ACTION ALERT: Holocaust in Gaza!

ACTION ALERT: Holocaust in Gaza!

Blackout in Besieged Gaza City

The Gaza Strip’s only power plant has shut down as Israel’s blockade has dried up fuel supplies. Tonight Gazans are living in darkness as the second of the plant’s two working turbines was switched off on the third day of a crippling Israeli blockade of the territory. “At least 800,000 people are now in darkness,” Derar Abu Sissi, general director of the plant, said.

Sunday’s shutdown has prompted fears of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. This catastrophe is affecting hospitals, medical clinics, water wells, sewage treatment plants, water facilities, factories, homes- all aspects of life. Palestinians said the worst affected could be the health sector, with hospitals failing to provide services in the absence of electricity.

Food supplies have dwindled, thanks to Israel’s blockade. And now there is no bread. Bakeries stopped operating because they did not have power or flour. Gazans are protesting in the streets-asking for bread.

Israel’s targeting of a Hamas government office on Jan. 18, which caused serious casualties at a nearby wedding party was a “war crime” and those responsible should be punished, a United Nations official said yesterday. John Dugard, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied territories, slammed the killing of Palestinians in other attacks and the closing of border crossings.

“The killing of some 40 Palestinians in Gaza in the past week, the targeting of a government office near a wedding party venue with what must have been foreseen loss of life and injury to many civilians, and the closure of all crossings into Gaza raise very serious questions about Israel’s respect for international law and its commitment to the peace process,” Dugard said in a statement.

“Those responsible for such cowardly action are guilty of serious war crimes and should be prosecuted and punished for their crimes,” Dugard said.

When U.S. government offices are closed, and the media is not paying attention, during special holidays-in this case Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday-Israel often takes full advantage to attack the people whose land it surrounds and occupies. Call your local news desk or the telephone numbers below. Don’t let Israel continue to get away with war crimes.

WRITE OR TELEPHONE THOSE WORKING FOR YOU IN WASHINGTON AND DEMAND THAT THIS CARNAGE STOP-AND THAT YOUR TAX DOLLARS NO LONGER BE USED TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
(202) 456-1414
White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111
Fax: (202) 456-2461

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
State Department Public Information Line:
(202) 647-6575

Any Senator
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3121

Any Representative
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3121

E-Mail Congress and the White House:

Congress: http://www.congress.org
President Bush: president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov

CONTACT THE EMBASSY OF ISRAEL TO DEMAND THAT IT STOP ESCALATING THE DEADLY CYCLE OF VIOLENCE:

Embassy of Israel
3514 International Dr., NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 364-5500

For more info, contact: communications@wrmea.com

GAZA’S CRISIS REQUIRES AN URGENT HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Their cries require our response - Donate online now: http://www.refugeesupport.org

Support a refugee family in Gaza through TAKAFUL: The Palestinian Refugee Support Network today!

TAKAFUL: The Palestinian Refugee Support Network
http://www.refugeesupport.org/

Every day, the news from Gaza continues to pour in - news that highlights the urgent humanitarian crisis for the people of Gaza. Following a week in which more than 30 Palestinians were killed by invading Israeli military forces and many times that number - including many children - were wounded by the ongoing bombing raids and invasions, and just one week after George W. Bush’s meetings with Mahmud Abbas and Ehud Olmert, Israel ordered all border crossings into Gaza closed as it continued its deadly attacks on more than 1.5 million Palestinians already denied food, clean water, electricity and medical supplies.

On Saturday alone, 40 military tanks entered Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza and began destroying Palestinian homes. Gaza’s power plant reports that it has fuel for only two more days of operations. The people of Gaza - 80% of them refugees - stand amidst a military occupation, constant attacks and a humanitarian crisis.

At this time, your support is desperately needed to help break the siege of Gaza and alleviate the humanitarian crisis that weighs so heavily on the people of Gaza. TAKAFUL-Palestinian Refugee Support Network urges all people of conscience to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza during these difficult times by adopting a Gazan family at $100 per month, or sharing in adopting a family at $60 per month. TAKAFUL project provides a unique way to provide relief to Palestinian refugee families, through direct financial support that helps families sustain themselves and their minimum survival needs.

Your contribution is tax-deductible in the United States. Contribute online TODAY and help to break the humanitarian crisis on the people of Gaza!

Donate online now:

http://www.refugeesupport.org

عمون : اعتصام عفوي امام مقر الامم المتحدة في الشميساني

[2008-01-20]
عمون - نفذ عدد من المواطنين مساء اليوم الاحد اعتصاما عفويا امام مبنى الامم المتحدة في الشميساني للتضامن مع ابناء قطاع غزة حملوا فيها شموعا تمنى عدد منهم ان تضيئ سماء غزة التي احاط بها الظلام من كل جانب.

سيدة في العقد الثالث قالت ل "عمون" انها تواجدت في المكان لتعبر عن تضامنها ودعمها للاهل في قطاع غزة ،في حين اضافة شابة في مقتبل العمر انها تريد ان توصل رسالة الى ابناء غزة تقول فيها "انت لستم وحدكم نحن معكم في الاردن".

الشباب كانوا اكثر حماسة حيث قال احدهم "للاسف لا توجد اذان صاغية اطفال غزة يموتون في المستشفيات والمنازل والحكومات العربية تستقبل بوش المجرم".

كما اضاف شاب اخر انه يتمنى ان يرى موقفا عربيا شعبيا ورسميا موحدا لمواجهة محاولة تصفية الفلسطينيين في قطاع غزة ..

الاعتصام بدأ بعدد محدود من المشاركين وغادرت "عمون" الموقع وما زالت اعداد اخرى تتوافد الى المكان لتشارك في حملة التضامن الشعبية الواسعة مع ابناء الشعب الفلسطيني الصامد في قطاع غزة .

**الصورة من موقع الاعتصام (خاص) ب "عمون".

Pictures : AP

A Palestinian man uses a lantern for his shop after the power cut in Gaza City, Sunday Jan. 20, 2008. Gaza's only electrical plant announced it would shut down Sunday after an Israeli border closure blocked the entry of fuel that powers it, a move certain to make life more difficult for the 1.5 million residents of the already impoverished territory. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A Palestinian woman uses a lantern for light as she works in her kitchen after electricity was cut in the area of Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008. Gaza's only electrical plant announced it would shut down Sunday after an Israeli border closure blocked the entry of fuel that powers it, a move certain to make life more difficult for the 1.5 million residents of the already impoverished territory. (AP Photo/Hatem Omar)

AP : Gaza City Goes Dark After Power Cutِِ

Gaza City Goes Dark After Power Cut

By IBRAHIM BARZAK – 53 minutes ago

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza City was plunged into darkness Sunday after Israel blocked the shipment of fuel that powers its only electrical plant in retaliation for persistent rocket attacks by Gaza militants.

The power cut sent already beleaguered Gazans to stock up on food and batteries in anticipation of dark, cold days ahead. Gaza officials warned the move would cause a health catastrophe while a U.N. agency and human rights groups condemned Israel.

"We have the choice to either cut electricity on babies in the maternity ward or heart surgery patients or stop operating rooms," Gaza Health Ministry official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said.

Israel justified the cutoff because of continuous rocket attacks by Gaza militants. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Meckel said the Gaza Strip continues to receive 70 percent of its electricity supply directly from Israel, which would not be affected, and another 5 percent from Egypt.

The blackout "is a Hamas ploy to pretend there is some kind of crisis to attract international sympathy," he told The Associated Press.

Officials from the ruling Islamic militant group Hamas shut down the plant just before 8 p.m. and Gaza City went dark, Gaza Energy Authority head Kanan Obeid said. TV crews and reporters were invited to witness the shutdown.

Minutes later, residents started a candlelight march as a protest. Live Associated Press TV pictures showed dots of light moving slowly up a darkened main street.

Israel has blockaded Gaza for seven months, since the Islamic militant Hamas overran the territory, allowing up until now only basic food items and humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

That changed Thursday when Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered all crossings into Gaza closed because of a spike in rocket barrages, cutting off fuel supplies. Several weeks ago, Israel reduced the fuel supply as a pressure tactic.

A defiant Hamas said its attacks on Israel would not cease because of the sanctions.

"We will not raise the white flag, and we will not surrender, " Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Sunday.

The regular fuel shipment from Israel did not arrive Sunday because the fuel terminal was closed, and the power plant has almost no reserves, said Rafik Maliha, director of the power plant.

The U.N. organization in charge of Palestinian refugees warned the blockade would drastically affect hospitals, sewage treatment and water facilities.

"The logic of this defies basic humanitarian standards," said Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA.

The British group Oxfam called Israel's cutoff "ineffective as well as unlawful." Gisha, an Israeli group that has fought the fuel cutbacks in Israel's Supreme Court, said: "Punishing Gaza's 1.5 million civilians does not stop the rocket fire. It only creates an impossible 'balance' of human suffering on both sides of the border."

Israeli Cabinet minister Zeev Boim said that rather than condemning Israel, the U.N. should condemn Palestinian militants for firing rocket barrages at Israel.

"I don't hear the U.N.'s voice," Boim said.

Meanwhile, Gaza City residents were busy buying up batteries and candles, as well as basic foods such as rice, flour and cooking oil, said grocery store owner Sami Mousa. More would be doing the same, he said, but "the problem is that the people don't have the money to buy."

Bakeries stopped operating because they had neither power nor flour, bakers said.

The Hamas-linked Popular Resistance Committees threatened to break the blockade by crashing through the border with Egypt "by force."

There were no signs of panic, as Gazans have been living with fuel cutbacks, power outages and shortages since Islamic Hamas militants overran the seaside territory in June, triggering international sanctions.

Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, but many see Israel as still responsible, since it controls most land, sea and air access to the territory.

Alon Ben-David, military analyst for Israel's Channel 10 TV, said Israel could not maintain the blockade for more than a few days.

"Israel understands that a humanitarian crisis is developing here," he said.

Four rockets exploded in Israel throughout the day, a significant drop from the level of last week. The military said since last Tuesday, the start of the escalation, more than 200 rockets and mortars hit Israel.

There have been no serious injuries over the past week, but residents of the Israeli towns have been traumatized by months of daily salvos.

Addressing the annual Herzliya Conference on security, the Israeli military commander, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said his forces have exacted "a heavy toll" from the militants, but he admitted a solution to the rocket fire is not near.

"Even if it takes time, the goal will be achieved," he pledged.

Associated Press Correspondent Steven Gutkin contributed to this report from Jerusalem.

الجزيرة.نت : الظلام يلف غزة والعرب يتحركون لاجتماع طارئ

أونروا تدعو العالم للتدخل الفوري الظلام يلف غزة والعرب يتحركون لاجتماع طارئ

فلسطينيون يتناولون الطعام على الشموع في غزة (الفرنسية) غرقت أجزاء واسعة من قطاع غزة في الظلام بعد توقف محطة الكهرباء التي تزوده بالطاقة عن العمل بشكل كامل نتيجة قرار إسرائيل إغلاق المنافذ مع غزة، فيما قالت السلطة الفلسطينية إن مصر وافقت على طلب فلسطيني لعقد اجتماع طارئ لوزراء الخارجية العرب لبحث التطورات الأخيرة في غزة. ويهدد هذا التوقف بالتأثير سلبيا على قطاعات الصحة وتصريف المجاري وغيرها. وكان رفيق مليحة مدير مشروع محطة الكهرباء -التي تغطي بين 30% و35% من احتياجات قطاع غزة من الكهرباء- قال في وقت سابق إن "العمل توقف في واحدة من توربينتين في المحطة". وأضاف "لليوم الثالث على التوالي لم نتسلم أي كمية من الوقود للمحطة وهذا أمر سيوقف عمل المحطة كليا وهو أمر خطير على نواحي الحياة". وقال مراسل الجزيرة في غزة إن المستشفيات باتت تعاني من عجز في الكهرباء ما يهدد حياة العديد من المواطنين لا سيما من يعاني منهم من أمراض مزمنة، مشيرا إلى نفاد الوقود من نحو ثمانين محطة. وازدادت حدة الأزمة مع عجز المواطنين عن التزود بوقود التدفئة في وقت تلف فيه غزة موجة برد قارس مع استعداد الطلاب لامتحانات نهاية الفصل الدراسي. الأجهزة الطبية في المستشفيات مهددة بالتوقف عن العمل (الفرنسية) وقف الحصار وفي هذا السياق دعت الحكومة الفلسطينية المقالة على لسان المتحدث باسمها طاهر النونو مصر إلى اتخاذ "قرار جريء وشجاع" بفتح معبر رفح لكسر الحصار المفروض على غزة وتسهيل إدخال البضائع وإسعاف المرضى والجرحى. من ناحيته قال نبيل شعث عضو اللجنة المركزية لحركة فتح وممثل الرئيس الفلسطيني محمود عباس في مصر إن السلطة الفلسطينية طلبت من مصر عقد اجتماع عاجل لوزراء الخارجية العرب للبحث في التطورات الأخيرة في غزة. وأضاف شعث بعد مباحثات أجراها مع وزير الخارجية المصري أحمد أبو الغيط أن مصر من جانبها وافقت على عقد هذا الاجتماع. طوابير طويلة للفلسطينيين للحصول على لقمة الخبز (الفرنسية) إدانات وفي ردود الفعل على الحصار وجه مدير عمليات وكالة غوث وتشغيل اللاجئين الفلسطينيين (أونروا) من غزة آلان جون غينغ, نداء عاجلا إلى العالم للتدخل الفوري لحل الأزمة الإنسانية في قطاع غزة. وكانت وكالة غوث وتشغيل اللاجئين قالت إن الحصار ينتهك حقوق الإنسان الأساسية، فيما اعتبرته منظمة أوكسفام الإنسانية ومقرها لندن غير مجد وغير قانوني. وفي وقت سابق أعرب الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة بان كي مون عن قلقه إزاء الوضع في القطاع، وطالب بوقف تصعيد العنف. كما أدان الأمين العام لمنظمة المؤتمر الإسلامي أكمل الدين إحسان أوغلو إسرائيل "لارتكابها المجازر المتتالية في قطاع غزة" ودعا الأمم المتحدة ومجلس الأمن للتدخل لفك "الحصار الظالم" عن قطاع غزة.

A Call For Humanity | نداء للإنسانية

A Call For Humanity,

Gaza is living in the dark, Help as much as you can.

نداء للإنسانية،

غزة تعيش في الظلام، افعل ما بإمكانك للمساعدة.