Using the pretext of the June 25 capture
of an Israeli soldier from a military base in the occupied territories, Israel has launched a full-scale military
invasion of the Gaza Strip, less than one year after its so-called permanent
withdrawal from Gaza.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have entered the Gaza
Strip in tanks, armoured vehicles and on foot, while IDF fighter planes have
been carrying out low-level flights over densely populated areas in Gaza for
almost two weeks now.Whatever the
stated purpose, the real aim of the Gaza
invasion appears to be the destruction of the democratically elected Hamas
government, along with civilian infrastructure the Israelis left intact during
their unilateral withdrawal.Within 24
hours of launching the invasion, IDF troops had arrested 64 elected Hamas
officials in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,
including eight cabinet ministers.These
arrests, which the Palestinian government has described as mass kidnappings,
amount to the detention of one quarter of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Several dozen Palestinian civilians have
been killed since the invasion of Gaza,
dubbed Operation Summer Rain by the IDF, was officially launched on June
27.The deliberate targetting
of civilian infrastructure has also plunged the 1.4 million residents of Gaza into a crisis which
international observers predict will soon constitute a humanitarian disaster.
Israel’s actions in Gaza are in direct
violation of the Geneva Conventions, which forbid collective punishment of a
civilian population.The
Israeli chapter of Physicians for Human Rights issued a statement condemning
the use of collective punishment, noting it is “forbidden by International Law
and by all reasonable moral standards.”The organization also charged that Israeli is deliberating trying to
stop food shipments to Gaza in order to pressure the civilian population,
pointing out this is also a violation of the Conventions.
However, despite calls from many in the
international community and, most recently, official censure from the UN Human
Rights Council, as well as UN Secretary General Kofi
Anna, Israeli officials announced that they intend to escalate the
invasion.In fact, starting on the
morning of July 8, the IDF began expanding its operation in Gaza,
with tanks advancing to within 500 metres of GazaCity.Israeli armour
corps and infantry troops have been deployed east of GazaCity, in the area of the Karni Crossing, which is the only link Palestinians in Gaza have to those living in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.The IDF has also begun a campaign of “targetted
shelling” against “know militants” which resulted in the confirmed death of six
civilians within the first 48 hours.
The escalation of the invasion followed Israel’s
rejection of a ceasefire offer from Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail
Haniyeh.In a statement issued from his
office in Gaza,
he called for Palestinian resistance fighters and the IDF to halt military
operations unconditionally.“In order to
get out of the current crisis, it is necessary that all parties restore calm on
the basis of mutually stopping all military operations.” In response, Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his government would not negotiate with
terrorists and added: “We won't hesitate to carry out extreme
action to bring [the captured soldier] back to his family."
The UN Human Rights Council announced July 5 that
it will send a special fact-finding mission to Israel and the occupied territories
to investigate the invasion.The mission
will be headed by John Dugard, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the
Palestinian territories.Addressing the
special council session called to deal with the invasion, Dugard said it was
clear that “Israel
is in violation of the most fundamental norms of humanitarian law and human
rights law.”