Democracy Now - Palestinian Journalist Mohammed Omer

[slipslidingaway]

Lifting the Blockade Isn’t a Hamas Demand — It’s a Human Right

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/7/29/palestinian_journalist_mohamed_omer_lifting_the


"...AARON MATÉ: Mohammed, we have 30 seconds. The main issue for Hamas is ending the blockade of Gaza. Can you talk about why this is such a critical issue for Gazans who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the siege to be lifted?

MOHAMMED OMER: Remember that this is not a demand by Hamas. This is also a demand by the international community. The U.N. have always called on Israel to lift the blockade, to open the borders and make life possible. To lift the blockade, it’s pretty easy. It’s a pretty easy equation here. Israel will have to open the border. If you remember, in January 2008, when Palestinians knocked down the wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, there was not one single rocket that was fired into Israel. If that indicates to you something, it shows that Palestinians just want open borders, and they want lifting the blockade, and they want to enjoy their life, like the rest of the neighbors. And Israel is not giving the chance for the Palestinians to basically get in and outside of the Gaza Strip.

I’m afraid that we are going to have more radical generations in the Gaza Strip, and I fear the future of Gaza, and I fear the future of the West Bank, and I fear the future of the region, if the international community is not acting now to end the blockade and to end the aggression in Gaza and to make sure that people are safe and secure. There is nowhere safe. There is nowhere secure. We are being bombed constantly by Israeli F-16s and tank shells. And the international community is waiting. We are—the way the international community is dealing with the Gazans is unfortunately as numbers. Now it’s 1,200 people who were killed. That’s only a number. But each one of these numbers is a story. Each one of them is a memory. Each one of them is a whole narrative that we need to understand. We need to see the people. I have been to the cemetery yesterday, where a mother was screaming over the body of her son. And why? Because Israel targeted one of the graveyards, and she was collecting the bones of her own son who was killed some years ago. Imagine, if that’s something that’s happening anywhere in the world, what the reaction of the international community would be. But because it’s in Gaza, there is no reaction..."

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, slipslidingaway.

[slipslidingaway]

2. Thank you! n/t

[slipslidingaway]

3. Democracy Now - 20 Gazans Killed in Israeli Bombing of U.N. Shelter

"They Thought They’d Be Safe. They Were Wrong": 20 Gazans Killed in Israeli Bombing of U.N. Shelter"

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/7/30/they_thought_theyd_be_safe_they

"Dozens of Palestinian civilians have been killed in the most intensive 48-hour bombardment of Gaza so far. At least 50 Palestinians have died over the past day, bringing the death toll from Israel’s three-week assault to more than 1,250. Earlier today, two bombs hit a school in the Jabaliya refugee camp used by the United Nations to house displaced Palestinians. Around 20 Palestinians were reportedly killed, including a medic and an infant. Scores were injured. The United Nations has accused Israel of bombing the school. It marks the sixth time a U.N. shelter has been attacked since Israel launched its offensive 23 days ago. We are joined from Gaza City by Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous, just back from visiting the bombed-out school.

Transcript


This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: At least 50 more Palestinians have died over the past 24 hours in Gaza as the Israeli offensive enters its 23rd day. This brings the death toll from Israel’s three-week offensive to over 1,250. At about 4:30 a.m. today, two shells hit a school in the Jabaliya refugee camp used by the United Nations to shelter Palestinians seeking safety from the fighting. The U.N. accused Israel of shelling the school. Reuters is reporting at least 20 Palestinians died in the attack, including a medic and an infant. Scores were injured. Twenty-seven-year-old Abdel-Karim al-Masamha said he and his family had come to the school after fleeing fighting near their home in the northern Gaza Strip.


ABDEL-KARIM AL-MASAMHA: [translated] People were martyred before our eyes. They were dismembered. Five people, including a woman, were killed in this classroom. We have come here from the targeted areas because they were not safe. We did not find safety here. There are no safe rooms in Gaza.

AMY GOODMAN: More than 3,000 people were taking refuge at the school at the time of the shelling. It marks the sixth time a U.N. shelter has been attacked since Israel launched its offensive. At least 180,000 Palestinians—more than 10 percent of the population of Gaza—have now sought shelter in about 80 U.N. schools..."