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"Israel Targets Civilians, the Casualties Speak Volumes": Int'l Protection Urged for Besieged Gaza
Thousands of Gazans have fled their homes amidst a relentless Israeli bombing campaign that has now killed more than 170 people, most of them civilians, since it began a week ago. The United Nations estimates at least 80 percent of the dead are civilian, of whom 20 percent are children — at least 36 dead. More than 1,200 Palestinians have been wounded, nearly two-thirds women and children. Some 940 homes have reportedly been severely damaged or destroyed, 400,000 people are without electricity, and 17,000 people are displaced. Hamas has fired an estimated 700 rockets into Israel, causing no direct killings but leaving an Israeli teen critically wounded. We get reaction from Palestinian attorney Diana Buttu, who has served as a legal adviser to the Palestinians in negotiations with Israel and to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "When Israel talks about who it’s targeting and what it’s targeting, they’ve never proffered any proof or any evidence for what it is they’re trying to hit," Buttu says. "At the end of the day, as much as Israel tries to claim they are not targeting civilians, they are — and the casualties speak volumes."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli Defense Forces and tanks are positioned along the border in the seventh day of Israel’s offensive. As of this morning, the Palestinian death toll has reached at least 172, among them 140 civilians, including 30 children. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 1,200 people have been wounded. This weekend brought the deadliest strikes to date, including a bombing that killed 18 members of the same family. No Israelis have been killed.
On Sunday, the Israeli military dropped leaflets and sent text messages to warn residents of the northern Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya to evacuate the area as it planned to intensify its large-scale bombing campaign. One displaced resident described an Israeli leaflet telling locals, quote, "any moving body after noon will be struck," unquote.
In addition to bombing homes, Israel has carried out a number of attacks on Gaza’s civilian infrastructure. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights says the targets have included charities, parks, sports clubs and a mosque. The United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Office estimates thousands have been displaced in Gaza. Almost a thousand homes have been destroyed. On Saturday, Israeli shelling killed two disabled women and wounded four when a tank shell struck a rehabilitation center in Gaza City. A member of an ambulance crew spoke to the media.
AMBULANCE CREW MEMBER: [translated] These are the targets of Bibi Netanyahu. These are the remains of children. These are dolls for children. These are the targets of Bibi Netanyahu. These are the targets of the Jews. They are children in an organization for the disabled.
AMY GOODMAN: The U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has expressed alarm at the escalation in fighting as the Security Council is demanding a ceasefire. His office released a statement that, quote, "The Secretary-General does not believe that what is inherently a longstanding, serious political dispute between Israelis and Palestinians can be resolved via military means by either side. He remains engaged with both sides to urge de-escalation and an end to violence."
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli Cabinet that responsibility for civilian deaths in Gaza lies with Hamas.
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: [translated] We don’t know when this operation will be over. It may take a long time, and we need your support and your discipline. Hamas uses the residents of Gaza as a human shield and is bringing disaster on the residents of Gaza, and therefore the responsibility for any harm done to civilians in Gaza, which we regret, the responsibility is that of Hamas and its partners, and them alone.
AMY GOODMAN: Militants in Gaza have fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.
Well, for more, we’re joined from Harvard University by Diana Buttu, an attorney based in Palestine. She has served as a legal adviser to the Palestinians in negotiations with Israel. She was previously an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
We welcome you to Democracy Now! Diana Buttu, can you respond to the latest news from Gaza right now?
DIANA BUTTU: Yes, Amy, in addition to the killings of people, there have been more than 940 houses that have been destroyed by the Israeli army, in addition to much of the water infrastructure has also been targeted. This is a war that has been taking place against the Palestinian civilian population, deliberately designed to bring down the Palestinian civilian population. And this is why we’ve been calling for international intervention to hold Israel accountable to make sure that this precisely stops.
AMY GOODMAN: So, can you talk about how you see this ending?
DIANA BUTTU: The problem is, Amy, is that I don’t see it ending. The real issue here is whether Israel is going to be held accountable. And so far there hasn’t been any international actors who have stepped forward to say anything to Israel or to do anything against Israel. There haven’t been sanctions lobbied against Israel. There haven’t been any statements. And at the end of the day, it’s going to be simply a question of whether Israel gets tired of continuing to bomb a civilian population. We’ve seen this in the past, when it’s carried out bombing campaigns against Lebanon and also the previous bombing campaigns against Gaza. They usually end when Israel—when public opinion turns against Israel. And at the point in time, I just don’t see that there’s any action that’s being taken the stop Israel from continuing to carry out these attacks.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to comments made by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the weekend on Fox News.
PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: You know, here’s the difference between us. We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles. That’s basically the difference. They’re embedding these rockets that they’re firing wholesale into our cities, terrorist rocketing, trying to kill as many as they can. They’re not succeeding because of two reasons. One is because we’ve developed this incredible missile defense system, which I think is a historic development in the history of defensive warfare, with U.S. help, and I want to thank the American people, President Obama, the U.S. Congress for helping us fund this amazing development. But the other reason we’re succeeding—you have to understand some of the rockets do pierce through this shield, and the reason we’re succeeding is also because we’re targeting the rocketeers. The rocketeers are firing from homes. These homes are actually command posts of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad army. So, that’s where they have their secure communications, weapon caches, rockets, hidden map rooms and so on. These are their command posts. Obviously we’re not going to give them immunity, and so we have to attack them. And we try to minimize, as we can, civilian casualties.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Fox this weekend. Diana Buttu, again, he said, "We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians; they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles. That’s basically the difference," he says.
DIANA BUTTU: This is simply Israeli propaganda at its finest. When you look at the death toll and you see the numbers, then the numbers actually speak volumes. When you see that 80 percent of the people who have been killed are civilian, when you see that half of them are women and children, and when you see that who they’re actually bombing is a population 43 percent of whom are under the age of 14, then this is very easy to pierce through the propaganda.
But more importantly, I think it’s important to keep in mind that when Israel talks about who it’s targeting and what it’s targeting, they’ve never proffered any proof or any evidence for what it is that they’re trying to hit. They simply make these allegations, and networks like Fox take it in and simply accept it as being fact. But the fact of the matter is, is that when all of this is over, Israel has never allowed independent investigators to come in and see what it is that Israel is doing. At the end of the day, as much as Israel tries to claim that they’re not targeting civilians, they are, and the casualties speak volumes.
AMY GOODMAN: Last week we spoke to Joshua Hantman, the senior adviser to Israel’s ambassador to the United States. I asked him about the killing. At that point, it was more than a hundred Palestinians had been killed by Israeli airstrikes, most of them women and children. This was his response.
JOSHUA HANTMAN: For Israel, any civilian death is not only a tragedy, but it’s a failure, as well. And we review every single operation and every single strike to see how we can improve. We’ve hit over 800 targets to try and stop these rockets, to try and stop this indiscriminate missile fire against our civilians. Out of those 800 targets, I’ll be honest, the precision—the precision is quite outstanding. And there is no military in the history of the world that has actually used such precision targets. I mean, think about it from a military tactics point of view. We tell our enemies—we tell Hamas where we’re going to hit. We tell them with text messages, with phone calls, with leaflets. We tell them in order to get civilians out of harm’s way. But for them, civilian death is actually—it’s actually a success.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Joshua Hantman, the senior adviser to Israel’s ambassador to the United States, again, responding to my question about the number of Palestinian children and women who have been killed. He talked about precision bombing. Diana Buttu, your response?
DIANA BUTTU: Yes, he’s precise. He is precisely bombing children, and he’s precisely bombing women. If their targeting is so precise, then what he’s saying is actually correct, that they are actually targeting women and children and civilians. And so, at the end of the day, as much as they can try to coat this as being somehow an aggression against some elements within the Gaza Strip, we know otherwise. And the death tolls in these past three aggressions against the Gaza Strip, these past three massacres, really lay out the picture that is actually happening there.
Amy, it’s important to keep in mind exactly what we’re talking about here in the Gaza Strip. This is a place that is twice the size of D.C., Washington, D.C., and it’s got 1.8 million people in it. Half of the population is under the age of 18. As I said, 43 percent is under the age of 14. If you are age seven at this point in time, you’ve been through three bombing campaigns by the Israelis. So, at the end of the day, as much as the Israelis want to claim that they’re using this target precision devices, etc., the toll is really being taken out on Palestinian civilians. So far to date, the Israelis have dropped more weaponry and more bombings than over the three-week campaign that took place in 2009. They’ve admittedly dropped more than 800 tons of bombs on the Gaza Strip.
AMY GOODMAN: Israel says it’s launching its attacks in response to the rocket fire from Gaza.
DIANA BUTTU: This is also another myth, Amy. It’s important to keep in mind what the events were that led up to this whole issue. There were three Israelis who had gone missing in the West Bank. The three Israelis, even though the Israelis knew that they were killed immediately, they ended up putting Palestinians under collective punishment. They ended up arresting more than 500 Palestinians. They killed 11 within that—even before the attack on the Gaza Strip. They ransacked 2,000 homes. They ended up demolishing quite a number of homes. And it became clear that this was going to spiral out of control. Bibi Netanyahu himself said that he was going to try to escalate to try to go after Hamas, even though they had absolutely no evidence. And what he really intended to do was to try to break this national unity government. He knew very well that the international support was alongside the Palestinians, because Israel had continued its settlement activity. It had failed when it came to the peace process. And it needed to bring international support back to Israel by carrying out a bombing campaign against Gaza.
AMY GOODMAN: Critics say the Israeli government is trying to destroy the Palestinian Authority—the unity deal with Hamas, as well as the recent efforts for international recognition by joining U.N. conventions. Can you respond to this, Diana Buttu?
DIANA BUTTU: Yes, I think that this is very much part of the strategy. If you think back to where we were just a couple of months ago, we were at the end of the peace process, a peace process that had failed in large part because—or entirely because the Israeli side continued to build more and more settlements. Even Secretary Kerry had said that he was exasperated by the situation. The national unity government was formed. Israel kept trying to break that national unity government. The international community was not willing to side with Israel on this, recognizing that this national unity government was the best thing for Palestinians. And in particular, there aren’t any members of Hamas within the national unity government. And so, he did his best to try to break it. He tried to do it through propaganda, and now he’s trying to do it with this military assault, all the while trying to shift focus onto Hamas and what Hamas is doing and ignoring the fact that he’s actually heading a government that consists of people who call for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain who those are who are firing the rockets at Israel? Who are the forces within Gaza? And what is the response within the population?
DIANA BUTTU: There are different people who are firing rockets. Some of them are members of Islamic Jihad, some of them are members of other smaller organizations, and some of them are members of Hamas. To be quite honest, I don’t know. I don’t live in Gaza at the moment; I used to, but I don’t at the moment. So it’s unclear.
The response of the Palestinian population is mixed. On the one hand, Palestinians recognize that there needs to be some defense and that they need to defend themselves against what Israel is doing. And on the other hand, there are some Palestinians who are critical and who are saying that this is just simply going to wreak more and more havoc on Palestinian lives. But at the end of the day, they recognize who is dropping the bombs, which is the Israelis.
And moving forward, I think that the only way that we can move forward is begin to talk about protecting Palestinians and having an international protection force that is there to protect Palestinians. This is something that the Israelis have refused to do over time. And I think now is the time that we begin to talk about this issue once again.
AMY GOODMAN: What has been the role of the United States?
DIANA BUTTU: The United States has been the biggest enabler for Israel. We haven’t heard any condemnations by Secretary Kerry or Obama. Instead, we’ve simply heard that Israel has a right to defend itself, whereas we know what Israel is doing: It’s defending its military occupation. We haven’t heard anything regarding the death toll that’s been inflicted on Palestinians and the efforts made by some Palestinians to broker a ceasefire. Instead, it’s simply been a hands-off system of allowing Israel to do whatever it wants to do. And again, Amy, this is not going to bring us any further to ending this conflict.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think Hamas is ready for a ceasefire?
DIANA BUTTU: Hamas has indicated that they are ready for a ceasefire. They’ve listed out their conditions for a ceasefire. There was a call made last Thursday by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to Secretary Kerry to try to get him to broker a ceasefire. He indicated that Netanyahu had outright rejected it. Netanyahu keeps indicating that he will not entertain talk of a ceasefire. And if you think about it, he has no—there’s no urgency for him to do so, because of the fact that there has been no international response against what Israel is doing.
AMY GOODMAN: I know you have to leave, Diana Buttu, but what are the conditions that Hamas has laid out for a ceasefire?
DIANA BUTTU: The primary conditions are for Israel to stop the attacks. Another condition is that they’ve indicated that they should release those prisoners that were re-arrested in this roundup after the three Israelis had gone missing. They’ve also indicated—they put forward other conditions relating to the movement of people, etc. But interestingly enough, they have actually not mentioned anything about the ongoing siege, which I think is one of the main reasons that this continues.
AMY GOODMAN: Diana Buttu, thank you for being with us, attorney based in Palestine, though she is at Harvard University right now, where we are speaking to her in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Diana Buttu has served as a legal adviser to the Palestinians in negotiations with Israel. She was previously an adviser to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. When we come back, we go directly to Gaza. Stay with us.
"Your Body is No Longer Your Own": Freed OWS Activist Cecily McMillan on Plight of Women in Jail
On July 2, Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan was driven to Queens, New York, and dropped off on the side of the road, with only a MetroCard, after serving nearly two months in Rikers jail. McMillan’s sentence for allegedly assaulting a police officer was the most severe served for any of the thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested over the course of the movement. She was detained in March 2012 as protesters tried to re-occupy Zuccotti Park, six months after the Occupy Wall Street movement began. McMillan says she felt someone grab her breast from behind, and swung out instinctively, striking her assailant, who turned out to be police officer Grantley Bovell. Nine of the 12 jurors who convicted McMillan of second-degree assault asked the judge for leniency, saying they did not think she should serve any time in jail. McMillan served 59 days, and has now become an advocate for the women she met behind bars, many of whom she says were denied adequate medical care. "Your body is no longer your own," she says of life behind bars.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: "Friends and Neighbors," Charlie Haden playing bass with Ornette Coleman. The legendary jazz musician and composer Charlie Haden died on Friday at the age of 76, one of the most politically outspoken jazz musicians, also co-founder of the Liberation Music Orchestra. To see our interview with Charlie Haden, go to democracynow.org. Yes, this is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
Twelve days ago, Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan was driven to Queens, New York, and dropped off on the side of the road, with only a MetroCard, after serving nearly two months in jail. McMillan’s sentence for allegedly assaulting a police officer was the most severe served by any of the thousands of Occupy Wall Street activists arrested over the course of the movement. To the Occupy movement, McMillan’s case had become a symbol of police and judicial overreach. She was sentenced to jail even though nine out of the 12 jurors who convicted her pleaded with the judge for leniency, saying they did not think she should serve any time behind bars.
Cecily McMillan was arrested in March 2012 as protesters tried to reoccupy Zuccotti Park, six months after the Occupy Wall Street movement began. She says she felt someone grab her right breast from behind, swung out instinctively, striking her assailant, who turned out to be a police officer, Grantley Bovell, and leaving him with a black eye. McMillan says she then suffered a seizure as police pinned her down and arrested her. She was later treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. She appeared on Democracy Now! six days after her arrest covered in bruises, including one in the shape of a hand print above her right breast.
CECILY McMILLAN: I ended a 40-something-hour stay in jail and ended up with all these bruises. I mean, that’s—I have an open case, so I can’t talk more about it, and I’m sure you can tell that it would be difficult for me to remember some things. But I have these.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Cecily McMillan right after her arrest. Her attorneys showed photos of her bruises during the trial, but the prosecutors rejected McMillan’s claim she was assaulted by police and accused her of making the bruises herself. Cecily McMillan, eventually convicted of second-degree assault, faced up to seven years in prison, a prospect that was apparently shocking even to some of the jurors who convicted her, who did not know this during the trial. The jurors were reportedly barred from researching the case during the trial, including potential sentences. One juror later told The Guardian newspaper, "Most wanted her to do probation, maybe some community service." Well, McMillan was ultimately sentenced to three months in jail, five years of probation. She was released earlier this month, joins us now.
Welcome back to Democracy Now!
CECILY McMILLAN: Thank you for having me.
AMY GOODMAN: So, how are you doing? How was—you spent your time at Rikers.
CECILY McMILLAN: Yeah. It’s very discombobulating to be out now. Honestly, it’s hard to return to my even loving and supportive community after essentially creating a family in there, people that really sustained me and people who really understand what it means to have all of your agency taken away, to be constantly in a humiliating and oppressive situation. And then to be out here, everything from selecting an outfit to learning how to, you know, rework the Internet, has been a very difficult feat.
AMY GOODMAN: So, we didn’t get to talk to you when you were sentenced and went to prison. The response, not only of people outside, but the jurors themselves—what was your response to them? Very rare to write a letter like that to a judge, to say, "Do not imprison her."
CECILY McMILLAN: Well, I was very thankful that they did step forward and that they did get themselves organized and step up front on my behalf. I mean, I was very shocked that there was, as my lawyer called it, the smoking gun, the handprint on the chest with the scratch marks, and the story that I had maintained the entire time, versus Officer Bovell, who had changed his stories a couple of time—and to hear another woman look at you and say, "Aliens might have—well have sexually assaulted you," is a form of rape culture that—
AMY GOODMAN: What do you mean?
CECILY McMILLAN: Well, that’s what the DA said. They said it was more likely that aliens assaulted me than Officer Bovell, and essentially said that I was a liar, which is something women experience all of the time when they try to speak out against their sexual assaulters.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, you went to jail.
CECILY McMILLAN: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk—describe a day in jail.
CECILY McMILLAN: Well, every day is mostly waiting. You have to wait for up to—I never went to sick hall and was there for less than six hours. You could be waiting for up to 12 hours to see a doctor, even sometimes 12 hours two or three days in a row. There are constant searches, where you’re made to lay face down, put your hands behind your back, and it’s a three- to four-hour process where dogs can even be brought in around you, strip searches all of the time—deep knee bend, deep knee bend. I mean, everything about—the best thing I could say that might share some sort of insight to the audience is, in the entire experience that I was there, I had, I think, a grand total of 30 seconds ever alone. It was in an elevator where there was nobody there, and yet the camera was still watching me. Literally, from using the restroom to changing, I mean, you have—your body is no longer your own.
AMY GOODMAN: What was the message of women, knowing you were getting out now, to people on the other side of the bars?
CECILY McMILLAN: I mean, that was a really big discussion. We had launched some campaigns while we were in there, particularly the fact that mail, medication, meal and recreation was called every day at the same time, forcing women to choose between the four services, in order to either achieve their antidepressant medication or to eat that day or to spend the 45 minutes we’re allowed outside in the sun that day, to correspondence from their family and loved ones. So, by the time that I was moving towards leaving, we had had sort of a Zuccotti Park-like participatory democracy where we really did discuss the fact that there was no rehabilitation effort whatsoever that was realistic associated with our punitive system, and what were some demands and changes that could be put forth in order to make those changes. And I firmly believe that those who struggle understand the source of their struggle best, and therefore understand its solution. So I sat there with 53 little pieces of paper on the phone with my team reading out what these women said. And they essentially called for basic tenets of what, you know, we have been talking about, the Democratic Party, for at least as far as I’ve lived. We talked about healthcare, access to healthcare, to emergency medical services, to—
AMY GOODMAN: One woman died while you were in prison?
CECILY McMILLAN: Yeah. Well, not one woman died. I mean, that’s—I mean, one woman that I personally witnessed died. Another woman died the day that I left, a 17-year-old. So, Judith came into our dorm, and she seemed fine. She was happy. She was very funny. And within three days, she had been reduced to vomiting blood, what looked to be chunks of her liver. At this point, she hadn’t eaten for over 24 hours. She was so confused that she would sit on other people’s beds, didn’t know where her bed was. And when two medical professionals came up, and she, you know, was not enthused about the idea of going down with people who had denied her her medical services before, they said, "OK, well, she said she didn’t want to come with us, so she denied medical service, and we’re not going to take her down." And it was very clear that she was absolutely delusional, that there’s no way that she could have made any sort of decisions for herself. And it was not until all of the inmates rose up, I mean, got her dressed and carried her down and said, "This is a medical emergency. You have to take her to the hospital." And even then, the doctor, as she’s standing there covered with her own blood, said, "Huh! You call this a medical emergency?" And they waited there with her until they made sure she went to the hospital, where she remained in critical care condition until her death a couple of weeks ago.
And this, though, I would like to say, is not an anomaly. I witnessed women that had stomach cancer, that could not help themselves up, that had been crying out for hours, their bunkies—roommate, their family, until medical professionals showed up with a gurney and would not help her up on the gurney as the gurney moved to two wheels. They said, "We’re not helping her." And, I mean, again, every single day there was something like this.
AMY GOODMAN: So, where do you go from here?
CECILY McMILLAN: Well, on behalf of the inmates, I will be calling on the Mayor’s Office, City Council, the Board of Corrections. We have already started looking into what community oversight councils they have—and there are few, and not at all very working. We’ll be calling for every inmate to have a full and thorough physical examination and psychosocial examination upon entering the facility. We’ll be asking that the protocol that governs Rikers is reviewed and made sure that it’s in the best interest of all of the inmates. We’ll also be asking for a grievance process. At this point, the director of grievances told me point-blank she’s not accountable to uphold the inmate handbook because she didn’t write it. We will also be calling for resources, career training as well as domestic abuse resources and housing resources for women who are returning to their families and would like nothing better to stay out of jail, be happy and take care of their families. I don’t understand what we think of as prisoners in this country.
AMY GOODMAN: We have to leave it there. The system might be very sorry you ultimately were imprisoned. Cecily McMillan, I want to thank you for being with us, Occupy Wall Street activist who was recently released from Rikers Island after serving nearly two months behind bars, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
"We are Human Beings": Gaza Doctor Pleads for End to Israeli Bombing of Civilian Population
Civilians are bearing the brunt of Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip, with civilians accounting for more than 80 percent of the reported casualties. We go to Gaza for a medical update on the injured from Dr. Mona El-Farra, director of Gaza projects for the Middle East Children’s Alliance and health chair of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of the Gaza Strip. El-Farra describes treating severe burns, unexplained wounds that suggest Israel may be using banned weapons, and the trauma endured by Palestinian children. "We are not just numbers, we are human beings," El-Farra says.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We continue to look at the situation in Gaza, where Israeli Defense Forces and tanks are positioned along the border in the seventh day of Israel’s offensive. In a minute we’ll be joined by two guests who have been monitoring the health situation on the ground in Gaza. As of this morning, the Palestinian death toll has reached at least 172, among them nearly 140 civilians, including 30 children. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 1,200 people have been wounded. Militants in Gaza continue to fire rockets at Israel, though no Israelis have been killed.
We go now to Gaza, where we’re joined by two doctors on the line. Dr. Mona El-Farra is the director of the Gaza projects for the Middle East Children’s Alliance. She’s also the health chair of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of the Gaza Strip. And Dr. Mads Gilbert is with us. He’s a Norwegian doctor providing medical assistance in Gaza, recently submitted a report to the United Nations on the state of Gaza health sector in 2014.
Let us begin with Dr. Mona El-Farra. Where are you now? And can you talk about the situation where you live and work?
DR. MONA EL-FARRA: Yeah. Hello, Amy. I am in the Red Crescent Society for Gaza Strip. The situation has been quiet since 4:00 in the morning—quiet, I mean, the raids against Gaza. But as you have said, the troops are positioned on the border for any minute to raid Gaza. And the assault against Gaza came on top of a very deteriorating humanitarian situation and a gloomy and ambiguous political situation, as well.
You have mentioned about the children and the number of civilians that have been killed. And I’m very appalled that the international community is buying Israeli lies about civilians and about that they are trying to avoid civilians during the war. This is not true. I am appalled about this.
And there is excessive use of power during this attack. And the cases that the hospital received, it is very severe, and there is burns, severe burns. And it’s unexplained all that our doctors cannot deal with it. So, I’m not sure about if Israel is using experimental weapons like the DIME; I’m not sure; I’ll leave it for Dr. Gilbert to explain about this. But our teams in the hospitals received a lot of amputations and a lot of, as I have said earlier, burns and then head injuries and different sort of wounds. Little one traumatized, the whole nation—the whole children and women and civilians in Gaza are home under home arrest because of the situation and the trauma, of course. And an increasing number of children are complaining of perforated eardrums because of the intensity of the shelling. It has been so severe.
I’m very—I don’t like to talk much about numbers, because you have—although numbers are very important. But I would like to give a message to the world that we are not just numbers: We are human beings with stories, dreams, anger, laughter and everything. And Israel tries to portray the story to the world that it is defending Israel from the Hamas militants. And just let me explain that Hamas was democratically elected in the year 2006. And so, in any place of Gaza, you’ll find hospitals, banks, streets, institutions linked to Hamas. That means that Israel is trying to destroy Gaza as a whole. Hamas is not just about the military wing of Hamas that is exchanging rockets with Israel. There is a population, 1.8 population, under very serious attack. And we hardly sleep, not only us health workers, I mean the population, the whole population, are not sleeping because of the intensity of the attacks.
Beside that, let me do this comparison very quickly. I care for children. I care for civilians everywhere. I am a doctor, and I care for Israeli children, as well. But there is a huge difference between children who are just terrified and in the shelters at the moment and other children who don’t have any shelter, children that don’t have clean water. They don’t—we don’t have shelters to go to, so—and living under a very dire and difficult situation because of lacking everything. There is a huge difference between these two categories. Beside that, up ’til now, zero were killed in the other side.
I am very angry, very appalled. And more attacks by Israel will generate more hatred, more bitterness, and it will never guarantee peace for Israel. That’s all what I’m trying to say at this moment. I’d like to add that hospitals have been attacked, banks, streets, institutions. No place is safe in Gaza. No place is safe at all in Gaza. This morning on my way to the Red Crescent Society in the early hours of the morning, streets are deserted. Even in the afternoon, just a few number of people are outside their homes. So, everybody here is looking for ceasefire, looking for ceasefire, and looking for at least to go back to the truce at the year 2012, with a complete lifting of the siege against Gaza and opening of the borders, and not to be subjected to these attacks every now and again. And it’s going on, this is the third time. And maybe another few words—
AMY GOODMAN: Dr.—
DR. MONA EL-FARRA: I was appalled. Sorry, go ahead.
AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Mona El-Farra, we’re also joined by Dr. Mads Gilbert, the Norwegian doctor who has just come back to Gaza, who submitted a report to the United Nations on the state of health in Gaza.
Norwegian Physician Treating Wounded Civilians: Stop the Bombing, End Israeli Impunity in Gaza
Dr. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor, joins us from Gaza where he has been treating hundreds of victims wounded in Israel’s ongoing assault, including young children. Dr. Gilbert says hospitals are operating without electricity, water and proper medical supplies, but adds: "As a medical doctor, my appeal is don’t send bandages, don’t send syringes, don’t send medical teams. The most important medical thing you can do now is to force Israel to stop the bombing and lift the siege of Gaza." Gilbert recently recently submitted a report to the United Nations on the state of the Gaza health sector in 2014. "Where is the decency in the U.S. government allowing Israel this impunity to punish the whole civilian population in Gaza?" Gilbert asks.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Mona El-Farra, we’re also joined by Dr. Mads Gilbert, the Norwegian doctor who has just come back to Gaza, who submitted a report to the United Nations on the state of health in Gaza. Dr. Gilbert, I know you have a long line of patients there, but—and we had hoped to have you all on a satellite connection, but it’s very difficult with the electricity going out constantly. You rarely in the media see direct reports from Gaza in the same way that you do from Jerusalem, from other parts of Israel. Dr. Mads Gilbert, what are you seeing right now?
DR. MADS GILBERT: Well, I’m seeing the staff in Shifa Hospital doing their utmost to care for the people, the Palestinian people who are being bombed constantly by the overwhelming military force of the Israeli military. And really, I mean, it’s extremely impressive to see their resilience, their determination and the way they cope with these extremely harsh conditions that they’re in now.
As you said, so far, close to 170 Palestinians have been killed, among them 36 children and 24 women. And among the 1,232 injured, there are 346 children and 256 women. So, 50 percent of the injured are women and children. Now, this tells you that these attacks are not targeting the militarists in Palestine, in Gaza. These attacks are targeting the whole population in order to intimidate them and to force them to give up their resistance. I’ve been to Gaza through the last 17 years, and every time it is the same story. Israelis are accusing the Palestinians of attacking them; they have to defend themselves, they claim. Actually, the truth is the exact opposite. Israel is the attacker, the occupant. Internationally, they are responsible, according to the law, for the security and the well-being of the occupied population, whereas in fact Israel is doing their utmost to kill them and to make their life as miserable as possible through these seven years of siege.
And I would like to add that I work in a Norwegian university hospital, and we are depending on the same sort of preconditions to handle mass casualty situations. The Palestinian hospitals are denied a constant supply of energy, of water, of disposables, medical drugs—all the items you need to run a university-level hospital. And on top of this, on top of this total drainage of resources from the siege, they are now exposed to this constant and very large flow of very severely injured. And they are not crippled. On the contrary, they stand tall. They have doubled or tripled their shifts. They do 24-hour shifts. Everyone is extremely tired and exhausted, but they don’t yield. They don’t leave their positions. And yesterday, the hospital director in Shifa, Dr. Nasr’s home was completely bombed and destroyed by the Israeli forces. And we have, of course, nurses and doctors and other ambulance drivers being injured and even killed. So, I think it’s important to understand that the Palestinians, yes, they are suffering, but they are not begging. Yes, they are oppressed, but they are standing extremely strong together in this time of crisis.
As a medical doctor, you know, my appeal is: Don’t send bandages. Don’t send syringes. Don’t send medical teams. The most important medical thing you can do now is to force Israel to stop the bombing, and it is to lift the siege of Gaza. Then the Palestinians will manage well themselves.
As for the injuries, there are all types of war injuries, from shrapnel injuries to these very extreme damages from the DIME weapons, the DIME explosives, the dense inert metal explosives, that they are using, carried by Hellfire rockets connected to the drones of Israeli, and they are extremely destructive. So people are torn apart. I mean, they’re split at their midlevel. They lose their arms and legs, and they’re killed. They’re charcoaled by the burns, if they are hit by these DIME explosives. We have had gruesome, absolutely gruesome injuries, which people cannot actually watch. But the most important injuries are those who maim without killing. I was just tending to a 24-year-old Palestinian student who has lost both his legs at hip level. We had to amputate both his legs. Both arms severely burned, now he has septicemia. And it’s really a hard struggle, even for a well-equipped American university hospital with all supplies and peace and security, to handle one such patient. Now they have by the hundreds. The other patient I tended to was a five-year-old. His house was bombed. The roof of the ceiling of his bedroom fell on his head. He has a closed head injury, very severe. We don’t know if he will survive.
What did these people do to deserve this treatment? What did these people do to deserve the support of the U.S. government to support Israel to attack the people of Gaza in this way? I mean, where is the humanity? Where is the decency of the U.S. government allowing Israel this impunity to punish the whole civilian population in Gaza? It’s just outrageous. And the main problem in the Middle East today, it is the Israeli impunity. They go on with these so-called military campaigns every third year. They kill. They maim. They try to sort of oppress the population to surrender. The Palestinians will never surrender. And our duty is to support them and to raise the awareness and to raise the solidarity work in our countries to pressure our politicians to change the attitude towards the real oppressor and the real criminal here. It is the state of Israel.
AMY GOODMAN: Dr. Mads Gilbert, the attack on the center for the disabled where two women were killed, can you talk more about that? Do you know of that?
DR. MADS GILBERT: Yes, of course I know about that. This is a well-established hospital, which is doing, you know, rehabilitation work for disabled, not at least the war injured. This hospital is located in an area which the Israeli military obviously wants to flatten in order to have more easy access for their tanks. I was not there, but the reports I had were that they actually had soldiers come in fairly close to the hospital, and then they targeted it, and killing these people, as you say. In 2009, there was absolutely no security for hospitals and ambulances, nor was it in 2012. So, I mean, if there is one nation firmly supported by the U.S. which is violating the Geneva Convention, violating the international treaties in all aspects, it is Israel. They don’t even respect hospitals. And why don’t they open corridors so that the hospitals in Gaza can have supplies? Why don’t they open Erez and Rafah, the Egyptians also, to evacuate those severely injured that need to be treated abroad? I mean, even those very, very basic provisions, which are anchored in international law, is denied the Palestinians.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you both for being with us. Dr. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor providing medical assistance in Gaza, he has just returned there and submitted a report to the United Nations on the state of Gaza’s health sector, submitted to the U.N. Refugee and Works Agency. Dr. Mona El-Farra, Gaza projects for the Middle East Children’s Alliance, also with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of the Gaza Strip. I know you have a lot of work to do. Thank you for taking the time to speak to us.
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, Cecily McMillan joins us. She’s just out of jail, the Occupy protester. Stay with us.
Headlines:
•U.N.: 80% of Gaza Casualties are Civilian; Thousands Displaced
U.N.: 80% of Gaza Casualties are Civilian; Thousands Displaced
Thousands of Gazans have fled their homes amidst a relentless Israeli bombing campaign that’s now killed more than 165 people, most of them civilians, since it began a week ago. The United Nations estimates more than 80 percent of the dead are civilian, of whom 20 percent are children — at least 36 dead. At least 1,200 Palestinians have been wounded, nearly two-thirds women and children. More than 940 homes have reportedly been severely damaged or destroyed, some 400,000 people are without electricity, and 17,000 people are displaced.
•Israeli Leaflets to Gazans: "Any Moving Body Will Be Struck"
This weekend brought the deadliest airstrikes to date in Gaza, including a bombing that killed 18 members of the same family. Thousands of residents of northern Gaza have abandoned their homes to head south after the Israeli military warned them of impending attacks. One displaced resident described an Israeli leaflet telling locals: "Any moving body after noon will be struck."
•Bombings of Gaza Civilian Targets Include Center for Disabled
In addition to bombing homes, Israel has carried out a number of attacks on Gaza’s civilian infrastructure. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights says the targets have included "charities, parks, sport clubs, and a mosque." On Saturday, two women were killed and four others were critically wounded when an Israeli missile struck a center for the disabled.
Medical worker: "These are the targets of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. These are remains of children. These are dolls for children. These are the targets of Bibi Netanyahu. These are the targets of the Jews. They are children in an organization for the disabled."
The Israeli military says it fired a warning rocket to alert the center’s disabled residents of an impending bombing. But the center’s director told The New York Times that no one understood the warning, and that residents were "too handicapped to have fled the building on their own in any case."
•U.N. Rights Chief: Israeli Bombings of Gaza Likely Violate International Law
In a statement, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said: "The scope of damage to civilian infrastructure in Gaza, particularly electricity, water and sanitation facilities and equipment, is of increasing concern." A spokesperson for Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said Israel’s attacks likely violate international law.
Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR: "We have received deeply disturbing reports that many of the civilian casualties, including of children, occurred as a result of strikes on homes. Such reports raise doubts about whether the Israeli airstrikes have been in accordance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law."
•Hundreds of Rockets Fired on Israel from Gaza; Israeli Teen Critically Wounded
The United Nations has also voiced concern over ongoing indiscriminate rocket fire from militants in Gaza aimed at Israel. Hundreds of rockets have been fired so far, causing no direct killings. An Israeli teenager was critically wounded Sunday in a rocket attack on the town of Ashkelon.
•U.N. Security Council Calls for Gaza Ceasefire
On Saturday, the United Nations Security Council passed a measure calling for a ceasefire, although with no timetable attached. The current Security Council president, Rwandan Ambassador Eugène-Richard Gasana, briefed reporters.
Eugène-Richard Gasana, U.N. Security Council president: "The Security Council members called for de-escalation of the situation, restoration of calm and restitution of November 2012 ceasefire. The Security Council members further called for respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a ceasefire, calling it "not even on the agenda." On Sunday, Netanyahu said he does not know when the assault on Gaza will end, saying "it might take much more time." Hamas has called for a ceasefire based on several conditions, including an end to the blockade of Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners detained in the recent West Bank raids that helped spark the current violence.
•Worldwide Protests Oppose Israeli Attack on Gaza
Protests against the attack on Gaza continue around the world. Over the weekend, tens of thousands rallied in countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Canada, Germany, Britain, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Australia, France, Syria, Pakistan, India and Japan. Here in the United States, rallies were held in cities including Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Columbus.
•Iraqi Lawmakers Delay Unity Talks; Violence Kills Dozens
Iraq continues to face nationwide violence amidst an ongoing impasse over forming a new unity government. Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds are all pushing different candidates for the key posts of prime minister, speaker of the parliament and president. The talks began this month but quickly broke down. A parliamentary meeting on Sunday was adjourned after just 30 minutes, with the next session scheduled for Tuesday. This comes as Sunni militants continue to carry out attacks as they expand their stronghold in the north and west of Iraq. On Sunday, militants led by the "Islamic State" group killed six people and seized government buildings in a town north of Baghdad. On Saturday, unidentified gunmen killed 26 people, including 20 women, in an attack on a building in Baghdad. The site had been linked to prostitution. The death toll from a suicide bombing in Kirkuk on Friday has reached 28.
•Report: Pentagon Doubts Viability of U.S. "Advisory" Mission in Iraq
A newly disclosed report has revealed Pentagon concerns over its effort to advise the Iraqi military. According to The New York Times, U.S. military analysts have concluded that only half of Iraq’s military units "are capable enough for American commandos to advise them." The assessment also concludes Iraqi units are so infiltrated by either Sunni militants or Iran-backed Shiites that U.S. advisers would face threats to their safety.
•U.S. Brokers Deal to Audit Disputed Afghan Presidential Vote
The United States has brokered a deal to resolve a political crisis in Afghanistan over last month’s disputed presidential elections. Preliminary results show former World Bank official Ashraf Ghani beating opponent Abdullah Abdullah by about a million votes. Abdullah’s supporters have protested, calling the results a "coup" and claiming widespread fraud. After two days of talks, Secretary of State John Kerry appeared with both candidates to announce a full audit of all eight million votes.
Secretary of State John Kerry: "This is unquestionably a tense and difficult moment, but I am very pleased that the two candidates who stand here with me today and President Karzai have stepped up and shown a significant commitment to compromise. With respect to national unity, both candidates have agreed to abide by the results of the audit and that the winner of the election will serve as president and will immediately form a government of national unity."
The agreement follows a power dispute that saw Abdullah threatening to form his own government. New figures from the U.N. show more than 1,500 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan this year, an increase of 17 percent.
•Kerry Meets Iranian FM in Nuclear Talks
The United States and Iran are holding high-level talks today ahead of a deadline on a deal over Iran’s nuclear program. Secretary of State John Kerry has met with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Austria for the second consecutive day. Both sides say they remain at odds over several key issues, including Iran’s nuclear fuel-making capacity. Speaking to NBC News, Zarif reaffirmed Iran’s claim to a peaceful nuclear program and defended building underground facilities in light of repeated threats from the United States and Israel.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian foreign minister: "I will commit to everything and anything that would provide credible assurances for the international community that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons, because we are not. We don’t see any benefit in Iran developing a nuclear weapon. When the United States talk about bombing Iranian facilities out of existence, what do you expect Iran to do? Iran would create a facility that is not susceptible to being bombed. That is what any rational country would do."
GOP Lawmakers Seek Reduction of Border Funding Request;
•Deportations to Begin This Week
Congressional Republicans are vowing to trim President Obama’s $3.7 billion spending request for the migrant crisis on the southern border. The funding would be used to speed up deportations, as well as to improve care for thousands of children being held in detention centers, holding pens and temporary housing facilities. Republicans say they intend to make cuts when the House Appropriations Committee takes up the measure on Tuesday. Over the weekend, Senator John McCain of Arizona called for the mass deportation of migrant children caught at the border.
Sen. John McCain: "We have to move quickly to repatriate these children. The only way that this is going to stop is if planeloads of children arrive back in the countries in Central America that they came from and their parents see the $3-$4-$5-$6-7,000 that they have paid to the human traffickers is wasted. That’s the only way that this is going to stop."
In a rare point of agreement with the White House, several Republicans have backed President Obama’s request for a waiver that would let the government deport children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador as quickly as it does those from Mexico. A 2008 anti-trafficking law says children from countries that do not directly border the United States must be allowed to stay while their cases are processed. Many Democrats have opposed the waiver. On Friday, Democratic Rep. Luis Gutiérrez said the current crisis shouldn’t draw attention from the need for comprehensive immigration reform and an end to record deportations.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez: "I want the president to be as bold and generous as Republicans have been petty and mean-spirited on immigration. We cannot let the current turmoil at the border — which we would be doing an even better job of controlling had this Congress addressed immigration reform — we can’t let this crisis distract us from the fact that record-breaking levels of deportation, and the threat of deportation, are taking a devastating toll on American communities throughout our nation."
The Department of Homeland Security says it expects to begin deportations from the temporary detention facilities later this week.
•Detroit Retirees, Public Workers Vote on Pension Cuts
Detroit creditors, including public workers and retirees, have submitted their final votes on the city’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The measure would cut pensions by up to 4.5 percent and scrap cost-of-living increases. Supporters have backed the plan on the grounds it would avoid even worse cuts down the line, while opponents urged a "no" vote by arguing pensioners are entitled to what they were promised. If approved, the plan would free up hundreds of millions of dollars in outside funding. Unofficial tallies show a majority of retirees and pensioners have voted in favor, but final results will not be known until next week. Detroit is currently facing a water crisis where the city has shut off service to thousands of households over unpaid bills of as little as two months.
•World Council of Churches Divests from Fossil Fuels
The World Council of Churches has become one of the most high-profile groups so far to endorse divestment from fossil fuels. The Council’s Central Committee has endorsed a proposal that will phase out its holdings in all corporations profiting from carbon dioxide emissions. The World Council of Churches represents 300 churches with more than 590 million members in 150 countries. The group 350.org says the vote could mark "the most important commitment" on fossil fuel divestment so far, adding: "It opens the doors for churchgoers around the world to encourage their institutions to live up to their values and divest from companies that are destroying the planet and our future."
•Guantánamo Prisoners Seek Same Religious Protection as Hobby Lobby
Attorneys for Guantánamo Bay prisoners have argued their clients deserve the same religious protections recently granted to the corporate chain Hobby Lobby. In a ruling last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled most private companies that claim religious objections can refuse to provide birth control coverage to employees as required by Obamacare, citing a federal law protecting religious freedom. Appearing before the D.C. District Court last week, defense attorneys said their clients should be considered "persons" under U.S. law and should accordingly be entitled to the same protections as Hobby Lobby. Among several demands, the prisoners are challenging the denial of group prayer at Guantánamo. The Justice Department argued against the defense, saying the prisoners are "not persons" entitled to religious protections. Defense attorney Jon Eisenberg said: "It is truly grotesque for the Obama folks to insist that a for-profit corporation is a person, but a flesh-and-blood human being at Guantánamo Bay is not."
•Bergdahl Returning to Active Duty at Texas Base
The freed prisoner of war Bowe Bergdahl is returning to active duty. The Pentagon says that six weeks after his release by the Taliban, Bergdahl will take up a post at the Texas base where he has been receiving treatment. Bergdahl will also meet with investigators probing the circumstances surrounding his capture in Afghanistan.
•Legendary Jazz Musician, Activist Charlie Haden Dies at 76
The legendary jazz bassist, composer and political activist Charlie Haden has died at the age of 76. In the late 1950s, Haden played in Ornette Coleman’s groundbreaking quartet, which changed the shape and sound of jazz. Over the years, Haden won countless music awards and played with many other jazz greats, including John Coltrane, Don Cherry and Archie Shepp. He also emerged as one of the jazz world’s most politically outspoken musicians. During the middle of the Vietnam War, he and Carla Bley formed the Liberation Music Orchestra. The group’s debut album mixed songs from the Spanish Civil War, antiwar songs and a tribute to Che Guevera. In 1971, he was jailed in Portugal for dedicating a song to the black liberation movements of Mozambique and Angola. In 2006 Haden re-formed the Liberation Music Orchestra in response to the Bush administration and the invasion of Iraq, titling his accompanying album "Not In Our Name." In an interview with Democracy Now! that year, Haden discussed his life’s work.
Charlie Haden: "I’ve been so lucky to play with great musicians, most of whom I wanted to play with and I sought out when I was in my younger stages, and, you know, I wouldn’t do anything different, except I would seek out as many musicians to life the way I am and dedicated to beauty the way I am, because it’s not really about categories, like jazz, it’s about beautiful music and playing music from all over the world with other musicians who are dedicated, because it’s up to us to bring beauty back into this world. It’s up to people in the arts, the painters, the writers, the composers, the dance troupes, everybody, the actors, the people who write poetry. You know, it’s up to us to try to make a difference in this world and try to make this planet a better to live for all the human beings and stop the cruelty and the devastation that’s going on, you know, and have a great place."
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