Speaker 1: All Zone Media. Hello, this is it could happen here
Speaker 1: and I am Sharene Today we have an update for
Speaker 1: you about what is happening in Palestine. There is a
Speaker 1: lot that is happening in Palestine, way way too much
Speaker 1: to cover in a single podcast episode, but I hope
Speaker 1: this at least gives you a general idea of where
Speaker 1: we currently stand, just for clarity and context. I am
Speaker 1: recording this on Tuesday, March twelfth, so any numbers I mention,
Speaker 1: unfortunately and probably are different. Now at this point, there
Speaker 1: have been over five months of bombardment and genocide and
Speaker 1: this has caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with children
Speaker 1: starving to death due to malnutrition and dehydration as Israel
Speaker 1: has imposed restrictions on aid deliveries to Gaza. Five months
Speaker 1: of genocide on top of more than a decade and
Speaker 1: a half of blockade, have caused relentless mental harm to
Speaker 1: children in Gaza. According to a report released by Save
Speaker 1: the Children on Tuesday, twenty five Palestinians in Graza including
Speaker 1: out these, twenty children and a two month old baby,
Speaker 1: have died of malnutrition and dehydration. According to the Palestinian
Speaker 1: Ministry of Health, the true death toll due to starvation
Speaker 1: is feared to be much higher, as many Palestinians, particularly
Speaker 1: in northern Gaza, face famine and are almost entirely cut
Speaker 1: off from the severely limited humanitarian aid which is entering
Speaker 1: Gaza through the southern Rapah crossing. Many Israelis have also
Speaker 1: been blocking aid from entering Gaza. A group of Israeli
Speaker 1: protesters have been blocking AID trucks from crossing into the
Speaker 1: Gaza Strip for weeks now, vowing that quote not a
Speaker 1: single loaf of bread should reach those trapped in the
Speaker 1: tiny region of the Gaza Strip until all remaining hostages
Speaker 1: are released. The area around Karam Shalom, which is Israel's
Speaker 1: only functioning border crossing with Gaza, is a closed military zone,
Speaker 1: but the IOF officers and their presence there hardly deters
Speaker 1: the dozens of protesters, who are mostly settlers, families of hostages,
Speaker 1: and deactivated military reservists. It does not deter them from
Speaker 1: trekking through the area and protesting in an attempt to
Speaker 1: slow AID trucks from entering Razza. I'm noticing right now
Speaker 1: that I'm interchangeably using Gaza and Razza. Raza's just how
Speaker 1: you say in Arabic, sofyi if I jump around my apologies.
Speaker 1: On the ground, CNN recorded an interview with protester w Sharon.
Speaker 1: She pointed to an AID truck convoy and said this
Speaker 1: arrives into the tunnels of Hamas, fighting us and holding
Speaker 1: our hostages. There is no evidence that the majority of AID,
Speaker 1: including food and medical supplies, is going to Hamas. Sharon
Speaker 1: and her fellow protesters are demanding that AIDS stop entering Gaza,
Speaker 1: where over thirty thousand people have now been killed according
Speaker 1: to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, with people at an
Speaker 1: increasing risk of starvation. Another protester named Katya said they
Speaker 1: should only get the minimum calories to survive if they
Speaker 1: are starving to death, give the hostages back. Not a
Speaker 1: single loaf of bread should go there till our hostages
Speaker 1: are coming back. When questioned about the scale of human
Speaker 1: suffering in Gaza, Katya seemed unmoved. She said, even if
Speaker 1: there is a humanitarian crisis, and there is not, it
Speaker 1: is my right and my duty to prioritize the Kiffeiti
Speaker 1: Bibas over any Gazen babies. Kiffitabibas is a one year
Speaker 1: old who is being held hostage along with the baby's parents.
Speaker 1: So that's what she's referring to, prioritizing Israeli babies over
Speaker 1: Palestinian babies. Very little AID has made it into Palestine,
Speaker 1: and perhaps nothing captures what the US and Israel actually are.
Speaker 1: Then a picture that has been making the rounds on
Speaker 1: social media recently. It's a photographs showing US AID drops
Speaker 1: and Israeli air strikes targeting civilian areas in northern Gaza,
Speaker 1: happening at the same time, falling on the rubble of
Speaker 1: destroyed buildings. The AID and the air strikes dropping at
Speaker 1: the same moment is dystopian and beyond fucked up. Since
Speaker 1: October seventh, Israel has also shut off entry of food, water,
Speaker 1: and medicine, as well as other supplies from entering Gaza,
Speaker 1: only allowing a trickle of AID trucks through two crossings
Speaker 1: in the south. Israel has blamed the starvation that Palestinians
Speaker 1: are enduring in Gaza on UN agencies, saying that they
Speaker 1: fail to distribute supplies piling up at Gaza crossings. The UNRWA,
Speaker 1: which is the largest UN agency in Gaza, says Israel
Speaker 1: restricts goods and imposes cumbersome inspections that slow entry of aid. Also,
Speaker 1: distribution within Gaza has been crippled. Un officials say. They
Speaker 1: say that convoys regularly are turned back by Israeli forces
Speaker 1: and that the military often reached fuses safe passage amid fighting,
Speaker 1: and that the AD does not get to the people
Speaker 1: that need it the most, often being grabbed from trucks
Speaker 1: by hungry Palestinians en route to the drop off points.
Speaker 1: Recent air drops of aid by the US and other
Speaker 1: countries provide far lower amounts of AID than truck deliveries,
Speaker 1: which have become increasingly more rare, and they're also sometimes dangerous.
Speaker 1: The UNRWA says that Israeli authorities haven't allowed it to
Speaker 1: deliver supplies to the north of Gaza since January twenty third.
Speaker 1: The World Food Organization, which had paused deliveries because of
Speaker 1: safety concerns, said the military forced its first convoy to
Speaker 1: the north in two weeks to turn back on Tuesday.
Speaker 1: Jarine from the Future is here just for this quick update.
Speaker 1: Yesterday Wednesday, Israeli forces hit a food distribution center and
Speaker 1: aid's center in Raphach. The UNRWA said that one of
Speaker 1: their staff members were killed and twenty two others were injured,
Speaker 1: and it said up to sixty people were believed to
Speaker 1: have been working there when it was hit. Those killed
Speaker 1: were said to be a fifteen year old boy and
Speaker 1: four men who were between twenty seven and fifty years old.
Speaker 1: Rafai resident Sami Abu Salim said it's a UNRWA center
Speaker 1: expected to be secure. Some came to work to distribute
Speaker 1: aid to the people in need of food during the
Speaker 1: holy month of Ramadan. Suddenly they were struck by two missiles.
Speaker 1: The un r WA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in a
Speaker 1: statement that it was one of the very few UNWA
Speaker 1: distribution centers that was still operating in Gaza after these
Speaker 1: five months of genocide. He said this attack comes as
Speaker 1: food supplies are running out, Hunger is widespread and in
Speaker 1: some areas turning into famine every day. We shared the
Speaker 1: coordinates of all of our facilities across the Gaza Strip
Speaker 1: with parties to the conflict. The Israeli Army received the coordinates,
Speaker 1: including this facility yesterday. Since October, the un r WA
Speaker 1: says at least one hundred and sixty five of its
Speaker 1: eighteen thousand employees in Gaza have been killed, and that
Speaker 1: more than one hundred and fifty of its facilities have
Speaker 1: been hit by Israeli forces. Here are the latest casualty
Speaker 1: figures as of March thirteenth, at twelve forty pm. In Gaza,
Speaker 1: there are at least thirty one thousand, two hundred and
Speaker 1: seventy two people who have been killed. Of those, there
Speaker 1: are twelve thousand and three hundred children who have been killed,
Speaker 1: as well as eight thousand, four hundred women who have
Speaker 1: been killed. There are more than seventy three thousand and
Speaker 1: twenty four people who have been injured, including eight thousand
Speaker 1: and six hundred and sixty three children who have been
Speaker 1: injured and six thousand, three hundred and twenty seven women
Speaker 1: who have been injured. There are more than eight thousand
Speaker 1: Palestinians who are missing in Gaza. The latest figures from
Speaker 1: the Palestinian Ministry of Health for the occupied West Bank
Speaker 1: is as follows. At least four hundred and thirty two
Speaker 1: people have been killed, including more than one hundred and
Speaker 1: fifteen children. There are more than four thousand, six hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty Palestinians who have been injured in the West Bank.
Speaker 1: In Israel, officials have revised the death toll from October
Speaker 1: seventh from one thousand, four hundred and five to one thousand,
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty nine. As far as the injured go,
Speaker 1: in Israel, there are at least eight thousand, seven hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty people who have been injured, according to the
Speaker 1: latest data from the UN's Office for the Coordination of
Speaker 1: Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, as well as the
Speaker 1: Palestinian government. As of February twenty five, Israeli attacks have
Speaker 1: damaged more than half of Gaza's homes. Three hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty thousand residential units have been destroyed or damaged. There
Speaker 1: have been three hundred and ninety two educational facilities that
Speaker 1: have been destroyed, including all universities. Twelve out of the
Speaker 1: thirty five hospitals are partially functioning. One hundred and thirty
Speaker 1: two ground water wells have been damaged or destroyed. Two
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty seven places of worship have also been destroyed.
Speaker 1: We want to emphasize how damaging starvation is and famine is.
Speaker 1: Starvation causes long lasting damage to the body. Large numbers
Speaker 1: of people in Gaza are experiencing malnutrition. Studies of famines
Speaker 1: in other countries show that famines can have long lasting
Speaker 1: impacts on people's health and even that of their descendants.
Speaker 1: A new type of video has been circulating online from
Speaker 1: the Raza Strip footage showing families baking quote unquote bread
Speaker 1: which is made from bird seed, eating weeds, and giving
Speaker 1: newborn babies dat to suck on instead of milk. The
Speaker 1: Accountability Program director at Defense for Children International Palestine said,
Speaker 1: it is unthinkable that in twenty twenty four, in a
Speaker 1: world that produces more than enough food for all people,
Speaker 1: that Palestinian children are starving to death. The starvation of
Speaker 1: children is a hallmark of genocide and a deliberate political
Speaker 1: choice by Israel, backed by the Biden administration. It is
Speaker 1: complete madness that Israeli authorities continue to prohibit and restrict
Speaker 1: food and other life saving supplies to a starving population
Speaker 1: while the international community stands by. Palestinians in Gaza started
Speaker 1: to experience chronic hunger within weeks of October seventh. At
Speaker 1: this point in time, Israeli strikes have killed more than
Speaker 1: thirty thousand Palestinians, and this is according to Gaza's Ministry
Speaker 1: of Health. The death tolls that come out of the
Speaker 1: Palestinian Ministry of Health. They account for Palestinians who die
Speaker 1: at hospitals or whose families report their deaths to the Ministry.
Speaker 1: Due to the telecommunications blackout, the collapse of the medical system,
Speaker 1: Israeli ground invasion, and continued Israeli aerial bombardment, many Palestinians
Speaker 1: are not able to reach hospitals and so this number
Speaker 1: is likely far far greater than it actually is. And
Speaker 1: as I mentioned, Israeli authorities have repeatedly blocked and severely
Speaker 1: restricted any humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. On Tuesday, Israeli
Speaker 1: forces attacked Palestinians who were waiting for aid trucks at
Speaker 1: the Kuwait roundabout south of Gaza City and they killed
Speaker 1: seven people. Keep in mind, this is after what has
Speaker 1: become known as the Flower Massacre. On February twenty ninth,
Speaker 1: the Israeli Occupation Forces AA the IOF killed at least
Speaker 1: one hundred and eighteen Palestinians who were attempting to get
Speaker 1: aid from a convoy in Gaza City. In this Flower massacre.
Speaker 1: Along with the one hundred and eighteen Palestinians who were
Speaker 1: shot and killed, at least seven hundred and fifty additional
Speaker 1: Palestinians were injured. They were just trying to get food
Speaker 1: from the aid trucks to feed their family. The United
Speaker 1: States recently delivered two air drops of aid alongside the
Speaker 1: Dardanian military into northern Gaza. The air drops contained a
Speaker 1: total of seventy four thousand, eight hundred meals, and this
Speaker 1: was widely criticized as a public relations move because the
Speaker 1: Biden administration is still clearly complicit in Israel's genocide of Palestinians.
Speaker 1: International criminal law prohibits serious atrocities, including core crimes of genocide,
Speaker 1: the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,
Speaker 1: and provides for individual criminal responsibility for perpetrators. The crime
Speaker 1: of genocide constitutes the deliberate killing of a large number
Speaker 1: of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with
Speaker 1: the aim of destroying that nation or group in whole
Speaker 1: or in part. Genocide can result from killing or by
Speaker 1: creating conditions of life that are so unbearable. Intentionally using
Speaker 1: starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is an
Speaker 1: underlying act of genocide, and it amounts to a war crime.
Speaker 1: I've said this before on this podcast. I'll say it again,
Speaker 1: but At this point, international law means nothing. I mean,
Speaker 1: it hasn't been anything for a long time. Nothing happens
Speaker 1: with Israel continues to break international law, so that phrase
Speaker 1: is a little empty to me when they are in
Speaker 1: violation of international law. But here we are, and it
Speaker 1: should be noted that starvation of civilians also contributes and
Speaker 1: is an active genocide. I've talked about why this is
Speaker 1: genocide in other episodes, but it's a clear ACTI of
Speaker 1: genocide what Israel is doing to Palestinians, and many scholars
Speaker 1: agree with that. Anyway, let's continue. As weeks of blockades
Speaker 1: on food and other aid have turned into months, starvation
Speaker 1: has reached historic proportions. One recent report by the Global
Speaker 1: Nutrition Cluster, which is a United Nations Children's Fund, a
Speaker 1: UNISEF led partnership of humanitarian organizations. It found that in
Speaker 1: December of twenty twenty three in January of twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: nine and ten children under the age of two and
Speaker 1: more than nine and ten pregnant and breastfeeding women surveyed
Speaker 1: had consumed two or fewer food groups in the previous day.
Speaker 1: This situation is considered severe food poverty. Two thirds of
Speaker 1: households were eating just once a day, if at all.
Speaker 1: In the northern Gaza Strip, one in six babies and
Speaker 1: toddlers were acutely malnourished. Aid organizations say that these numbers
Speaker 1: today are likely to be far, far worse, and that
Speaker 1: the rapid onset and complexity of Gaza's food crisis is unprecedented.
Speaker 1: Ted Chaiban is the Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action
Speaker 1: and Supply Operations at UNICEF. He said in a recent statement,
Speaker 1: the Gaza Strip is poised to witness and explosion in
Speaker 1: preventable child deaths. If the conflict does not end now,
Speaker 1: children's nutrition will continue to plummet, leading to preventable deaths
Speaker 1: or health issues which will affect the children of Gaza
Speaker 1: for the rest of their lives and have potential intergenerational consequences.
Speaker 1: There are nearly two point two million people living in
Speaker 1: the Gaza Strip, nearly half of whom are children, nearly
Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty million. I mean other people worldwide
Speaker 1: are facing hunger, including millions of people in Somalia, Afghanistan
Speaker 1: and Sudan. The short term health consequences of food scarcity
Speaker 1: have been studied extensively in children, an especially vulnerable group.
Speaker 1: Severe acute malnutrition can lead to muscle wasting, stunted growth,
Speaker 1: and medical complications including sepsis, meningitis, diarrhea, and severe anemia. Worldwide,
Speaker 1: nearly half of all deaths of children less than five
Speaker 1: years of age are linked to malnutrition. A growing body
Speaker 1: of research is finding that even if these children return
Speaker 1: to normal nutrition levels, a period of acute malnutrition can
Speaker 1: lead to long lasting damage later in life, and it
Speaker 1: may impact future generations. This is one of many examples
Speaker 1: of why Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people isn't just
Speaker 1: about death and the lives they've destroyed and the land
Speaker 1: that they've taken. Israel's genocide is also about robbing Palestinians
Speaker 1: of any livable future, affecting generations with Palestinians to come.
Speaker 1: And they've done this since nineteen forty eight. That's why
Speaker 1: it's no accident when children are targeted by the IOF,
Speaker 1: when they're starving or when they're shot. They are murdered
Speaker 1: as a way to prevent Palestinians from having a future
Speaker 1: or having any hope. We see how the IOF shoots
Speaker 1: children with the intention to kill. There are many many
Speaker 1: examples of this, but here's a recent example. Two children
Speaker 1: were killed in November in the West Bank. Adam Samir
Speaker 1: el Rul, eight years old, was shot in the head.
Speaker 1: Bazez ude Man Abu Edwafa, fifteen years old, was shot
Speaker 1: in the chest. These children were both murdered and shot
Speaker 1: with the intention to kill. The Israeli military and border
Speaker 1: police forces have been killing Palestinian children with virtually no
Speaker 1: recourse for accountability for decades. Back in August of twenty
Speaker 1: twenty three. Well before October seventh of twenty twenty three,
Speaker 1: Bill van Esfeld, who was the Associate Children's Rights Director
Speaker 1: at Human Rights Watch, said Israeli forces are gunning down
Speaker 1: Palestinian children living under occupation with increasing frequency. Unless Israel's allies,
Speaker 1: particularly the United States, pressure Israel to change course, more
Speaker 1: Palestinian children will be killed. And that is exactly what
Speaker 1: has been happening. Many, many more Palestinian children have been killed,
Speaker 1: all preventable. Human Rights Watch researchers and documenting four killings
Speaker 1: that happened, interviewed in person, seven witnesses, nine family members
Speaker 1: and other residents, lawyers, doctors, staff and field workers at
Speaker 1: Palestinian and Israeli rights groups as well as reviews CCTV
Speaker 1: footage and videos that were posted on social media, as
Speaker 1: well as statements by Israeli security agencies, medical records, and
Speaker 1: news reports. In all cases that they researched, Israeli forces
Speaker 1: shot the children's upper bodies without, according to witnesses, issuing warnings,
Speaker 1: or using common less lethal measures like tear gas, concussion
Speaker 1: grenades or rubber coated bullets. I also want to draw
Speaker 1: attention to how this genocide is also a mass disabling
Speaker 1: event that will harm an entire generation and make them
Speaker 1: reliant on infrastructure that does not physically exist. More than
Speaker 1: ten children a day lose a limb in Gaza, and
Speaker 1: this is from the source to save the children. At
Speaker 1: least seventeen thousand children, which is one percent of Gaza's
Speaker 1: overall displaced population of one point seven million, have now
Speaker 1: been orphaned in the Gaza Strip and the number of
Speaker 1: children who have been killed in Gaza. This number is
Speaker 1: now reaching thirteen thousand children. The number of children reported
Speaker 1: killed in just four months in Gaza is higher than
Speaker 1: the number of children killed in four years of war
Speaker 1: around the world combined. Let's take an ad break and
Speaker 1: we'll be right back and we are back in the
Speaker 1: twenty four hours between Sunday, March tenth and Monday, March eleventh,
Speaker 1: during which the vast majority of Americans were busy watching
Speaker 1: the stupid fucking oscars, seven massacres were committed by Israeli
Speaker 1: occupation forces against families in Laza, killing sixty seven Palestinians
Speaker 1: and injuring one hundred and six others. This happened as
Speaker 1: people were distracted by watching this dumb display of nothing.
Speaker 1: Palestinians are continuing to be murdered. And as for where
Speaker 1: things currently stand right now, there are more than one
Speaker 1: point seven million civilians who are trapped in the Rephah,
Speaker 1: which is Gaza's last place of refuge, right on the south,
Speaker 1: on the southern border. And this is after Israel kept
Speaker 1: telling Palestinians to go south because of these quote unquote
Speaker 1: safe zones that were clearly not safe at all. A
Speaker 1: massacre is happening in the Dephah right now, and the
Speaker 1: world is silent. And to make matters worse, not that
Speaker 1: they can get any worse, Israeli Prime Ministers Benjamin and
Speaker 1: Yahoo says that he intends to press ahead with the
Speaker 1: invasion of the city of Raphach Joe Biden useless warned
Speaker 1: that the offensive would be a quote red line. But
Speaker 1: as we know, a slap on the wrist for Israel
Speaker 1: means absolutely nothing, and they continue to act with impunity,
Speaker 1: without any repercussions. When asked on Sunday whether Israeli forces
Speaker 1: would move into Nan Yahu replied, we'll go there. We're
Speaker 1: not going to leave them. You know, I have a
Speaker 1: red line, and you know what the red line is
Speaker 1: that October seven does not happen again. It never happens again.
Speaker 1: He also dismissed the idea of a ceasefire for Ramadan,
Speaker 1: saying that he would like to say, see another hostage release,
Speaker 1: because without a release, there's not going to be a
Speaker 1: pause in the fighting. And he also doubled down on
Speaker 1: his rejection of the possibility of a Palestinian state. He
Speaker 1: says the positions that I es bows are supported by
Speaker 1: the overwhelming majority of Israelis who say to you, after
Speaker 1: October seventh, we don't want to see a Palestinian state.
Speaker 1: The Israeli people also support my position that says that
Speaker 1: we should resoundingly reject the attempts to ram down our throats.
Speaker 1: A Palestinian state that is something they agree. On the
Speaker 1: evening of Sunday, March tenth was also the first day
Speaker 1: of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Tarak Ahmad, who
Speaker 1: is the UK Minister of State responsible for relations to
Speaker 1: the Middle East, to North Africa and the UN, on
Speaker 1: Monday he urged Israel to quote allow unhindered access to
Speaker 1: Jerusalem's holy sites during Ramadan. What has Israel done since then?
Speaker 1: You may ask, well, Israel has put up a barbed
Speaker 1: wire fence around Theluxamosque, something it hasn't done since nineteen
Speaker 1: sixty seven. Israel erected barbed wire on a fence around
Speaker 1: the Lions Gate area adjacent to Theluximosque complex and occupied
Speaker 1: East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Governor's office itself said in a
Speaker 1: statement on Monday, this is a dangerous precedent that has
Speaker 1: never occurred since nineteen sixty seven. The Lions Gate, also
Speaker 1: known as Bab Adasabat, is located within Jerusalem's Old City
Speaker 1: and is one of the main gates leading to Theluxamosque.
Speaker 1: Israel clearly aims to prevent Palestinians from entering Uximosque during
Speaker 1: the holy month of Ramadan. Israeli forces have also imposed
Speaker 1: a strict siege on Theluxamosque for the past five months,
Speaker 1: preventing entry into it. On Sunday night, Israeli forces prevented
Speaker 1: hundreds of Palestinians from entering the Mosque to perform the Tetawekh,
Speaker 1: a special night of prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.
Speaker 1: Be a Palestinian man near Bab a Zehara one of
Speaker 1: the gates leading to the mosque before detaining him. Soldiers
Speaker 1: also reportedly detained an Eluxamosque guard from the Old City
Speaker 1: of Jerusalem. Continuing along with the news from just this week,
Speaker 1: on Monday, Israeli forces arrested six Palestinian boys from the
Speaker 1: town of Saella, northeast of occupied Jerusalem. Video footage showed
Speaker 1: a group of Israeli soldiers tying the Palestinians with a
Speaker 1: rope and dragging them in a humiliating manner through the
Speaker 1: streets of Essaella. You see this in this footage. They
Speaker 1: wrangle them and treat them like fucking cattle. Worse than
Speaker 1: fucking cattle. They're treated worse than animals. And the entire
Speaker 1: world is witnessing this and what it's absolutely sickening to
Speaker 1: me is that so many Americans would probably care more
Speaker 1: about a dead dog than about a dead Palestinian. And
Speaker 1: if that sentence made you uncomfortable, well it's supposed to.
Speaker 1: Palestinians have not been or depicted as human for so
Speaker 1: long that it's just become normal. But it is not normal.
Speaker 1: In Palestinian life matters just as much as any other.
Speaker 1: I want to also take a moment to talk about
Speaker 1: what's happening in the West Bank. According to Amnesty International,
Speaker 1: Israeli forces have unleashed a brutal wave of violence against
Speaker 1: Palestinians and the occupied West Bank in the last five months,
Speaker 1: carrying out unlawful killings, including by using lethal force without
Speaker 1: necessity or disproportionately during protests and arrest raids, as well
Speaker 1: as denying medical assistance to those injured. The organization investigated
Speaker 1: four emblematic cases where Israeli forces used unlawful lethal force,
Speaker 1: three incidents in October and one in November, which resulted
Speaker 1: in the unlawful killing of twenty p Palestinians, including seven children.
Speaker 1: Researchers remotely interviewed twelve people, ten of them eyewitnesses, including
Speaker 1: first responders and local residents. The organization's Crisis Evidence Lab
Speaker 1: verified nineteen videos and four photos in examining these four incidents.
Speaker 1: Amnesty International's research also found that Israeli forces obstructed medical
Speaker 1: assistance to people with life threatening wounds, as well as
Speaker 1: attacked those attempting to assist injured Palestinians, including paramedics. Since
Speaker 1: October seventh, Israeli forces have stepped up raids, carrying them
Speaker 1: out almost daily across the occupied West Bank and what
Speaker 1: it describes as search and arrest operations. In one recent
Speaker 1: incident that you may have seen online, Israeli forces carried
Speaker 1: out arrayed masquerading as medical staff. In twenty twenty three,
Speaker 1: at least five hundred and seven Palestinians were killed in
Speaker 1: the West Bank, including eighty one children, making it the
Speaker 1: deadliest year for Palestinians since the United Nations Office for
Speaker 1: the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs began recording casualties in two
Speaker 1: thousand and five. Erica Guavera Rosas, Amnesty International Director of
Speaker 1: Global Research, Advocacy and Policy, said under the cover of
Speaker 1: the relentless bombardment and atrocity crimes in Gaza, Israeli forces
Speaker 1: have unleashed unlawful lethal force against Palestinians in the occupied
Speaker 1: West Bank, carrying out unlawful killings and displaying a chilling
Speaker 1: disregard for Palestinian lives. These unlawful killings are a blatant
Speaker 1: violation of international human rights law and are committed with
Speaker 1: impunity in the context of maintaining Israel's institutionalized regime of
Speaker 1: systematic oppression and domination over Palestinians. These cases provide shocking
Speaker 1: evidence of the deadly consequences of Israel's unlawful use of
Speaker 1: force against Palestinian in the West Bank. Israeli authorities, including
Speaker 1: the Israeli judicial system, have proven shamefully unwilling to ensure
Speaker 1: justice for Palestinian victims. In this climate of near total impunity,
Speaker 1: an international justice system worth its salt must step in.
Speaker 1: The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court must investigate these
Speaker 1: killings and injuries as possible war crimes of wilful killing
Speaker 1: and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury. The situation
Speaker 1: in Palestine. In Israel is a litmus test for the
Speaker 1: legitimacy and reputation of the Court. It cannot afford to
Speaker 1: fail it. Since October seventh, across the West Bank. Israeli
Speaker 1: security forces use of unlawful force during law enforcement operations
Speaker 1: has been unrelenting, sowing fear and intimidation among entire communities.
Speaker 1: It has also been used to disperse rallies and protests
Speaker 1: held in solidarity with Gaza and demanding the release of
Speaker 1: Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Between October seventh and December thirty one,
Speaker 1: of twenty twenty three, two hundred and ninety nine Palestinians
Speaker 1: were killed, marking a fifty percent increase compared to the
Speaker 1: first nine months of the year. At least sixty one
Speaker 1: to more Palestinians, including thirteen children, have been killed so
Speaker 1: far in twenty twenty four as of the end of January,
Speaker 1: according to the numbers reported by OCHA. Israel has a
Speaker 1: well documented track record of using excessive and often lethal
Speaker 1: force to stifle descent and enforce its system of apartheid
Speaker 1: against Palestinians, leading to a historic pattern of unlawful killings
Speaker 1: committed with impunity. In one illustrative case investigated by Amnesty International,
Speaker 1: Israeli military and border police forces use excessive force during
Speaker 1: a thirty hour long raid on nous Chemi's refugee camp
Speaker 1: on October nineteenth. During the operation, Israeli forces killed thirteen Palestinians,
Speaker 1: including six children, four of them under the age of sixteen,
Speaker 1: as well as arrested fifteen people. Israeli military sources quoted
Speaker 1: in media reports said that one Israeli Border police officer
Speaker 1: was killed and nine were injured after an improvised explosive
Speaker 1: device was thrown at them by Palestinians. Residents told Amnesty
Speaker 1: International that during the operation, Israeli soldiers stormed more than
Speaker 1: forty residential homes, destroying personal belongings and drilling holes in
Speaker 1: the walls for sniper outposts. Water and electricity to the
Speaker 1: camp was cut off, and soldiers used bulldozers to destroy
Speaker 1: public roads, electricity networks, and water infrastructure. Among those killed
Speaker 1: during the October nineteenth raid was fifteen year old Taha Muhammad,
Speaker 1: who Israeli forces shot dead in front of his house
Speaker 1: when he came out to check whether Israeli forces had
Speaker 1: left the area. Taha was unarmed and posed no threat
Speaker 1: to the soldiers at the time he was shot. Based
Speaker 1: on eyewitness testimony and videos that were reviewed by Amnesty International,
Speaker 1: a video filmed by one of his sisters and verified
Speaker 1: by Amnesty's Crisis Evidence Lab chose Taha walking on the street,
Speaker 1: peeking to check for the presence of soldiers, and then
Speaker 1: collapsing on the street outside of his house after the
Speaker 1: sound of three gunshots. Faltima, Taha's sister, told Amnesty International
Speaker 1: they did not give him a chance. They did not
Speaker 1: give him a chance. In an instant, my brother was eliminated.
Speaker 1: Three bullets were fired without any mercy. The first bullet
Speaker 1: hit him in the leg, the second in his stomach,
Speaker 1: the third in his eye. There were no confrontations, there
Speaker 1: was no conflict. An eyewitness told Amnesty International that went
Speaker 1: Toaha's father, Ibrahim Muhammad, then attempted to carry his injured
Speaker 1: son to safety. Israeli forces shot him in the back.
Speaker 1: A verified video filmed by one of Taha's sisters immediately
Speaker 1: after the shooting chose Taha's father lying on the ground
Speaker 1: next to him before limping away. My father raised his
Speaker 1: hands showing the soldiers that he had nothing in them.
Speaker 1: He just wanted to take his son. They shot him
Speaker 1: with one bullet and my father fell next to Taha.
Speaker 1: I want to mention that one example, but many, many
Speaker 1: more have happened since then and before then, Protests and
Speaker 1: solidarity with Palestinians and Razza have been held frequently across
Speaker 1: the occupied West Bank. Since October seventh, some protesters have
Speaker 1: been seen throwing stones in response to the presence or
Speaker 1: forceful intervention of the Israeli forces. The iof's use of
Speaker 1: lethal force in response to rock throwing is not new,
Speaker 1: even if the rock throwing is done by children. In theory,
Speaker 1: lethal force and law enforcement can only be used when
Speaker 1: there is an eminent threat to life. Its use is
Speaker 1: not a proportionate response to stone throwing. In another egregious
Speaker 1: case that happened on October thirteenth in Tokaram, two I
Speaker 1: witnesses described to Amnesty International how Israeli forces stationed at
Speaker 1: a military watch tower both at one of the main
Speaker 1: entrances to the town, as well as on the roof
Speaker 1: of a nearby home, and then they opened fire on
Speaker 1: a crowd of at least eighty unarmed Palestinians who were
Speaker 1: peacefully demonstrating in solidarity with Gaza. Two journalists who were
Speaker 1: at the scene separately told Amnesty International that they saw
Speaker 1: Israeli forces firing two tear gas canisters at the crowd
Speaker 1: and shortly afterwards opening live fire at them without any
Speaker 1: warning shots. The two journalists saw four people being shot
Speaker 1: and injured as they tried to run away from the shooting.
Speaker 1: A few minutes later, Israeli forces then opened fire in
Speaker 1: the direction of the journalists, even though they were both
Speaker 1: wearing vests clearly marked as press. They hid behind a
Speaker 1: wall along with three children and had to remain there
Speaker 1: for about two hours as the operation continued. During this time,
Speaker 1: they also witnessed a Palestinian man who was riding past
Speaker 1: them on a bike being shot by an Israeli soldier.
Speaker 1: One of the journalists also saw another demonstrator being shot
Speaker 1: in the head. She described how the victim was suddenly
Speaker 1: shot and fell to the ground. The obstruction of medical
Speaker 1: assistance by Israeli forces during operations like this across Palestine
Speaker 1: is unfortunately a routine practice. An Amnesty International has documented
Speaker 1: this for years, saying it is a part of Israel's
Speaker 1: system of apartheid. Under international law, Israeli forces have an
Speaker 1: obligation to ensure anyone injured by their forces is able
Speaker 1: to access medical treatment. Amnesty International investigated five occasions where
Speaker 1: the Israeli forces hindered or prevented those who were seriously
Speaker 1: injured in demonstrations and raids from receiving critical medical assistance.
Speaker 1: They also shot at Palestinians trying to help, including medics
Speaker 1: tending to the wounded during the raid I mentioned earlier
Speaker 1: on Nourshem's on October nineteenth, three eyewitnesses, including a paramedic
Speaker 1: on the scene said two ambulances were stopped at the
Speaker 1: entrance of the camp and prevented from reaching the injured.
Speaker 1: The witnesses said the residents were forced to transport the
Speaker 1: wounded to a hospital in private cars. Since October seventh,
Speaker 1: according to the UN, more than four hundred Palestinians have
Speaker 1: been killed, one hundred and seven of those being children
Speaker 1: in the West Bank. I also want to mention the
Speaker 1: settler attacks on Palestinians, not just by the IOF, because
Speaker 1: these settler attacks have also become routine. Settlers have burned
Speaker 1: cars and houses, blockaded roads, damaged electricity networks, seas farmland,
Speaker 1: severed irrigation lines, attacked people in their fields and olive groves,
Speaker 1: and killed people, all without repercussion. The UN has recorded
Speaker 1: five hundred and seventy three attacks by settlers in the
Speaker 1: West Bank since October seventh, with Israeli forces the IOF
Speaker 1: accompanying them half of the time. At least nine people
Speaker 1: have been killed by settlers and three hundred and eighty
Speaker 1: two have been killed by the IOF. According to these
Speaker 1: numbers by the UN, human rights groups in Israel and
Speaker 1: the West Bank allege a long pattern of violence that
Speaker 1: has been enabled by the IOF. The army, however, of course,
Speaker 1: denies this. Human rights groups in Israel and the West
Speaker 1: Bank allege a long pattern of violence by settlers that
Speaker 1: is enabled by the occupation forces. The army of course
Speaker 1: denies this. As I mentioned earlier, the IOF has a
Speaker 1: long history of using unnecessary lethal force, and we're seeing
Speaker 1: that increasingly happen in the West Bank. I want to
Speaker 1: end this episode with a quote from the Israeli Group
Speaker 1: B seven. They told the BBC. Since the beginning of
Speaker 1: the war in the Gaza Strip, Israel has continued to
Speaker 1: implement a lethal open fire policy in the West Bank.
Speaker 1: Of the almost four hundred Palestinians killed by Israeli forces
Speaker 1: since October seventh, many did not pose a threat at
Speaker 1: the level that would justify the use of lethal force.
Speaker 1: With extremely rare exceptions that usually involve low ranking soldiers.
Speaker 1: No one is brought to justice for the killing of Palestinians.
Speaker 1: This reflects Israel's profound disregard for the lives and bodies
Speaker 1: of Palestinians. And that is our episode for today. As usual.
Speaker 1: Please please keep talking about Palestine. Please keep raising awareness
Speaker 1: about this ongoing genocide that's happening in both Gaza and
Speaker 1: the West Bank. And yeah, just they'll stop talking about it.
Speaker 1: Pre Palestine. It Could Happen Here as a production of
Speaker 1: cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media,
Speaker 1: visit our website cool zonemedia dot com or check us
Speaker 1: out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to podcasts. You can find sources for It Could
Speaker 1: Happen Here, updated monthly at coolzonemedia dot com slash sources.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.