Israeli tanks ‘deliberately’ ran over Palestinians alive, report says

Israeli tanks “deliberately” ran over Palestinians alive on Sunday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has said in a statement.

The Geneva-based organisation described these crimes on Monday as “part of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

Euro-Med reported several cases of Israeli forces running over Palestinian civilians alive, including a man on February 29, a family on January 23, displaced people in December 2023, and another family on February 20.

“Euro-Med Monitor affirmed that all of these violations are part of a larger Israeli effort to dehumanise every Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, in order to justify and normalise the crimes being committed against them,” the statement added.

The group reiterated “its call for the international community to immediately implement its international obligations to stop the genocide that Israel has been committing against all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for roughly five months now.”

It also called for “an independent international investigation committee specialising in Israel’s ongoing military attack on the Gaza Strip.”

Israel’s brutal war on Gaza

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed 30,410 people and injured 71,700 others with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85 percent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

SOURCE: AA

India’s port workers strike is an act of anti-colonial solidarity with Gaza

Ananya Wilson-Bhattacharya

On 18 February, news broke that port workers in India have been boycotting Israel by refusing to load Israeli arms shipments on account of its war on Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, and calling for a ceasefire.

The workers are led by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), a national level trade union affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

This display of workers’ solidarity with the Palestinian people is in sharp contrast to the Indian government’s long established alliance with Israel.

Despite joining global calls for a ceasefire in December, India – under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – hypocritically remains the top buyer of Israeli military exports since the war on Gaza began.

But the port workers’ boycott is more than simply an act of resistance against the government or a show of solidarity with the Palestinians: it is also, at multiple levels, an anti-colonial move.

Shifting alliances
The boycott harks back to India’s long history of solidarity with Palestine post-independence from British colonialism and prior to the rise of the Hindu right, or Hindutva, in recent decades.

In 1947, India’s secular post-independence government voted against the partition of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly, with anti-colonial freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi condemning the founding of the state of Israel as “inhuman”.

Now, with the rise of Hindu nationalism, Modi and the BJP claim that Hindutva is a return to India’s pre-colonial order, dismissing critics of Hindutva as ‘colonial’.

However, the BJP government’s current alliance with Israel – a settler-colonial state essentially created by Britain, at the time a colonial power with a large empire – is just one of many indicators of the true proximity of Hindutva ideology to colonialism.

The close relationship between Modi’s India and Israel is not surprising. There are clear ideological links between Hindutva and Zionism – Hindutva advocates for a Hindu supremacist state, with an eventual goal being the ethnic cleansing of Muslims.

Meanwhile, Zionism advocates for a Jewish state and the erasure of the Palestinian people. Both ideologies are inherently hugely Islamophobic; V.D. Savarkar, a leading figure in the development of Hindutva, was known to admire Zionism and condoned Israel’s illegal settlement building.

Resisting repression
Since the current war on Gaza began on 7 October, the Modi regime has clamped down heavily on pro-Palestine protests. This is no surprise given not only their alliance with Israel but also their wider authoritarian repression of protest in recent years.

For example, the government has regularly exploited the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act – which is widely considered unconstitutional and undemocratic – to silence dissenters including lawyers, journalists and activists.

In this context, the port workers’ boycott is all the more radical – an act of international solidarity from within a country where resisting fascistic policies and violence at home regularly results in jail.

The port workers’ boycott is far from the Indian people’s first major display of solidarity with Palestine during the current war. On 23 February, the organisation Indians for Palestine released a statement calling on the government to publicly endorse the International Court of Justice’s ruling to stand against human rights violations of Palestinians in Gaza.

Previously in November, many in the southern state of Kerala, including political parties and Muslim organisations, were joining protests, rallies and candlelight vigils calling for a ceasefire.

But the dock workers’ boycott is especially significant in demonstrating the agency of Indian workers in relation to Israel and Palestine, particularly at a time when large numbers of Indian workers are being sent to work in Israel to replace Palestinian labour.

“The Indian port workers’ boycott is an unflinching show of anti-colonial solidarity not only with the people of Palestine but also with the indentured labourers being sent to Israel”


Workers’ solidarity
Long before the current war on Gaza began, India was sending indentured workers to Israel, with the Indian and Israeli governments signing an agreement in May 2023 for 42,000 Indian workers to be sent – including 34,000 within the construction industry.

This is an instrumental aspect of Israel’s genocidal agenda: these Indian workers are being brought in to fill the gaps after the Israeli government revoked work permits for thousands of Palestinians in October, a key method of undermining their citizenship.

But as Indian trade unions have consistently pointed out, these Indian workers are simply being commodified by Israel with no consideration for their safety

Israel’s construction sector is considered to be one of the most dangerous employment sectors, with more than half of all workplace accidents in the country in 2021 occurring in the construction industry.

The crisis of joblessness in India has encouraged workers to move to Israel, demonstrating how – despite long held claims of economic success – Modi’s government is more concerned with strengthening international relations with colonial powers than with creating jobs for ordinary people at home.

The All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) has warned the Modi government against investing in the Israeli occupation of Palestine and called upon Indian construction workers to refuse to work for Israel.

“The settler-colonial state – namely Israel – is making a deal with the BJP government to promote a new form of indenture and bonded labour,” Clifton D’Rozario, national secretary of the AICCTU, tells me.

“We can see the export of Indian workers to Israel as a new geopolitics of indenture, in which two fascist states in alliance with each other are exploiting precarious and marginalised labour across borders.”

As the AICCTU notes, the history of indentured labourers being sent abroad from India is in fact also deeply colonial, with the British exporting workers to islands such as Mauritius and Fiji as far back as 1834.

Similarly to the workers migrating to Israel today, these historic indentured labourers were seeking to escape poverty but were ultimately heavily exploited, working in harsh conditions for low wages.

The export of indentured labourers to Israel is thus indicative of the ongoing use of colonial tactics by the Modi regime – in this case, directly furthering the genocidal agenda of a current colonial state.

In this context, the port workers boycotting Israeli equipment is a powerful anti-colonial statement, demonstrating Indian workers’ choice to show solidarity with the Palestinians, the colonised, even as their far-right government exploits their fellow workers to strengthen its ties with the colonial state of Israel.

The Indian port workers’ boycott is an unflinching show of anti-colonial solidarity not only with the people of Palestine but also with the indentured labourers being sent to Israel and used as commodities in Israel’s genocidal project.

This boycott is a crucial step in Israel becoming increasingly isolated on the world stage as its war on Gaza intensifies and global calls for a ceasefire – from people and, thanks to overwhelming pressure, from governments – grow louder than ever.

(Source: The New Arab)

سيناتور أمريكي عن وضع غزة: “الأمور تسير من سيء لأسوأ وقتل الأبرياء يجب أن يتوقف”

خلال مقابلة أجراها مع مراسلة CNN، دانا باش، قال السيناتور ديك دوربين إن الوضع في غزة “يسير من سيء إلى أسوأ”، مشيرًا إلى أنه يجب “أن تكون لدينا خطة لإنهاء هذا الصراع”.

وأضاف دوربين: “يجب أن أخبركم أن التقرير الوارد من غزة، والذي أفاد بأن 10 أطفال ماتوا جوعًا في الأسبوع الماضي، والذي تم التصديق عليه من قبل السلطات الطبية، أعني أنها حقيقة مروعة، ويجب أن يعيدنا جميعًا إلى رشدنا. هذا القتل للأبرياء هناك يجب أن يتوقف”.

وتابع: “الوضع الطبي على الأرض هناك مروع، مروع، وليس هناك أي مبرر لذلك. وأنا أؤيد فكرة الإنزال الجوي هذه، لكن ذلك لن يحل المشكلة. رأيت الطائرة الأولى تفرغ حمولتها، وقالوا إن بإمكاننا إطعام 38 ألف شخص بما أسقطناه للتو. هناك ما يقرب من مليوني شخص في غزة، وهذا يظهر خطورة الوضع”.

وعند سؤاله عما يجب أن يتغير في سياسة الرئيس جو بايدن، قال دوربين: “أعتقد أن هناك أمرين، أحدهما قصير المدى وهو الضغط من أجل وقف إطلاق النار والاستجابة الإنسانية في أسرع وقت ممكن”.

وأشار دوربين إلى أنه يتفق مع ما قاله السيناتور كريس ميرفي لصحيفة واشنطن بوست بأنه “إذا كانت الحرب مستمرة على هذا النحو، حيث يتم إطلاق النار على الناس ودهسهم وهم يحاولون يائسين وضع أياديهم على واحدة من عدد صغير من شاحنات الغذاء والدقيق التي تدخل غزة، فليس من مصلحة الولايات المتحدة أن تستمر في أن تكون جزءًا من ذلك”.

(المصدر: CNN العربية)

نائبة الرئيس الأميركي: ما نراه في غزة مدمر ويجب إعلان وقف إطلاق النار فورا

قالت كامالا هاريس نائبة الرئيس الأميركي إن ما نراه يوميا في قطاع غزة مدمر، وإنه يجب إعلان وقف إطلاق النار على الفور.

وحثت الحكومة الإسرائيلية على بذل المزيد من الجهود لزيادة تدفق المساعدات إلى غزة، قائلة إنه “لا أعذار”، وإن سكان القطاع يعانون من كارثة إنسانية.

وفي كلمة خلال زيارة لولاية ألاباما قالت هاريس إنه يجب أن يكون هناك وقف فوري لإطلاق النار في غزة من شأنه أن يضمن إطلاق سراح المحتجزين في غزة مع السماح بدخول المزيد من المساعدات إلى القطاع.

وقالت إن كثيرا من الفلسطينيين الأبرياء قتلوا، وإن الذين كانوا يبحثون عن مساعدات في غزة قوبلوا بالأعيرة النارية وبالفوضى.

وتحدثت عن وجود اتفاق على الطاولة، قائلة إن حركة حماس بحاجة للموافقة عليه، وإن وقف إطلاق النار لمدة 6 أسابيع سيسمح بالإفراج عن الرهائن وإدخال كمية كبيرة من المساعدات إلى غزة، مشيرة إلى أنه يجب إنهاء ما وصفته بالتهديد الذي تشكله حماس حسب قولها.

وأكدت أنه يجب على الحكومة الإسرائيلية العمل على إعادة الخدمات الأساسية وإعادة النظام في غزة.

وخلَّف العدوان على غزة أكثر من 30 ألف قتيل، معظمهم أطفال ونساء، وكارثة إنسانية غير مسبوقة ودمارا هائلا في البنى التحتية والممتلكات، مما استدعى مثول إسرائيل، للمرة الأولى منذ قيامها في عام 1948، أمام محكمة العدل الدولية بتهمة ارتكاب جرائم إبادة جماعية.

المصدر : رويترز

Harris escalates administration calls for Gaza ceasefire

Priscilla Alvarez, Betsy Klein and Sam Fossum, CNN

Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday forcefully called for more humanitarian aid into Gaza, saying that people in the region are “starving” in the face of “inhumane” conditions and urging Israel to do more in one of the strongest pushes by a US official to date.

Harris – who was in Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday – has been closely monitoring the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza and has been involved in the post-conflict planning for the besieged coastal enclave.

Her Sunday remarks marked an escalation in the US push to address the situation in Gaza. “The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses,” Harris said.

Her comments also come at a critical moment in the Israel-Hamas war. On Monday, the vice president is expected to meet with a key member of the Israeli War Cabinet, Benny Gantz, in Washington as the US continues to advocate a temporary ceasefire and hostage release.

“What we are seeing every day in Gaza is devastating. We have seen reports of families eating leaves or animal feed. Women giving birth to malnourished babies with little or no medical care, and children dying from malnutrition and dehydration,” Harris said, citing the deaths of dozens of Palestinians amid Israeli gunfire and panic at Gaza food lines.

“Our hearts break for the victims of that horrific tragedy and for all the innocent people in Gaza who are suffering from what is clearly a humanitarian catastrophe. People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane,” she continued.

Harris also echoed calls by President Joe Biden for a six-week ceasefire — a proposal that would allow for the release of hostages held by Hamas and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire, for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table,” Harris said to cheers from the crowd.

“Hamas claims it wants a ceasefire. Well, there is a deal on the table. And as we have said, Hamas needs to agree to that deal. Let’s get a ceasefire. Let’s reunite the hostages with their families. And let’s provide immediate relief to the people of Gaza,” she added.

On Saturday, the United States and Jordan air-dropped humanitarian aid into Gaza after Biden had asserted that the US would pull out “every stop” to get more aid into the territory.

Senior administration officials touted the effort as successful but maintained that more needs to be done to address the crisis in Gaza, including ensuring land crossings are available to send more assistance into the region. Officials are also exploring a maritime corridor to deliver aid.

An annual commemoration
Speaking at the site of a critical moment for the civil rights movement, Harris also warned Sunday that 59 years after Bloody Sunday, Americans’ freedoms were again at risk as she drew a direct link to “extremist” Republican efforts to restrict reproductive rights, voting rights and other issues.

“Selma, the challenges we currently face are not unlike the challenges faced by those 600 brave souls 59 years ago,” she said before marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the site of violence in 1965 as 600 people began a march from Selma to Montgomery, demanding an end to discrimination in voter registration.

In 1965, state and local lawmen in Alabama attacked the marchers on the bridge with billy clubs and tear gas, driving them back to Selma. Seventeen people were hospitalized and dozens more were injured by police. Months after the brutality, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.

“In this moment, we, too, then are confronted with a fundamental question: What kind of country do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a country of freedom, liberty, and justice, or a country of injustice, hate, and fear? We each have the power to answer that question, with our voice, with our feet, and with our votes,” Harris said Sunday.

The vice president also said that “the fight for freedom is not over,” pointing to efforts to curb voting rights, reproductive rights and the ability to live free of gun violence.

Harris’ visit to Selma marked the fifth time she has participated in the annual civil rights pilgrimage. She attended as a senator in 2018, as a presidential candidate in 2020, and as vice president in 2022. She also took part virtually in 2021.