As Israel-First politicians embrace Netanyahu, many people say No Thanks – Day 290
2 million Gazans are squeezed into 20% of their land, as Israeli bombers and snipers keep killing; UNICEF vehicles hit by Israeli gunfire; peace activists arrested in US Capitol; Israeli luminaries call Netanyahu an “existential threat” to Israel and US; Rashida Tlaib: “Netanyahu’s Congress speech is a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”; Schumer says he will attend Netanyahu’s Congress speech; Israeli gov’t heavily funding illegal Israeli outposts; 350 “experts” endorse Kamala Harris for her Israel support; Olympics news; Israeli forces killing spree in West Bank; seven major labor unions demand that Biden pull the plug on Israel aid; China brokers reconciliation deal with Palestinian factions
By IAK staff, from reports.
Israel blocks Palestinians from 80 percent of Gaza
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says the Israeli military has placed more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip “under evacuation orders or designated as a no-go zone”.
“We just keep hearing the same question: Where do I go?” UNRWA said on X, quoting its spokeswoman’s remarks to the BBC’s Radio 4.
It comes a day after Israel ordered thousands of people to flee from the eastern parts of the Khan Younis governorate to al-Mawasi in the west.
Death toll from Israeli bombing in Khan Younis rises to 89
At least 89 people have been killed in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis governorate, according to the enclave’s Government Media Office, since Israel launched a new military operation in the area yesterday morning, without giving civilians time to flee. Hundreds of people are also reported injured.
UNICEF vehicles attacked with gunfire in central Gaza
NOTE: The targeting of aid workers in Gaza by Israel has been a long-standing pattern. Since October 2023, at least 278 aid workerswere reported killed in Gaza, including 201 UN staff members.
Following an Israeli attack on a high-profile humanitarian aid convoy in early April, MSF official Christopher Lockyear decried what was already a norm: “This pattern of attacks is either intentional or indicative of reckless incompetence.”
US Capitol Police arrest activists calling for Israel arms embargo
Al Jazeera reports: The rotunda of an office building in the United States Capitol complex filled in minutes with hundreds of people who appeared as if from nowhere, as part of a surprise protest against Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Let Gaza live,” they chanted in unison inside the Cannon House Office Building, removing their outer garments to reveal matching red T-shirts.
One side of the shirt read, “Jews say stop arming Israel.” The other side: “Not in our name.”
Tuesday’s coordinated protest, led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), took Congressional staffers and law enforcement agents aback, as it came together within minutes.
But the crackdown started almost immediately after the protesters assembled. Capitol Police quickly declared the area a closed “zone” and arrested hundreds of demonstrators who refused to leave.
“This is a moment in history where we have to say we stood up for Palestinian freedom. We stood up to end this genocide,” said protester Liv Kunins-Berkowitz.
“For so many of us, we are the descendants who survived ethnic cleansing and genocide. Our ancestors and grandparents taught us that the worst thing to do in these moments is to be a bystander.”
The activists are of all faiths, races, and ethnicities. They’re working to overcome the powerful Israel lobby.
Seven major US labor unions call on Biden to ‘shut off military aid to Israel’
The Guardian reports: Seven major US labor unions representing about 6 million workers sent a letter to Joe Biden on Tuesday calling on his administration to “immediately halt all military aid to Israel” ahead of a visit to the US from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, this week.
The unions that signed on to the letter include the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), International Union of Painters (IUPAT), National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW) and United Electrical Workers (UE).
“Our unions are hearing the cries of humanity as this vicious war continues,” said Mark Dimondstein, the APWU president, in a press release. “Working people and our unions are horrified that our tax dollars are financing this ongoing tragedy. We need a ceasefire now, and the best way to secure that is to shut off US military aid to Israel.”
The UAW stated, “This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to come to Congress to ask our government to keep supporting this war [in Gaza]. We reject this insult to all those calling for peace and justice.”
Amnesty issues fresh warning about US complicity in Israeli war crimes
Middle East Monitor reports: Amnesty International has issued a fresh warning about US complicity in Israeli war crimes as Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington. The human rights NGO also called on the US to halt arms exports to Israel with Netanyahu set to meet Joe Biden and possibly Kamala Harris during his trip.
In the absence of a UN Security Council arms embargo, Amnesty is calling on all countries to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel immediately, until there is no longer a substantial risk that arms could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law.
Countries which continue to transfer arms to Israel with knowledge that the recipient state or group is using these arms to commit “internationally wrongful acts” — which include crimes under international law such as war crimes and crimes against humanity — are not only violating their obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, said Amnesty today, but are in fact also assisting these violations.
Companies manufacturing and exporting arms also have a responsibility to respect human rights and international humanitarian law throughout their value chains. Any companies providing material assistance in the commission of a war crime can be found legally liable for such a crime.
“The US government has been presented with ample evidence from experts around the world that US-origin arms have been used in war crimes and unlawful killings by the Israeli government.”
Continued weapons transfers will make the US “complicit” in violations of international law committed with these arms, explained the Amnesty official.
NOTE: Weapons transfers to armed Palestinian groups also fall within Amnesty’s call for embargo – although in reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance.
Israeli executives, former security officials denounce Netanyahu ahead of address to US Congress
Andalou Agency reports: Dozens of Israeli executives, academics, and former national security officials denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, warning in a letter to US congressional leaders that he represents an “existential threat” to the US and Israel.
The letter signed by 31 Israelis comes on the eve of Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress where many lawmakers are expected to not attend or stage protests to interrupt the Israeli leader’s speech. It is addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“We cannot overstate this: Prime Minister Netanyahu poses an existential threat to the State of Israel. He has no clear strategic objectives for the war in Gaza, no plan for the day after, nor a strategy for how to deal with the existential threat of Iran. For decades, he has been inciting Israelis against each other, damaging our national social fabric, dramatically harming our defense capabilities, eroding our economy and devastating our international standing,” the authors wrote. A copy of the letter was posted publicly by CNN.
“Further, Netanyahu severely harms the US national security interests through his approach to this war, which adversely impacts American policy in the Middle East and beyond and further endangers Israel,” they added.
Prominent signatories include former Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Haloutz, ex-Mossad Director Tamir Pardo, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Nobel Prize Laureate Aaron Ciechanover and Israel’s former UN envoy Gabriela Shalev.
Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is a ‘celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians’
Middle East Eye reports: Palestinian-American Representative Rashida Tlaib called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress “a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”.
Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, said that “Netanyahu is a war criminal committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is utterly disgraceful that leaders from both parties have invited him to address Congress. He should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court.”
She further remarked, “Make no mistake: this event is a celebration of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. It is a sad day for our democracy when my colleagues will smile for a photo op with a man who is actively committing genocide.
“It is hypocritical to claim concern about the massive death toll of innocent civilians, then turn around and welcome the person responsible for these war crimes to our Capitol. Their silence is betrayal, and history will remember them accordingly. Our government must stop supporting and funding this genocide now.”
Israel was founded in 1948 through a war of ethnic cleansing.
Schumer says he will attend Netanyahu’s Congress speech despite ‘disagreements’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at Congress:
“Even though I disagree with many of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies, I will attend this speech because the United States’ relationship with Israel remains ironclad and transcends any prime minister.”
Schumer endorsed Kamala Harris for president.
Ha’aretz reports: The Democratic Majority for Israel wholeheartedly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the party’s nomination for the upcoming presidential election.
Israeli government quietly sends millions to unauthorized West Bank settler outposts
Associated Press reports: The Israeli government has budgeted millions of dollars to protect small, illegal, unauthorized Jewish farms in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, underwriting tiny outposts meant to grow into full-fledged , illegal settlements, according to an anti-settlement monitoring group.
Documents uncovered by Peace Now illustrate how Israel’s pro-settler government has quietly poured tens of millions of dollars into the unauthorized outposts, which are separate from its more than 100 officially recognized – but also illegal – settlements. Some of those outposts have been linked to settler violence against Palestinians and are sanctioned by the U.S.
The group estimates approximately 500 people live on the small, unauthorized farms and 25,000 more live in larger outposts. Those outposts, while not officially authorized by the government, often receive tacit support before they are retroactively legalized.
Rights groups say the expanding network of remote farms atop West Bank hilltops are the primary drivers of violence and displacement of Palestinians.
On Friday, the top United Nations court saidIsrael’s presence in the Palestinian territories is unlawful and called for an immediate halt to settlement construction.
NOTE: While there has been an uptick in settler violence since October 7th, every one of the more than 700,000 Israeli settlersliving on Palestinian land are violatinginternational law.
Israel has illegally built around 280 settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and incentivized Israeli Jews to live in them.
Many Palestinians believe that Israeli settlements and settlers on Palestinian land are the main barrier to any lasting peace agreement.
Settlers, moreover, have a history of violenceagainst Palestinians, often with theassistance of Israeli military forces.
NOTE: The International Solidarity Movement recently posted this video of Israeli settlers brutally attacking both Palestinians and international volunteers – one day after the ICJ ruled that the Israeli occupation and settlements are illegal.
350 foreign policy and national security personages endorse Kamala Harris, highlighting her involvement in the U.S.’ ‘defense of Israel when Iran attacked in April’
Ha’aretz reports: 350 leading foreign policy and national security experts endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy for U.S. President, calling her “the best qualified person to lead our nation as commander in chief.”
“She has been by the president’s side in the Oval Office and in the Situation Roommanaging high-stakes international crises and advising on the toughest decisions,” they wrote, highlighting “the United States’ defense of Israel when Iran attacked in April 2024.”
Among those to sign the letter include former U.S. Ambassadors to Israel Tom Nides and Daniel Kurtzer, former Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Frank Lowenstein, former national security advisers Susan Rice and Thomas E. Donilon, former secretaries of state John F. Kerry and Hillary Clinton; former secretaries of defense Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta; and former top intelligence officials Michael Hayden and James Clapper.
NOTE: While it’s not hard to find cheerleaders for Israel in its genocidal war on Gaza, voters themselves are not so enthusiastic: A Gallup poll in March showed that 55 percent of respondents disapproved of the Israeli military’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Among Democratic Party voters, the percentage was even higher, with 75 percent of respondents expressing a negative view of Israel’s actions, while 60 percent of independents also said they disapproved.
Politicians have failed to grasp the significance of millions of Americans across the country protesting for ceasefire and an end to military aid to Israel – wrongly accusing them of antisemitism and ignoring their message.
RECOMMENDED READING:
How Israel twists antisemitism claims to project its own crimes onto Palestinians.
AIPAC: Has the pro-Israel lobby bribed and bought the US Democratic Party?
It isn’t Netanyahu who is acting against the will of his people, it’s Biden
Palestinians accuse Israel of Olympic Truce breach
Al Jazeera reports: The Palestine Olympic Committee has called for the “immediate exclusion of Israel from the Paris Olympics 2024”.
In a letter to Thomas Bach, head of the International Olympic Committee, the Palestinians said Israel has been engaged in violations that include illegal colonial settlement, occupation and annexation, as well as genocidal incitement.
The letter also stressed that there has been a breach of the Olympic truce. The UN General Assembly Resolution on the Paris 2024 Olympics mandates an Olympic truce from July 19 to September 15, 2024, to ensure a peaceful environment for the Games.
“However, Israel has violated this truce within the first 24 hours by continuing its bombing on Gaza, resulting in the killing of at least 70 Palestinians. This contravention underscores the urgent need for OIC and FIFA to act in line with its statutes and promote respect for international human rights law,” the letter said.
The letter was also sent to FIFA President Gianni Infantino by the Palestine Football Association.
NOTE: At least 265 Palestinian sportsmenhave been killed in Israeli attacks since last October, according to the Palestinian Football Association.
“The victims include players, administrators and technical staff, including 11 in the West Bank” Jibril Rajoub, head of the association, told reporters.
“Dozens of athletes remain under the rubble, and we are unable to count their number,” he said. “Many athletes are also held in Israeli jails.”
RECOMMENDED READING: Palestinians launch first national amputee football team in Gaza
Many West Bank deaths on Tuesday
- Five Palestinians were killed Tuesday by Israeli occupation army gunfire in Tulkarm camp, including three men, a young girl, and a 50-year-old woman. Four of the bodies were confiscated by Israeli forces. The men were reportedly a Qassam commander and two members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
- A 13-year-old child from the town of Bal’a, east of Tulkarem, succumbed Tuesday to critical injuries he sustained by Israeli forces’ live bullets about two weeks ago.
- A 39-year-old Palestinian man was Tuesday morning killed by Israeli occupation forces in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron.
- A young man, age 22, was Tuesday killed by Israeli occupation army gunfire from the town of Shuyoukh, northeast of Hebron.
Palestinians hail new reconciliation deal amid Israeli opposition
Andalou Agency reports: A China-mediated agreement to heal the years-long rift between Palestinian factions and form a national unity government has been met with Palestinian praise and Israeli opposition.
The Palestinian groups on Monday reached a reconciliation agreement following three days of intensive talks in the Chinese capital Beijing to end their political division since 2007.
Representatives of 14 Palestinian groups, including the rival Fatah and Hamas movements, signed a new statement pledging to end the division and strengthen unity.
The agreement aims at maintaining Palestinian control over the Gaza Strip following the end of Israel’s ongoing offensive on the enclave.
Signatories of the agreement said they would form an interim national unity government to supervise the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip and hold new elections.
“The Beijing declaration is an additional positive step towards achieving Palestinian national unity,” Husam Badran, a member of Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.
He said the factions agreed to form a national unity government to supervise Gaza reconstruction and prepare the conditions for holding elections.
The agreement also underlined the right of the Palestinian people to resist the Israeli occupation and to self-determination based on international laws and UN Charter.
Palestinians living inside Israel face home demolition
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STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – JULY 23:
Palestinian death toll from October 7 – July 23: at least 39,668* (39,090 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,034 children as of June 17. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]
This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 587 in the West Bank (~140 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.
Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.
Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.
- At least 46 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
- At least 40 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
- About 1.7 million, or 75% of Gaza’s population are currently displaced.
- 2.15 million (out of total population of 2.3 million) are projected to face Crisis or worse levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – July 23: at least 95,567 (including at least 90,147 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7 – July 23: ~1,481 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 326 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 16 in the West Bank) and~8,730 injured.
Times of Israel reports: The IDF listed 41 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents – nearly 16%.
NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.**
Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.
† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
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