Gaza, a virtual war zone
Description: The 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict began on December 27th when the Israeli forces bombed Gaza. In this conflict, digital tools have been used by the Israeli government, main stream media, human rights activists, residents in Gaza, and pro Israel and pro Hamas groups.
Tools: Twitter, blogs , You Tube and Face Book. It seems Twitter was the “star” of digital media in this conflict.
Turkey rejects Israeli FM’s visit if no talks on ceasefire proposal
Turkey’s foreign minister told his Israeli counterpart that she could visit Turkey on the condition that the terms of a ceasefire be on the agenda of the meeting, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
Gaza dents Turkey-Israel ties – International Herald Tribune
Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, president of the UN General Assembly in an article here.
Did you know about this? This is just one of the chronological facts on the unfolding of American recognition of the state of Israel in the Truman Library.
November 29, 1947: The United Nations General Assembly approves the partition plan for Palestine put forward by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine. The 1947 UN Partition divided the area into three entities: a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone around Jerusalem.
AN EYE FOR AN EYELASH: THE GAZA MASSACRE.
As the war on Gaza continues without an end in sight, with the Israeli politicians and the IDF’s military elite having lost all reason and humanity. There is little I can add to the millions of words already written and spoken about this abomination. Operation Cast Lead, the IDF’s code word for their war on Gaza tells all one needs to know about the inhuman mindset of these people.
MAIN FOCUS: The Gaza conflict in Europe | 14/01/2009
While Israel continues its military action against the radical Islamist Hamas, the Gaza conflict is increasingly making itself felt within Europe. The European press comments on protests against Israel in individual countries and warns of a new wave of anti-Semitism.
Human Rights Watch: Israel used white phosphorus on densely populated areas in Gaza
Heavy fighting continues on the Gaza Strip
Israel and Gaza: Competing Pathologies
by Bill Stewart
Once again the fat is in the fire. Hamas called off a shaky, six month-old ceasefire with Israel, and Israel responded with a massive air attack on Gaza that was still underway by the end of the week. Israel claimed the right of self-defense, saying it could no longer tolerate constant rocket attacks along its southern frontier. Hamas claimed Israel had virtually imprisoned 1.5 million Palestinians in the narrow Gaza Strip since the Israeli withdrawal in 2005, leaving Hamas little choice in defending its people.
Gaza war shines spotlight on EU foreign policy
European cities fill with protests against Gaza war
Gaza: the wider war, Paul Rogers
The war in Gaza moves towards the end of its third week with the Israeli military still pressing hard its military offensive. The attacks on dozens of selected targets and the incursion of Israeli troops into Gaza city itself continue, as does the flight towards any location offering physical safety of thousands among the beleaguered Palestinian population (see "Israelis strike 60 Gaza targets", BBC News, 13 January 2009). Paul Rogers is professor of peace studies at Bradford University, northern England. He has been writing a weekly column on global security on openDemocracy since 26 September 2001
A crisis of dignity in Gaza, Mary Robinson
All signs increasingly point to an Israeli assault in Gaza which contravenes international legal norms relating in particular to proportionality and collective punishment. This response, tragically, is but the latest in an escalating series of measures which not only fail to protect the Israeli people from terrorist attacks but further fan the flames of conflict across the region.
Egypt’s dilemma: Gaza and beyond, Tarek Osman
The deep heart of Egypt’s centralised political system is intensely engaged in seeking an end to the war in Gaza begun with Israel’s air-assault on 27 December 2008 and intensified by the ground-level invasion from 4 January 2009. But the Egyptian administration’s concern is not just diplomatic or humanitarian, for Cairo has reason to worry about the unsettling domestic political implications of Israel’s ferocious campaign.
How a Turk became ’spokesman’ for South Lebanon
The Daily Star (Lebanon), Tuesday, January 06, 2009
By Ilona Viczian, Beirut
Former Unifil stalwart Timor Goksel explains how he got here – and why he stays
Timor Goksel was, not surprisingly, puffing on a nargileh at his current favorite Beirut spot, Cafe Rawda, after meeting with students all morning. Goksel needs little introduction in these parts; he served with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for 24 years, eight of which were as senior adviser and press officer. He’s now a lecturer at the American University of Beirut and is a much-quoted unofficial spok
esman for South Lebanon.
Gaza Bloggers Do What Journalists Cant
“The Israeli offensive inGazareached its 18th day with Israel continuing toblock accessto the region for foreign journalists,” reportsThe Christian Science Monitor’s Kristen Chickin a January 13, 2009, report headlined “Gaza bloggers relay crisis to outside world.” “But bloggers in Gaza are chronicling the conflict with firsthand accounts of their experiences, giving outsiders a look at the unfolding humanitarian crisis.”
Facebook Gaza War to Surpass 1 Million Users
Last week I covered two new applications that are helping users to express support of both Palestinians and Israelis. The QassamCount application has grown to over 283,000 monthly active users and the STOP Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza application has surged to almost half a million users as of this morning. By tomorrow the application will likely be among the top hundred most active applications on Facebook.
Report: Media Shift from War to Washington
Even as the fighting in Gaza continued to generate major coverage last week, the media focus shifted back to Washington and the daunting tasks confronting incoming President Barack Obama.
Thanks to his increasingly aggressive campaign for a stimulus package and some controversial appointments, Obama’s transition was the top story from Jan. 5-11, according to the News Coverage Index from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. At 26% of the newshole, the subject more than tripled its coverage from the previous week.
Campus Gaza: Academic Boycotts and Complicit Silence
In a previous post, “Accepting the Might to Exist: Some Israeli Lessons for Anthropology,” a close Trinidadian friend and non-academic collaborator, Guanaguanare, wrote what I thought was an especially penetrating comment on complicit silence from those one might look to for some guidance in understanding issues of conflict, human rights, on the human condition itself, from people who on other occasions and with other topics have been rather quicker in making judgments.
277 Palestinian Children Killed in the Israeli Attacks in Gaza
Medical sources in Gaza report that 908 Palestinian people have been killed – of whom 277 are children- so far in the Israeli attacks. It is also reported that more than 80 percent of the victims of the Israeli attacks are civilians.
Israel Bans Arab Parties From Election
By Anti-War
January 12, 2009
By a margin of 26-3, the Israeli Central Elections Committee decided to ban the Balad Party from running in next month’s election. By a margin of 21-8, they also banned the United Arab List-Ta’al (UAL-T). The two bans will prevent more than half of the current Arab members of Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, from running for reelection.
Israelis urged to boycott Turkish hotels – Israel Travel, Ynetnews
Turkish PM denies anti-Semitism, says ‘Jewish-backed media’ spread false info on Gaza – Haaretz – Israel News
Turkish PM stands by criticism of Israeli offensive in Gaza | WORLD
Israel’s Alliance With Turkey Is a Trap | theTrumpet.com
Al Jazeera Releases Gaza Video Archive Under Creative Commons License
by Xeni Jardin
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