[News] Ten killed in Gaza as Israel instigates new war

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/ten-killed-gaza-israel-instigates-new-war 



  Ten killed in Gaza as Israel instigates new war

Maureen Clare Murphy 
<https://electronicintifada.net/people/maureen-clare-murphy> - 12 
November 2019

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Israeli missile strikes on Gaza and rocket fire from the territory 
continued late Tuesday evening after the assassination of an Islamic 
Jihad leader earlier in the day set off the most serious military 
confrontation in months.

Ten Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes during the day, 
according to <https://twitter.com/press221/status/1194357638995140608> 
Gaza’s health ministry. Meanwhile, Israel closed the besieged 
territory’s crossing points and reduced the fishing zone to six nautical 
miles off of Gaza’s coast.

The spokesperson for Islamic Jihad’s military wing vowed late Tuesday 
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-kills-islamic-jihad-gaza-rockets-tel-aviv-hamas-damscus-syria-1.8118652> 
that the “coming hours will mark a victory for the Palestinian people. 
Israel began this campaign, but it will be notified when it ends.”

Baha Abu al-Ata, 42, described by Israeli media as the northern military 
commander of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, was killed in an airstrike on his 
home in the Shujaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City.

His wife, Asma Abu al-Ata, 38, was also killed in the Israeli attack. 
Seven other people, including four children, were injured and nearby 
houses and a school were damaged.

Meanwhile, in the Syrian capital, the home of Akram al-Ajouri, the head 
of Islamic Jihad’s military wing, was targeted in an airstrike. Syria 
blamed Israel 
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-blast/israel-kills-islamic-jihad-commander-rockets-rain-from-gaza-idUSKBN1XM08E> 
for the attack.

Two people were reported killed 
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-blast/israel-kills-islamic-jihad-commander-rockets-rain-from-gaza-idUSKBN1XM08E> 
in the strike, including one of al-Ajouri’s sons.

Palestinian fighters in Gaza responded to the attacks with rocket fire 
that reached as far as Tel Aviv. Ziad al-Nakhala, Islamic Jihad’s 
secretary-general, stated 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/islamic-jihad-head-we-are-going-to-war-netanyahu-crossed-all-red-lines/> 
that “we are going to war” and that Israel’s prime minister “crossed all 
the red lines” by assassinating Abu al-Ata.

A toy factory in Sderot, a town in southern Israel, was among the sites 
hit 
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-blast/israel-kills-islamic-jihad-commander-rockets-rain-from-gaza-idUSKBN1XM08E> 
by rockets fired from Gaza, and security camera footage showed a rocket 
striking a highway, nearly hitting motorists:

No serious Israeli casualties were reported 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/46-israelis-receive-medical-treatment-since-start-of-gaza-rocket-fire/> 
on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, a missile hit the offices Palestinian Independent 
Commission for Human Rights in Gaza City, lightly injuring one of its 
staff members.

Amnesty International condemned the attack, stating 
<https://twitter.com/amnesty/status/1194289553038811136> that “strikes 
targeting civilian buildings [are] a violation of international law.”

The Israeli daily /Haaretz/ later reported 
<https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-boundless-fear-in-gaza-1.8121625> 
that the office building in Gaza City was struck by a rocket fired from 
Gaza that fell short, rather than an Israeli missile.

Israel claimed 
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-blast/israel-kills-islamic-jihad-commander-rockets-rain-from-gaza-idUSKBN1XM08E> 
it fired missiles at groups launching rockets into Israel and Islamic 
Jihad reportedly confirmed the death of one of its fighters. The Israeli 
military also said 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-strikes-targeting-islamic-jihad-underground-facilities-training-camps/> 
that it targeted underground weapons manufacturing and storage 
facilities as well as training camps belonging to Islamic Jihad.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, stated in a televised 
address that the assassination of Abu al-Ata had been approved 10 days ago.

“This terrorist fired hundreds of rockets and planned more attacks,” 
Netanyahu said 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/pm-islamic-jihad-commander-killed-in-strike-was-ticking-time-bomb/>. 
“He was a ticking time bomb.”

“We are not interested in escalation but will respond when necessary,” 
Netanyahu added.

Aviv Kohavi, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, claimed 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-chief-we-are-preparing-for-gaza-escalation-from-ground-air-and-sea/> 
that Abu al-Ata “acted in every way to sabotage attempts for calm with 
Hamas.”

“We are preparing for escalation from the ground, air and sea,” Kohavi 
added.

Commentators in Israel have cast suspicion on the timing and motives for 
the assassination of Abu al-Ata.

Writing for the Israeli daily /Haaretz/ 
<https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-doubts-about-gaza-decision-showcase-netanyahu-as-the-little-boy-who-cried-wolf-1.8121094>, 
Chemi Shalev suggested that Netanyahu aimed to sabotage the chances that 
the Joint List <https://electronicintifada.net/tags/joint-list>, a 
parliamentary faction made up predominantly of Palestinian citizens of 
Israel, would strike a deal 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/omar-karmi/palestinian-parties-should-not-strike-devils-bargain> 
to support a government headed by Benny Gantz 
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/benny-gantz>.

Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White alliance, is currently 
attempting to form a government after Netanyahu failed to do so in the 
wake of Israel’s inconclusive September election. While coalition talks 
continue, Netanyahu remains the head of Israel’s caretaker government.

Gantz denied 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gantz-gaza-fighting-will-have-no-impact-on-efforts-to-form-government/> 
that the developments would affect coalition negotiations, and said 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gantz-idf-made-the-right-decision-in-hitting-terrorist/> 
that the Israeli military made the “right decision” in killing Abu al-Ata.

Multiple Hebrew-language outlets reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu 
sought Abu al-Ata’s assassination after rockets fired from Gaza forced 
him to leave the stage during a rally a week before elections were held 
in September.

“Netanyahu was furious and immediately pressured senior security 
officials to approve Abu al-Ata’s assassination,” according to 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-sought-abu-al-atas-killing-after-rocket-forced-him-offstage-before-election/> 
/The Times of Israel/, but the operation was postponed.

Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political wing, accused 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-chief-says-israeli-crimes-in-gaza-meant-to-block-palestinian-unity/> 
Israel of attempting to undermine “the path to restoring our national 
unity” by assassinating Abu al-Ata. Last month, Hamas indicated that it 
was ready to hold elections, which have not been held since the 
resistance group’s surprise legislative victory in 2006.

Meanwhile, Naftali Bennett 
<https://electronicintifada.net/tags/naftali-bennett>, an anti-Arab 
firebrand, formally assumed 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/bennett-takes-over-as-defense-minister-amid-gaza-fighting/> 
the role of Israeli defense minister on Tuesday. Netanyahu had held the 
ministry portfolio as negotiations to form the next Israeli government 
are ongoing.

Bennett has previously bragged about his blood-soaked past. “I have 
killed lots of Arabs in my life – and there is no problem with that,” 
Bennett told a cabinet 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/naftali-bennett-and-qana-massacre> 
meeting in 2013.

The European Union 
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/germany-condemns-gaza-rocket-fire-on-israel-1.8120833>, 
Germany 
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-blast-germany/germany-condemns-gaza-rocket-fire-idUSKBN1XM22G>, 
the US 
<https://twitter.com/USAmbIsrael/status/1194285106069942272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw> 
and the UK 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/uk-condemns-gaza-rocket-fire-calls-on-both-sides-to-rapidly-de-escalate/> 
all condemned the firing of rockets from Gaza but not the extrajudicial 
execution that precipitated it, tacitly endorsing the Israeli attack.

The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee 
stated <https://twitter.com/BDSmovement/status/1194287473632972801> that 
“Global civil society must act to hold Israel accountable where 
governments have failed.”

Amnesty International described 
<https://twitter.com/amnesty/status/1194289065736200192> the 
developments across the Gaza-Israel boundary as “deeply worrying,” 
adding that “the ensuing escalation in violence between Israel and 
Palestinian armed groups raises fears of a rise in civilian bloodshed.”

The rights group said “Israel has a history of carrying out serious 
violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, including war 
crimes, with impunity and displaying a shocking disregard for 
Palestinian lives.”

Israel’s killing of Abu al-Ata on Tuesday echoes the assassination 
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/photos-israel-attacks-gaza/11889> 
of Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jabari in Gaza seven years ago this 
month.

By killing al-Jabari, Israel broke a ceasefire with armed groups in 
Gaza. It precipitated several days of fierce fighting 
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/month-pictures-november-2012/11974> 
and a ground invasion that left 170 Palestinians dead, more than 100 of 
them civilians.

Ten members of the al-Dalu family and two of their neighbors were killed 
in a single Israeli strike 
<https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/07/israel/gaza-israeli-airstrike-home-unlawful#> 
on a residential building in Gaza City during that offensive.

Egypt and the UN are reportedly attempting 
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/plo-official-ramallah-in-contact-with-egypt-un-to-push-for-calm-in-gaza/> 
to calm the current situation and avoid a full-scale confrontation.

/This story has been updated since initial publication to include new 
developments./


-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20191113/45ba220a/attachment.htm>