Monday, January 19, 2009

Doctor's Daughters Killed on Live TV - Truce Declared

Israeli politicians declared a unilateral cease-fire, which according to pundits worldwide was designed to end the brutal Gaza military operation before the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. So let me get this straight, politicians in power started this war to influence Israeli elections and now they're taking a break to accommodate U.S. politics? What about the 1,200 Palestinians killed, 5,500 wounded, half a million people without water since the conflict began, and huge numbers of people without power. Four thousand homes are ruined and 80,000 people are homeless. Read first reports on the destruction from the BBC. Can you say "War Crimes?" Let the international investigations begin in earnest.

Australia's Sydney Morning Herald reports that Israel "kept U.N. aid out" of Gaza by design. How cynical and heartless. Now the news that in the last minutes before the truce, Israeli air strikes killed the three young daughters of a well-known moderate Palestinian doctor while he was on the phone reporting on Gaza for Israeli TV. Read the tragic account for yourself. His anguished cries are emblematic of the grief and destruction caused by massive, indiscriminate Israeli bombardments. The response of Israeli Members of Parliament to the carnage? They're making jokes about having to curtail their travels to avoid war crimes trials. No really. This modern day massacre was carried out in full light, though Israel did its best to keep journalists out during the fighting while providing a steady stream of state propaganda.
Technorati Tags: Gaza, Israel, Palestine

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