Why is Gaza?
What is it like to live there?
Who should rule Gaza?
The Israeli-Gaza Conflict
Table of Contents
Cease Fire!
But what happens NEXT week?
The Cost of the Ceasefire?
But I decided the following story sums up all too effectively the cost of this assymetrical war. PLEASE READ IT:
- Before ceasefire, Gaza doctor's grief was heard on live Israeli TV
- Before a ceasefire took hold Sunday in Gaza, the tragedy of Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish's three dead daughters unfolded live on Israeli television.
Gaza and the UN
A Perspective from Al-Jazeera
(+ this just in...:Israel fired on a UN waregouse, and a further UN school [housing refugees], since this video was made....
Reports on the morning of Tuesday 4th January indicate that Israeli weapons have [accidentally?] damaged two schools in Gaza being used as refugee/bomb shelters, killing 5 Palestinians. UN territory and offices are supposedly neutral territory in any conflict!)
The Winter War 2008/9
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See also
http://www.squidoo.com/palestine-lens
This lens and the Palestinian lens both start with the "current-conflict" Wikipedia article, and the RSS feed.
This lens goes into much more detail on the background of Gaza.
The other one focuses on the West Bank.
Updated lenses on Israel and Arab-Israeli wars tomorrow (Tuesday)
The Gaza War—known as Operation Cast Lead ( Mivtza Oferet Yetzuka) by the Israel Defence Forces and the Gaza massacre () in the Arab world,Cohen, Lauren. [http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article82673.ece Achmat weighs in on Israeli 'war architect'] Sunday Times. Jul 26, 2009. Retireved October 30, 2009. was a three-week military conflict between Israel and Hamas that took place in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel during the winter of 2008-2009.
On 18 December Hamas declared the end of a six-month ceasefire with Israel and on 24 December began an intensification of rocket fire towards the country's towns.TIMELINE - Israeli-Hamas violence since truce ended, Reuters 05-01-2009 On 27 December Israel began a wave of airstrikes[http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0113/p01s04-wome.html Ilene R. Prusher, 'Hamas remains defiant despite pounding' Christian Science Monitor 13/01/2009 on the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of stopping the rocket attacks from and arms smuggling into the territory.Bright, Arthur. Israel set to launch ?limited operation' in Gaza, Christian Science Monitor, December 26, 2008.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/16/israel-rejects-war-crimes-gaza Israeli forces attacked military targets, police stations and government buildings. There was also significant damage to civilian buildings.http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1231167272256http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052034.html Hamas further intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, hitting civilian targets throughout the conflict and reaching major Israeli cities Beersheba and Ashdod for the first time.Rockets land east of Ashdodm Ynetnews, December 28, 2008; Rockets reach Beersheba, cause damage, Ynetnews, December 30, 2008.http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1254163545960&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFullhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129467# An Israeli ground invasion began on January 3, 2009. The war ended on January 18, when Israel first declared a unilateral ceasefire, followed by Hamas' announcing a one-week ceasefire twelve hours later. Israel completed its withdrawal on January 21.Hamas, Israel set independent cease-fires, CNN International; [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7841902.stm Last Israeli troops 'leave Gaza'], BBC News, January 21, 2009.
Between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.Al-Mughrabi, Nidal. Israel tightens grip on urban parts of Gaza, Reuters, January 12, 2009; Lappin, Yaakov. IDF releases Cast Lead casualty, The Jerusalem Post, March 26, 2009. More than 400,000 Gazans were left without running water, while 4,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless; 80 government buildings were hit.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7838618.stm Gaza 'looks like earthquake zone'], BBC News, January 19, 2009; [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7836869.stm 'Scale of Gaza destruction emerges'], BBC News, January 19, 2009; Beaumont, Peter. A life in ruins, The Observer, July 5, 2009.
A UN mission headed by Judge Richard Goldstone was established in April 2009 and produced a report in September 2009, accusing both Palestinian militants and Israeli Defence Forces of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, and recommending bringing those responsible to justice.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8257301.stm UN condemns 'war crimes' in Gaza], BBC News, September 15, 2009. In October 2009 the UN Human Rights Council endorsed the report by 25 votes for, 6 against and 16 abstentions/failures to vote. Against Goldstone's recommendations, the Council singled out Israel exclusively for reprimand without any mention of Hamas.http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2009/October/middleeast_October385.xml§ion=middleeast
The Current Conflict in Gaza
RSS Feed on Gaza
updated every 30 minurtes
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byGaza's Reality
Gaza's Reality (Occupation 101 Movie Clip)
The living conditions of Palestinian refugees living in Gaza. A short clip from the award-winning film 'Occupation 101: Voices of the Silenced Majority." For more info please visit www.occupation101.com. DVD also available on AMAZON.COM !!
Runtime: 280
313268 views
4922 Comments:
curated content from YouTube
Geography of Gaza
The Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is not recognized internationally as part of any sovereign country. It is claimed by the Palestinian National Authority as part of the Palestinian territories, though following the June 2007 battle of Gaza, actual control of the area is in the hands of the de facto government dominated by Hamas. Israel, which governed the Gaza Strip from 1967-2005, still controls the strip's airspace, territorial water and offshore maritime access, as well as its side of the Gaza-Israeli border. Egypt, which governed the Gaza Strip from 1948-1967 controls the southern border between the Gaza strip and the Sinai desert.
The Gaza Strip ( ) lies on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers (4-7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of .
This small piece of land is home to about a million Palestinians. Many of these people lived in other parts of Palestine prior to the 1947 - 49 Israeli War of Independence, when they had to flee. These Palestinians have not been allowed to return to their former villages, in violation of international law, in particular the fourth Geneva convention which does not include descendants of refugees.
The area is recognized internationally as part of the Palestinian territories. Actual control of the area is in the hands of Hamas, an organization that won civil parliamentary Palestinian Authority elections in 2006 and took over de facto government in the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority by way of its own armed militia in July 2007, while violently removing the Palestinian Authority's security forces and civil servants from the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip, having previously been a part of the Ottoman Empire and then the British Mandate of Palestine, was occupied by Egypt from 1948-67, and then by Israel following the 1967 war. Pursuant to the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in 1993, the Palestinian Authority was set up as an interim administrative body to govern populated Palestinian centers - with Israel maintaining military control of the Gaza Strip's airspace, some of its land borders and its territorial waters - until a final agreement could be reached. As agreement remained elusive, Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza in 2005, saying it was no longer the Occupying Power there. The international community, citing Israel's continued effective control over the area, continues to regard it as an Occupying Power.
The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city. The population speak a Western Egyptian dialect of Arabic and are estimated by some sources at as high as 1.5 million (July 2009).CIA World Fact Book - Gaza Strip Refugees of the 1948 Palestinian exodus and their descendants made up 85% of the population as of March 2003.Cobham and Kanafani, 2004, p. 179.
Gaza City
The city, which has a population of approximately 410,000 in the inner city and 1.4 million people in the metropolitan area, has been inhabited since 3500BC.[1] The word "Gaza" is often used to refer to the entire Gaza Strip, so the city is frequently termed "Gaza City" for clarity.
Geography of the Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is located in the Middle East (at 31 25 N, 34 20 E) and consists of around 360sq km. It has an 11km border with Egypt, near the city of Rafah, and a 51km border with Israel. It has a 40 km coastline onto the Mediterranean Sea, but has no maritime claims due to Israeli administration.
The Gaza Strip has a temperate climate, with mild winters, and dry and hot summers, subject to drough...
The Palestinian People
Palestinian people or Palestinians, also commonly rendered as Palestinian Arabs, are terms commonly used to refer to an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine. Today Palestinians are predominantly Sunni Muslims, though there is a significant Christian minority as well as smaller religious communities. The total Palestinian population worldwide is estimated between 10 and 11 million people, over half of whom are stateless and lacking citizenship in any country
History of Gaza
The Philistines
The Palestinians are NOT The Philistines
The Philistines were an Indo-Aryan people, possibly from Crete. They became assimilated into the Hamitic and Semitic peoples of the Levant. Their lands became part of the Persian, then the Roman, then the Byzantine Empires. They are(were) quite distinct from the later Arab population of Palestine.
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The Philistines (, plishtim'') (see "other uses" below) were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. Their origin has been debated among scholars. There is not enough information of the original language of the Philistines to relate it securely to any other languages. Biblical and related traditions differentiate between the original Philistines in the days of Abraham called Avvites and the later conquering Caphtorites who replaced them. It is theorized that the latter Philistines originated among the "sea peoples".
Modern archaeology has also suggested early cultural links with the Mycenean world in Greece.For an important typological study, cf. Dothan 1982
Though the Philistines adopted local Canaanite culture and language before leaving any written texts (and later adopted the Aramaic language), an Indo-European origin has been suggested for a handful of known Philistine words that survived as loan words in Hebrew.
Christianity comes to Gaza
- Philistines - LoveToKnow 1911
- Information page on The Philistines, from LoveToKnow1911. This encyclopedia is based on the 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
The City of Gaza becomes a Christian City
- CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Gaza
- The Philistine City of Gaza becomes a Christian city
The City of Gaza Becomes a Muslim City in 635 AD
(Muslim Conquest of Syria, 634-638)
Muslim armies next [634] consolidated their conquest of the Levant as Shurhabil and Amr went deeper in to Palestine. Baisan surrendered after a little resistance followed by the surrender of Tabariya in February 635. Caliph Umar, after getting the intelligence of disposition and strength of the Byzantine army in Palestine, wrote detailed instructions to corps commanders in Palestine and ordered Yazid to capture the Mediterranean coast. The corps of Amr and Shurhabil accordingly marched against the strongest Byzantine garrison in Ajnadyn and defeated them in the 2nd Battle of Ajnadyn after which the two corps separated, with Amr moving to capture Nablus, Amawas, Gaza and Yubna in order to complete the conquest of all Palestine, while Shurahbil thrust against the coastal towns of Acre and Tyre. Yazid advanced from Damascus to capture the ports of Sidon, Arqa, Jabail and Beirut.[17] By 635 A.D, Palestine, Jordan and Southern Syria, with the exception of Jerusalem and Caesarea, were in Muslims hands. On the orders of Caliph Umar, Yazid next besieged to Caesarea, which was lifted but resumed after the Battle of Yarmouk until the port fell in 640.
Ottoman and British control (1517-1948)
(from the Wikipedia article on the Gaza Strip)
Starting in the early 19th century, Gaza was culturally dominated by neighboring Egypt. Though part of the Ottoman Empire, a large number of its residents were Egyptians (and their descendants) who had fled political turmoil.
The region served as a battlefield during the First World War (1914-18). The Gaza Strip was taken by the British in the Third Battle of Gaza on 7 November 1917. Following World War I, Gaza became part of the British Mandate of Palestine under the authority of the League of Nations. Jews were present in Gaza until 1929, when revisionist Zionist Betar mobs at the wailing wall incited violence, the Mufti Haj Amin El Husseini spoke out this led to riots, killing 67 Jews, and over 200 Arab Palestinians, and forced the Gaza Jews to leave the area. After that the British prohibited Jews from living in the Gaza area, though some Jews returned and, in 1946, established kibbutz Kfar Darom near the Egyptian border. British rule of Palestine ended with the Israeli War of Independence in 1948.
Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt
Egyptian control of the Gaza Strip was confirmed by the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and Egypt, signed on February 24. The main points were:
The armistice line was drawn along the international border (dating back to 1906) for the most part, except near the Mediterranean Sea, where Egypt remained in control of a strip of land along the coast, which became known as the Gaza Strip.
The Egyptian forces besieged in the Faluja Pocket were allowed to return to Egypt with their weapons, and the area was handed over to Israel.
A zone on both sides of the border around Uja al-Hafeer (Nitzana) was to be demilitarized, and become the seat of the bilateral armistice committee.
Gaza under Israeli Occupatiuon: Aftermath of the Six-Day War
The Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967 was a war between Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. The results of the war affect the geo...
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The Arab-Israel Wars
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This lens reports on more than a dozen conflicts since 1948. That's a pretty damning condemnation of the work of the diplomats who put the 1947/48 "solution" together, and have or have not attempted to mediate conflicts in the area since 1948. There...
Government of Gaza
Thirty Years Ago: The Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David.Camp David Accords - Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs The two agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter. The Accords led directly to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. They also resulted in Sadat and Begin sharing the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Palestinian National Authority no longer controls Gaza
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA; Al-Sul?a Al-Wa?aniyyah Al-Filas??niyyah) is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian National Authority was formed in 1994, pursuant to the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the government of Israel, as a 5-year interim body during which final status negotiations between the two parties were to take place but never did. According to the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority was designated to have control over both security-related and civilian issues in Palestinian urban areas (referred to as "Area A"), and only civilian control over Palestinian rural areas ("Area B"). The remainder of the territories, including Israeli settlements, the Jordan Valley region, and bypass roads between Palestinian communities, were to remain under exclusive Israeli control ("Area C"). East Jerusalem was excluded from the Accords.
Hamas now rules Gaza
(Introduction paraphrased from section of Wikipedia Article)
In the months leading up to June 2007, militias nominally loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction attempted to overthrow the dule-elected Hamas-led government so that it could be replaced with a US-backed "emergency government." Hamas pre-empted this coup attempt and took over control of the interior of the Gaza Strip. Following the Battle for Gaza in June 2007, elected Hamas officials were ousted from the Palestinian National Authority government in the West Bank, replaced by Fatah members. hamas is now outlawed by the West Bank based, Fatah-led government.
Gaza Today
News from Gaza
- Israeli airstrikes on Gaza hit weapons shop, 3 tunnels
- Gaza City (CNN) -- Israel launched four airstrikes in Gaza on Thursday, targeting a weapons shop and two smuggling tunnels, the Israel Defense Forces said. ...
- The other Gaza outrage
- During the eight years before Israel's military operation in Gaza a year ago, about a million residents of southern Israel endured a barrage of about 10000 ...
- Report: Al-Qaida CIA bomber was furious over Gaza war
- "We thought that he was in Gaza the whole time," the brother told Al-Quds Al-Arabi. He added that the family received an anonymous phone call in which they ...
- Derry men reach Gaza with aid
- Five men from Londonderry, who are part of an aid convoy to Gaza, have arrived over a month after they left the UK. Eanna O Donghaile, Eddie McBride, ...
Books on Gaza
Informational Links on Gaza
- CIA - The World Factbook -- Gaza Strip
- US Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook entry on Gaza
- BBC NEWS | Middle East | Profile: Gaza Strip
- A profile of the Gaza Strip, including its main population centres, refugee camps and border crossings.(UK) BBC News information page.
- CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Gaza
- The Catholic (New Advent) Encyclopedia entry on Gaza
- Engaging Disengagement - 2
- History of Gaza. From the Department for Jewish Zionist Education.
- FreeGaze
- The Free Gaza organization
Bookmarks on Gaza
Blog Posts on Gaza
- Gaza: Muslims Fire 10 Mortar Rockets on Civilians in Israel ...
- Gaza militants fire 10 mortars at southern Israel; Israel shuts cargo crossing Gaza militants fired at least 10 mortar shells at Israel on Thursday, a day after Israel announced it successfully tested a high-tech shield against future ...
- Israel strikes smuggling tunnels, Hamas sites in Gaza; 1 death ...
- Witnesses say Israeli aircraft fired missiles at smuggling tunnels and other Hamas targets in Gaza.
- Galloway: New Gaza convoys won't cross Egypt | Rebel News ...
- British lawmaker George Galloway says no more aid convoys destined for the besieged Gaza Strip will pass through Egyptian territory as its authorities caused troubles for Viva Palestina convoy to ente.
- Sam Husseini on Gaza Freedom March, Dean Baker on WaPo & Fiscal Times
- This week on CounterSpin-- It had the elements of a nightly news story: Protestors, including some Americans, being abused by officials in an Arab country. But this story was a non-starter with US media. We'll talk to Sam Husseini of ...
Viewpoints
My own view on Gaza
The Gaza Strip is one of the direct results of that disaster. It isn't geographically logical or economically viable. Historically, its border (The Armistice Line) says more about the speed at which tanks could travel in 1948.
The Gaza Strip is treated here as an enclave of the legitimate state of Palestine. There is a strong consensus that only a two-state solution will resolve the Palestine/Israel conflict.
It is not suggested here that Gaza is or should be independent of the rest of Palestine (e.g. as a Hammas-run third state).
But it is suggested that the results of properly conducted democratic elections should be respected, even if the results are inconvenient.
(*) I speak as a British expat living in the US, whose father (a devout Christian) was a British signals officer in Jerusalem in 1948.
Other People's Lenses on Gaza
(A couple from each side of the conflict)
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Hamas terrorist group revealed
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What is the Hamas terrorist group? Here's an ever growing collection from all around the internet, featuring videos, many links to thoughtful articles and a bunch of pictures that show a side of Hamas that too many people would rather not believe. A...
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Gaza Demonstrations,
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This is lense on the Worldwide condemnation of Israel and its invasion of Gaza.
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Gaza Under Siege
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This lens is provides information on Gaza, a bit about it's history and also present day information as well. Here you will find information on the events that started on Dec. 2008 and are ongoing till the present. Some information as well on Hamas...
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Gaza War
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Gaza War I say Israel has the right to defend itself. Israel teaches its children to love the other man not like the Palestinians do (just watch these videos). If Hamas wont kill Jews it will kill its own Muslim brothers like they did already. Hate...
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The Palestine Crisis
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Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Palestinians have seen much of the land in which they were born taken over for the state of Israel. This was the beginning of the current conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Millions of Palest...
Connections
Town Twinning/Sister Cities
- Dunkirk /Dunkerque, France
- &
- Turin, Italy
- &
- Barcelona, Spain
- &
- Cascais, Portugal
- &
- Tromso, Norway
- &
- Tel Aviv, Israel
- (Yes, Tel Aviv shows Gaza as a twin town in its list, too)
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This lens is about Egypt in the Levant. Egypt itself is not considered part of the Levant, historically or geographically, but the Sinai peninsula has been included in some definitions. Also, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian control for a short time...
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Feedback
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Reply
- singaporehosting singaporehosting Jan 21, 2009 @ 6:33 am
- Great minds think alike :)
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Reply
- talkingpoints talkingpoints Jan 19, 2009 @ 6:28 am
- Thank you for your analysis of the issues surrounding the Israeli-Gaza conflict.
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