No. 31

December 2023

The World Stands with Palestine

Myth of Western Humanity and Democracy
Dies in Gaza

Melbourne, Australia

Photo Review, December 8 to 11

• Continuing Actions Demand Immediate Ceasefire and that
Israeli Genocide Be Stopped

The World Stands with Palestine

Myth of Western Humanity and Democracy
Dies In Gaza

Since the temporary ceasefire ended on December 1, Israel's relentless and unconscionable bombardment of Gaza and ground offensives have pushed Gaza into an all-out humanitarian catastrophe.

Meanwhile, the criminal mentality of the U.S. and Israel can be seen in their claims to be taking all manner of measures to protect civilians, such as leafleting to inform Gazans of supposed safe zones in southern Gaza where they will not be bombed or the presence of legal staff embedded with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) waging a merciless ground war to declare whether airstrikes are directed at military targets and thus conform to the standards of international humanitarian law. In this way, health care and United Nations humanitarian facilities and workers are targeted not only with impunity but with evermore vengeance and ever greater blood thirst. With Israel given the green light by the U.S. and with the support of countries like Canada and the big powers of Europe, it has shattered the myth of western humanity and democracy.

Situation in Gaza

The Ministry of Health in Gaza informed on December 14 that at least 18,787 people have been killed and 50,897 injured in Israeli strikes, of which some 70 per cent are women and children. The UN Relief Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) reported on December 13 that up to 1.9 million people (or over 85 per cent of the population) have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, some multiple times, because families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety. Nearly 1.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) were sheltering in 155 UNRWA facilities across all five governorates of the Gaza Strip. Of these, more than 1.1 million are sheltering in 98 UNRWA facilities in the central and southern Gaza Strip (the governorates of Deir El Balah Khan Younis and Rafah).

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) informed on December 12 that since the end of the temporary truce on December 1, roughly 100 trucks per day carrying aid continue to enter the Gaza Strip, still a fraction of what is needed under normal circumstances. UNWRA spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna told Al Jazeera on December 14 that 100 trucks per day fall far short of what is required. "We need hundreds of trucks per day; there is a huge need. Without letting hundreds of trucks [in] we will suffer a lot, the population will suffer a lot."

The displacement of people, starvation, destruction of housing, sanitation infrastructure and health care facilities, as well as the detention and killing of medical personnel and staff of humanitarian agencies is leading to outbreaks of disease. Coupled with the rains which force the unprotected people to sleep directly in the water which accumulates, a disastrous situation is unfolding in addition to the collapse of Gaza's health system and the spread of disease reported by OCHA. The overcrowded living conditions add to the strain on an increasingly overwhelmed health system and an increased risk of people dying. The head of the World Health Organization in the Occupied Palestinian Territory announced on December 12 that cases of meningitis, jaundice, impetigo, chickenpox and other upper respiratory tract infections had been recorded. "We've got a textbook formula for epidemics and a public health disaster," said Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

People take shelter in an UNWRA school.

On December 13, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, addressed the plenary of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, conveying the situation facing the people of Gaza and his agency, that he called "a living hell." He stated in part:

"Most of Gaza's population has been forcibly displaced, largely into the southern part of the Strip, Rafah. Rafah is now hosting well over a million people. It used to be home to 280,000 people. It lacks the infrastructure and resources to support such a population.

"Inside our own warehouses, families live in tiny spaces that are separated by blankets hung on thin wooden structures. Out in the open, flimsy shelters have emerged everywhere. Rafah has become a tented community. The spaces around UNRWA buildings are congested with shelters and desperate, hungry people. Aid can no longer reach those who could not move to the south. [...]

"The entire humanitarian response heavily relies on UNRWA's capacity. It is now on the verge of collapse. UNRWA is still operating eight health centres, out of 22. We are sheltering more than a million people in our schools and other facilities. Our social workers are supporting traumatized people as best they can. We are still distributing whatever food we manage to bring in, but this is often as little as a bottle of water and a can of tuna per day, per family, often numbering six or seven people. This operational reality is not sustainable. Not for the population and not for the Agency.

"More than 130 UNRWA staff are confirmed killed. Many of our staff, who are themselves displaced, take their children to work with them to ensure that they are safe together or die together. I asked one colleague how he managed to remain composed and offer help in a shelter. He told me that he looks for a corner in the building to cry 10 times a day. [...]

"There is nowhere to feel safe in Gaza. Civilian infrastructure and UN facilities have not been spared by the shelling. I was horrified by images yesterday of an UNRWA school being blown up in the north of Gaza. The people of Gaza are running out of time and options, as they face bombardment, deprivation, and disease in an ever-ever-shrinking space.

"They are facing the darkest chapter of their history since 1948. And it has been a painful history. The events in Gaza are taking place against a backdrop of 75 years of displacement. Seventy-five years of failure to find a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestine Refugees. During this time, they have been deprived of their basic human rights and their right to self-determination. Throughout the region, many continue to live in overcrowded refugee camps with substandard living conditions, generation after generation.

"For the last 75 years, the world has asked UNRWA to uphold the rights of Palestine Refugees. And we have done so successfully, contributing to their development and to their feeling of stability as much as possible. Over 2 million students have graduated from our schools, half of them girls. Health indicators among this refugee community exceed WHO standards.

"But today, and despite our successes, UNRWA suffers from chronic underfunding which impacts the quality of our services. Upholding refugees' rights is not only the responsibility of humanitarian and development actors. It is a responsibility shared with donors and Host countries. [...] Palestine Refugees need a just solution, not just aid. Today, they feel abandoned by the international community. They feel betrayed as the world fails to act in the face of one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of our time in Gaza. They now believe that human lives are not equal and human rights are not universal. This is a dangerous message, and it will have serious repercussions."

The latest reports from Gaza indicate that Israel is becoming ever more blatant in its flouting of international law and the crimes it is committing.

The New Arab reported on December 12 that "Medical staff from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) are being harassed and detained by the Israeli army in Gaza while carrying out urgent missions to transfer wounded patients and deliver aid, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

"One PRCS medic was detained, beaten and stripped by the Israeli army and a critically ill patient succumbed to wounds and died while an ambulance convoy was held up by the army at a checkpoint, the WHO said in a statement."

That same day, Israeli forces raided the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Northern Gaza, after having besieged and encircled it for several days. Some 70 medical staff are reported to have been kidnapped, while dozens of patients and staff, as well as some 3,000 people taking shelter there are trapped inside without electricity, water or food.

On December 13, Al Jazeera broadcast footage from the Shadia Abu Ghazala School, said to show the aftermath of an Israeli raid on those taking shelter there. Those interviewed said that bodies of their loved ones were found in the classrooms with wounds indicating they were executed by gunfire at point blank range, as opposed to being killed by artillery or missiles strikes.

Situation in West Bank Also Worsening

Israeli destruction in the West Bank, December 14, 2023.

UNWRA reports that on December 12, "Israeli Security Forces (ISF) conducted search and arrest operations in Jenin City and Jenin Refugee Camp, in the northern West Bank, lasting some 60 hours according to the Israelis. At the time of writing, seven Palestinians had been killed, including one child, due to missiles fired by ISF drones and exchanges of fire with the ISF. ISF also hit a house inside Jenin Refugee Camp, in the vicinity of the UNRWA Community and Camp Service Office. ISF reportedly fired a missile at a Palestinian house in the eastern part of Jenin City, and bulldozed infrastructure and private property belonging to Palestinians. Some 70 Palestinians from the camp, including one woman, were reported detained. The operation is ongoing. UNRWA operations in the camp have been severely impacted and are currently suspended.

"ISF search and arrest operations were also reported in the morning in Nablus, in Balata and Askar refugee camps."

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on December 14 reported that Israeli forces killed an unarmed Palestinian teen inside a hospital complex in Jenin. Speaking to Al Jazeera, MSF coordinator Irene Huertas Martín described the incident at the Khalil Suleiman Hospital:

"The children were playing, and they were throwing stones. We were trying to manage [the situation] because we knew this could be a problem, but we never thought they were going to shoot the child because he was playing inside the hospital compound."

Huertas Martín also described Israeli soldiers routinely blocking patients from receiving treatment in recent weeks as well as ordering paramedics and drivers out of ambulances, making them kneel in the street and strip-searching them.

"It is very weird because the ambulance [staff] are here all the time, and the soldiers are outside the gates of the ER, so they knew who they were. It didn't make much sense. They are changing their patterns," she said.

OCHA informs that to date, 271 Palestinians have been killed by the ISF in the West Bank, including 69 children. In addition, eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and another two either by IDF or settlers. This year has been the deadliest year for Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the UN began recording casualties in 2005.

Israeli destruction of Yabnar refugee camp, December 14, 2023

Photo Review, December 8-11

Continuing Actions Demand Immediate Ceasefire and that Israeli Genocide Be Stopped

Demonstrations December 9 and 10 across the world denounced the December 8 U.S. veto of a UN Security Council resolution for an immediate ceasefire as well as the stepped up crimes of the Israelis in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Great alarm has been expressed as the continued U.S./Israeli genocide is giving rise to a humanitarian catastrophe whose consequences are very serious. Answering the “Worldwide Ceasefire Call for Action,” Palestinians and their supporters across the globe joined in the global strike for Gaza on December 11, with strikes in Ramallah and elsewhere in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Lebanon shut down completely, with the government closing all offices and institutions in support of the Palestinian resistance and so too in many countries, highschool students, college and university students and workers from many sectors of the ecoomy joined the strike. As one, peoples worldwide continue without let up to demand a ceasefire now, an end to the siege and support Palestine’s right to resist and of return.

CANADA

Ottawa

For the 9th consecutive week, close to 6,000 people marched through the streets of Ottawa to demand a permanent ceasefire, an end to Canadian support of genocide, and an end to the siege on Gaza and Israeli occupation.

People gathered at the Human Rights monument on Elgin Street at 2PM on Saturday, December 9. Reflecting the state of human rights as December 10 marks the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter of human rights, one of the placards read: "You know what else died in Gaza? The myth of Western humanity and democracy."

The marchers went through the ByWard Market, adjusting the route so that the demonstration passed directly in front of the U.S. Embassy where it denounced the U.S. and its political, financial and military support for the Zionist genocidal regime. Only a few hours before, the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Following the vote, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour said: "The Security Council was again prevented from rising to this moment to uphold its clear responsibilities in the face of this grave crisis threatening human lives and threatening regional and international peace and security. Instead of allowing this council to uphold its mandate by finally making a clear call after two months of massacres that the atrocities must end, the war criminals are given more time to perpetuate them. How can this be justified?"

The Ottawa march gave the answer: This is exactly why the Palestinian diaspora and all people of conscience will continue to march until Palestinian human rights prevail and until those responsible for acts of genocide are held accountable.

December 9

Montreal

December 9

Toronto

Several militant actions were held in Toronto on December 10 in support of the Palestinian people against occupation, aggression and war. A demonstration organized by International League of Peoples' Struggle and others started at the U.S. Consulate. Another led by Toronto4 Palestine took place at Dundas Square in the heart of downtown. Speakers from the Filipino, Tamil and other communities also spoke of their struggles for their rights in this crucial historical juncture. At the U.S. consulate, the police staged a provocation and arrested one person. The demonstration then marched to 52 Division nearby to demand his release and carry on with the rally.

At Dundas Square Palestinian activists, an Indigenous land defender and an anti-Zionist Jewish person spoke. The latter condemned the Israeli regime for violating the tenets of Judaism and claiming to speak in the name of Jews the world over and reiterated the community's opposition to the siege of Gaza and their stand that Never Again means Never Again For Anyone! The crowd moved en masse to 52 Division, led by Toronto4Palestine and contingents of Indigenous dancers and drummers and Jews United Against Zionism, to join the activists from the action at the U.S. consulate to demand the release of the person arrested, who was finally released in the early evening. There speeches and chants of Free Free Palesine!, Ceasefire Now!, From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free! and others continued for several hours.

On the same day, Toronto Forum on Cuba organized a public forum at the Steelworker's Hall to mark the 75th Anniversary of International Human Rights Day with a program that linked this important United Nations Day with the struggle of the Palestinian people for their rights and hailed the contribution of the Cuban people and their Leader Fidel Castro. After a good introduction by Morteza, the guest of honour Counsel General in Toronto of the Republic of Cuba, Jorge Yanier Castellanos, highlighted the firm stand of Cuba and the Cuban people for the Palestinian resistance and efforts by Cuba to rally support for the Palestinians at home and in the international arena, including at the UN and other fora. He affirmed that the long-standing solidarity between the Cuban people and the Palestinian people affirmed by Fidel Castro will always remain and Cuba will do all within her power to affirm the right of the Palestinian people to life, to live as equals with the rest of the world.

Member of Independent Jewish Voices Sue Goldstein spoke about the increasing number of Jewish people who are taking just stands against Israel's genocide against the Palestinians and are themselves being criminalized by the Zionist forces in Israel, Canada, the U.S. and other places. Sue also noted that a positive step in the efforts to stop the U.S.-Israeli attacks would be if one of the member states of the UN, would invoke the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment for the Crime of Genocide which would immediately trigger action by the UN that could put a spoke in the wheels of Israel. She pointed out that progressive Jewish voices must and will continue to stand with the Palestinian brothers and sisters till Palestine is Free from the River to the Sea.

December 10

Windsor

December 8

Calgary

December 10

Edmonton

December 10

Vancouver

December 9

UNITED STATES

In the U.S. many students, teachers, health care, city, and Starbucks workers, joined the Global Strike for Gaza held on December 11. They joined the call for no work, no school, no banking, no shopping, no restaurants, with walkouts, protests, and other actions. They demanded an end to U.S. aid to Israel and an end to the siege of Gaza and denounced "Genocide Joe" for his unconditional support for the crimes of collective punishment and genocide. Many stores closed in support of the Palestinians, including more than 40 in Dearborn, Michigan, home to a large Palestinian community. So too in California, Illinois, Kentucky, New York and elsewhere, strikes took place. In Washington, DC more than a dozen Jewish women chained themselves to the fence in front of the White House, demanding that Biden support an immediate ceasefire and stop the genocide, and affirming their stand of Not In Our Name! On Capitol Hill that day, more than 100 protesters occupied the Senate atrium, urging lawmakers and Biden to stop all military aid to Israel, and instead to “Invest in life,” by funding housing, health care, and other social needs. In New York City, hundreds protested at the New York Times building, denouncing their support for Israel and pro-Israeli reporting of the current genocide.