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Saturday, July 13, 2024

Dozens killed as Israel strikes Al-Mawasi 'safe zone' in Gaza

 
Israeli forces killed at least 71 civilians and injured 289 more in a series of massive airstrikes on the Al-Mawasi region on the southern Gaza coast, Al Jazeera reported on 13 July.
 Aftermath of an Israeli strike in Al-Mawasi, Gaza. (Photo credit: BBC)
An official at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis told Al Jazeera that more than 20 bodies and dozens of wounded people have been brought to the hospital.
He said civil defense teams continue to recover from the rubble, but the hospital cannot receive any more wounded patients.
An eyewitness told the BBC that the strike site looked like an “earthquake” had hit. The British state broadcaster reported that “videos from the area show smoldering wreckage and bloodied casualties being loaded onto stretchers. People can be seen trying desperately to pick through the rubble of a large crater with their hands.”
Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, denied a claim by Israeli Army Radio that the strikes targeted the head of Hamas’ armed wing, Mohammed al-Deif.
“All the martyrs are civilians and what happened was a grave escalation of the war of genocide, backed by the American support and world silence,” Abu Zuhri said.
Zuhri also said that the attack showed Israel was not interested in reaching a ceasefire agreement.
Al-Mawasi, a Bedouin town west of Khan Younis, is filled with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in tents.
Israel designated the area a “safe zone” shortly after the war began in October and demanded Palestinians flee there to escape massive Israeli bombardments and ground assaults throughout the strip. A new wave of displaced families fled to the area after the start of Israel’s offensive in nearby Rafah in early May.
But Israel has bombed Al-Mawasi multiple times.
In late June, Israeli forces killed 22 Palestinians when they shelled the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Al-Mawasi. The ICRC office was surrounded by hundreds of displaced Palestinians living in tents.
Witnesses told AP that some people were killed as they went to help others who panicked after an initial bombardment.
Israel has killed over 38,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, since the beginning of the war in October.
Thousands more are feared dead, trapped under the rubble and in streets inaccessible to rescue and ambulance crews.
 
Serag El Hegazi
(The Conversation) – Israel has reportedly approved its largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades, according to a report released on July 3 by Israeli anti-settlement watchdog, Peace Now. The seizure involves more than 12 sq km of land in a key corridor bordering Jordan.
Land that is privately owned by Palestinians in the West Bank can be declared as “state land” by Israel and subsequently seized. One of the primary outcomes is the establishment or expansion of Israeli settlements on the land, which are widely considered illegal under international law.
According to the Israeli authorities, the recent land seizure is necessary for “security and development”. However, a spokesperson for the UN, Stephane Dujarric, called it “a step in the wrong direction”, adding that “the direction we want to be heading is to find a negotiated two-state solution”.
The move follows a series of similar land grabs so far this year. Israel seized 2.6 sq km of land in the West Bank in February, and a further 8 sq km in March. These actions are part of a strategy to expand Israeli control of the West Bank and undermine the prospect of a Palestinian state.
There has been a massive expansion in the number of settlements over the past three decades. In 1987, there were 60,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem). This had grown to 247,300 by 2005 and 465,400 by 2021.
These numbers look set to accelerate further. The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is heavily backed by a coalition of rightwing, ultranationalist parties. And many of its ministers have made the establishment of Israeli settlements in the West Bank a priority.
On June 28, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich was quoted saying: “I will bring 1 million settlers. One settlement for every country that recognised Palestine as a state in the last month. This is their punishment.” Smotrich, who is himself a settler, has previously said his “life’s mission is to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state”.
Many Israelis do not class these settlements as illegal. They view them as integral parts of ancient Israelite kingdoms and as a significant part of Jewish history and identity. However, the seizure of Palestinian land on such a large scale has historically always led to violence.
The second intifada, for example, was a major uprising by Palestinians that occurred between 2000 and 2005. It took place against the backdrop of the refusal of successive Israeli governments to abide by the Oslo accords and end the occupation.
But the groundwork was laid years before by the fast expansion of Israeli settlements. The number of Israeli settlers increased by at least 117% percent in Gaza and 46% in the West Bank in the period between 1993 and 1998.
The second intifada saw a significant escalation in hostilities between Palestinians and Israeli settlers. This included a wave of deadly suicide bombings and armed confrontations, which prompted the Israeli military to respond with force. Over the course of the second intifada, violence led to the deaths of an estimated 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis, with thousands more injured.
Rising settler violence
Since the start of the ongoing war in Gaza, Palestinians in the West Bank have increasingly become the target of violence by Israeli settlers. The UN reported that attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank surged in the weeks following the October 7 attacks.
At least 115 people were killed, more than 2,000 were injured, and nearly 1,000 others were forced from their homes, citing violence and intimidation by Israeli forces and settlers. The new moves by the Israeli government to expand its control of the West Bank have only inflamed tensions further.
Amid rising violence, outgoing Israeli major general Yehuda Fuks condemned what he called “nationalist crime” that was undermining Israel’s reputation internationally and sowing fear among Palestinians “who did not pose any threat”.
By condemning the land seizures and settlement expansions, global bodies such as the UN and the EU could increase diplomatic pressure on the Israeli government to change tack. But, for now, it looks to be stepping up its efforts to claim more of the West Bank.
In February, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert wrote that the Netanyahu government’s “supreme aim … is not the occupation of the Gaza Strip”. In Olmert’s view, “Gaza is just the introductory chapter, the platform this gang [the Israeli government] wants to build as the foundation upon which the real fight they are eyeing will be conducted: the battle for the West Bank and the Temple Mount.”
The expansion of settlements is part of this.

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