By Sean Malloy
Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza strip has reached terror proportions in the last three months. Tikva Honig-Parnass writes in the March issue of News From Within, "Since the 'left government' took over the reins, the brutality of the repression of the Intifada and the denial of human rights in the occupied territories, especially the Gaza Strip, has increased to dimensions unknown under Shamir's rule".
A report documenting Israeli Defence Force (IDF) brutality in January has been prepared by the Gaza Centre for Rights and Law. The report notes that of 10 Palestinians killed in Gaza during the month, four were 14 years old or younger. Eight of the 10 killed were participating in demonstrations.
One victim was executed by an IDF soldier and an Israeli agent after being arrested in Gaza City.
Using reports from hospitals and clinics, the report recorded 496 people treated for gunshot wounds, 150 of them 15 years old or younger. Other injuries included 153 plastic bullet shootings, 250 cases of beating and 641 cases of tear-gas inhalation.
The report also described the worst cases of violence against Palestinians, including a three year-old girl deliberately shot nine times with plastic bullets at close range.
The IDF policy of punishing Palestinian communities by demolishing homes has been made more terrible through the use of anti-tank rockets. The use of military ordnance to destroy houses was introduced in mid-1992.
Khan Yunis refugee camp first experienced this new terror on November 13. Eight houses in the camp were attacked with helicopter gunships, missiles, grenades and machine guns.
The IDF arrives early in the morning in large numbers, surrounds the houses targeted and forces the occupants to leave. The soldiers usually say they are looking for terrorists, handcuff any young men and coerce one or two Palestinians to search the houses for any remaining people. Then they shoot the houses to pieces, throwing grenades and firing missiles.
Middle East International correspondent Graham Usher talked to residents of Khan Yunis after another IDF attack on February 11.
The women were "assured that the IDF is here only for 'a quick search' and 'not to worry about their things'." The men were "bound by the wrists and blindfolded".
"One of the residents describes what happened next: 'We heard the at 8.20 a.m. Then the crackle of large calibre machine-gun fire. Then the thud of an explosive charge. Then silence. Then it starts again — boom, crackle, thud.' The shelling stops at 4 p.m. almost eight hours later. It is followed by the drone of an army bulldozer clearing away the rubble."
Nineteen houses were destroyed in the attack, leaving 180 Palestinians homeless.
Another Middle East International correspondent, Taher Shreiteh, was arrested by the IDF for filming. Shreiteh spent a night in Ansar II prison camp on Gaza beach, reporting that "over half the 94 Palestinians in that prison were under 16 years of age".
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights Commission passed a series of resolutions in February condemning Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. It decided to appoint a special rapporteur to investigate Israel's violation of international law.
A resolution denouncing Israeli settlement of the occupied territories as illegal and a violation of the Geneva Convention was passed with only the US voting against.
As for the "left" in the Rabin government, Honig-Parnass writes, "Peace Now ... is hiding behind the excuse that commitment to Rabin and his policies is important for the 'peace process' ...
"Thus the Palestinians are today virtually bereft of protection by the various segments of the Zionist Left — facing alone the steamroller of growing repression, whose objective is to bring them to the negotiating table on their knees."