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New UPDATES will be added at the bottom of the post. Story now cross-posted on Dailykos.com
After an agreement to a six-month ceasefire between between Hamas and
Israel expired on December 19th, Israel launched multiple F-16 bombers
into the Gaza Strip, dropping 100 tons of bombs in the first nine hours
of fighting, indiscriminately massacring over 225 Palestinians and
injuring over 700 others, the worst number of Palestinian casualties,
and the bloodiest, since the 1967 attack in Gaza. May Allah subhaana wa
ta'aala accept them all amongst the shuhadaa, aameen.
This latest violation of human rights and basic decency by the
Israeli government was allegedly due to rockets fired from Gaza into the
southern border of Israel, although Hamas contends Israel had been
violating the conditions of the ceasefire by closing off checkpoints and
murdering 28 Palestinians.
There remains, however, speculation about the motives provided by the
current Israeli regime. Within a month's time, Israel will be holding
parlimentary elections and thus far, Ehud Olmert's government has
received poor marks from the Israeli public for their handling of
Hamas-controlled Gaza. It is believed this disproportionately senseless
attack was meant to beef up Olmert's party's street cred with those
holding more hawkish views, pulling them away from opposition leader
Binyamin Netanyahu.
There is further speculation that President-elect Obama supports the
Palestinians and this will most likely be the last time it receives
unconditional support from the United States through the Bush
Administration.
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, lending credence to this theory,
has already stated, “We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and mortar
attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the
cease-fire and for the renewal of violence there. The cease-fire must be
restored immediately and fully respected,” referring to rocket attacks
which killed one Israeli civilian.
The most plausible theory, however, is that reported by the
Haaretz, which states Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has been
planning this operation, known as Operation Cast Lead, into the Gaza
strip well over six months. Those six months of relative peace were
used by the IDF for information gathering, in order to understand
Hamas's security infrastructure completely and destroy it when ready.
That time came when IDF forces carried out attacks in Gaza just over a
month ago (during the ceasefire) to take out a tunnel which the army
alleged was meant for use as attacking IDF troops. This was met by
retaliation from Hamas and has this has now escalated to where the issue
stands today.
The rest of the world, including the UN (minus the hawkish
neo-conservative executive branch of the US government) has condemned
Israel's disproportionate aggression against the Palestinian people and
called for a ceasefire. Israel has made it clear that no ceasefires
will be negotiated, and it is gearing up to continue its attacks on Gaza
and they will not be ended any time soon. Israeli troops are already
amassing tanks and infantry at the border in preparation.
Humanitarian Disaster
“There
are heads without bodies …. There's blood in the corridors. People are
weeping, women are crying, doctors are shouting, ” said nurse Ahmed
Abdel Salaam from Shifa Hospital, Gaza's main treatment center.
The death toll is expected to rise further, with bodies still lying
buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings. Hospitals, already
suffering from shortages due to an 18-month blockade on the Gaza Strip,
said they were struggling to cope with the number of injured, which
included women and children.
Gaza is densely populated. Its 1.5 million residents are already
experiencing shortages in power and basic supplies due to the siege
which is widely condemned by human rights movements as a collective
punishment.
MuslimMatters Statement on the Gaza Massacre
The Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam has taught us that if we can
stop the evil we encounter with our hands, then we should do so, and if
not the hand, then by the tongue, and if that's not possible, then to
at least hate it in our hearts.
Today, we have the platform by which we can express ourselves through
the medium of writing and have this reach a wide audience. Thus, we
say to you, we stand united with our brothers and sisters in Gaza, and
we not only condemn, no, but we curse Olmert, Ehud Barak, and all others
involved in this blood bath committed against the people of Gaza.
There is no justification by which one group can purport to murder over
225 lives and seriously injure over 700 in retaliation for the loss of
one life.
To our brothers and sisters in Islam, we remind you that though your
ability to act is limited, your ability to make du'aa remains. Make
du'aa to ease the struggles and difficulties, the trials our brothers
and sisters of Gaza are going through. Let us also make du'aa against
the criminals who committed these evils and that this difficulty and
seemingly poor situation, will turn itself into a decisive victory, as
was the case with the treaty of hudaybiyyah.
