Category Archives: peace

Annie Lennox Responds To Gaza Blog Comments – Look to the Stars

The singer and activist has been blogging about the situation in Gaza over the last few weeks, but her thoughts have caused a stir among those who read them, with many choosing sides.

“Over the last few weeks my blogs have been mainly focused on the plight of thousands of innocent civilians trapped in Gaza (many of whom are young children) who have been the victims of bombing raids,” she wrote. “Whichever way you look at the arguments for and against on either side, it is abominable that any human being should have to suffer on such a scale.

“I have read most of the comments posted on my blogs. The entire spectrum of viewpoints has been well represented… from hate filled bigotry to more rational viewpoints, all passionately expressed. Somewhat predictably it is so often “There is only one side… and if you’re not with us, you’re against us.”

“For me, this kind of perspective only ever leads to destruction as the inevitable end game. The possibility for long term sustainable peace should be the only goal. But it seems that after decades of abuse, the situation is further away from a positive solution than it ever was. How many more innocent people must be slaughtered? How many lives shattered?

“Latest developments across the entire Middle East seem to be rapidly turning the region into an even bigger tinder keg of madness and extremism. What’s the end game? I personally don’t see how this can turn out well. I don’t know how other people are feeling, but I find this all deeply disquieting.”

via Annie Lennox Responds To Gaza Blog Comments – Look to the Stars.

Jimmy Carter: World powers should rethink approach to Hamas | Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Former US president Jimmy Carter said in an op-ed Monday that in order for the Israel-Gaza status quo to change, the international community needs to recognize Hamas as a “legitimate political actor.”

“Hamas cannot be wished away, nor will it cooperate in its own demise,” an op-ed written by Carter and former Irish president Mary Robinson said.

“Only by recognizing its legitimacy as a political actor — one that represents a substantial portion of the Palestinian people — can the West begin to provide the right incentives for Hamas to lay down its weapons,” the op-ed, published in Foreign Policy, said.

“Ever since the internationally monitored 2006 elections that brought Hamas to power in Palestine, the West’s approach has manifestly contributed to the opposite result.”

Carter and Robinson called for an “partial lifting” of the eight-year-old blockade on the Gaza Strip, and said an international force should be put into place to monitor border crossings.

The presence of an international force is also necessary to hold both sides accountable for ceasefire violations, they said.

The op-ed was also heavily critical of the Israeli army’s handling of its offensive on Gaza.

“There is no humane or legal justification for the way the Israeli Defense Forces are conducting this war,” the op-ed said.

“Hundreds of Palestinian noncombatants have been killed. Much of Gaza has lost access to water and electricity completely. This is a humanitarian catastrophe.”

The op-ed also noted “unacceptable” actions by Hamas, but stressed that while Gaza militants have killed three civilians, the vast majority of the 1,875 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces throughout the assault have been civilians.

Both Carter and Robinson are members of the Elders, a non-governmental organization that describes itself as a group of “independent global leaders working together for peace and human rights.”

Carter is among the most notable American public figures to criticize Israeli policy toward Palestinians. He is the author of “Peace Not Apartheid,” a book for which he has earned praise for its frank speech about Israel and Palestine. Some key American figures, however, accuse him of being biased against Israel.

via Jimmy Carter: World powers should rethink approach to Hamas | Maan News Agency.

90 Palestinians injured by live fire in Hebron clashes | Maan News Agency

More than 90 Palestinians were injured by live fire during clashes with Israeli forces in Hebron on Friday, medics said.

Wilid Zaloum, director of Hebron Governmental Hospital, told Ma’an more 90 Palestinians arrived at the hospital with bullet wounds after being shot by Israeli forces.

Three of the Palestinians were critically injured, Zaloum told Ma’an. Many others were in moderate condition after being shot in the lower extremities.

via 90 Palestinians injured by live fire in Hebron clashes | Maan News Agency.

Gaza crisis: ‘Huge surge’ in displaced people after night of intensified violence – live | World | The Guardian

13:41 EST: 60 minutes ago: Israeli strikes on Gaza continued Tuesday evening after an all-out barrage the night before that was responsible for as many as 110 Palestinian deaths in a 24-hour period.

A strike or strikes in Jabalia camp north of Gaza City killed 10 Palestinians, medics said. Earlier strikes in Khan Younis in the south killed 15 members of three families, and 11 people were killed in a strike on a house in Bureij refugee camp in Gaza City.

The “night of intensified violence” created a “huge surge of displacement” in Gaza, the UN said, with 200,337 people now packed into 85 UNRWA shelters.

The Israeli military said it hit “over 70 terror sites throughout the Gaza Strip” overnight including a home belonging to former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, a finance ministry building, and the Gaza power plant.

53 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting, the army said, and three civilians including a Thai national have died. 2,612 rockets have been fired from Gaza in about three weeks, the IDF said.

1,175 Gazans have died in the conflict so far and an estimated 6,900 have been wounded, health officials estimated.

via Gaza crisis: ‘Huge surge’ in displaced people after night of intensified violence – live | World | The Guardian.

empty shoes | Palestine Rose

Oh what will you wear for Eid,

My darling young one,

Oh what will you wear for Eid,

My darling young one?

I’ll wear my burial shroud

In my Grave.

I Miss You

Mother, please don’t be afraid

For me, my journey cut short

By Israeli Demons’ so Loud,—

Their rockets went past clouds

In the sky, a Space

Satellite Saw Gaza Ablaze.

I Miss You

Mother, please don’t be afraid

For me, my journey cut short

By Israeli Demons’ so Loud,—

I’m Praying for Gaza, my head bowed.

In Paradise, with Allah, who Hears

Every Prayer, He wiped away all of my Tears.

via empty shoes | Palestine Rose.

2 Foreign Aid Workers Are Gunned Down in Afghanistan, Officials Say – NYTimes.com

The women worked for the International Assistance Mission, were both from Finland, and were in their 40s or 50s, Mr. Wafa said. “They were inside a taxi and we have no idea as of now what they were doing in downtown Herat city,” he said.

A spate of shootings of foreign citizens occurred earlier this year before Afghanistan held elections, causing many organizations to curtail the movements of foreign staff members.

The International Assistance Mission, known as I.A.M., has been operating in Afghanistan since the 1960s, running an eye hospital and offering orthopedic services, as well as offering assistance programs for the poor. Its expatriate staff are often well assimilated in Afghanistan, learn the local languages, and live quietly with their families in Afghan communities.

In 2010, members of a 10-member I.A.M. team conducting a mobile eye clinic in remote areas of Nuristan Province were ambushed and killed by gunmen.

via 2 Foreign Aid Workers Are Gunned Down in Afghanistan, Officials Say – NYTimes.com.