Ny israelsk krigsforbrydelse – Gaza brænder, 155 palæstinensere dræbt

Al-Jazeera skriver:

Israel has launched air strikes on Hamas installations across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 140 people and causing heavy damage, according to officials and witnesses.

At least 30 missiles were fired at targets on Saturday, with the head of emergency services in Gaza saying that at least 200 people were also wounded.

Hours after the Israeli strikes Gaza fighters fired rockets into southern Israel, heeding to calls by Hamas and other affiliated Palestinian groups to avenge the attacks, unprecedented in their scale.

Mustafa Barghauthi, former Palestinian information minister, said; “This is not an attack on the Hamas. Its an attack on the whole population and the free will of the people of Gaza.”

He accused Israel of committing “war crimes” and demanded that Abbas and his government stop all relations with Israel.

Bint Battuta bringer en SMS fra et øjenvidne i Rafah:

“They struck the whole Gaza Strip at the same second. Many of the casualties are school children. My colleague told me he has seen 8 cases of death in the street. He picked his son alive. I am in my school now and the horror is everywhere in Gaza”

… og tilføjer for egen regning: “A Palestinian friend here, a relative of friends in Gaza City, just called me distraught because she can’t get through to them. I feel angry, and I feel helpless.”

Mohammad på Kabobfest skriver:

a day after Tzipi Livni threatened, from Cairo, to destroy Gaza, Egypt announced that it was sending reinforcements to its border with Gaza and urging Egyptians in the area to stockpile food in case the border was breached. Again, many saw this as an ominous warning-that Israel had received a green light from the Egyptian regime for a large scale attack on the Strip.

The day before, Ehud Olmert appeared on the Saudi-owned Arabiyah TV channel, urging Palestinians to rise up against Hamas, at the same time saying he would attack the Strip soon with destructive force.

It happened at noon today, December 27th. As the schools let out for the day, Israeli fighter planes, helicopters and warships launched a series of strikes. Within half an hour, 40 Palestinians were reported killed. It is now 2 hours after the beginning of the ongoing strikes.

The death toll is now 155 Palestinians.

Glædelig jul, alle sammen. Og godt nytår. Med hilsen fra den israelske regering og Obama, Inc.

Update, kl. 14:30: Politiken.dk har nu også historien og skriver bl.a.:

Tyk, sort røg stiger op over Gaza By, efter at 30 missiler har ramt især politikontorer.

Mindst 155 mennesker er dræbt i Gaza By og det sydlige Gaza efter et angreb af det israelske luftvåben, skriver Reuters på baggrund af oplysninger fra lederen af Gazas ambulance-service.

17 kinesere på Guantanamo – helt uskyldige, kommer aldrig fri

17 kinesere, der har siddet på Guantánamo i næsten syv år, som ikke er sigtet for noget som helst og altså er 100% juridisk og praktisk uskyldige og har en dommers ord for, at de hører til på fri fod, har nu fået at vide, at de formentlig kommer til at tilbringe resten af deres liv i et amerikansk fængsel.

The Guardian fortæller:

No country is willing to accept them and the US justice department has now blocked moves for them to be allowed to go to the US mainland, where they had been offered a home by refugee and Christian organisations.

The men’s lawyer, Sabin Willett, is flying to Guantánamo Bay this weekend to break the news to the men, who are members of the Uighur ethnic group seeking autonomy from China. In a blunt and angry letter to justice department lawyers, Willett spelled out what he thought of the way the men had been treated.

“After years of stalling and staying and appellate gamesmanship, you pleaded no contest – they are not enemy combatants,” Willett has written. “You have never charged them with any crime.”

Last month a federal judge ruled that the men should be freed. “They were on freedom’s doorstep,” said Willett. “The plane was at Gitmo. The stateside Lutheran refugee services and the Uighur families and Tallahassee clergy were ready to receive them.” However, the justice department appealed against the ruling and Willett claims this will put the men into a potentially endless limbo.

Men hvad er det, man helt præcis har på dem, siden man ikke vil slippe dem fri? Ifølge det amerikanske justitsministerium har mændene (haft? – syv år er lang tid) “tilknytning” til en organisation, som udenrigsministeriet opfatter som en terrororganisation. Den pågældende organisation opfattes ganske vist ikke som en trussel, men det er “beside the point  because the law excluding members of such groups [from US soil] does not require such proof”.

Så – efter at have tilbageholdt 17 helt skyldige mennesker i syv år i en af verdens mest ubehagelige tortur- og isolationslejre afviser man at løslade dem med henvisning til, at de vist nok er tilknyttet en organisation, der vist nok ved en fejltagelse er optaget på en terrorliste.

USA står dog ikke alene med skændslen, idet man er villig til at løslade kineserne til et andet land, hvis det vil modtage dem som flygtninge. Men ak:

So far, more than 100 countries have been asked to take them as refugees but none have agreed. Willett blamed US authorities for incorrectly describing them as terrorists.

Min første indskydelse: Danmark bør tage dem som flygtninge, og det straks. Vi har en forpligtelse her: USA er vor nærmeste allierede,  vores statsminister har de sidste syv år rendt i hælene på den amerikanske præsident som en puddelhund i løbetid, og takket være ham og resten af det borgerlige sammenrend i regeringen har vi taget lystigt del i amerikanernes krigsforbrydelser. Disse menneskers skæbne er lige så meget dit og mit ansvar, som det er George Bushs.

Danmark må tage dem, og hvis de senere ønsker at vende tilbage til Kina, må vi forhandle med Kina om det derfra. Nogen må tage dem. For helvede da: 17 uskyldige mennesker skal da ikke rådne op i fængsel resten af deres liv, fordi alverdens lande og regeringer leger “Jerusalem brænder” med ansvaret.

Link: No charges but US may never release Guantánamo Chinese