In a tent in front of Shifa hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, a
sign on the photo of a young child bleeding from wounds from the Israeli
attack on Gaza read “Gaza Will Not Die.”
Shifa hospital received hundreds of bodies of those killed and thousands
of those wounded during the December 27, 2008-January 18, 2009 22 day
attack, invasion and occupation of Gaza by the Israeli military.
Now in front of Shifa hospital was a tent filled with military
armaments-rocket parts, ammunition, etc from Israeli missile and bombs.
Several were American made—a 120 mm artillery shell, a TOW missile.
During the past eight years under the Bush administration, Israel has
received over $21 billion in U.S. security assistance, including $19
billion in direct military aid. The majority of Israel’s military
equipment is funded under U.S. assistance programs. The United States
has given Israel 226 U.S. F-16 fighter and attack jets, more than 700
M-60 tanks, 6,000 armored personnel carriers, and dozens of transport
planes, attack helicopters, utility and training aircraft, bombs, and
tactical missiles. The U.S. Arms Export Control Act specifies that US
weapons purchased by other countries can be used only for defensive
purposes. The attacks on Gaza by the Israeli military are in violation
of that act.
Also in the tent outside of Shifa hospital were photos of wounded and
dead Palestinian women, men and children. Many photos had phrases
written on them: “Gaza will not die,” “Despite the pain, Gazans Will
Remain,” “Targeting all the Palestinians,” “We will Take Them (Israeli
government officials) to the Tribunal.” Outside the tent were the
remains of several ambulances that had been attacked and destroyed by
Israeli aircraft as they were carrying wounded to the hospital.
Medea Benjamin, Tighe Berry and I were allowed by the Egyptian
government to cross the border into Gaza last week, but for only 48
hours. At the end of the 48 hours, the Egyptians, under pressure from
the Israeli and American governments, sealed off their border with Gaza
putting Gaza again in an economic and political vice, as it has been for
the past 16 months. The brief opening of the border allowed minimal
amounts of humanitarian goods for the people of Gaza and the evacuation
of some of the most injured Gazans in Israeli attacks on Gaza.
During our short visit we talked with persons with many organizations
involved in caring for the people of Gaza.
At Shifa hospital, we spoke with members of a 10 person Indonesian Red
Crescent medical team who was ending their 2 week mission. The previous
day we passed through the Rafah border crossing with a 16 person
Moroccan medical team that would spend only two days in Gaza having to
leave with us 48 hours later due to the closing of the border by the
Egyptian government. Later, we met a large Malaysian medical team that
had been in Gaza for ten days. We also met doctors from the United
Kingdom who had been in Gaza for almost two weeks. The greatest numbers
of medical personnel coming to provide aide to the Palestinians were
from Muslim and Arab countries.
The next day at the Rafah, Gaza border crossing, we met 6 British
doctors who had just completed two weeks volunteering at various
hospitals in Gaza. One doctor told of treating wounds that had been made
by the DIME (Dense Inert Metal Explosive) bomb which is designed to
produce an intense explosion in a small space. The bombs are packed with
tungsten powder, which has the effect of shrapnel but often dissolves in
human tissue, making it difficult to discover the cause of injuries. One
doctor said it looked like their legs had been sliced off. Another UK
doctor told of treating a person who had been wounded by white
phosphorous and then having the wound begin smoking from remaining
particles of the phosphorus in the wound.
At the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, deputy director Jabr Wishab
told us that he believed the purpose of the Israeli attack on Gaza was
to administer collective punishment on the people of Gaza for electing
Hamas into power in Gaza in 2006 and to deter support for Hamas for the
next election. He said that the attack on Gaza “will make the people of
Gaza count to one hundred before voting for Hamas—to make them remember
what happened in 2009 so they will not support the resistance and the
launching of rockets into Israel. The PCHR has extensively documented
the Israeli attacks on Gaza. Their reports on the invasion and
occupation of Gaza are available online
(
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/
W_report/English/2007/
weekly2007.html) as
well as their weekly reports on the siege of Gaza from the past two years.
Mr. Wishbah said the Israeli military targeted and destroyed virtually
every Hamas building, police station and home of senior Hamas officials.
When one plots the bombing and expands by 200 meters the range of the
effects of the explosions on nearby buildings, the amount of territory
covered by the bombings was extremely large. Hundreds of thousands of
civilians were forced out of their homes into even more densely
populated areas in the center of the country.
Mr. Wishbad said that teams of international lawyers will be assisting
in preparing criminal charges against Israeli government officials and
military officers for violations of international law in the attacks,
invasion and occupation of Gaza. Cases will be filed in other countries
under universal jurisdiction to prevent Israeli officials from
travelling outside of Israel. According to the Jerusalem Post, on
January 31, an Israeli Defense Force Colonel had to return to Israel
from London due to public protests against his speaking there and his
fear of arrest
(
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/
Satellite?cid=1233304666671
&pagename=JPost%...).
Mr. Wishab asked for assistance from the international community to
investigate the effects of specific weapons, including long term effects
of shells made from depleted uranium, and eye and respiratory problems
from the Israeli Defense Force’s (IDF’s) use of white phosphorus in
populated areas. Additionally, he said that Flechette weapons with 4,600
nails in each exploding shell were used by the IDF, as well as a warhead
with small square metal pieces that penetrated clothing, boots and
flesh. He said he was very concerned about the reports of the use in
Gaza of DIME bombs (Dense Inert Material Explosive) that contains
tungsten particles spray that is so concentrated that arms and legs are
sliced off the body by the force.
Dr. Aed Yaghi of the Palestine Medical Relief Association told us that
his organization provided blankets, beds, mattresses and clothes for
thousands of Gazans who were forced from their homes. Their mobile
clinic teams are back in operation travelling, as well as teams
providing psycho-social support for communities. They are going into the
most devastated parts of Gaza to provide medical services for those
whose houses have been destroyed and who have no way of getting to
medical facilities.
We also visited the Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP) that
provides comprehensive community mental health services, therapy,
training and research, to the people of Gaza, one of the most densely
populated areas in the world. Two thirds of the population of Gaza is
refugees and 50% are younger than 16 years. Mr. Husam L. Nounou, the
media officer for GCMHP, told us that since citizens in Gaza have been a
part of extreme forms of violence and suffering due to Israeli
occupation and military operations, mental health problems in the Gaza
have grown to unprecedented levels.
http://www.gcmhp.net/
Mr. Nounou said that his organization has 6 community crisis
intervention teams for schools and homes. They train teachers how to
identify students under stress and how to assist the student. They have
a special program of women affected by war. He also said that during
times of conflict domestic violence increases and does violence in
general. People are less tolerant, less forgiving and less sensitive as
they cope with the effects of war.
Mr. Nounou said the word peace has a different connotation for many in
Gaza. Peace according to some in Gaza is obeying Israeli orders, in
effect surrendering to Israeli rule. He said that he believes that many
in the Israeli military believe that peace is dangerous. But Mr. Nounou
also said that some of the best partners for peace are Israelis who are
fed up with their government resorting to attacks on Gaza.
As the siege on Gaza continues, the organizations we visited are deeply
involved in treating the entire population in Gaza, all of whom have
been traumatized by the attacks, invasion and occupation of their homes
and land and by the prison conditions in which they live with no freedom
to travel outside the small land called Gaza.
Despite all that has happened to the people of Gaza, as the sign on the
photo said-- “Gaza will not Die.”
---
Ann Wright was in the US Army and Army Reserves for 29
years and retired as a Colonel. She was a US diplomat for 16 years and
resigned in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq. She is the
co-author of “Dissent: Voices of Conscience.”
