arms supplies

‘You Must Do Better’: Harris Rebuked Over Failure to Change Course on Gaza

Spread the love

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under a CC licence.

A banner calling for an arms embargo against Israel is pictured outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 22, 2024. (Photo: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Harris called for a cease-fire in Gaza, but she failed to commit to the change in policy that would secure a cease-fire: ending weapons transfers to Israel,” said one Palestinian rights group.

During her speech Thursday night accepting the Democratic Party’s 2024 nomination, Vice President Kamala Harris decried the “heartbreaking” suffering that Gazans are experiencing after 10 consecutive months of Israeli bombardment.

But Harris didn’t acknowledge, let alone condemn, the central role the United States has played in fueling the humanitarian emergency in the Palestinian enclave, where civilians face indiscriminate bombings daily as well as famine and appalling disease outbreaks—including a possible polio epidemic.

Instead, Harris repeated a line that has become commonplace for the White House and its allies, declaring that “President [Joe] Biden and I are working around the clock” to secure a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Nor did Harris explicitly denounce Israel’s actions in Gaza, which have included atrocities committed with U.S. weaponry.

“Harris wanted to portray herself as strong and brave, but when she had to switch to passive voice (“What has happened in Gaza”) to avoid calling out Israel’s war crimes, she showed stunning cowardice,” said Palestinian American political analyst Yousef Munayyer.

Declining to break with the administration in which she currently serves, the vice president did not express support for a policy shift that would pressure Israel’s far-right government to accept a cease-fire agreement, such as an arms embargo of the kind supported by United Nations experts, leading human rights groups, and a majority of U.S. voters.

“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,” said Harris, condemning the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

“If you really wanted a cease-fire, you’d just stop sending the weapons. It is that simple.”

Abbas Alawieh, a co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement, toldReuters following the vice president’s speech that she did not deliver what was badly needed as the disaster in Gaza worsens by the minute: “courageous leadership that breaks from the current approach.”

The IMEU Policy Project, an affiliate of the Institute for Middle East Understanding, echoed Alawieh’s assessment, saying in a statement that “with Vice President Kamala Harris’ nomination, the party had an opportunity to move in a new direction.”

“Tonight Harris called for a cease-fire in Gaza, but she failed to commit to the change in policy that would secure a cease-fire: ending weapons transfers to Israel,” the group said. “To be clear: There is no way to end this bloodshed while supplying Israel with billions of dollars in weapons as it indiscriminately bombs Palestinian families, schools, hospitals, refugee shelters, and places of worship.”

“It must be noted that Harris’ call for ‘dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination’ for the Palestinian people received thunderous applause,” the organization added. “However, words are not enough. Democratic voters are increasingly united in their demand for a change in policy on Gaza and in support of Palestinian safety and freedom broadly; it is time for the Democratic Party leadership to catch up.”

Denied a speaking slot on the convention stage, Palestinian American delegates and their allies made their voices heard in the hallways of Chicago’s United Center and outside of the facility, where they held a sit-in to protest the DNC’s rejection of their demands.

Calls for a Palestinian American speaker on the DNC stage drew broad support from Democratic lawmakers and their allies, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the United Auto Workers.

Lily Greenberg Call, a Jewish Biden political appointee who resigned in May over the administration’s Gaza policy, said late Thursday that she was “so sad and disappointed” that the DNC chose to “silence Palestinian American voices and exclude them from the convention stage.”

“VP, I want you to win in November,” Call added. “You must do better.”

Layla Elabed, a co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement and the sister of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), said Thursday that “Michigan voters want to vote for Harris, but we need to shift policy.”

“Many of us know the impact of U.S.-funded bombs firsthand,” said Elabed.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of the lawmakers who showed solidarity with uncommitted delegates as they staged a sit-in outside of the DNC earlier this week, clearly articulated the U.S. Palestinian rights movement’s position during a press conference on Wednesday, a day before Harris took the stage in Chicago.

“If you really wanted a cease-fire, you’d just stop sending the weapons,” said Omar. “It is that simple.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under a CC licence.

‘Let Palestine Speak’: Uncommitted Shares Speech the DNC Won’t Allow ›

‘History Is Watching’: Gaza Doctors Urge Harris to Back Israel Arms Embargo at Democratic Convention ›

Continue Reading‘You Must Do Better’: Harris Rebuked Over Failure to Change Course on Gaza

Three on trial for peaceful anti-genocide protest at weapons factory

Spread the love

Original article republished from the Skwawkbox.

‘Hastings three’ pursued criminally next week for General Dynamics protest

Three local men, one of them a pensioner, go on trial next Tuesday, 27 August, at Hastings Magistrates Court on charges of aggravated trespass for taking part in a peaceful demonstration at a local arms factory in February.

The ‘Hastings3’ took part in the cross-community demonstration outside the General Dynamics site on Sidley Little Road on 29 February, supported by representatives of Jewish groups, Quakers, trade union bodies, parent groups and political parties. Demonstrators held placards, sung songs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and handed out leaflets – but several were roughly arrested and dragged off to police vans.

Laurance Holden, 71, Clem McCullough, 31, and Thomas Delves, 24 will plead not guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of a fine of up to £2500 and a jail term of three months.

Hastings & District Palestine Solidarity Campaign chair Katy Colley said:

The pursuit of these men is clearly political and designed to deter peaceful protests. We have been demonstrating at General Dynamics consistently since the genocidal assault on Gaza began 10 months ago to draw attention to the merchants of death in our hometown complicit in these atrocities.

General Dynamics makes all the casings for the bombs being dropped on Gaza – their Hastings sites makes avionic and communication systems for fighter jets and combat vehicles used by the Israeli military.

Over 40,000 men women and children have been brutally slaughtered in what the world court has deemed a ‘plausible genocide’.

There is a clear legal imperative to stop arming Israel, as was underlined this week when British diplomat Mark Smith resigned on this point, saying it was clear to everyone that Israel was “flagrantly and regularly” perpetrating war crimes in plain sight.

And yet our government continues to issue export licenses to companies like General Dynamics, allowing Israel to continue its barbaric and murderous campaign against the trapped civilian population in Gaza.

The Hastings Three are brave, principled people who do not want our town to be complicit in war crimes. They are with the majority. Poll after poll show that most people want an end to arms sales to Israel immediately. We stand with them, the side of the people, the side of the law and the side of justice.

Dozens of supporters are expected to attend a protest rally at the Magistrates court from 9am in support of the three, and a benefit concert is being held in the evening to raise money for people in Gaza as well as money for court costs. 

[S?]imon Hester, Chair of the Hastings & District TUC, said:

Protesting against genocide is not a crime. The Hastings and District Trades Union Council supports the Hastings 3 and demands an immediate end to arms sales to Israel.

Kathy Shapiro of Hastings Jews for Justice added:

Hastings Jews for Justice is outraged that the Hastings 3 are facing trial.

It is General Dynamics that should be on trial, not concerned citizens. As Jews of conscience we will continue to exercise our right and moral obligation to speak out against this criminal complicity until there is an arms embargo of Israel, a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and justice and freedom for Palestinians.’

Leah Levane, Co-Chair of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL), said:

The more than 10 months of carnage in Gaza demands a serious response.  The ICJ decision makes stopping arms trading with Israel and obligation and these three people have been arrested for protesting in favor of International Law. 

I am disappointed, to put it mildly, that the Court’s precious and expensive time is being used to try three men whose acts show their commitment to International Law as well as to justice for Palestinians and, of course, peace.’

Original article republished from the Skwawkbox.

Continue ReadingThree on trial for peaceful anti-genocide protest at weapons factory

Thousands Kick Off DNC With Protest in Chicago Over Gaza

Spread the love

Original article by JULIA CONLEY republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Police and demonstrators are seen at a march during the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024 in Chicago.
 (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“For Palestinian Americans, this is a fundamental issue,” said one marcher.

What’s expected to be the biggest protest march during this week’s Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago Monday afternoon, with demonstrators demanding that Vice President Kamala Harris support an end to unconditional U.S. military support for Israel amid its assault on Gaza, now in its tenth month.

Thousands gathered in Union Park before beginning their march to the United Center, where the convention is taking place.

Protesters carried signs and banners reading, “End State Violence From Chicago to Gaza” and “Dems’ Silence = Israel’s Violence.”

Organizers—who hoped to see 15,000 people in the streets—have expressed alarm in recent months over the Chicago Police Department’s aggressive response to pro-Palestinian protests, with a legal coalition last week expressing concern about Police Superintendent Larry Snelling’s intimidating comments about arresting protesters and other issues, and city officials have clashed with organizers about the route the march will take.

But threats of arrest did not deter groups including Jewish Voice for Peace from joining the march, with the local chapter saying its members would “make clear our commitment to freedom and safety for all people, from Chicago to Gaza” and as they demanded an “arms embargo now.”

Organizers of the Uncommitted movement, which emerged during the Democratic primary season to pressure President Joe Biden to end his support for Israel’s assault on Gaza, continue to press the Harris-Walz campaign to break with the administration’s position.

While Harris initially indicated to the group a willingness to discuss support for an arms embargo earlier this month, a top adviser for the Democratic nominee said soon after that the vice president does not support ending weapons transfers to Israel.

“For Palestinian Americans, this is a fundamental issue,” sociologist Eman Abdelhadi told Democracy Now! at the march. “We have spent 10 months watching our people die every day, and to ask us to simply just wait and hope that some change will happen… It’s just offensive and it’s completely insensitive.”

As the protesters assembled on Monday, journalist Mehdi Hasan warned in a column in The Guardian that Harris should see agreeing to the demand for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and an arms embargo not as a risk, but as “a moral, geopolitical, and—for the Democrats—electoral no-brainer.”

“Biden may want to continue sending more and more weapons to an Israeli government accused of war crimes at the international criminal court and of genocide at the international court of justice,” wrote Hasan, “but Harris should take a different stance—a bolder stance, a stance that is more in line with her party’s base, as well as with the American public at large.”

Original article by JULIA CONLEY republished form Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

‘Tell Kamala Harris – stop supporting genocide!’ Code Pink and other peace campaigners descend on Democrat National Convention in Chicago

Continue ReadingThousands Kick Off DNC With Protest in Chicago Over Gaza

‘Heinous’: Children Among 100 Killed by Israel Bombing of Gaza School Just Hours After US Weapons Approval

Spread the love

Original article by JON QUEALLY republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Relatives of Palestinians killed by the Israeli attack on Nuseirat refugee camp mourn as the bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“It is hard to comprehend how the Biden administration can justify rewarding Israel with new weapons, despite Israel’s persistent defiance of every single plea the Biden administration has made urging a modicum of restraint.”

Just hours after the Biden administration Friday announced approval of $3.5 billion in military funds for Israel and shipments for new weaponry, an Israeli bombing of a school-turned-shelter in Gaza has killed 100 people or more, including scores of civilian men, women, and children in what was described as a “bloody massacre” that struck during morning prayers, leaving body parts scattered “in pieces” and healthcare workers overwhelmed with the dead and wounded.

The Palestinian Authority’s Fatah government in the Occupied West Bank released a statement Saturday describing the attack on the al-Tabin school in Gaza City as a “heinous bloody massacre” that represents the “peak of terrorism and criminality” by the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Committing these massacres confirms beyond a shadow of a doubt its efforts to exterminate our people through the policy of cumulative killing and mass massacres that make living consciences tremble,” said the PA.

“If the ICC doesn’t take action now, then when?”

Footage taken by volunteers working alongside Palestinian medical units in Gaza City showed wounded small children and adults being taken to local hospitals as well as scenes of carnage from the scene of the bombing [Warning: Images are graphic]. Gaza journalist Motasem A. Dalloul also posted his reporting from the scene, including footage of the carnage [Also graphic].

Al-Jazeera spoke with witnesses at the scene of the massacre, one of whom said many of the dead—which included women, children, and old people who had been praying and others sleeping when the missiles struck—were collected afterward “in pieces”:

– YouTube

youtu.be

Tamer Kirolos, a regional director for Save the Children, called Israel’s attack on al-Tabin the “deadliest attack on a school since last October.”

“It is devastating to see the toll this has taken, including so many children and people at the school for dawn prayers,” Kirolos said. “Civilians, children, must be protected. An immediate definitive ceasefire is the only foreseeable way that will happen.”

Just hours before the bombing, the U.S. State Department announcement that a $3.5 billion tranche of funds—part of a larger $14.1 billion in overseas military aid approved by Congress earlier this year—would be released to the Israeli government for weapons procurement.

As CNN reported, while some of those weapons purchases made possible by the fund may take years, the “supplemental funding also allocated billions of dollars’ worth of equipment that the Pentagon can draw from its own stockpiles to send directly to Israel on a much faster timeline.”

Unverified reporting indicated that at least one of the missiles dropped on the al-Tabin school overnight may have been a U.S.-made MK-84 bomb weighing 2,000 pounds.

On Friday night, after the State Department announcement but before news of the latest bombing in Gaza broke, Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the human rights and advocacy group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), was among those confounded by the U.S. government’s continued determination to arm the Israelis in the face of the human suffering in Gaza and the repeated massacre of civilians, day after day and month after month.

“It is mind-boggling that despite the overwhelming evidence of the IDF’s unprecedented crimes in Gaza that has shocked the conscience of the entire world, the Biden administration is greenlighting the transfer of additional lethal weapons to Israel,” said Whitson in a Friday night statement following news that the State Dept. had greenlit the release of taxpayer funds for a new round of weapons destined for Israel.

“It is hard to comprehend how the Biden administration can justify rewarding Israel with new weapons, despite Israel’s persistent defiance of every single plea the Biden administration has made urging a modicum of restraint,” she said, “and despite the very apparent fact that such sales violate black letter U.S. laws prohibiting weapons to gross abusers like Israel.”

Making a similar argument in a Saturday morning post on X, Sami Abou Shehadeh, leader of Israel’s leftist Balad Party, said that while President Joe Biden “could have stopped the genocide” by using his leverage of military aid to force the Israelis in a different direction, instead “he just released $3.5 billion for more weapons to kill civilians.”

Shehadeh warned that without any internal opposition “to the genocide” by Israel’s Zionist political parties, Netanyahu’s policies would continue, even as the region inches toward further destabilization over the crisis in Gaza that has also spread to Lebanon and beyond. Calling for the International Criminal Court to intervene, he asked, “If the ICC doesn’t take action now, then when?”

Yanis Varoufakis, former finance minister of Greece and co-founder of Progressive International, asked the same on Saturday.

“Israel has now killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded well over 92,000 others,” said Varoufakis. “Thousands more lie, uncounted, under the debris. Some 10,000 Palestinians have been abducted by Israel’s occupying forces. Question: Where is the ICC indictment?”

“It is truly horrific,” Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s policy director told Common Dreams via email Saturday. “Last night’s massacre was another example of how Blinken and Biden have blood on their hands.”

Referencing a separate decision by the State Department to suspend an investigation into documented abuse violations by the “notorious” Netzah Yehuda Unit within the IDF, Jarrar said the “decisions of sending weapons to Israel and not sanctioning Israeli human rights abusers are not just corrupt policy decisions, they are criminal acts.”

Update: This article has been updated from its original to include additional comment from DAWN.

Original article by JON QUEALLY republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue Reading‘Heinous’: Children Among 100 Killed by Israel Bombing of Gaza School Just Hours After US Weapons Approval

Top lawyer urges UK to halt arms sales to Israel following ICJ ruling

Spread the love

Original article republished from Middle East Monitor under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.. Published on July 31, 2024, the article is still relevant.

Activists drop a banner from Westminster Bridge, calling on Labour leader Keir Starmer to say he’ll end arms sales to Israel if he becomes prime minister, on 3 June 2024, in London, Uk [Luca Marino]

A prominent lawyer who represented Palestine at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has called on the UK to stop selling arms to Israel in light of the court’s recent advisory opinion. Professor Philippe Sands KC, a member of Palestine’s legal team, has called on the new Labour government to comply with the ICJ ruling, which found Israel’s occupation and settlement policies in Palestinian territories to be illegal and found that Israel’s practice in the occupied territories amounted to the crime of apartheid.

The ICJ opinion, issued earlier this month, declared that UN member states have an obligation to neither recognise the occupation as lawful nor assist in its maintenance. Sands emphasised the significance of this ruling for the UK, stating: “The most immediate issue is the obligation in the advisory opinion on the states, which includes the United Kingdom, not to aid or assist in the maintenance of the current situation in the occupied territories of the West Bank, including [East] Jerusalem.”

He explained further: “That legal obligation precludes sales of military material which could be used directly or indirectly to assist Israel in maintaining its unlawful occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories.”

While ICJ advisory opinions are not directly binding on individual UN member states, Sands asserts that it will be “recognised as an authoritative statement of the law and one that the UN and its specialised agencies will follow as law.”

The lawyer also highlighted implications for trade, noting that, “Anything that is produced in the occupied territories, such as food, or that is sold there over the internet, is in principle subject to the international prohibition, if it can be said to aid or assist in the maintenance of the unlawful occupation.”

The ICJ ruling comes at a time when the UK is already under scrutiny regarding arms sales to Israel, particularly in light of Israel’s aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza. The apartheid state is also under investigation by the ICJ for the crime of genocide, the worst of all crimes against a people. The military offensive, launched in response to the 7 October cross-border incursion by Palestinian resistance groups, has claimed the lives of almost 40,000 Palestinians, mainly women and children, and wounded 91,000 others. An estimated 10,000 Palestinians remain missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israeli bombs.

There has been widespread speculation about how the new Labour government will respond to the ICJ opinion, particularly concerning arms sales. Labour has recently stated that UK arms sales to Israel have been delayed as ministers review weapons potentially linked to war crimes in Gaza.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has indicated that officials are conducting a “comprehensive review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law” and is considering banning certain arms sales to the country.

Sands also addressed the issue of Palestinian statehood, referencing the ICJ statement on “the realisation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including its right to an independent and sovereign state.” He noted that while recognition of a state is ultimately a political decision, the UK remains part of a “small and diminishing group” that has not recognised Palestine as a state.

As the international community awaits the UK’s official response to the ICJ advisory opinion, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has stated that it is “considering it carefully before responding” and “respects the independence of the ICJ.”

Original article republished from Middle East Monitor under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.. Published on July 31, 2024, the article is still relevant.

UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party's support for and complicity in Israel's genocide of Gaza.
UK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party’s support for and complicity in Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
Continue ReadingTop lawyer urges UK to halt arms sales to Israel following ICJ ruling