crimes against humanity – COMMUNIST PARTY OF MAINE

_{^{Protesters block on Monday evening Begin Road in front of the Kirya Israeli Military Headquarters in Tel Aviv, urging a deal for the release of hostages held in Gaza, May 6 2024 (Photo: Black Flag Movement)}}

_{Reposted from the Communist Party of Israel}

“Israel’s fascist government is on the verge of bringing about a humanitarian disaster in Rafah,” Hadash and Communist Party of Israel (CPI) says in a common statement on Monday, May 6.

Protesting far-right Israeli government plans to “bomb and invade the Rafah area on the Egyptian border, which houses hundreds of thousands of displaced people,” Hadash and the CPI warns of “the mass slaughter and humanitarian disaster involved in the bombing of a very small area containing more than a million displaced people.”

Launching such an operation would entail “sacrificing the kidnapped and hostages on the altar of the survival of the bloody and murderous government,” it continues, calling on the international community to intervene in order to bring about a ceasefire and an end to hostilities.

According Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, “Mere days after his government has agreed in principle to the Egyptian framework of a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, Netanyahu hurried to change his mind when it became apparent that Hamas accepted the conditions. There is no explanation for this senseless U-turn other than as a continuation of the surrender to the wicked Kahanists on whose support his government depends.”

“For these criminals, ‘total victory’ is nothing less than the total annihilation of Gaza and its citizens, in the very same period that we observe Holocaust Memorial Day. For them, the lives of the dying hostages, who have been tortured by Hamas criminals for over seven months, are worthless – a sacrifice worth making on the altar of the government of atrocities and the bloody messiah. Not only is this position morally repugnant and vile, but it is also against the real interests of the citizens of Israel, which are being repeatedly sacrificed in favor of a handful of hate-filled, revenge-obsessed lunatics. I call upon all of the public to take all available nonviolent means to avoid doom for Gaza, the hostages, and all of us. Stop the war! All for all, now!”, he said.

Israel launched an offensive on Rafah on Monday after Netanyahu refused a ceasefire and said he wanted to continue the war. After dropping leaflets asking the Palestinians deported to Rafah to leave the “safe” city, the Israeli air force bombed eastern Rafah. The panicked population no longer knows where to go.

The civilians were being called to move to an expanded humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi and Khan Younis areas of southern Gaza. The Israeli occupation forces ordered the residents of nine blocks in eastern Rafah to “temporarily move” to a so-called “expanded humanitarian area” in Al Mawassi. The area slated for evacuation is about 31 square kilometers and includes Al Shokat municipality area, As Salam neighborhood, Al Juneineh, Tal Azar’a and Al Bayuk. This area was home to some 64,000 Palestinians prior to 7 October and currently encompasses nine sites hosting internally displaced persons, three clinics, and six warehouses. With today’s evacuation orders, 277 square kilometers or about 76 per cent of the Gaza Strip have been placed under evacuation orders; this includes all areas north of Wadi Gaza, whose residents were ordered to evacuate in late October, as well as specific areas south of Wadi Gaza slated for evacuation by the Israeli military since 1 December.

The occupation army estimates there are about 100,000 residents in the southern Gaza neighborhoods ordered to evacuate and Gaza medical sources say 26 civilians killed in Rafah as Israel begins forced evacuation ahead of ground operation. Between the afternoons of May 3 and May 6, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 113 Palestinians were killed and 241 injured, including 52 killed and 90 injured in the last 24 hours. Between October 7, 2023 and May 6, 2024, at least 34,735 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 78,108 Palestinians were injured, according to MoH in Gaza.

On Monday evening, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh tells Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel that the Palestinian group accepts their terms for a ceasefire with Israel, according to an official announcement from Hamas. A senior Hamas official tells Al Jazeera the same.

Israel has repeatedly said it will not accept a deal, as repeatedly demanded by Hamas, that conditions the release of hostages on the end of the war. On Saturday, furthermore, an official source, widely believed to be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that Israel had not empowered the mediators to issue guarantees of an end to the war, either.

US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators have been negotiating with Hamas in recent days over a three-phase proposal, green-lit by Israel. The proposal has not been published, but reportedly provides, in the first phase, for 33 living hostages — women, children, the elderly and the sick — to be freed during a 40-day truce, in return for hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners.

As per the reported text of the offer, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas would begin anew on the 16th day of the truce, to set out an arrangement to restore sustainable calm to Gaza over the second and third stages of the deal. In the second phase, all remaining living prisoners would be released during a further 42-day truce, in return for hundreds more security prisoners, and the Israeli occupation army would withdraw from Gaza. The third and final stage of the deal would again last 42 days and Hamas would reportedly be required to hand over the bodies of those who were killed on October 7 or died in captivity, in exchange for bodies of Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli custody.

The rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip would begin during the first phase of the deal, starting with the restoration of Gaza’s roads, electricity, water, sanitation, and communication infrastructure. Preparations for a five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza’s homes and civilian infrastructure would be completed during the second phase of the deal, and construction would begin in the third stage.

Racist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejects Hamas’s acceptance of a ceasefire as “a trick.” “There is only one response to Hamas’s tricks and games — an immediate order to conquer Rafah, increase military pressure, and continue to crush Hamas until it is utterly defeated.”

On Monday night, hostage family members blocked parts of Begin Road, near the army headquarters, and Ayalon Highway, calling for a ceasefire and the return of the hostages. The demonstrations came shortly after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh had informed Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief that it had accepted their ceasefire proposal. Other demonstrations against the offensive launched in Rafah and the war in Gaza were held in Central Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheva.

_{Communist Party of Israel}

_{^{Rep. Chellie Pingree speaks on the House floor. | Via C-SPAN}}

^{Reposted from the Maine Beacon}

Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree is among a group of 57 House Democrats urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to affirm the United States’ strong opposition to the forced transfer of Palestinians from Gaza.

Last week, Democrats, led by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, sent a letter to Blinken outlining concerns about the Biden administration’s mixed messages regarding its stance on whether it will allow Israel to ethnically cleanse Gaza.

The letter comes as some in the Israeli government are floating proposals to forcibly and permanently transfer 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. It also comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected calls by the Biden administration for the future establishment of a Palestinian state, calling for Israel to be in control of the region from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

“Israel and Hamas are no closer to peace than when I called for a ceasefire months ago,” Pingree said in a statement. “Prime Minister Netanyahu’s reported recent statements badly undermine the only path for lasting peace: a two-state solution. These statements call into question his government’s ability to end this war and achieve peace.”

Pingree joined the growing list of federal lawmakers who have called for a ceasefire in November, weeks after protesters were arrested in her Portland office demanding the First District Congresswoman take a stand. Pingree is the only member of Maine’s federal delegation who has called for a ceasefire.

Pres. Joe Biden and his administration have expressed their opposition to the forced displacement of Palestinians, which can constitute a crime against humanity under international law. Blinken emphasized this earlier this month, stating, “Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. They cannot, they must not, be pressed to leave Gaza.”

However, despite Blinken’s words, the Biden administration has refused to place any conditions on diplomatic and military aid for Israel, which enables the ongoing siege against Gaza where the death toll has surpassed 25,000 — 70% women and children. Earlier this month, South Africa initiated a case in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.

Citing the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, House Democrats urged Blinken to support the increase of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip.

“Due to the ongoing conflict, over 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza, nearly 80% of the population, have been internally displaced in the Gaza Strip,” the lawmakers wrote. “Worsening sanitary conditions, shortages of food, water, fuel, and medicines, and thousands of cases of acute respiratory infections, diarrhea and chicken pox reflect an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.”

In the letter, the lawmakers also sought clarification from Blinken regarding Biden’s supplemental request for humanitarian and security funding, sent to Congress on Oct. 20. The request specifically sought funds to address the potential needs of Gazans seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

“In light of the President’s recognition of the importance of preventing Palestinian displacement, we aim to prevent any confusion or misinterpretation that this funding request could in any way signal U.S. support for potential transfer of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip,” the lawmakers continued. “We ask for a clarification of the U.S. position on this question and that you continue to make clear American opposition to any forced transfer of population to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian people.”

_{Dan Neumann studied journalism at Colorado State University before beginning his career as a community newspaper reporter in Denver. He reported on the Global North’s interventions in Africa, including documentaries on climate change, international asylum policy and U.S. militarization on the continent before returning to his home state of Illinois to teach community journalism on Chicago’s West Side. He now lives in Portland. Dan can be reached at dan@mainebeacon.com.}