Sabra and Shatila Massacre

Sabra and Shatila Massacre

    7:28 AM   No comments

On September 16, 1982, the Lebanese Phalangist militia, backed by lsrael, perpetrated a massacre in the southern Beirut neighborhood of Sabra and Palestinian refugee camp Shatila that claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinian refugees and Lebanese citizens.

Report: During the Nakba, Ben-Gurion ordered that Palestinian wells be poisoned to prevent Palestinians from returning home

Report: During the Nakba, Ben-Gurion ordered that Palestinian wells be poisoned to prevent Palestinians from returning home

    6:31 AM   No comments

Haaretz newspaper revealed that during the Nakba, Ben-Gurion ordered that Palestinian wells be poisoned to prevent people from return. Wells in Acre, Gaza, Beersheba, Jericho, Galilee, Bedouin, & Jerusalem were poisoned. Zionist gangs spread germs that caused typhus and dysentery. The paper revealed the existence of documents that officially confirm that Israel poisoned Palestinian water wells in Acre and Gaza in 1948.

The paper reported in its Friday edition the discovery of official documents proving Israel’s poisoning of Palestinian water wells in 1948, in which prominent and well-known Israeli figures participated.

The disturbing story behind them was recently uncovered by historian Benny Morris and historian and Israel Prize laureate Benjamin Z. Kedar, following extensive archival research, the paper said.

This operation was partially exposed decades ago when rumors and oral testimonies were reported in newspapers and books about an attempt in 1948 by Israeli forces to poison wells in Acre and Gaza, contaminating drinking water with bacteria. However, only now, in Morris and Kedar’s research, has the “smoking gun” been revealed in the form of official documentation, according to Haaretz. The newly unearthed documents show that this operation was much broader in scope than earlier believed, and that other top military and political figures besides David Ben-Gurion were involved.

“We uncovered a lot of new information. We deciphered how the operation developed through its various stages; we discovered who authorized, organized, and controlled the operation; and how it was carried out in different areas,” Morris says. “We have a much fuller picture now, and one that is based in part on army documentation,” Kedar adds.

The pair recently published an article in the journal Middle Eastern Studies titled “‘Cast Thy Bread’: Israeli Biological Warfare during the 1948 War.” “Cast Thy Bread” was the operation’s code name. Naturally, most of the material related to the episode is censored, but when Morris searched through the Israeli army archives for any mention of the operation by name, he was surprised to discover numerous documents. Morris writes in the article that the censor apparently was not aware of what the code name referred to.

On April 1, 1948, David Ben-Gurion wrote in his journal about “the development of science and speeding up its application in warfare”. A month and a half later, he wrote about “biological materials” that were purchased for $2,000, the paper said.

It pointed out that now it became clear the extent of the link between what Ben-Gurion wrote and Israel’s purchase of biological materials, which appear to be a specific powder or liquid used to poison Palestinian well water.

The new documents revealed that these operations were supervised by well-known Israeli figures, led by: David Ben-Gurion, former defense minister Moshe Dayan, and former Israeli president Ephraim Katzir, among others.

The operation began in April 1948, when fears of an invasion by Arab armies were mounting. The plan was to poison wells in abandoned Arab villages as well as in Jewish locales that were due to be evacuated by new Israeli state. The idea was to prevent Arabs from returning to their villages and from settling in Jewish locales that would fall into their hands.

The documents show that Ben-Gurion was at the top of the pyramid. Below him was Yigal Yadin, who oversaw the military side of the operation. The operation was commanded by Yohanan Ratner. Initially, the top man in the field for the group was Dayan, who went on to become the Israeli army chief of staff and defense minister. The documents indicate that Dayan served as the smuggler who conveyed the bacteria from the science corps to different points throughout the country.

New Report: Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians is a cruel system of domination and crime against humanity

New Report: Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians is a cruel system of domination and crime against humanity

    9:26 AM   No comments

On February 1, 2023, Amnesty said that "Israeli authorities must dismantle the system of apartheid which is causing so much suffering and bloodshed." 

The organization added: 

Since the organization launched a major campaign against apartheid one year ago, Israeli forces have killed almost 220 Palestinians*, including 35 in January 2023 alone. Unlawful killings help maintain Israel’s apartheid system and constitute crimes against humanity, as do other serious and ongoing violations by Israeli authorities such as administrative detention and forcible transfer.

Over the past few days, a series of deadly attacks has underscored the urgent need for accountability. On 26 January, Israeli forces carried out a raid on Jenin refugee camp and killed 10 Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman. On 27 January, seven Israeli civilians were killed when a Palestinian gunman opened fire in Neve Ya’akov, an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. In response to this attack, Israeli authorities have stepped up collective punishment against Palestinians, carrying out sweeping mass arrests and threatening punitive home demolitions.

Previously, 

On 1 February 2022, Amnesty International released a report  setting out how Israel enforces an institutionalized system of oppression and domination against Palestinians  wherever it has control over their rights: in Israel, the OPT and against displaced refugees by denying their right to return. It showed how Israeli laws, policies and practices are enacted with the overarching aim of maintaining a Jewish demographic majority, and maximizing control of land and resources to benefit Jewish Israelis to the detriment of Palestinians.  

Israeli authorities must dismantle the system of apartheid which is causing so much suffering and bloodshed, Amnesty International said today. Since the organization launched a major campaign against apartheid one year ago, Israeli forces have killed almost 220 Palestinians*, including 35 in January 2023 alone. Unlawful killings help maintain Israel’s apartheid system and constitute crimes against humanity, as do other serious and ongoing violations by Israeli authorities such as administrative detention and forcible transfer.

Over the past few days, a series of deadly attacks has underscored the urgent need for accountability. On 26 January, Israeli forces carried out a raid on Jenin refugee camp and killed 10 Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman. On 27 January, seven Israeli civilians were killed when a Palestinian gunman opened fire in Neve Ya’akov, an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. In response to this attack, Israeli authorities have stepped up collective punishment against Palestinians, carrying out sweeping mass arrests and threatening punitive home demolitions.

Report can be read in many languages from this link