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ on Israel’s part, but then there was a subtle shift. These were crimes being committed by ‘a people with a proud liberal tradition of scholarship and culture, who hold the Warsaw Ghetto and the six million dead of the Holocaust at the centre of their race memory.’ “This column was no longer about a country, this was about a people and a race – a people and a race who should know better because of what they themselves went through. In short, you Jews are the same as the Nazis, worse perhaps because you choose to ignore the lessons of your own history.”

If I were Carlton, I would have responded: “If the shoes fit, wear them.”

However, in order to avoid further backlash from the Jewish community and the ...
Continue-->

[panopticon]

Posted by Observer1964 (here)
Jewish Lobby got journalist fired over a ‘Gaza Cartoon’
Mike Carlton, 68, Australia’s veteran journalist and author, has resigned after his employer Sydney Morning Herald suspended him under pressure from country’s powerful Jewish Lobby.

Australian Jewish groups had slammed the newspaper over Carlton’s July 26 column in which he accused the Zionist entity of “waging its own war of terror on the entire Gaza population”. The column was accompanied by a cartoon (shown above), which was widely condemned as “anti-Jew” by leaders of country’s organized Jewry which also threatened to take legal action against the newspaper under country’s “Hate Law”.

Initially, the newspaper defended the cartoon, explaining that Le Lievre’s drawing was inspired by “news photographs of Israeli Jews seated in chairs and lounges, observing the Israeli shelling of Gaza.”

But then, as expected, the Jewish Lobby invoked the “Six Million Died” smoking gun to demonize the newspaper. The Australian Jewish News wrote: “Not only were we treated to baseless accusations of ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ on Israel’s part, but then there was a subtle shift. These were crimes being committed by ‘a people with a proud liberal tradition of scholarship and culture, who hold the Warsaw Ghetto and the six million dead of the Holocaust at the centre of their race memory.’ “This column was no longer about a country, this was about a people and a race – a people and a race who should know better because of what they themselves went through. In short, you Jews are the same as the Nazis, worse perhaps because you choose to ignore the lessons of your own history.”

If I were Carlton, I would have responded: “If the shoes fit, wear them.”

However, in order to avoid further backlash from the Jewish community and the ...
Continue-->

That's causing all sorts of reverberations in Australia.

Short story: After being abused for over a week (via email, social media, phone etc) about a cartoon used in an article he wrote (he didn't have editorial on cartoon selection btw so nothing to do with him) he told a few of those calling for his untimely death to "f*ck off" (his words).

That is what the complaint was that got him suspended which led to him resigning.

As he said: Confirming I have quit the SMH, sad that a once great newspaper has buckled to the bullies. Thanks for your support...maintain the rage (source).

He also said:

Yep, gmail account is getting a denial of service attack from 3 separate international IPs. Shutting it down.Can't imagine who'd be doing it

Gmail account shut down. Pleased, really.. Ends the torrent of foul abuse from demented Likudniks: "You're killing my kids, Nazi!"

Very hyperactive reaction from the Murdoch media about this resulted in them having to apologise for this photo shop chop job:


The image on the right has Carlton's head added with Palestinian head gear and a background of exploding buildings.

The body is from the Boston Marathon bombing (picture on the left)...

Article from the Australian Guardian Online about it:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...k-mike-carlton

Carlton was targeted by the Murdoch press and the powerful Israeli Lobby (eg The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission Inc. (ADC), The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) & The Executive Council of Australian Jewry Inc. ) as his views were based in fact and first hand experience in battle zones (he spent years covering the Vietnam War for the Australian Broadcasting Commission).

The claim he is an anti-Semite is laughable as his "much loved" son-in-law is Jewish as are many of his friends (who all jumped to his defence).

Of course none of that stops those who have an agenda from attacking with all sorts of venom (Andrew Bolt etc). Read Carlton's feed to see some he's re-tweeted (along with lots of support for him)...

If a person complains about Hamas digging tunnels and shooting rockets then it's all right. That's good because Israel is a democracy and democracy's don't do anything bad, they never lie to their citizens, they never back terrorist organisations to topple/destabilise elected governments or torture detainees (I just realised haven't even gone beyond the 1970's with those!)... Mention that Palestinian civilians are being killed, that the Israeli Governments story doesn't check out or any number of critiques of the official Israeli Government/media line and you are automatically branded as an "anti-Semite".

That, to me at least, is a sure sign that something is wrong and needs to be examined.

-- Pan

[panopticon]

By the way, there's an article @ 972mag.com about the untruths surrounding the reporting of the "Hamas Terror Tunnels".

Since I don't speak Hebrew or Arabic I have a bit of trouble (read as: it's impossible) when something is only said in Hebrew or Arabic as I can't translate it using software (when are those Universal Translators coming out?).

As a result I rely on articles written by people citing English translations of things said in Hebrew.

Anyway, onto the "Terror Tunnels"...

One of the things that came out pretty quick was that the IDF & "Intelligence" services said they weren't aware of the extent of the tunnel network. I find that a bit hard to believe as it would be a massive intelligence failure that I can't see having happened, but let's just ignore that for now...

As a result of this "new" intelligence, Operation Protective Edge was reconceptualised around the destruction of the "Terror Tunnels"...

Now I've read some pretty interesting allegations from the IDF about these tunnels and it is interesting that now many of these have been shown to be fantasy.

Just a two quotes from this one article:

Was there a plan to simultaneously send 200 terrorists from dozens of tunnels to six Israeli towns on the border of Gaza on Jewish New Year? Was it only prevented by the kidnapping of the three Israeli youths and Operation Protective Edge, as Ariel Kahane claimed in his article on NRG [Hebrew]?

No. Not only does this story make no sense – if Hamas had such a genius plan, why didn’t they hold off on shooting rockets for another three months? Eventually the “plot” was revealed to be a rumor that gained traction in the ultra-Orthodox press that got some traction, with intelligence personnel denying the claim [Hebrew]. If such a horrific story was realized, it would have been a terrible disaster. But contrary to the nonsense Avri Gilad wrote in his Facebook post [Hebrew], with a similar story that got hundreds of thousands of views, Israel did not “face its first threat to its existence since the 1948 war” much like the U.S. did not face a threat to its existence on 9/11.
Source

This is not saying that there was/is no threat from the tunnels. That is far from the case. You'd have to be naive to believe that. Just the story of an uncovered plan to massacre Jewish Settlers & their children while they slept was made up.

Again, not saying that it couldn't happen. What I'm saying is that the certainty that it was expressed and the way it was pushed as "truth" in the media led to my belief that it needed further investigation (though I thought that would be months if not years after the assault was completed).

But if they didn’t want to hurt communities, why did they dig tunnels under dining halls and kindergartens inside those communities?

Here’s the thing: they didn’t. It turns out that there were no tunnels into the communities. The tunnel into the Kisufim dining hall? That was an old sewer line [Hebrew] mistakenly identified as a tunnel shaft.

Spokeswomen for two of the regional municipalities adjacent to Gaza published a letter to military reporters, in which they asked them to ensure accurate reporting and stop claiming that there were infiltrations into the communities: “the fact is that most of these incidents occur far from the community and, fortunately, not inside any civilian area. Reality is tough and scary enough as it is; we ask you to think of the residents as they sit in their locked homes and to stick to the facts. We are aware of the needs of both the IDF as well as journalists to illustrate the scope of the danger and the importance of uncovering a tunnel. But associating that with a name of a specific community only increases anxiety levels among residents and their immediate environment.

One of spokeswomen, who appeared on Israel’s educational channel, said that the tunnel which was ostensibly aimed at a kindergarten in Ein Hashlosha, reached about 2.5 kilometers from the community, and its exit shafts were near an IDF security path.
Source

That's right.

All that talk about tunnels coming out in the middle of Settlements...

Poppycock...
Balderdash...
Rubbish...

It's like you just can't believe the propaganda any more...

-- Pan

[panopticon]

Unofficial reports are that a truce is on the cards with both the Israeli Government and PA/Hamas/factions making concessions.

Israeli cabinet meets in around 5 hours to discuss the proposals (from what I've read that involves Netanyahu & Ya'alon saying what's going to happen [Haaretz]).

Anyway, reports indicate that Palestinian negotiators have taken the airport & sea port off the table in return for Israel not pushing for their demilitarisation.

Also reports that Israel will release the 100's of Palestinians taken prisoner in Operation Brothers Keeper (remember, back when this was supposed to be about the 3 Israeli-Jewish youths slaughtered).

PA would be in charge of Gaza & crossings with Hamas in charge of... ???

Paying of 42000 Palestinian municipal workers etc in Gaza will finally be allowed...

Lifting of Israeli blockade on Gaza/Israel crossings (no news about Rafah/Egypt) and extension of fishing zone.

We'll know in a few hours whether this is another smoke screen or real...

My thoughts are with those working for solutions & an end to the violence and lies on both sides.

-- Pan

Update:

Israeli cabinet meeting cancelled.
Egypt says: 95% there.
PA/Hamas & factions say: almost there but will walk away if Israel doesn't [insert demand]...
Israel says: there are points of contention.

Typical

[panopticon]

One of the reports from earlier today referring to some of the concessions/negotiations (report is prior to the Israeli Cabinet meeting being cancelled/postponed).

###

Israel prepared to ease conditions in Gaza to reach truce
By Barak Ravid and Zvi Bar'el, August 12th, 2014


Members of Israel's security cabinet during the Gaza hostilities. Photo by Moti Milrod

An expanded fishing zone, easier passage for people and goods between Gaza and Israel and other concessions have been offered, a senior Israeli official says.

Israel has agreed to ease conditions in the Gaza Strip during the Cairo cease-fire talks, a senior official in Jerusalem said yesterday.

While no final agreement has been reached, Israel is prepared to ease conditions in a number of areas beyond those agreed to after Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, Israeli officials said.

They include:

1. Expanding the fishing zone off Gaza from three nautical miles to six. Israel made clear that if security conditions allow in the future it will consider expanding the zone to 12 nautical miles, as Hamas demands.
   
2. Easing passage for people from the Gaza Strip to Israel and the West Bank and increasing the number of permits given each month to 5,000.
   
3. Significantly increasing the number of trucks with various merchandise that can enter Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing.
   
4. Israel is prepared to allow money to be brought into the Gaza Strip to pay the salaries of Hamas officials through a third country that is not Qatar or through the United Nations. The transfer of the funds will be monitored so it is not used to finance terror.

The official said Israel is not prepared to discuss Hamas demands to build a seaport or airport in Gaza. He said during the talks on easing the siege, the issue came up of returning the bodies of IDF Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul and 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin, which Hamas is holding. Israel would be prepared to release a few dozen prisoners arrested during the Gaza operation in exchange for the bodies.

As for Israel’s demand to demilitarize the Gaza Strip, no breakthrough is expected. In Jerusalem. Talk on this matter turned last week to preventing rearmament or preventing Hamas from growing stronger, rather than disarmament of the Strip.

The security cabinet is to meet this afternoon in the prime minister’s bureau in Jerusalem to discuss progress in the Egyptian-brokered negotiations in Cairo for a long-term stable cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian factions.

The Israeli delegation to the Cairo talks spent yesterday in Cairo and returned to Israel in the evening, at which point they reported to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on the details of the talks.

Netanyahu and Ya’alon are managing the negotiations by themselves. The security cabinet meeting that is to take place today, the first in a week, will be the first chance ministers will have to hear details of the talks. A few of the ministers said yesterday that they do not know if a done deal will be brought to the meeting for a vote or whether they can still influence the components of the agreement in discussion.

At this point Israel is preparing for the 72-hour cease-fire to expire on Wednesday night and that without an agreement firing from the Gaza Strip will begin again. “If this happens we will respond more forcefully and it may even be decided to expand the operation and go back to a ground action,” a senior official said in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu and Ya’alon are said to be hoping that in light of Egypt’s tough stand against the tunnels in Rafah, Hamas will have difficulty obtaining the materials it needs to rebuilt the tunnels and manufacture weapons.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian source was reported saying that 95 percent of the problems raised in negotiations over a cease-fire with Gaza have been solved. The remaining 5 percent have to do with the construction of a seaport and airport, which Israel has rejected, arguing that these matters are linked to a final diplomatic solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

According to the Egyptian source, who spoke to the Egyptian daily Al-Shuruq, the Palestinian delegation also demanded the release of the fourth group of prisoners jailed since before the signing of the Oslo Accords – which was to have taken place in March under the terms of the Kerry talks – but Israel also rejected this demand. However, Palestinian sources said Israel had agreed in principle to release prisoners who had been part of the Shalit swap and were re-arrested after the kidnapping of the three teenage boys in June. But this agreement in principle, if indeed it exists, still does not appear in the drafts that are moving between the parties.

With regard to the border crossings, Egyptian sources say it has been agreed that all crossings between Israel and Gaza will be opened. However, how they will be monitored has yet to be settled – it has not been decided if monitors from the European Union would join inspectors to be appointed by the Palestinian reconciliation government. The Rafah border with Egypt will be discussed separately between the Palestinians and the Egyptians. Cairo has meanwhile announced that it intends to open the Rafah crossing for three days running, beginning today, to allow the passage of the wounded and the sick as well as foreigners.

Qais Abd al-Karim, deputy secretary general of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said yesterday that a proposal was on the table to station 1,000 members of the Palestinian Presidential Guard along the border between Gaza and Egypt, and it seems that Hamas does not object. At the same time, Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal told the BBC that the cease-fire is a tactical step only, to allow assistance and medications to reach civilians in Gaza, and that if the talks fail, the “resistance” will act against Israel.

These reports indicate that the parties have not yet reached an agreement on the details of lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, or on what kind and how much merchandise will be allowed in and out of the Strip. Nor is there agreement on overland passage between Gaza and the West Bank.

Source

[KiwiElf]

I'm wondering if these so-called "terror tunnels" are actually Ancient (rediscovered) tunnels leading to something much more "valuable"? (Hint: like the tunnels under the Giza Pyramids?) - something so important that Israel/US/=CABAL would do anything to get control of?

[panopticon]

Human Rights Watch report on Egypt's 2013 Rab’a Massacre is called 'All According To Plan' and is available here.

In an article, titled 'Egypt: Rab’a Killings Likely Crimes against Humanity', HRW says:

In the August 14 dispersal of the Rab’a al-Adawiya sit-in alone, security forces, following a plan that envisioned several thousand deaths, killed a minimum of 817 people and more likely at least 1,000.
...
“In Rab'a Square, Egyptian security forces carried out one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “This wasn’t merely a case of excessive force or poor training. It was a violent crackdown planned at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. Many of the same officials are still in power in Egypt, and have a lot to answer for.”
...
Since the events of July and August 2013, in addition to continuing to open fire on demonstrators, Egyptian authorities have engaged in repression in a scale unprecedented in recent years, including imposing extensive restrictions on freedom of association, expression, and assembly, carrying out mass arbitrary arrests and torture, depriving detainees, including at least 22,000 Muslim Brotherhood supporters, of basic due process rights, and handing down mass, long-term jail and death sentences to opponents.
Source

Just a reminder of who is mediating the Israel-Palestine negotiations...

-- Pan

[panopticon]

Video of Egyptian crimes as documented by Human Rights Watch in the report mentioned in the previous post (Warning: viewer discretion, dead bodies, wounded, disturbing images, do not watch with children).

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=AUtFM9L6ago

Why is this important to know?

El-Sisi has been called by the Israeli ambassador in Cairo a national hero to "Jews in Israel and around the globe" (source).

El-Sisi was deeply involved in the events leading up to and planning of the suppression of dissent at various site in Egypt July/August 2013.

These sites included the Rab’a al-Adawiya square and the HRW allegations of Egyptian forces massacring 817 largely peaceful protesters.

El-Sisi's Government & negotiators are behind many of the ceasefire failures between Israeli & Palestinian negotiators. Egypt's policies under el-Sisi set this entire ball rolling with the destruction of the supply tunnels in Southern Gaza and the ending of Government to Government relations with Hamas.

There is a lot of this that is to do with Egyptian money, control & power in the region (remember the billions in US dollars for the Suez Canal upgrade starting next year, the undersea natural gas pipelines from Israel?).

That's what this has to do with the Israeli Government & IDF assault on Gaza...

-- Pan

[panopticon]

The We Believe In Israel "Toolkit" for pro-Israeli activism at the grassroot level:

This toolkit is intended to give pro-Israel campaigners the essential information and advice needed to campaign for Israel both all-year-round and in the event of a crisis when Israel hits the headlines.

It consists of “how to” guides setting out the basics of each kind of campaign activity and fact sheets about key aspects of Israel’s case.

The absolute key to us shifting opinions on Israel is to develop individual personal relationships with people. This will make us better placed to influence them.

Source

Additional quick guide to contacting media & online social networks here.

-- Pan

[panopticon]

IDF 3rd naval shelling event during ceasefire occurred ~ 4:30 am (Gaza Time).
Previous ones aimed at boats within appropriate designation area (Israeli reports state that fishing boats were moving near buffer zone so fired "warning shells").

Note that fishing zone was reduced from 6 nm provisioned under 2012 agreement and has been enforced by both Israeli & Egyptian Navy's (source) and Israel constantly manipulates the approved zone (source).

This manipulation is probably to punish fishers just as the harassment in the West Bank is intended to -- ie control actions through fear.

###

Israeli Navy Breaks the Ceasefire
August 12th 2014

The Israeli Navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats on the coast of Rafah.

The Israeli navy broke the three-day humanitarian ceasefire, Tuesday, near Rafah, when they fired on Palestinian fishing boats, even though the Palestinians were fishing close to the coast.

The Israeli navy has often attacked fishing boats over the past few years, killed and arrested fishermen and destroyed boats.

Under current Israeli law, Palestinians are only allowed to fish three nautical miles from the coast. In November 2012, Israel had agreed that Palestinians could fish up to six nautical miles, and then last May they rescinded that agreement.

Israeli and Palestinian representatives are currently in negotiations over a long-term ceasefire to end the month of Israeli aggression against the Gaza people. One of the main points that Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and other Palestinian political parties are demanding is: establishing an international seaport that would be under U.N. supervision, and increasing the permitted fishing zone to 6 miles.

[panopticon]

Israeli soldiers filmed in the West Bank shooting a Palestinian youth in the leg and laughing and joking about it (this was not in Gaza but is in the occupied territories on the 9th August 2014):

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=r5T-hKpDSrg

Canadian activist for ISM, who videoed the shooting, took this photo of the IDF soldiers after the shooting:



For more information see this article:
Video: Israeli soldiers celebrate shooting an 18-year-old

-- Pan

[panopticon]

Yousef Munayyer thanks Russell Brand for critique of Hannity's insane interview on Fox:

Thank You Sean Hannity (and Russell Brand)

Here are the video's for those who might have missed them:

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=e4wMPfqJ3N8

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=V_m98GAdqKM

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=x4bvXqtOHhE

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-v5WlY8Uf5U

Finally a few responses from Russell Brand to some criticisms he's received.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=wxFwtaWsR6E

-- Pan

[panopticon]

IDF reservists are being called up and troops moved toward the "buffer zone" in preparation for the ceasefire to end in just over 4 and a half hours.

No news on whether it will be renewed...

While there hasn't been much extra information released on how the negotiations are preceding the head of the Qassam Brigade is reportedly going to speak in an hour or so. Also, Hamas called for protests in the West Bank tomorrow and the IDF has increased its program of late night raids leading to arrest/detention if Palestinians in the West Bank (particularly Jerusalem [source]).

Reportedly Netanyahu just called Obama to tell him about the Gaza talks. No news what was said (source).

Remember a little while back I was saying that when certain Israeli commentators are quiet then there's probably something in the wind.

They're quiet at the moment... Only the TV talking heads are spouting that a "deal is almost there"...

As I said, just over 4 and a half hours 'til ceasefire ends. Now I sleep, perchance to dream.

-- Pan

[Bob]

This was touched on a while back, particular war crimes, the last war when Israel attacked Gaza.. no doubt such would be able to be tracked earlier (search on Israel white phosphorus)

White phosphorus bombs are criminal, declared weapons of warcrimes.. white phosphorus is very poisonous: a dose of 50-100 milligrams is lethal to the average human.

White phosphorus has been used, and documented. It continues to burn when it touches flesh, leaving the most horrendous most painful wounds. It is the bomb that keeps on "giving" long after it has blasted it's way into its targets.

Source

It should be pointed out White phosphorus is not banned by any treaty to which the United States is a signatory.

White phosphorus results in painful chemical burn injuries. The resultant burn typically appears as a necrotic area with a yellowish color and characteristic garliclike odor. White phosphorus is highly lipid soluble and as such, is believed to have rapid dermal penetration once particles are embedded under the skin. Because of its enhanced lipid solubility, many have believed that these injuries result in delayed wound healing. This has not been well studied; therefore, all that can be stated is that white phosphorus burns represent a small subsegment of chemical burns, all of which typically result in delayed wound healing.

Incandescent particles of WP may produce extensive burns. Phosphorus burns on the skin are deep and painful; a firm eschar is produced and is surrounded by vesiculation. The burns usually are multiple, deep, and variable in size. The solid in the eye produces severe injury. The particles continue to burn unless deprived of atmospheric oxygen. Contact with these particles can cause local burns. These weapons are particularly nasty because white phosphorus continues to burn until it disappears. If service members are hit by pieces of white phosphorus, it could burn right down to the bone. Burns usually are limited to areas of exposed skin (upper extremities, face). Burns frequently are second and third degree because of the rapid ignition and highly lipophilic properties of white phosphorus.

These weapons were used by Israel on the people they attacked. They claim it is not in violation of any treaties.

Others beg to differ:

Source

White Phosphorous is a poisonous, combustible non-metal is referred to in the US military as 'Shake 'n Bake'. It ignites spontaneously, glows in the dark and removes oxygen from the air while emitting highly toxic fumes.

The effect is death by asphyxiation and/or by inhaling poison.

White phosphorus is outlawed under the 1925 Geneva Protocol which prohibits “the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases”, by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons which “prohibits or restricts the use of Incendiary Weapons” and The Battle Book, published by the US Command and General Staff College states, “It is against the law of land warfare to employ white phosphorus against personnel targets.”

Below is a picture of white phosphorus being used on the attacked school.. Also are other images of what white phosphorus bombs look like when lit off.

Examples of White Phosphorus explosions:







As to GENOCIDE - the white phosphorus weapon charge used on Civilians is about as dastardly as it gets for a weapon that "keeps on giving" after it strikes human flesh. It burns continually, creating a toxic reaction inside the body, (the forever burning, is absolutely a war-crime).. When it finally burns itself out the wound are extraordinarily painful. It is EVIL and CRIMINAL to use such war crime weapons on Civilians.



This image below is from the Attack on the School in Gaza (again a white phosphorus component)





This image is from a young (civilian) child in Afghanistan who was hit with a white phosphorus bomb's debris (burning white phosphorus remained in her skin during the surgery in the hospital, causing the attendant doctor and nurses, to exclaim - careful with the oxygen as the flames were exuding from her body, as oxygen would increase the burning...)



That is the "gift" that the Israeli military wishes on the People. Are they kind? Are they seeking peace? You tell me with weapons like that being used.. War crimes is an understatement..

[panopticon]

How Israel Outflanks the White House on Gaza
By Adam Entous, August 13th, 2014


Benjamin Netanyahu, left, looks on as President Barack Obama speaks at the White House in March. Bloomberg News

White House Now Scrutinizing Israeli Requests for Ammunition

JERUSALEM—White House and State Department officials who were leading U.S. efforts to rein in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip were caught off guard last month when they learned that the Israeli military had been quietly securing supplies of ammunition from the Pentagon without their approval.

Since then the Obama administration has tightened its control on arms transfers to Israel. But Israeli and U.S. officials say that the adroit bureaucratic maneuvering made it plain how little influence the White House and State Department have with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu —and that both sides know it.

The munitions surprise and previously unreported U.S. response added to a string of slights and arguments that have bubbled behind the scenes during the Gaza conflict, according to events related by senior American, Palestinian and Israeli officials involved.

In addition, current and former American officials say, U.S.-Israel ties have been hurt by leaks that they believe were meant to undercut the administration's standing by mischaracterizing its position and delay a cease-fire. The battles have driven U.S.-Israeli relations to the lowest point since President Barack Obama took office.

Now, as Egyptian officials shuttle between representatives of Israel and Hamas seeking a long-term deal to end the fighting, U.S. officials are bystanders instead of in their historic role as mediators. The White House finds itself largely on the outside looking in.

U.S. officials said Mr. Obama had a particularly combative phone call on Wednesday with Mr. Netanyahu, who they say has pushed the administration aside but wants it to provide Israel with security assurances in exchange for signing onto a long-term deal.

As a 72-hour pause in the fighting expired at midnight Wednesday, a senior Hamas official said negotiators agreed to another cease-fire, this one of five days. There was no immediate confirmation from Israel or Egypt.

The frayed relations raise questions about whether Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu can effectively work together. Relations between them have long been strained over other issues, including Mr. Obama's outreach to Iran and U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians.

Today, many administration officials say the Gaza conflict—the third between Israel and Hamas in under six years—has persuaded them that Mr. Netanyahu and his national security team are both reckless and untrustworthy.

Israeli officials, in turn, describe the Obama administration as weak and naive, and are doing as much as they can to bypass the White House in favor of allies in Congress and elsewhere in the administration.

While Israeli officials have privately told their U.S. counterparts the poor state of relations isn't in Israel's interest long term, they also said they believed Mr. Netanyahu wasn't too worried about the tensions. The reason is that he can rely on the firmness of Israeli support in Congress, even if he doesn't have the White House's full approval for his policies. The prime minister thinks he can simply wait out the current administration, they say.

"The allegations are unfounded," said Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer. "Israel deeply appreciates the support we have received during the recent conflict in Gaza from both the Obama administration and the Congress for Israel's right to defend itself and for increased funding of Iron Dome."


Israeli soldiers fire a mortar toward the Gaza Strip. Reuters

A senior Obama administration official said the White House didn't intend to get into a "tit for tat" with the Israelis when the war broke out in Gaza. "We have many, many friends around the world. The United States is their strongest friend," the official said. "The notion that they are playing the United States, or that they're manipulating us publicly, completely miscalculates their place in the world."

American officials say they believe they have been able to exert at least some influence over Mr. Netanyahu during the Gaza conflict. But they admit their influence has been weakened as he has used his sway in Washington, from the Pentagon and Congress to lobby groups, to defuse U.S. diplomatic pressure on his government over the past month.

Tensions really started to flare after Israel launched Gaza ground operations July 17 and the civilian death toll started to rise sharply, prompting U.S. officials to complain that Israel wasn't showing enough restraint. Israeli officials rejected that notion, saying Hamas was using civilians as human shields.

U.S. officials say Mr. Netanyahu told them he was interested in a cease-fire from the start, but the two sides clashed over the process of achieving one and the players who would take part.

Bracing for a longer military campaign than expected, Israel approached the Defense Department within days of the start of the ground fighting to request money for more interceptors for the Iron Dome, which shoots down rockets aimed at population centers.

After consulting with the White House, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told aides to submit a proposal to Congress for $225 million.

Within the administration, the request was deemed noncontroversial because the Iron Dome was defensive and couldn't be used in Gaza ground fighting, U.S. officials said.

In meetings at the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House, Israeli officials told the Americans Israel had enough Iron Dome interceptors for the current Gaza operation, but wanted to replenish its stocks, according to U.S. officials who attended. So with Israel's consent, the administration didn't seek immediate emergency funding, Pentagon officials said, adding that they expected Congress to approve the request sometime in the fall.

Unknown to many policy makers, Israel was moving on separate tracks to replenish supplies of lethal munitions being used in Gaza and to expedite approval of the Iron Dome funds on Capitol Hill.

On July 20, Israel's defense ministry asked the U.S. military for a range of munitions, including 120-mm mortar shells and 40-mm illuminating rounds, which were already kept stored at a pre-positioned weapons stockpile in Israel.

The request was approved through military channels three days later but not made public. Under the terms of the deal, the Israelis used U.S. financing to pay for $3 million in tank rounds. No presidential approval or signoff by the secretary of state was required or sought, according to officials.

A U.S. defense official said the standard review process was properly followed.

While the military-to-military relationship between Israel and the U.S. was operating normally, ties on the diplomatic front were imploding. For the Americans, they worsened dramatically on July 25, when aides to Secretary of State John Kerry sent a draft of a confidential cease-fire paper to Mr. Netanyahu's advisers for feedback.

The Americans wanted the Israelis to propose changes. The U.S. didn't intend or expect the draft paper to be presented to the Israeli cabinet, but that was what Mr. Netanyahu did. U.S. officials say Mr. Netanyahu's office breached protocol by sending back no comments and presenting the paper to the cabinet for a vote.

The paper was also leaked to the Israeli media. U.S. officials say they believe the Israeli government publicly mischaracterized Mr. Kerry's ideas with the intent of buying more time to prosecute the fight against Hamas because Israeli officials were angry over outreach by Mr. Kerry to Qatar and Turkey.

Israel and Egypt had sought to sideline Qatar and Turkey—two countries that backed Hamas—rather than increase their influence. U.S. officials say Mr. Kerry reached out to the two because they had leverage with Hamas that would be critical to getting the group to agree to another cease-fire.

From Israel's perspective, Mr. Kerry's cease-fire draft reflected an approach "completely out of sync with Israel, not just on a governmental level but on a societal level," said Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. under Mr. Netanyahu.

"The best thing that Kerry can do is stay out... We need time to do the job, we need to inflict a painful and unequivocal blow on Hamas. Anything less would be a Hamas victory," Mr. Oren said.

The watershed moment came in the early morning in Gaza July 30. An Israeli shell struck a United Nations school in Jabaliya that sheltered about 3,000 people. Later that day, it was reported in the U.S. that the 120-mm and 40-mm rounds had been released to the Israeli military.

"We were blindsided," one U.S. diplomat said.

White House and State Department officials had already become increasingly disturbed by what they saw as heavy-handed battlefield tactics that they believed risked a humanitarian catastrophe capable of harming regional stability and Israel's interests.

They were especially concerned that Israel was using artillery, instead of more precision-guided munitions, in densely populated areas. The realization that munitions transfers had been made without their knowledge came as a shock.

"There was no intent to blindside anyone. The process for this transfer was followed precisely along the lines that it should have," another U.S. defense official said.

Then the officials learned that, in addition to asking for tank shells and other munitions, Israel had submitted a request through military-to-military channels for a large number of Hellfire missiles, according to Israeli and American officials.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, or DSCA, was about to release an initial batch of the Hellfires, according to Israeli and congressional officials. It was immediately put on hold by the Pentagon, and top officials at the White House instructed the DSCA, the U.S. military's European Command and other agencies to consult with policy makers at the White House and the State Department before approving any additional requests.

A senior Obama administration official said the weapons transfers shouldn't have been a routine "check-the-box approval" process, given the context. The official said the decision to scrutinize future transfers at the highest levels amounted to "the United States saying 'The buck stops here. Wait a second…It's not OK anymore.' "

White House and State Department officials were worried about public reaction.

The Palestinians, in particular, were angry, according to U.S. diplomats.

"The U.S. is a partner in this crime," Jibril Rajoub, a leader in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Western-backed Fatah party, said of the decision to provide arms to Israel during the conflict.

Even as tensions with the White House and the State Department were spilling over, Israeli officials worked to expedite the Iron Dome money on Capitol Hill.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Israeli officials told lawmakers the money was urgently needed because they were running out of interceptors and couldn't hold out for a month or more.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said Congress's goal in approving the money quickly on Aug. 1 was to send a message to the administration to stop calling Israel out about civilian casualties.

A senior Republican congressional aide said Israeli officials told senators they wanted the money sooner rather than later. He said Israel's main purpose in accelerating the vote in Congress to before legislators' August recess was to provide an overwhelming "show of support" for the military operation.

The last straw for many U.S. diplomats came on Aug. 2 when they say Israeli officials leaked to the media that Mr. Netanyahu had told the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, that the Obama administration was "not to ever second-guess me again" about how to deal with Hamas.

The White House and State Department have sought to regain greater control over U.S.-Israeli policy. They decided to require White House and State Department approval for even routine munitions requests by Israel, officials say.

Instead of being handled as a military-to-military matter, each case is now subject to review—slowing the approval process and signaling to Israel that military assistance once taken for granted is now under closer scrutiny.

A senior U.S. official said the U.S. and Israel clashed mainly because the U.S. wanted a cease-fire before Mr. Netanyahu was ready to accept one. "Now we both want one," one of the officials said.

A top Israeli official said the rift runs deeper than that. "We've been there before with a lot of tension with us and Washington. What we have now, on top of that, is mistrust and a collision of different perspectives on the Middle East," the official said. "It's become very personal."

-Joshua Mitnick contributed to this article.

Source

[panopticon]

The reports from the last day of rockets launching out of Gaza seem to have been incorrect (bit confusing this one) as now Israeli Govt & IDF officials are saying that the warnings were false alarms...

This despite their having said where the rockets landed in Southern Israel & giving locations...

So, were only some of these false alarms? I'm a tad confused but don't have time to investigate each alleged rocket launch atm. (Update: rockets were launched out of Gaza at the end of the ceasefire [midnight Gaza time] by smaller factions as there had been no acknowledgement of a ceasefire continuation at that time, the later reports in the mid-morning [Gaza time] were false alarms).

IDF Navy once again "warning shelling" Palestinian fishers off the Gaza coast within the area designated for them to fish (allegation is that they are trying to sneek into Egyptian waters to bring back ordinance).

5-day ceasefire holding.

I hope it keeps going and a reasonable truce is arranged that creates an environment where Gaza, West Bank & Israeli residents can prosper.

-- Pan

[panopticon]

Israeli Governments Security Cabinet meeting just starting now.

Main topics of "discussion" will undoubtedly be

• Gaza,
• West Bank,
• US relations (or lack of them),
• Bibi's reasons for starting this in the first place (given the present negotiations seem to be about the same place as before and if he'd just worked with the new interim Palestinian Unity Government with Abbas then they'd be in about the same position just without the death/destruction) and
• Where to go from here.

Cool quote:

Labor leader Isaac Herzog, the leader of the Knesset opposition, accused the Israeli government of completely losing its diplomatic senses.

"Every day another front is opened against our friends in the world," he said. "There is total lack of faith between Netanyahu and President Obama, [Foreign Minister Avigdor] Lieberman long ago forgot that he is supposed to be a foreign minister, and [Finance Minister Yair] hands out marks like a commentator."

"Ties with the U.S. are an economic and strategic asset for Israeli citizens and this government has managed to destroy those too. The stones that government ministers are throwing even a thousand wise men couldn't extract from a well. We are not obligated to agree with the U.S. on every matter, there are serious issues that Israel has full right to determine for itself, and there are issues of style and protocol. This government has consistently failed at both."
Source

-- Pan

[panopticon]

Old article from 2011 that explains the amount of armour/equipment on troopers in Ferguson (note: Fitch is not a member of the Ferguson polite).

###

St. Louis County chief will travel to Israel
BY Patrick M. O'Connell, March 24th, 2011

St. Louis County police chief Tim Fitch will be traveling to Israel next month to learn how Israeli police, intelligence and security forces work to prevent terrorist attacks.

Fitch will visit for a week with other law enforcement officials from across the United States, including representatives of the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The trip is part of the Anti-Defamation League's National Counter-Terrorism seminar.

Fitch and the others will visit Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Tiberias, among other cities. The Israel National Police and senior officials from Israel's defense forces, intelligence and security organizations will meet with the Americans.

St. Louis County police houses the region's anti-terrorism center.

Source