MORE OF THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN

 It's been a long time coming, as germany has been one of the biggest supporters of the genocide committed against Gaza by israel. They have unconditionally been aiding and cheering on the baby killing against Palestinians. It is refreshing that finally workers there have stood up to say no more to this mass murder. We need to see more of this everywhere, especially in the west where support is the strongest .

 

German civil servants demand ‘immediate’ end to Israeli arms supplies

Government workers call on Germany and the Netherlands to stop arms deliveries over human rights concerns.

Israel has killed more than 33,000 people in its attack on Gaza [Atef Safadi/EPA]

By James Jackson

Published On 7 Apr 20247 Apr 2024

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A group of German civil servants have written to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other senior ministers calling on the government to “cease arm deliveries to the Israeli government with immediate effect”.

“Israel is committing crimes in Gaza that are in clear contradiction to international law and thus to the Constitution, which we are bound to as federal civil servants and public employees,” the statement says, citing the International Court of Justice’s ruling in January that Israel’s military actions are “plausible acts of genocide”.

KEEP READING

list of 4 items

list 1 of 4

Palestinians return to destroyed Khan Younis homes as Israel bombards Gaza

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Terminally ill Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa dies in Israeli custody

list 3 of 4

Six months of devastation in Israel’s war on Gaza with no sign of an end

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UK’s Cameron says support for Israel ‘not unconditional’

end of list

According to the organisers of the five-page statement, around 600 civil servants have voiced support for the initiative, which has slowly been gathering traction for months through professional networks and word-of-mouth across a range of ministries.

The statement also requested that the German government pressure Israel for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip; that it renew payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA); and that it “actively and resolutely advocates for the recognition of a Palestinian state” within the internationally recognised 1967 borders.

In 2023, Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros ($354m), a tenfold increase compared to the previous year, providing 30 percent of the Israeli military’s weapons, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Researchers also found that 99 percent of Israel’s arms come from the United States and Germany, with the latter being the second-biggest supplier.

The civil servants sent the statement via email to ministries last week, with the disclaimer that “due to the sensitive content and the excessive state repression that criticism in this area is met with, we want to remain anonymous”.

Al Jazeera has verified the identities of two of the initiators, one of whom is in senior management.

The senior manager described a “climate of fear” within the civil service that the manager had “never experienced anything like in 15 years”. After internal complaints to ministers about supporting Israel’s war crimes dating from back in October, the manager was warned against talking about it. One director of development even advised against discussions via email, and suggested instead to only use phones so as not to leave a paper trail. “It has been hell for all of us,” said the manager, who singlehandedly gathered more than 100 signatures from colleagues and through professional networks.

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Signees reportedly include a wide range of civil servants from across different ministries, skewing towards younger women and people with international experience or biographies “outside of the German bubble”.

Diplomats in particular are said to be worried about the damage to Germany’s reputation and international relationships, particularly with Muslim countries.

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The group will publish the statement on social networking site LinkedIn on April 8, when Germany will be defending itself at the Hague against charges brought by Nicaragua that Germany’s support for Israel violates the Genocide Convention.

Internationally, civil servants are increasingly speaking out against Western support of Israel. In February, 800 civil servants in the US and the European Union signed a “transatlantic statement” that warned Western support for Israel could amount to “grave violations of international law”, and complained of expert advice being ignored.

One of the statement’s initiators is Angelique Eijpe, who resigned from the Dutch foreign ministry over Gaza policy. She said that “the framework of international humanitarian law was completely cast aside in Gaza, which will damage our standing in the world”. The Netherlands lost a case about delivering F-35 fighter planes that would operate in Gaza, because of the risk of them being used in war crimes.

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“Israel was quite explicit on the genocidal intentions it had already in October,” Ejipe says. “I tried to speak to the foreign minister shortly after, but when they put this intention into practice and our policy line didn’t change, I felt like I had no choice but to resign” after 21 years of service as a diplomat. The group posted another petition last week and hold regular protests outside the Dutch foreign ministry.

Another initiator of the German civil servants’ statement, a trained jurist, expressed fear not just of losing employment for being involved in the statement, but of prosecution and even imprisonment, citing the “utterly lawless situation” in the country post-October 7 where people are arrested, sometimes brutally, with spurious legal justifications. “There are no rights in Germany at the moment when it comes to Palestine,” the initiator said.

“We wrote this letter because …. this scale of destruction and violence, the atrocities we are seeing are unprecedented in recent times. This is a huge threat to all of our democratic systems if we justify killing thousands of children,” the initiator said, adding that senior ministers were creating a “collective governmental gaslighting of what we are seeing on the ground”.

Germany’s foreign ministry did not respond immediately to a request for comment

HEROIC FASCISTS

 It has been reported that israel has killed over 400 people in Al-Shifa Hospital , while detaining 300 with 100 more who are missing.

These are the "heroes" "our" government is supporting , along with the "leader of the free world " , the u.s.a. They can go and fuck themselves.

THIS IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

 With the world's leaders ( for the most part ) seemingly indifferent to the live genocide going on right before their eyes, it is all the more important to know that there is still resistance going on even when it all seems so hopeless. It shows that maybe things aren't as hopeless as they look , and also the importance of fighting your own government, who no doubt are supporting the israeli fascists or at the very most issuing watered down " condemnations " of this mass murder. Imperialism has to be organized against and defeated once and for fucking all.

From Gaza to Naqab – Resistance Roundup – Day 181

April 4, 2024 Blog, News

Palestinian Resistance continued to target gathering of Israeli soldiers. (Photo: video grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

If one were to draw a map, highlighting all Israeli military areas targeted by the Resistance in Gaza, and outside Gaza today, it would cover a very large expanse. 

It included Khan Younis, Sheikh Ajlin in Gaza City, and Deir Al-Balah among other areas. 

Al-Quds Brigades also reported that its fighters have shelled several areas inside Israel, including Naqab, Asqalan, Sderot and Nir Am.  

Below are the latest statements by the two main Resistance forces in Gaza, and the Lebanese Resistance Movement Hezbollah. 

The statements were communicated via their Telegram channels and are published here in their original form. 

Al-Quds Brigades (Palestinian Islamic Jihad)

“After our fighters returned from the clash points in Khan Yunis, they confirmed that they carried out a number of missions:

“- Targeting a special Zionist force holed up in a building with an anti-armor and fortifications shell, and they blew up a Zionist tank with a Barq-shock explosive device in the same place.

“- Our fighters shot down a Zionist drone and took control of it.

“- Our fighters targeted gatherings of enemy soldiers with a barrage of 60-caliber standard mortar shells around Al-Amal Hospital and the Al-Arishiya area on the axes of advance west of Khan Younis.

“In conjunction with the Omar Al-Qasim Forces, we bombarded with mortar shells a gathering of enemy soldiers and vehicles in the Sheikh Ajlin area, west of Gaza City.

“This afternoon, we bombed the Kfar Azza settlement with a barrage of heavy-caliber mortar shells.

“We bombed Netivot and its vicinity in the western Naqab with a rocket barrage in response to the Zionist enemy’s crimes against our people. 

“We bombed Asqalan, Sderot, Nir Am and the settlements of the Gaza envelope with rocket barrages in response to the Zionist enemy’s crimes against our people.”

Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas)

“Al-Qassam Brigades target a Zionist Merkava 4 tank with an Al-Yassin 105 shell east of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.”

Hezbollah

“In support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in backing their noble resistance, the Islamic Resistance executed a number of operations against positions and deployments of the Israeli enemy army at the Lebanese-Palestinian border on Thursday, 04-04-2024, as follows:

“- Eastern sector:

1- At 15:50, targeting an Israeli technical team while conducting maintenance of technical and espionage equipment at the Bayad Blida site using appropriate weapons.

2- At 17:20, targeting the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site in the occupied hills of Kfar Shuba with artillery shells.

3- At 17:45, targeting the Ruwaisat Al-Qarn site in the occupied Shebaa farms with rocket weapons.

“- Western sector:

1- At 13:45, targeting the headquarters of the newly established “Liman” Brigade with artillery shells.

2- At 14:08, targeting the positions of Israeli soldiers behind the Jal Al-Alam site with rocket weapons.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)

How the fuck do they justify calling for "restraint" while sending more weapons ? They can do this because no one will seriously challenge them on their complete hypocritical bullshit. The people of the world will, but not government leaders.

Biden’s phony calls for restraint: U.S. sends more arms to Israel

By Monica Moorehead posted on April 2, 2024

The “Genocide Joe” administration recently equipped the Zionist apartheid regime of Israel with more deadly military hardware, while at the same time crying crocodile tears for the besieged population of Gaza. Over 32,000 Gazans have been slaughtered and over 75,000 more wounded by the armaments provided by the U.S., Germany and other imperialist countries since Hamas carried out the heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023.  

On April, 1, 2024, Palestine Action occupied the roof of Teledyne Defence and Space weapons factory for seven hours in Shipley, England, halting export of components for missiles and warplanes used by Israeli Occupation Forces. (Credit: Palestine Action)

According to a report on Resistance News Network: “The new transfer includes over 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs. This comes following revelations earlier this month that the U.S. conducted 100 such secret arms deals with the zionist entity, amidst an ammunition and vehicle shortage for the zionist occupation army. Such massive bombs can demolish entire blocks and are rarely, if ever, used by militaries because of the risk of civilian deaths. 

“Yet, the zionist entity has used them extensively since October 7. The zionist entity has dropped 70,000 tons of explosives on Gaza since October 7, with weapons supplied mostly from the U.S. and Germany. 

“Last week, the U.S. transferred 25 F-35A warplanes to the zionist entity, worth $2.5 billion, stating that the deal was approved 16 years ago so it did not require public notification, and stated the same for the new package of 2,300 bombs. The U.S. continues to be the main actor driving the genocide in Gaza. It feigns concern for Gaza and public disagreement with the zionist entity, as it builds a suspicious port and sends miniscule amounts of aid in deadly airdrops, while at the same time sending massive amounts of deadly bombs.” (March 29)

There may be some truth projected in the bourgeois media of growing tensions between the U.S. administration and Israeli war criminal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the staggering numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza, but these amount to only tactical differences. 

No one should be fooled into thinking for one second that U.S. imperialism and its bulldog in West Asia, Israel, do not share the same goals: to destroy Hamas, the democratically elected government in Gaza since 2006, along with the terrorist ethnic cleansing of Gaza’s population with airstrikes and mass starvation.   

U.S politicians advocate genocide

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) summed up in a horrific fashion how many U.S. politicians, Democratic and Republican, view the Palestinian people. He answered a question at a March 25 virtual town hall meeting by saying that the U.S. “shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid” and “It [Gaza] should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.”  (Washington Post, March 30)  

Of course, he was referring to the two U.S.-made atomic bombs dropped on these Japanese cities at the end of World War II in August 1945, killing an estimated 200,000 people. Michigan, the state that Walberg represents, has the highest percentage and number of Arab people of any U.S. state.  

Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee) told a Palestinian protester that “we should kill them all” in reference to Palestinians. Michelle Salzman, Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, made a similar statement on Nov. 10 during a debate in the state legislature. None of these racist white politicians have been censured for their public calls for genocide, but Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), the only Palestinian representative in Congress, was criticized and censured for her call for a mere ceasefire. (Al Jazeera, Feb. 21)

Annelle Sheline, a U.S. State Department official, resigned from her post on March 27, in protest of Biden’s policy on Gaza. Josh Paul resigned from his State Department post in the middle of October for similar reasons.

Regarding her resignation, Sheline told the Guardian, “The fundamental reason was — I no longer wanted to be affiliated with this administration. I have a young daughter. She’s not yet two, but if some day in the future, she is learning about this and knows that I was at the state department and she asked me [about it] — I want to be able to tell her that I did what I could.”  (March 27)

Sheline remarked on a Democracy Now! March 28 broadcast that the self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell on Feb. 25, in protest of the U.S. complicity in committing genocide, also had a profound impact on her decision.

Impact of resistance and global solidarity with Gaza

As the genocide of Gaza enters its sixth month, local, state and national political figures in the U.S. are being hounded by pro-Palestine protesters wherever they speak for their silence and support for Israel. 

This was never more obvious than on March 29 when Presidents Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton appeared in a Democratic Party election fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. A handful of demonstrators disrupted the event inside with chants denouncing Biden for supporting genocide. Right outside the fundraiser were thousands of pro-Palestine protesters. 

Elbit, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, has admitted that it was forced to shut down operations of a subsidiary in the U.S. Its profits have decreased by 22% since October 7. Elbit closed factories in occupied Kiryat Shmona in 2013 and Sderot, which have been targeted by the Palestinian resistance. 

This decline comes after some countries have banned supplying weapons to Israel. Exports to and sales in the U.S. and Canada declined during the last quarter of last year. Production has also declined due to the drafting of 2,000 Elbit employees into the Israeli Occupation Forces and the killing of five of its workers by the resistance. 

Supply chain disruptions are attributed to maritime freight shipping issues, taking longer and becoming more expensive because of Yemen’s sea blockade against all pro-Israeli shipping and Palestine Action’s international direct action campaign. There have been effective protests carried out against Elbit subsidiaries in Cambridge, Massachusetts, England and elsewhere globally. 

The crisis that Elbit is facing reflects the ever-growing isolation of Western imperialism in its support of the fascist state of Israel. Even Germany, the second largest supplier of weapons to Israel behind the U.S., is rethinking its policy of sending weapons to Israel due to mass pressure by thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrations in Berlin and other German cities — despite brutal repression by the police.  

Germany announced its plans to resume partial funding of the besieged UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, that came under attack when, in February, Israel accused some UNRWA workers of supporting Hamas.  

In Tel Aviv, thousands of protesters are demanding the resignation of Netanyahu, who continues to refuse the offer to exchange the remaining hostages held by Hamas since October 7 for the release of 7,000 Palestinian political prisoners. Hamas is also demanding the unimpeded flow of 1,500 trucks of life-and-death humanitarian aid to northern Gaza.

EVEN WORSE THAN AMERIKKKA ?

 Who would've thought there could be an an army even less ethical than amerikkka's ? Of course it would have to be one that has full u.s. support and training, so it just makes sense.

‘Most Unethical Army in the World’ – Palestine Chronicle Assesses the Damage at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital

April 1, 2024 Articles, Features

Hundreds of bodies were found in the Al-Shifa Medical Complex after Israel's withdrawal. (Photo: via Times of Gaza)

By Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza

The Palestine Chronicle spoke with three eyewitnesses, including two journalists, who were met with scenes of absolute devastation when they reached the vicinity of the hospital. 

At dawn on Monday, April 1, Israeli occupation forces suddenly withdrew from the Al-Shifa Medical Complex following a two-week siege and constant attacks. 

When they learned about the withdrawal, Gaza City residents  converged on the area west of Gaza City to survey the damage caused by the Israeli incursion and to assess the conditions of their homes, which they were forced to evacuate. 

What they encountered was shocking. 

The Palestine Chronicle spoke with three eyewitnesses, including two journalists, who were met with scenes of absolute devastation when they reached the vicinity of the hospital. 

Israel has Violated Everything

“Everything in the complex is destroyed. All the buildings of the hospital were bombed and are no longer usable,” Palestinian journalist Badr Abdel Aal told The Palestine Chronicle. 

“The Al-Shifa Medical Complex is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, and it is the lifeline of the health sector in Gaza,” he noted. 

“But now, it is destroyed, and the occupation has completely taken it out of service. Israel must be held accountable for the crimes it committed in Al-Shifa,” Abdel All told us. 

“All media outlets documented the crimes throughout these months and they are still there. This crime, however, cannot pass without accountability,” he continued.

“The occupation has violated everything in the Gaza Strip, and nobody in the world seems to be determined to stop them. Rather, major global powers are complicit and partners in massacring our Palestinian people.”

‘We Did Not Expect All This Destruction’

Ayman Hattou is another journalist who witnessed the degree of devastation left behind by the Israeli army. He compared today’s obliteration to what he saw last November, when Israeli forces stormed the complex for the first time. 

“In November, the destruction was confined to the external areas and only part of the buildings were damaged,” Hattou told us. 

“We did not expect all of this. This time, the Israeli army left destruction and devastation in all the buildings of the complex. They were all bombed and burned. There is no usable building or floor,” he added.

“The scene that appeared in front of us this morning was like the destruction caused by the Mongols who invaded Iraq hundreds of years ago,” Hattou noted.

“This time around, however, everything was documented by cameras. It is crystal clear that the Israeli army is the most unethical army in the world, they have no red lines.”

‘Where are My Children?’ 

Abu Anas al-Shanshiri is a resident of Gaza City. His son Anas and his daughter Aisha were killed nearly three months ago by an Israeli strike and their bodies were buried in the courtyard of Al-Shifa. 

“I couldn’t find a place to bury them at that time. We were forced to bury them in the medical complex, and I used to visit their graves regularly,” he told The Palestine Chronicle. 

Al-Shansiri hoped that the bodies remained there so that he could bury them in a cemetery after the end of the war.

“When I learned that the occupation had stormed Al-Shifa, two weeks ago, I followed the news obsessively. My biggest fear was that they would dig up graves and remove bodies from the courtyard,” he said.

“But when I rushed there this morning, the destruction and devastation I witnessed cannot be described. If an earthquake had struck the complex, it would have been less devastating than the ruins left by the occupation.”

Al-Shanshiri reached the place where his son and daughter were buried, only to find a hole amid the rubble and the destruction. 

“I couldn’t find the bodies of my children, and I could not locate their whereabouts,” he said, in tears. 

“Perhaps the occupation forces took them, or perhaps their bulldozers swept them away and moved them under the rubble to other places in the complex,” he continued.

“I am still searching, hoping to find them. The atrocities they committed in Al-Shifa, including by digging up graves, are simply unspeakable.”

(The Palestine Chronicle)

– Abdallah Aljamal is a Gaza-based journalist. He is a correspondent for The Palestine Chronicle in the Gaza Strip.