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Fact and Fiction about the Situation of Civilians in Gaza |
 |
Since Dec. 27 when
"While there is real suffering in Gaza, it is important to sort fact from fiction and understand that Hamas is responsible for this sad situation," said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project. "The important thing now is to defeat terror so that there can be a two-state solution and lasting peace. Both sides need a better future."
1) Allegation:
Fact: According to IDF spokesman Jacob Dallal, “We are certain that the IDF did not kill the UN driver. Moreover, we strongly suspect it was Hamas." [1]
Humanitarian relief agencies are contracting Palestinians inside Gaza to transport aid shipments. United Nation World Food Program Representative Barbara Conte said that aid workers are not the target of the Israel Defense Force’s military operation. [3]
Israel maintains a three-hour cease-fire everyday in order to facilitate the safety of aid workers and transport drivers traveling in- and- out of Gaza. [4] IDF Spokesman Ilan Tal states “Our intention is to allow for any needed humanitarian aid to come in and to coordinate with all the international organizations." [5]
On
the other hand, Iran-backed Palestinian terrorists repeatedly utilize
the humanitarian aid and fuel depot crossings to launch attacks against
Israeli civilians. The most recent attack at a crossing was on
2) Allegation:
Fact: According to The IDF spokesman Jacob Dallal, "After checking allegations, we are unaware of soldiers instructing people to enter any specific building in the Zeitoun neighborhood and are also unaware of any targeted attack in Zeitoun on Jan. 5." [8]
IDF Spokesperson Maj. Avital Leibovich said today, "There have been inquiries and as far as we can tell, it did not happen."[9] In addition, IDF Spokesman, Maj. Jacob Dallal, said an investigation of the UN allegations showed the building was not deliberately targeted.[10]
Palestinian terrorists and
even the police in
According to Intelligence Corps Officer-in-Chief, Brigadier General Yuval Halmish, Hamas is preventing Palestinian civilians from receiving IDF leaflets asking Gaza residents to leave evacuate their homes. “They [Hamas] booby-trapped the entrances of civilian houses with explosives put close to them; the objective is of course to hit our forces but a local explosion also damages the houses of the civilians and causes great damage, and likely killing civilians.” [12]
3) Allegation: A
Red Cross convoy was fired upon by Israeli troops south of
Fact: IDF Spokesperson Maj. Avital Leibovich said that the army learned of the Red Cross allegations in a media report, and that the Red Cross had not yet presented the evidence to the army. Leibovich also said “We do our utmost to avoid hitting civilians, and many times we don't fire because we see civilians nearby…We are holding meetings with U.N. officials to try to work out a mechanism so that their work can go forward.” [13]
4) Allegation:
Fact: Patrick Martin from Canada’s Globe and Mail on Jan 29th, reporting from Jabalya, claims the UNWRA story is false. Stories of one or more shells landing inside the schoolyard were inaccurate. Physical evidence and interviews with several eyewitnesses, including a teacher who was in the schoolyard at the time of the shelling, make it clear: While a few people were injured from shrapnel landing inside the white-and-blue-walled UNRWA compound, no one in the compound was killed. The 43 people who died in the incident were all outside, on the street, where all three mortar shells landed. [14]
Watch this video of Alarabiya-TV reporter Hannan al-Masri caught unaware as she learns that a Hamas missle has just been fired from the building she lives in.
5) Allegation: There’s
no food in
Fact: Many warehouses in
In the same France 2 TV clip referenced above, upon closer inspection, shelves filled with food can be seen in the reflection of a refrigerated door in the store. To see clip: click on http://jt.france2.fr/20h/; click on “Lundi 29” – below the small screen; to the right of the new screen, click “Vie dans la bande de Gaza” The World Food Program informed Israel that it would cease shipment of food to Gaza because the warehouses there are at full capacity, with enough food to last two weeks.[16]
During a one-day period alone – Dec. 31– Israel facilitated the transport of 29 truckloads of food, including 15 truckloads of flour, into Gaza.[17] And even as Hamas was firing rockets and mortars during Israel during the ceasefire, Israel facilitated the delivery of 2,500 tons (delivered on 93 trucks) of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medication through the Kerem Shalom cargo terminal.[18]
Since the beginning of the
operation, about 6,500 tons of aid have been transferred into
Still, despite the fact that
There also seems to be evidence that Hamas is stealing the humanitarian aid bound for the Gazan population at large and reselling it at outrageous prices. As more than 800 trucks totaling over 25,000 tons of aid enter Gaza, there are repeated and horrifying reports that Hamas terrorists have seized aid, distributing it to its own members and supporters, and selling what is left to the impoverished civilians. The UN corroborated this report and on Friday, 6 February UNRWA suspending its humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip after Hamas stole supplies the United Nations organization had transferred to the Palestinian territory for a second time. Clearly, Hamas is using the Palestinian population in Gaza "cruelly and cynically" and is solely responsible for hardship there.
On Sunday (11 Jan.), in a Hamas internet forum, surfers complained about the confiscations of flour donations in Dir-al'Balech by Hamas elements. There is also a description of how Hamas transfers the donations to its own warehouses, and distributes them to only two bakeries in the city – Albana Bakery and Al-Tzalah Union Bakery – both of which belong to Hamas.
6) Allegation: Gaza has no medical and other aid supplies to help the injured.
Fact: The daily ‘humanitarian corridor'
has been extended from three to four hours per day. Since the beginning of the operation a
total of 1,136 trucks of produce have entered the Gaza Strip with over
26,000 tons of goods. In addition, fuel trucks and medical personnel have
entered Gaza
The deliveries include basic food commodities, medication, medical supplies and blood units. Another 106 truckloads of humanitarian aid are expected to arrive in Gaza on Jan. 31.[21] [22]
The crossings to
Gaza are open for the transfer of humanitarian aid from all
international organizations, in full cooperation with the Israeli
authorities and without restriction.[23] In a one-day period
– Dec. 31
– Israel enabled the transport of 9 truckloads of medicine
and medical
supplies, along with
Israel is continuing to expand the humanitarian effort to the best
of its ability. Live films of the entrance of the aid trucks into the Gaza Strip can be
viewed at: http://w3.castup.net/castup/Kerem-Shalom/
.
Among the priorities of the humanitarian
coordination led by Israel in Gaza
- the transfer of goods into Gaza
- the repairs of electrical grid and sewage systems
- evacuation of wounded
- coordination of medical assistance and evacuation of foreign and dual nationals.
- The electrical supply is also being rehabilitated, the grid has been repaired and electricity is at 74% capacity up from 40% earlier in the operation. Rehabilitation of the power network is a direct result of the coordination between the IDF, the Palestinian Energy Authority and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
7) Allegation:
Fact:
On Dec. 31, for example, 12 Palestinians accessed
Further, Hamas – in an effort to exploit the suffering of
innocent
civilians - has refused to allow injured Palestinians to leave Gaza to
go to Egypt for treatment.[26] Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed
Abu
al-Gheit said earlier this week that Hamas was not allowing wounded
Palestinians to cross the border into Egypt for treatment: “We
are waiting for the wounded Palestinians to cross. They are not being
allowed to cross.” Asked who was to blame, he
referred to
8) Allegation:
Fact: While
On Dec. 30, a reformist Iranian newspaper published a statement by a student organization that criticized Hamas for risking civilian lives, including children, by hiding its forces in nurseries and hospitals. The Iranian Culture Ministry shut down the newspaper after it printed the statements.[29]
For example, in Spring 2002, Palestinians were filmed as they attempted to stage a fake funeral as part of a gross exaggeration of the number of people killed in Jenin. The film shows Palestinians wrapping, then carrying a ‘corpse’ on a funeral pier; the ‘corpse’ falls off several times and gets back on – including in front of a large and surprised crowd.[30] Click here for video of faked funeral. Although some reports say a quarter of the deaths during “Operation Cast Lead” have been civilians, Palestinian terrorists’ history of deceptions and false claims require reporters to work to verify such information.
During
For experts available to
comment on these and similar deceptions, please contact:
Richard Landes: e-mail: rlandes@bu.edu
Philippe Karsenty: e-mail: pk@M-R.fr
According to the Jerusalem Post of Feb. 16, the IDF has finally come out with its analysis of the casualties in Gaza, claiming the world has been duped by Hamas’s civilian casualty figures.
Basing the IDF’s analysis on the official Palestinian death toll of 1,338, the Gaza Coordination and Liason Administration (CLA) has now identified more than 1,200 of the Palestinian fatalities. Its 200-page report lists their names, their official Palestinian Authority identity numbers, the circumstances in which they were killed and, where appropriate, the terrorist group with which they were affiliated.
The CLA said 580 of these 1,200 had been
conclusively "incriminated" as members of Hamas and other terrorist
groups.
Another 300 of the 1,200 - women,
children aged 15 and younger and men over the age of 65 - had been categorized
as noncombatants, the CLA said. Counted among the women, however, were female
terrorists, including at least two women who tried to blow themselves up.
Fact: In the past, Hamas officials have committed deceptions such as pulling dark curtains in mid-day while holding a meeting to make it look as though they were being forced to work by candlelight – a sham exposed by journalists who showed that it was actually daylight outside at the time.[33]
The ruse was carried out with the complicity of some Arab satellite TV stations. More recent such deceptions have come to light as recently as November 2008, when Palestinian Authority officials said Hamas staged new blackouts to try to get sympathy from the international community and provoke civilian violence against the Palestinian Authority and Israel.[34]
Further, terrorists in Gaza
have
fired rockets at – and hit - the power station in the Israeli
city of
Ashkelon that provides Gaza the majority of its electricity.[35] The
terrorists also have fired on Israeli workers at a depot that provides
fuel to Gaza and a suicide bomber destroyed lines providing electricity
from Israel into Gaza. [36] "There's
no shortage of fuel in the Gaza Strip and the Electricity Company is
continuing to function normally," a PA official said in
November. "Our people in the
Today
10) Allegation: Palestinian
journalists are unbiased and show what’s
‘really’ happening in
Fact: Some Palestinian journalists are manipulating and exploiting unintended victims of the Israeli strikes.
Said one Palestinian journalist, members of the Palestinian media are ‘directing’ civilians to cry and telling them what to say in interviews: "A mother of one of the martyrs stood by the door of the intensive care unit while crying... relatives and those around her were telling her what she should say to the television cameras: 'Say your son [before he died] prayed and went out.' Another tells her: 'Curse the Arab leaders'... The journalists [in the hospitals] are going overboard in their insensitivity and taking advantage of the [difficult] moments, with the explanation that they are showing this to the world. One cameraman told a mourning mother: 'Hit your face, cry, do some action.'"[39]
11) Allegation: It is Israel that is responsible for all of the deaths in Gaza.
Fact: Hamas has killed many members of the rival Fatah group and included the body count in the list of casualties.
According to the independent Arab news agency, Ma'an, as of Feb. 2, 181 members of Fatah had been killed, shot, or maimed by Hamas. The news agency published a list of 11 Fatah members who were executed, 58 people who had been shot in the feet or legs, and 112 who had had their legs broken.
Footnotes:
[1] The Israel Project phone conversation with Jacob Dallal, Jan. 11, 2009.
[2] “Humanitarian aid to Gaza following period of calm,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 6, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2009/Humanitarian_aid_to_Gaza_following_6_month_calm.htm
[3] Bengali, Shashank,
“Israeli troops kill U.N. truck driver at Gaza
crossing,” Kansas City Star,
[4] COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, Ministry of Defense, “Cessation of IDF activities in Gaza to facilitate humanitarian activities,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 7, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2009/Cessation_IDF_activities_Gaza_humanitarian_activities_7-Jan-2009.htm
[5] Witte, Griff, and Lynch,
Colum, “As U.S. abstains, U.N. Security Council calls for
cease-fire,” The
New York Times,
[6] “Main
terrorist attacks carried out at Gaza Strip crossings,”
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 4, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terror+Groups/Main+terrorist+attacks+carried+out+at+Gaza+Strip+crossings+16-Jan-2005.htm
[7] Lappin, Yaakov and Jpost staff, “Rocket hits Ashdod
kindergarten,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan.
11, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231424913241&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[8] IDF Spokesperson’s
Unit Press Release,
[9] “UN calls for war
crimes probe into IDF shelling of civilian-occupied building in
Gaza,” Haaretz,
[10] Ibid.
[11] Erlanger, Steve,
“A Gaza war full of traps and trickery,” The
New York Times,
[12] “Israel's operation against
Hamas in Gaza - Update Jan 10,” Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs,
[13] Bronner, Ethan, and Cowell,
Alan, “Red Cross orders Gaza restrictions,” The
International Herald Tribune,
[14] Martin, Patrick, "Account of Israeli attack doesn't hold up to scrutiny," Globeandmail.com, Jan. 29, 2008.
[15]“Vie dans la bande de Gaza,” France 2, Dec. 29, http://jt.france2.fr/20h/ [to see clip: click on http://jt.france2.fr/20h/; click on “Lundi 29” – below the small screen; to the right of the new screen, click “Vie dans la bande de Gaza”]
[16]
“12 Palestinians from Gaza transferred to Israeli hospitals
for
assistance and 2500 tons of humanitarian aid transferred to
Gaza,”
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
[17] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Ministry of Defense, Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, December 2008
[18]
“12 Palestinians from Gaza transferred to Israeli hospitals
for
assistance and 2500 tons of humanitarian aid transferred to
Gaza,”
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
[19] Ibid.
[20] Lappin, Yaakov and Jpost staff, “Rocket hits Ashdod kindergarten,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 11, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231424913241&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
[21] Martin, Patrick, “Israel shoots down ceasefire proposal,” Globeandmail.com, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081230.wgaza_main31/BNStory/International/home; “FACTBOX-Countries pledge aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” Reuters, Dec. 31, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSLV538165; “Israel increases humanitarian effort to the Gaza Strip,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2008/Israel_increases_humanitarian_effort_Gaza_Strip_30-Dec-2008.htm
[22] “FACTBOX-Countries pledge aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” Reuters, Dec. 31, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSLV538165; “Israel increases humanitarian effort to the Gaza Strip,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 30, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2008/Israel_increases_humanitarian_effort_Gaza_Strip_30-Dec-2008.htm
[23] "Humanitarian aid to Gaza following the 6-month calm," Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 1, 2009, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Hamas+war+against+Israel/Humanitarian_aid_to_Gaza_following_6_month_calm.htm
[24] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Ministry of Defense, Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, December 2008
[25] “Israeli
Humanitarian Aid to Gaza,” Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs,
[26] Shahine, Alaa, "Egypt:
Hamas denying Gaza wounded treatment in Egypt,“ Reuters,
[27] Ibid.
[28] Barzak, Ibrahim and
Teibel, Amy, “Israeli assault on Hamas kills more than
200,” Associated Press,
[29] Al-Ayyam,
[30]
Lerner, Aaron, “Israel screens fake Palestinian funeral for
reporters,” Independent Media Review Analysis (IMRA),
[31] Lyons, Andrew Ford,
“Digitally Erasing a Massacre: Why Hezbollywood Was
Born,” Counterpunch,
[32]
Kalb, Marvin and Saivetz, Carol, “THE ISRAELI-HEZBOLLAH WAR
OF 2006:
The Media as a Weapon in Asymmetrical Conflict,” research
paper
prepared at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public
Policy, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, for
presentation at the
U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar on
[33] Soltis, Andy,
“Hamas Dim Bulbs in Fake-Blackout Ruse,” The
New York Post,
[34] Abu Toameh, Khaled,
“PA: ‘Hamas is staging Gaza blackouts,’ The
Jerusalem Post,
[35] Coughlin, Con,
“Gazans should make the most of their liberation –
it won’t last,” The Daily Telegraph,
[36] “Terror in Gaza: 12 months since the Hamas takeover,” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 16, 2008, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Terror+in+Gaza-+Two+months+since+the+Hamas+takeover+16-Aug-2007.htm
[37]Abu Toameh, Khaled,
“PA: ‘Hamas is staging Gaza blackouts,’ The
Jerusalem Post,
[38] “Presentation to Military Attaches,” Israel Ministry of Defense, Dec. 2008.
[39] "A Palestinian girl whose family members were killed yesterday in Gaza," Palestinian Media Watch Bulletin, Dec. 2008, http://www.pmw.org.il/Bulletins_Dec2008.htm#b2912083
The Israel Project