In Occupied Palestine
Zionism in practice
Israel’s Daily Toll on Palestinian Life, Limb, Liberty and Land
08:00, 08 October until 08:00, 09 October 2024
[Source of statistics: Palestinian Monitoring Group]
Gaza Strip
Attacks: There are no safe places for the militarily-dominated population in Gaza, who find themselves subjected to airstrikes and other missile attacks on buildings, homes and many essentialfacilities, as well as constant gunfire and invasions by Israeli forces. The Israeli Navy continues to fire missiles, targeting facilities and buildings along the entire Gaza shoreline.
Victims: 45 more people have been killed, bringing the total number killed in Gaza since 7 October to at least 42,010. Another 130 have been wounded, bringing that total to 97,720. The daily average number of men, women and children killed in Gaza is at least 114 and, that of those injured, is now more than 266.
Biden’s Moral Failure in Israel
By Peter Beinart, contributing Opinion writer at The New York Times | 8 October 2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/
Joe Biden’s presidency has a distinct origin story. As he tells it, he was done with politics, happily retired from public life. That changed after Donald Trump’s equivocal response to the 2017 white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Va. It was then that Mr Biden realised that Mr Trump and his allies threatened what he called the “soul of this nation”: its commitment to equality. So he re-entered the fray.
Ever since, Mr Biden has argued that championing equality is the key to preserving American democracy at home and enhancing American influence abroad. He began a 2019 campaign announcement video by noting that Charlottesville was home to Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the words “all men are created equal.” In his acceptance speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, he claimed America’s “great purpose” was “to be a light to the world once again. To finally live up to and make real the words written in the sacred documents that founded this nation that all men and women are created equal.”
In his 2021 Inaugural Address, he described American history as a “constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, and demonisation have long torn us apart.” He promised to make the United States once again a “beacon to the world.” Since taking office, the president has framed a commitment to equality as the answer not only to the rise of domestic white nationalism but also to the authoritarian powers who threaten democracy overseas.
This self-presentation now lies in ruin. Through his unwavering backing of Israel, Mr Biden has effectively supported its unequal treatment and oppression of Palestinians — especially in Gaza — and undermined the ethical rationale for his presidency.
Domestically, Mr Biden counterposed equality to his predecessor’s ethno–nationalistic tendencies. Mr Trump has repeatedly implied that Americans who aren’t white and Christian are not truly American. In 2016, he said that Gonzalo Curiel, a judge born in Indiana, could not rule fairly on civil lawsuits against Trump University because of his Mexican heritage, given Mr Trump’s promises to build a wall between this country and Mexico. In 2019, Mr Trump demanded that the four congresswomen of colour who constitute the so-called Squad — three of whom were born in the United States — “go back” to the countries they were from. Mr Biden, by contrast, declared in a May 2023 speech to Howard University’s graduating class that America was based on an idea — equal rights — “not religion, not ethnicity.” Throughout his presidency, Mr Biden has depicted himself as defending that principle from authoritarian impulses both at home and abroad.
But Israel’s political system is explicitly based on religion and ethnicity. Its controversial 2018 nation-state bill declares that Jews alone can “exercise national self-determination.” Most of the Palestinians under Israeli control — those in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — can’t become citizens of the state that dominates their lives. A minority of Palestinians who live within Israel’s 1967 borders do enjoy citizenship and the right to vote. But when Arab Israeli politicians advanced a bill that would have made legal equality between Arab and Jewish citizens a foundation of Israeli law in 2018, the speaker of Israel’s parliament refused to allow a vote on it because it would “gnaw at the foundations of the state.”
As I have previously argued, there was a Zionist tradition that envisioned Jews living equally alongside Palestinians in a binational state — although many Americans now take for granted that Israel gives Jews legal supremacy.
But when it comes to Israel, Mr Biden hasn’t supported equality under the law. The war in Gaza has made that contradiction impossible to ignore. It is most glaring when Biden expresses deep empathy for Israeli suffering but relative indifference to the far larger number of dead Palestinians, or when his administration seems to distinguish even between American citizens, showing more concern for those murdered by Hamas than for those killed by Israel’s military.
No wonder, according to a September survey by the Institute for Global Affairs, Democrats consider Mr Biden’s policy on Gaza his greatest foreign policy failure. Young Americans are especially alienated by the chasm between Mr Biden’s actions and his stated ideals. A March poll by Harvard’s Institute of Politics found that more than three-quarters of Americans under the age of 30 disapprove of his policy toward Israel’s war in Gaza.
Mr Biden’s near-unconditional support for Israel’s actions has damaged his reputation overseas, as well. He has long claimed that the United States, unlike Russia and China, defends a “rules-based” order in which all countries, irrespective of their power, are bound by certain standards. That rhetoric reached a crescendo after Russia tried to overrun Kyiv in February 2022. At stake in Ukraine, Mr Biden told a Polish audience the following month, was the choice “between a rules-based order and one governed by brute force.” That September, Mr Biden told the United Nations that members of the Security Council should “refrain from the use of the veto, except in rare, extraordinary situations.” It was another swipe at Moscow, which during Mr Biden’s presidency had employedits veto seven times, and an effort to associate the United States with a fairer international order, in which even the most powerful nations cannot act with impunity. To strengthen those rules, the Biden administration in July of last year reportedly ordered the United States to share evidence on Kremlin officials that could help the International Criminal Court in its investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine.
Then came the Oct. 7 massacre and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. In the war’s first seven months, the Biden administration vetoed four resolutions concerning Israel and Palestine. Mr Biden denounced the ICC’s chief prosecutor for requesting warrants for the arrests of Hamas and Israeli leaders. While Mr Biden has warned against Israel’s “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza and the loss of civilian life, he has also repeatedly reiterated his support of Israel and supplied the country with vast quantities of arms.
Whatever chance Mr Biden had of convincing large numbers of foreigners that the United States believed that international law applies to all has now largely collapsed. Over the past year, according to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of people who trust Mr Biden “to do the right thing regarding world affairs” has dropped by double digits in Britain, Japan, Australia, Spain and Sweden— all key allies in the great power struggle Mr Biden is waging against Moscow and Beijing. Britons, Canadians and Italians have less faith in Mr Biden today than they had in George W. Bush in 2003, the year he invaded Iraq.
Last month, in his final speech to the United Nations, Mr Biden acknowledged that “many look at the world today and see difficulties and react with despair.” What he didn’t acknowledge is that for many who believe in the vision of equality Mr Biden himself once outlined, he has contributed to that despair — by effectively treating Palestinians as lesser human beings, and by treating Israel as above international law.
A few days before Mr Biden’s speech, the Gaza Health Ministry released a catalogue of the names and ages of Palestinians killed in this war. According to The Guardian, the first 100 pages are composed entirely of the names of children who died under the age of 10. Their lives will need to be accounted for when historians gauge how Mr Biden shaped the “soul of this nation.”
West Bank
[Palestinian Monitoring Group]
Israeli Army attack – home invasion – 1 resident killed: Tubas – 22:55–02:20, Israeli Occupation forces, firing live ammunition, stormed the town of Aqaba, shooting dead while invading his home a resident, Abdul Raouf Rajih Hamed Al-Masry, and removing his body.
Israeli settler arson – agricultural sabotage – Israeli Army complicity: Tulkarem – 10:25, after Israeli settlers had set fire to crops, near Kafr al-Labad, the Israeli Army opened fire towards fire-fighters attempting to extinguish the fire, forcing them away from the land.
Israeli Army attack – 1 wounded: Nablus – 18:15-21:30, Israeli forces, firing live ammunition, stormed the town of Sebastia, wounding a resident: Islam Samer Aql.
Israeli Army attack: Bethlehem – afternoon, the Israeli Army opened fire, towards people near the eastern entrance to Husan village.
Israeli Army – abduction: Ramallah – 01:20–02:35, Israeli Occupation forces raided the village of Kafr Malik and abducted 16-year-old Shaheen Iyad Hamayel.
Israeli Army – child terrorised: Tulkarem – 01:50–06:35, Israeli Occupation forces, invading a home in Zeita, terrorised and interrogated a 14-year-old boy: Yousef Yasser al-Shalabi.
Home invasions: Nablus – 04:10–06:30, Israeli forces raided the village of Salem and invaded a number of houses.
Home invasions: Salfit – 17:50, the Israeli Army raided the village of Marda and invaded a number of homes.
Israeli Army abductions: Ramallah – 16:10, Israeli Occupation forces abducted three youngsters from Kafr Malik village: Muhammad Jamil Suleiman Ba’irat (aged 16), Omar Abdul Latif Hashma(aged 17) and Moamen Abdul Muhammad Hamayel (aged 17).
Israeli Army – 1 taken prisoner – population–control: Ramallah – 17:05, Israeli forces took prisoner a man, Yasser Atef Al-Tamimi, when he reported, as ordered, for interrogation at Israeli Military Intelligence.
Israeli settler violence – agricultural sabotage: Jenin – 11:00, Israeli Occupation settlers assaulted olive harvesters, near the village of Raba.
Israeli Army – population–control: Tulkarem – the Israeli Army blocked the road between Beit Lid and the village of Kafr Qaddum.
Israeli Army – population–control: Tulkarem – Israeli troops closed the road between Kafr al-Labad and the village of Shufa.
Israeli Army – population–control – agricultural sabotage: Salfit – 10:15, the Israeli military blocked Kafr al-Dik agricultural roads, to prevent people from driving to farmland, forcing them to walk to work.
Israeli Army home invasions: Jericho – 00:55–02:45, Israeli soldiers raided the city and invaded a number of homes.
Israeli Army home invasion – abduction: Bethlehem – 04:30–06:35, Israeli Occupation forces raided Beit Fajjar and abducted 17–year–old Yousef Imad Muhammad Thawabtah.
Israeli Army – population–control: Hebron – 15:00, the Israeli Army took prisoner one man, Ismail Ahmed Mohammed Al-Hawamdeh, when he reported, as ordered, for interrogation at IsraeliMilitary Intelligence.
Occupation settler and police mosque violation: Jerusalem – 08:00, Israeli settlers, accompanied by Occupation police, invaded and took over the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Occupation settler vandalism: Jerusalem – 17:10, Israeli Occupation settlers vandalised vehicles, near the entrance to the Khan al-Ahmar industrial zone, puncturing the tyres of around 30 vehicles.
Occupation settler arson: Ramallah – 20:25, stone-throwing Israeli settlers raided the outskirts of Umm Safa village, attacking homes and setting fire to nearby areas.
Occupation settler violence: Tubas – 20:30, Occupation settlers assaulted a man, Shamikh Mustafa Radaghmeh, in the al-Farisiya area of the North Jordan Valley
Occupation settler stoning: Nablus – 18:20, Israelis, from the Yitzhar Occupation settlement, stoned passing vehicles on the bypass road nearby.
Occupation settler stoning – injury: Nablus – 19:30–21:50, stone-throwing settlers attacked passing vehicles on the main road between Bizzariya and Burqa villages, injuring one person: Ahmed Nimer Salah.
Occupation settler violence – 2 injured: Nablus – 21:10, Israelis, from the Brakha Occupation settlement, assaulted two people: Mahmoud Jihad Yusef Qani and Muhammad Adnan Ahmed Qani.
Raid – stun grenades fired: Jerusalem – morning, Israeli Occupation forces, firing stun grenades, raided and patrolled al-Ram.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Jerusalem – dawn, Israeli forces again raided and patrolled al-Ram, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Jerusalem – evening, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled al-Eizariya.
Raid: Ramallah – 09:55-14:00, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the village of Ras Karkar.
Raid: Ramallah – 01:00–02:20, the Israeli military raided the city.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Ramallah – 01:00–02:20, Israeli soldiers raided al-Bireh, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Jenin – 21:00–22:05, Israeli Occupation forces raided Silat al-Dahr, taking prisoner two people.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Jenin – 02:10–04:35, Israeli forces raided the town of Jaba, taking prisoner two people.
Raid: Tulkarem – 20:10–21:45, the Israeli Army raided and patrolled Deir al-Ghusun.
Raids: Tulkarem – 20:30–21:45, Israeli troops raided and patrolled the Shweika suburb.
Raid: Tulkarem – 20:50, the Israeli military raided and patrolled the city.
Raid: Tulkarem – 22:10–01:05, Israeli soldiers raided Anabta.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Tulkarem – 01:50–06:35, Israeli Occupation forces raided the town of Allar, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – stun grenades fired: Tulkarem – 22:10, Israeli forces, firing stun grenades, raided Anabta.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Qalqiliya – 18:15-21:00, the Israeli Army raided the village of Kafr Qaddum, taking prisoner two people.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Qalqiliya – 01:10, Israeli troops raided Azzun, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 5 taken prisoner: Qalqiliya – 03:55–07:00, the Israeli military raided the city, taking prisoner five people.
Raids – stun grenades fired: Nablus – 21:30–23:30, Israeli soldiers, firing stun grenades, raided Tal village.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Nablus – 06:00, Israeli Occupation forces raided the city, taking prisoner one person.
Raid: Salfit – 10:15-11:50, Israeli forces raided and patrolled Kafr al-Dik.
Raid: Salfit – 12:30-13:00, the Israeli Army raided a house-under-construction site in Deir Ballut.
Raid: Salfit – 22:30–00:50s, Israeli troops raided and patrolled Kafr Haris.
Raid – population–control: Jericho – morning, Israeli soldiers raided the al-Ma’arjat area and pursued the vehicles of teachers, on their way to work at the Arab Al-Ka’abneh Elementary School.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Bethlehem – 00:15–04:30, Israeli Occupation forces raided the city, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – 1 taken prisoner: Hebron – 21:00–08:00, Israeli forces raided the city, taking prisoner one person.
Raid – stun grenades fired – 2 taken prisoner in refugee camp: Hebron – 03:05–07:05, the Israeli Army, firing stun grenades, raided the al-Arroub refugee camp, taking prisoner two people.
Raid – 2 taken prisoner: Hebron – 05:20-07:35, Israeli troops raided Yatta, taking prisoner two people.