Palestine
BNP sends medicines, medical equipment to Palestine
BNP on Wednesday sent medicines and medical equipment to Palestine ravaged by Israeli airstrikes.
Party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir handed over the medicines and equipment to Palestinian Ambassador in Dhaka Yousef SY Ramadan at his embassy in the city’s Baridhara residence.
Talking to reporters later, Fakhrul said over 200 people, including women and children, were killed and many others injured in Palestine and their houses, educational institutions and hospitals were destroyed by the unjustified airstrikes by Israel.
Read: Removal of "except Israel" from passports exposed govt’s amoral position: BNP
“We’ve been condemning the barbaric attacks for long. We also sent a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas voicing deep concerns over the inhuman air attacks by Israel and expressed our solidarity with Palestinians,” he said.
He said they are providing medicines and medical equipment to Palestine for the treatment of those injured in the Israeli attacks.
“We’ve observed with great sadness that when the Palestinians were fighting for their motherland, our Home Ministry removed the words 'except for Israel' from our passport. We think it's not a good move at a time when the whole world was standing (beside Palestine) during their fight against Israel,” the BNP leader observed.
He said the Palestinian envoy thanked BNP for its assistance for his country and wished speedy recovery of party chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Yousef Ramadan said his country’s people will never forget the cooperation and support of the people of Bangladesh for Palestine.
Read:BNP slams govt over Israel issue
Earlier on May 20, Mirza Fakhrul, on behalf of BNP, sent a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressing profound concerns over the recent violence and inhuman air attacks by Israel on innocent Palestinian civilians and devotees on the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Israel conducted more than 1,800 airstrikes on Gaza during the fight that began between Israel and Hamas on May 10.
On May 21, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire, halting a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, brought life in much of Israel to a standstill and left more than 200 people dead.
Boycotting Israeli Products: Is It Practically Possible?
The long-running conflict between Israel and Palestine took an even more violent turn recently as the two states practically went into a state of war with each other. With the recent escalation of conflict, the global response has been somewhat mixed. Most of the western countries including the European leaders are supporting Israel’s right to self-defense. Muslim countries and the coalition of OIC have been vocal about the atrocities carried out by Israel in the occupied lands of Gaza where Palestinian residents have been forcefully removed from their homes. In addition to that, there have been massive airstrikes carried out by Israel that have killed civilians in the hundreds to which Hamas also retaliated with airstrikes. As most of the developed countries turn a blind eye to the plight of the Palestinian people, there has been a global call to boycott Israeli products as a form of protest.
What is the impact of boycotting Israeli products?
Since its foundation in 1948 after the end of the British mandate and proclamation of the Jewish state, Israel set itself on a prolific development course. The initial years weren’t easy as it had to combat economic recession combined with refugee intake from Europe. However, the state took a keen interest in technological advancement as well as exporting locally produced goods and brands.
Their advancement in the tech field including computer hardware, software as well as spyware made them a key exporter of these goods in western countries like the USA, UK, Hong Kong, and China. With a huge volume of export of local as well as international brand products sourced in Israel, the net exports hold almost 29% of the GDP of Israel. Boycotting Israeli products lands a huge blow to the percentage share as well as the economy of Israel.
Read Palestinian minister: Cease-fire in Gaza is `not enough’
What are the Israeli products and brands?
Before we get into the details of products and brands you need to understand that some of these brands are not directly owned or operated by the state of Israel; neither are they owned by an Israeli corporation or owner. Rather they source the products or use Israeli Logistics to produce the commodities and sell them worldwide.
Though technically not an Israeli product, they do help the Israeli cause and contribute to the overall economic development of Israel. Procter and Gamble, the notable mother brand of products like Gillette, Pampers, Olay, and Oral-B have considerable ties with Israel. Pampers, one of their successful diaper range is sourced exclusively from Avgol, an Israeli company with factories in the occupied West Bank area. Intel also has plants in Tel-Aviv which manufactures a share of their global chipset supply.
Notable construction brands like Caterpillar supplies armored tanks to Israel which is an essential element of their field military strength. The retail and consumer sub-brand of Caterpillar, CAT also sources and holds a considerable investment in the state of Israel. Hewlett-Packard, commonly known as HP was one of the first western companies to establish a business hub in Israel back in 1994. To this day, HP holds a significant foreign investment in Israel and has been a key player in the tech revolution of the state.
Other notable brands like SodaStream, Puma, McDonald's, Motorola, and Volvo also share economic ties with Israel as well as sourcing their product through factories in the occupied area.
The technological advancements of Israel saw them take a strong position in the internet business scene as well. Popular websites like deviant art and website building tools like Wix are all based in Israel. One of the biggest freelancing platforms of the world Fiverr is also owned and operated from Israel with its headquarter in Tel-Aviv.
These are just a few notable international products that are used on a global scale in almost all the countries of the world. However, there are tens and thousands of Israeli products that are relatively less known but are an important contributing factor to the economy of Israel. You can check for the barcode of a product and if it starts with 729, it is designated to be a product from Israel.
Read Israel approves unilateral cease-fire in Gaza offensive
Why is it challenging to boycott Israeli products?
The state of Israel has always pioneered innovation and development of critical and crucial products across a range of sectors. As we have mentioned before, the advancement of Israel in the field of technology has been immense. From crucial car navigation system like Waze to optical heart rate monitor that enables smartwatches to monitor heart rate, all of these technologies were developed in Israel.
Not just these, global social hubs like Facebook or popular search engines like Google and Bing all use components made in Israel to optimize their network and service. The proprietary company Mellanox has been a key supplier of these components.
Other innovations like the mobile camera to portable disk drives, all of these technological milestones trace back their origin to Israel. From a western point of view, with such deep-rooted ties to everyday life, it is almost impossible to boycott Israeli products.
Read Want to help Palestinians? Now there is a way
How can you boycott products from Bangladesh?
Contrary to popular belief, some of the products that you might see making rounds on social media don’t share any ties with Israel and as a result, you have no reason to boycott them. Bangladesh is also the only country to not share any form of economic or diplomatic ties with Israel so our government doesn’t act as a benefactor in any way.
Though not directly available, some of the international brand products that we mentioned above are still available in the country with the products of P&G being the most widely available one. You can find an alternative to these products either sourced locally or from brands that don’t share any ties with Israel if you want to contribute to the cause.
Read Address Palestinian issue: Bangladesh to UN Security Council
Bottom Line
The conflict of Israel and Palestine is long-standing and one that has caused a heavy toll on life and humanitarian crisis. Where the most form of protest is limited to condemnation of the atrocities alone, many have called for the boycott of the products to show solidarity with the people of Palestine and their cause. That is about as much that can be done from a civilian point of view unless the ongoing crisis is resolved once and for all.
Dhaka seeks strong global resolve to end Palestinian crisis permanently
Permanent Representative (PR) of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Rabab Fatima has urged the international community to take urgent and decisive action to resolve the longstanding crisis in Palestine.
She was speaking at the joint debate on the situation in the Middle East and the question of Palestine on Thursday convened by the President of the UN General Assembly.
Ambassador Fatima informed the General Assembly that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a letter to Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas, denounced the abhorrent acts of violence against innocent civilians of Palestine, including women and children.
Also read: Hasina a household name in Palestine: Envoy
Quoting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, she reaffirmed Bangladesh’s unflinching commitment towards realising the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine for an independent homeland, based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In a strong call to the General Assembly, Bangladesh Ambassador asked for an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression and deplored repetition of such senseless cycles of violence and atrocities by the occupying Israeli forces.
Ambassador Fatima highlighted some priorities towards a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian crisis and peace in the region, which included, the genuine efforts of the international community to address the root causes of the crisis and the fulfillment of the charter responsibilities by the Security Council and the General Assembly to turn around the culture of inaction and enforce compliance of all international human rights and humanitarian laws, and relevant UN resolutions, including resolution 2334 (2016).
She also called for engaging with all relevant actors to ensure early implementation of the Roadmap, Arab Peace Initiative and the efforts of the Quartet.
Also read: Gaza attack: Dhaka seeks US’ proactive role to stop bloodshed
Stressing that the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people must be met urgently, Ambassador Fatima suggested to further strengthen the capacity of UNRWA.
Underscoring the importance of ensuring the accountability of the occupying Israeli forces, she said that it could be a first step towards guaranteeing justice and lasting peace in the Middle East.
More than 100 UN Member States participated in the day-long Joint Debate which was also addressed by the UN Secretary General and President of the General Assembly.
All speakers called for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory and an urgent resolution to the Palestinian crisis.
Palestinian minister: Cease-fire in Gaza is `not enough’
The Palestinians’ top diplomat said a cease-fire in Gaza will enable 2 million Palestinians to sleep Thursday night but it’s “not enough at all” and the world must now tackle the difficult issues of Jerusalem’s future and achieving an independent Palestinian state.
Riad Al-Malki told reporters on the sidelines of an emergency meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on the conflict between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers that while a cease-fire is good it doesn’t address “the core issue” that started the violence.
He said that is Jerusalem, citing the “desecration” by Israeli soldiers and settlers of the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, and the Israeli policy of evicting Palestinians from their homes in the city’s different neighborhoods including Sheikh Jarra.
Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza — territories the Palestinians want for their future state — in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally, and views the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians view east Jerusalem — which includes major holy sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims — as their capital, and its fate lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has triggered serious violence in the past.
Al-Malki accused Israel of intending to erase the multi-cultural, multi-religious character of the city of Jerusalem saying: “We are opposed to that, we reject that, and we’ll keep working to prevent that from happening.”
Thursday’s assembly meeting began with speeches from a dozen ministers, almost all from Arab and Muslim countries, and is eventually expected to hear over 100 speakers.
He said the overwhelming messages from the meeting was not only “condemning Israeli atrocities and crimes” in Gaza but reminding the world of the need to care for and defend Jerusalem and to work for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
“Today’s events here in the General Assembly and what has been happening has refocused the attention again on the issue of Palestine,” Al-Malki said.
He said Israel’s normalization of relations with some Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, doesn’t waive the questions of the future of Jerusalem and a Palestinian state.
“To the contrary, we see today that the issue of Palestine and the Palestinian question, the issue of Jerusalem and the occupation of Jerusalem, is the most important issue for all Muslims and Arabs and the world alike,” Al-Malki said.
“We want to see the Palestinian people free and also living in their own independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.
The last direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians took place in 2014. The Palestinians broke off relations with former U.S. president Donald Trump’s administration in December 2017 after he after he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Trump further angered the Palestinians by presenting a two-state peace plan that would have required significant Palestinian concessions on territory and sovereignty, moved the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv, cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority and rescinded a longstanding legal opinion that Israeli settlement activity is illegitimate under international law.
President Joe Biden won initial but cautious plaudits from Mideast analysts when he rejected the Trump administration’s unabashedly pro-Israel stance and tentatively embraced the Palestinians by restoring aid and diplomatic contacts. But he also retained key elements Trump’s policies, including on settlements.
In the past two weeks, the United States blocked four attempts by the U.N. Security Council to demand an end to the Israeli-Hamas conflict, saying a statement could interfere with diplomatic efforts. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told Thursday’s assembly meeting, “I don’t believe there is any country working more urgently or fervently toward peace.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters after Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire that Israel and the Palestinians have a responsibility to observe it and “to start a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict.”
Whether a serious effort takes place to try to revive efforts to end the decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains to be seen.
Guterres underscored the U.N.’s commitment to work with Israelis and Palestinians to return to peace negotiations, including through the Quartet of Mideast mediator — the U.N., U.S., European Union and Russia.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Biden administration is “committed to working with other members of the international community over the long term to create the conditions for a lasting and sustainable peace.”
Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. and the U.S., Gilad Erdan, accused the General Assembly of “hypocrisy” on Thursday for supporting and not condemning Hamas, which doesn’t accept Israel’s right to exist.
He referred to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ announcement in late April that the first Palestinian elections in 15 years would be delayed. Abbas cited a dispute with Israel to call off a vote in which his fractured Fatah party was expected to suffer another embarrassing defeat to the Hamas militant group. Hamas called the move a “coup.”
“If this institution strengthens Hamas, it will make the possibility of Hamas replacing the Palestinian Authority much more likely and eliminate the chance of future dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians,” Erdan said. “There is nothing to discuss with a terror organization committed to your annihilation, nothing.”
Israel approves unilateral cease-fire in Gaza offensive
Israel on Thursday announced a cease-fire in the bruising 11-day war against Hamas militants that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and brought life in much of Israel to a standstill.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the cease-fire after a late-night meeting of his Security Cabinet. It said the group had unanimously accepted an Egyptian proposal, though the sides were still determining exactly when it was to take effect.
Senior defense officials, including the military chief of staff and national security adviser, recommended accepting the proposal after claiming “great accomplishments” in the operation, the statement said.
“The political leaders emphasized that the reality on the ground will be that which determines the future of the campaign,” the statement said.
Also read: How did Hamas grow its arsenal to strike Israel?
One member of the Security Cabinet said the cease-fire would take effect at 2 a.m., roughly three hours after the announcement. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the closed-door talks.
Shortly after the announcement, air-raid sirens indicating incoming rocket fire sounded in southern Israel.
The agreement would close the heaviest round of fighting between the bitter enemies since a 50-day war in 2014, and once again there was no clear winner. Israel inflicted heavy damage on Hamas but was unable to prevent the rocket fire that has disrupted life for millions of Israelis for more than a decade.
The fighting began May 10, when Hamas militants in Gaza fired long-range rockets toward Jerusalem after days of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Jews and Muslims. Heavy-handed police tactics at the compound and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers had inflamed tensions.
Also read: Hamas official says ‘no shortage of missiles’
Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes during the operation, targeting what it said was Hamas’ military infrastructure, including a vast tunnel network. Hamas and other militant groups embedded in residential areas have fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli cities, with hundreds falling short and most of the rest intercepted.
At least 230 Palestinians were killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not break the numbers down into fighters and civilians.
Hamas and the militant group Islamic Jihad said at least 20 of their fighters have been killed, while Israel said the number is at least 130. Some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes, many of them seeking shelter in crowded U.N. schools at a time of a raging coronavirus outbreak.
Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and a soldier, were killed.
Also read: Israel unleashes new strikes as expectations for truce rise
Since the fighting began, Gaza’s infrastructure, already weakened by a 14-year blockade, has rapidly deteriorated.
Medical supplies, water and fuel for electricity are running low in the territory, on which Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade after Hamas seized power in 2007.
Israel considers Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks its destruction, to be a terrorist group and Hamas’ government is not internationally recognized.
Israeli bombing has damaged over 50 schools across the territory, according to advocacy group Save the Children, completely destroying at least six. While repairs are done, education will be disrupted for nearly 42,000 children.
Also read: Israeli strikes kill 42, topple buildings in Gaza City
Israeli attacks have also damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility, the World Health Organization said. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out.
How did Hamas grow its arsenal to strike Israel?
In this fourth war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, the Islamic militant group has fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, some hitting deeper in Israeli territory and with greater accuracy than ever before.
The unprecedented barrages reaching as far north as the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv, coupled with drone launches and even an attempted submarine attack, have put on dramatic display a homegrown arsenal that has only expanded despite the choke hold of a 14-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the coastal strip.
“The magnitude of (Hamas) bombing is much bigger and the precision is much better in this conflict,” said Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City. “It’s shocking what they’ve been able to do under siege.”
Israel has argued that the blockade — which has caused severe hardship for more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza — is essential for preventing a Hamas arms build-up and cannot be lifted.
Also read: Hamas official says ‘no shortage of missiles’
Here’s a look at how, despite intense surveillance and tight restrictions, Hamas managed to amass its cache.
FROM CRUDE BOMBS TO LONG-RANGE ROCKETS
Since the founding of Hamas in 1987, the group’s secretive military wing — which operates alongside a more visible political organization — evolved from a small militia into what Israel describes as a “semi-organized military.”
In its early days, the group carried out deadly shootings and kidnappings of Israelis. It killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which erupted in late 2000.
As violence spread, the group started producing rudimentary “Qassam” rockets. Powered partly by molten sugar, the projectiles reached just a few kilometers (miles), flew wildly and caused little damage, often landing inside Gaza.
Also read: Israel unleashes new strikes as expectations for truce rise
After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Hamas assembled a secret supply line from longtime patrons Iran and Syria, according to Israel’s military. Longer-range rockets, powerful explosives, metal and machinery flooded Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. Experts say the rockets were shipped to Sudan, trucked across Egypt’s vast desert and smuggled through a warren of narrow tunnels beneath the Sinai Peninsula.
In 2007, when Hamas fighters pushed the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza and took over governing the coastal strip, Israel and Egypt imposed their tight blockade.
According to the Israeli military, the smuggling continued, gaining steam after Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist leader and Hamas ally, was elected president of Egypt in 2012 before being overthrown by the Egyptian army.
Gaza militants stocked up on foreign-made rockets with enhanced ranges, like Katyushas and the Iranian-supplied Fajr-5, which were used during the 2008 and 2012 wars with Israel.
Also read: Netanyahu’s prospects bolstered amid Israel-Hamas fighting
A HOMEGROWN INDUSTRY
After Morsi’s overthrow, Egypt cracked down on and shut hundreds of smuggling tunnels. In response, Gaza’s local weapons industry picked up.
“The Iranian narrative is that they kick-started all the missile production in Gaza and gave them the technical and knowledge base, but now the Palestinians are self-sufficient, said Fabian Hinz, an independent security analyst focusing on missiles in the Middle East. “Today, most of the rockets we’re seeing are domestically built, often with creative techniques.”
In a September documentary aired by the Al-Jazeera satellite news network, rare footage showed Hamas militants reassembling Iranian rockets with ranges of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) and warheads packed with 175 kilograms (385 pounds) of explosives. Hamas militants opened unexploded Israeli missiles from previous strikes to extract explosive materials. They even salvaged old water pipes to repurpose as missile bodies.
To produce rockets, Hamas chemists and engineers mix propellant from fertilizer, oxidizer and other ingredients in makeshift factories. Key contraband is still believed to be smuggled into Gaza in a handful of tunnels that remain in operation.
Also read: Israel’s Netanyahu ‘determined’ to continue Gaza operation
Hamas has publicly praised Iran for its assistance, which experts say now primarily takes the form of blueprints, engineering know-how, motor tests and other technical expertise. The State Department reports that Iran provides $100 million a year to Palestinian armed groups.
THE ARSENAL ON DISPLAY
The Israeli military estimates that before the current round of fighting, Hamas had an arsenal of 7,000 rockets of varying ranges that can cover nearly all of Israel, as well as 300 anti-tank and 100 anti-aircraft missiles. It also has acquired dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles and has an army of some 30,000 militants, including 400 naval commandos.
In this latest war, Hamas has unveiled new weapons like attack drones, unmanned submarine drones dispatched into the sea and an unguided rocket called “Ayyash” with a 250-kilometer (155-mile) range. Israel claims those new systems have been thwarted or failed to make direct strikes.
The Israeli military says its current operation has dealt a tough blow to Hamas’ weapons research, storage and production facilities. But Israeli officials acknowledge they have been unable to halt the constant barrages of rocket fire.
Also read: Israeli strikes kill 42, topple buildings in Gaza City
Unlike guided missiles, the rockets are imprecise and the vast majority have been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. But by continuing to frustrate Israel’s superior firepower, Hamas may have made its main point.
“Hamas is not aiming for the military destruction of Israel. Ultimately, the rockets are meant to build leverage and rewrite the rules of the game,” Hinz said. “It’s psychological.”
Hamas official says ‘no shortage of missiles’
A senior Hamas official said in an interview Thursday that he expects a cease-fire between the group’s Gaza branch and Israel within a day, but warned that Hamas has “no shortage of missiles.”
Osama Hamdan also told The Associated Press that Mohammed Deif, an elusive Hamas commander who has been hunted by Israel for decades, is alive and remains in charge of Gaza military operations.
Deif, also known as Abu Khaled, is by far Israel’s most wanted target in Gaza. He has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts, and is rarely seen in public. Israeli media have said there were two more failed attempts during the current Israel-Hamas war, the fourth in just over a decade.
Hamdan told the AP that Deif is “still heading the operation and directing the joint operations” of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and other factions. He provided no evidence for that statement.
Also read: Israel unleashes new strikes as expectations for truce rise
Since the conflict began, Israel has leveled a number of Gaza City’s tallest office and residential buildings, alleging they house elements of the Hamas military infrastructure.
On Saturday, an Israeli strike destroyed the 12-story al-Jalaa Building, an office and residential tower where the offices of the AP and the TV network Al-Jazeera were located. The military gave a warning ahead of the strike and occupants evacuated safely.
The AP has called for an independent investigation. AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt has said in statement that the AP had no indication of a Hamas presence in the building. “This is something we actively check to the best of our ability,” he said.
Hamdan denied there was any military presence belonging to Hamas or any other armed group in the building.
Also read: Netanyahu’s prospects bolstered amid Israel-Hamas fighting
In the interview, Hamdan said his group could continue bombarding Israel for months if it chose to do so.
“I can assure that what we saw during the first days in terms of bombarding Tel Aviv and some areas in Jerusalem, can continue not only for days or weeks but for months,” said Hamdan. But he added that he believed a cease-fire announcement is near.
Hamdan, who is based in Beirut, is a member of Hamas’ powerful decision-making political bureau.
Hamas is a militant off-shoot of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood and has sworn to pursue Israel’s destruction. It has been branded a terrorist group by Israel, the U.S., the European Union and other Western allies.
Also read: Israel’s Netanyahu ‘determined’ to continue Gaza operation
Founded in 1987, Hamas consists of a secretive military wing and an above-ground political organization. Its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, runs Hamas from exile in Qatar. The group’s power center remains Gaza, the small territory it seized from internationally-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ forces in 2007.
Also Thursday, Haniyeh in a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asked for a wide “mobilization of Arab, Islamic and international support” to stop Israeli airstrikes, the official IRNA news agency reported. It said this was Haniyeh’s second note to Khamenei since the latest war between Israel and Hamas erupted.
The war broke out on May 10, after Hamas fired long-range rockets at Jerusalem following weeks of clashes in the holy city between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police. The protests were focused on the heavy-handed policing of a flashpoint sacred site during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers.
Since then, the Israeli military has launched hundreds of airstrikes that it says are targeting Hamas’ militant infrastructure. Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired more than 4,000 rockets toward Israeli cities and towns.
Also read: Israeli strikes kill 42, topple buildings in Gaza City
At least 230 Palestinians have been killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, have been killed.
Hamdan said Egypt and Qatar have been involved in cease-fire negotiations and suggested that progress was being made. “This is the tentative vision that I believe that within 24 hours will lead to an understanding or an agreement,” he added.
Hamdan said that as part of the talks, Hamas and a smaller militant group, Islamic Jihad, demand that Israeli police agree not to enter Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third holiest site. During the Jerusalem tensions that preceded the current war, Israeli riot police firing tear guns, stun grenades and rubber bullets clashed with Palestinian stone throwers in the compound. Israel is bound to reject any Hamas demands linked to Jerusalem.
During the current fighting, Hamas missiles have been hitting deeper inside Israel and with greater accuracy than ever before, including several barrages on Tel Aviv.
Also read: Israel unleashes strikes after vowing to press on in Gaza
Hamdan said the arsenal was far from being depleted. “There is no shortage of missiles,” he said, without elaborating.
On Thursday, Hamas received verbal support from ally Iran, which has armed militant groups through the region.
Gen. Esmail Ghaani, who heads Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force, sent letters to Deif and a commander of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, praising “their resistance” against Israel, according to state media in Tehran.
“We will stand by you,” Ghaani said in the letters to the Palestinian commanders.
EXPLAINER: Are Israel, Hamas committing war crimes in Gaza?
A week into their fourth war, Israel and the Hamas militant group already face allegations of possible war crimes in Gaza. Israel says Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields, while critics say Israel is using disproportionate force.
Who’s right? It’s hard to say, especially in the fog of battle.
The firing of hundreds of imprecise rockets into Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian groups is fairly clear-cut. International law prohibits targeting civilians or using indiscriminate force in civilian areas. Rockets slamming into Tel Aviv apartment blocks is a clear violation.
But in Gaza, where 2 million people are packed into a narrow coastal strip, the situation is far murkier. Both sides operate in dense, urban terrain because that’s pretty much all there is. Because of the tight space and intense bombardments, there are few safe places for Gazans to go. A blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized power in 2007 makes it virtually impossible to leave.
Read:Israel strikes Gaza tunnels as truce efforts remain elusive
As a grassroots movement, Hamas is deeply embedded in Palestinian society, with a political operation and charities separate from its secretive armed wing. While Israel and Western countries view Hamas as a terrorist organization, it is also Gaza’s de facto government, employing tens of thousands of people as civil servants and police. So just being connected to Hamas doesn’t mean someone is a combatant, and there are many in Gaza who oppose the group — and all are equally exposed with nowhere to run.
Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court launched an investigation into possible war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants during the last war, in 2014. Both sides already appear to be using the same tactics in this one.
Here’s a look at potential violations of international law.
URBAN COMBAT
Palestinian fighters are clearly operating in built-up residential areas and have positioned tunnels, rocket launchers and command and control infrastructure in close proximity to schools, mosques and homes.
A prosecutor would have to prove that the combatants deliberately placed military assets near civilians to benefit from protections afforded to noncombatants during war.
“If France invades Switzerland, the Swiss are not prohibited from defending Geneva, including by putting Swiss soldiers, Swiss artillery positions and so on inside Geneva,” said Marco Sassoli, professor at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.
Because international humanitarian law applies to all sides in any conflict, the French could fight in Geneva as well. But here the issue of proportionality applies on the big picture level: To continue the analogy, was the French assault on Geneva proportional to the provocation?
PROPORTIONALITY
Israel’s critics often accuse it of the disproportionate use of force. They note that the undeclared nuclear power, with the region’s most powerful military, is waging war on a militant group armed with little beyond long-range rockets, the majority of which are intercepted by Israel’s anti-missile defenses. As in the past, the toll in the current conflict is dramatically lopsided, with at least 200 killed in Gaza, nearly half of them women and children, and 10 in Israel, all but one of them civilians.
Read:China puts forward four-point proposal regarding Palestine-Israel conflict
Israel argues it has the right to eliminate the threat from rockets, including command infrastructure connected to it. It says it makes every effort to avoid harming civilians, including by warning them ahead of some strikes. But Sassoli said that in past conflicts, Israel had a “quite large concept of what is a legitimate military objective.”
Proportionality in international law also applies to individual attacks, but experts say proving a specific attack is disproportionate is extremely difficult. One would need to know what was targeted, what military advantage was gained, and whether it exceeded the harm inflicted on civilians and civilian property. That means that in practice, only the most extreme cases are likely to be prosecuted.
On Saturday, Israel bombed a 12-story building housing the Gaza offices of The Associated Press and the Al-Jazeera news network, as well as dozens of private apartments and small businesses, including a law firm, a lab for blood testing and a TV production company.
The Israeli military warned residents to evacuate the building, and no one was hurt.
The military says there was a considerable Hamas presence in the building, including a command and control center, an intelligence unit and other infrastructure used to coordinate combat operations. But it has provided no evidence.
AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt has said he was “shocked and horrified” by the attack, and AP has called for an independent investigation. “We have no indication of a Hamas presence in the building, nor were we warned of any such possible presence before the airstrike. This is something we check as best we can,” Pruitt said Monday.
Sassoli said it would be “completely unlawful” to attack a media center, but it’s impossible to know whether the bombing was justified without knowing what the military was targeting.
Strikes causing civilian casualties raise strong proportionality questions.
Read:Israel says Gaza tunnels destroyed in heavy airstrikes
On Sunday, Israel launched heavy airstrikes along a main thoroughfare in Gaza City, saying it was targeting Hamas’ “underground military infrastructure.” The bombardment toppled three buildings and killed at least 42 people, including 16 women and 10 children. A day earlier, a strike in a crowded refugee camp killed 10 women and children. Israeli media said the military was aiming for senior Hamas officials meeting in the building.
UNDERGROUND ARMY
Members of Hamas’ armed wing rarely if ever wear uniforms or identify themselves in public, and they go underground as soon as hostilities begin, along with the political leadership.
The vast majority of Hamas supporters are not involved in fighting, which means they aren’t supposed to be targeted. The International Committee of the Red Cross defines a combatant as someone with a “continuous combat function” or those engaged in combat at the time they are targeted, a widely adopted definition.
So even if a building were filled with die-hard Hamas supporters, experts say it wouldn’t be considered a legitimate target unless they were actively involved in combat operations.
Want to help Palestinians? Now there is a way
A week of Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip has left over 200 Palestinians killed and rendered over 40,000 homeless. Most harrowingly, it would seem to be children who are disproportionately affected - at least 58 of the dead are children. While viral stories of children looking through rubble for a favourite toy, or left distraught by the thought of starting all over, or going back to save their pet goldfish in one instance, have undoubtedly tugged at people's hearts around the world. Bangladesh has always stood firmly by the cause of Palestinian statehood. And during the present flare up, many Bangladeshis have extended their hand of cooperation in their personal capacity as well. Responding to a keen enthusiasm among the public to donate money that can go towards aiding Palestinians, the Palestinian Embassy in Dhaka has shared some mobile phone numbers on its official Facebook page for those willing to send financial support.
Read Address Palestinian issue: Bangladesh to UN Security Council
There is also a provision for those who would like to donate by cash to go to the Embassy in Baridhara from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.
Against the backdrop of the ongoing military atrocities and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Israeli air and land forces on innocent Palestinians, the State of Palestine is being reduced to rubbles, the Facebook post reads.
Read Israeli military says it bombed home of a top Hamas leader
There was some confusion among netizens as to whether the Facebook page was genuine, since it is not verified.
Palestinian Ambassador Yousef SY Ramadan, however, confirmed to UNB that it is indeed their official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/palestinembassydhaka/).
Read Israeli airstrikes on Palestinians worst example of barbarism: GM Quader
"We will be posting extra information InshaAllah. So, you can follow the guidelines accordingly," the ambassador wrote in a Whatsapp message.
Address Palestinian issue: Bangladesh to UN Security Council
Bangladesh has said the UN Security Council, as the principal organ of the UN charged with ensuring international peace and security, should take up the issue of violence and breach of security in the Al-Quds Al-Shareef and the entire occupied land of the State of Palestine.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh believes in a comprehensive and durable solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quarter Roadmap.
He reiterated Bangladesh's position in the open-ended meeting of the OIC Executive Committee held on virtual platform on Sunday.