With media and people’s attention now majorly focusing on the World cup matches, Israel is seizing the chance to carry on with its crimes against Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories.
The Israeli government, always presented as the side exercising restraint in its conflict with the Palestinians, is using the World Cup matches, which caught the attention of everybody all over the globe, as a cover for killing as much Palestinians as possible, knowing that with the media busy covering the tournament's daily results, it would escape the blame for much of its crimes in the occupied territories.
Indeed. Tens of millions of people all over the world are busy watching the matches starting early morning hours, staying up to see late-night games, and forgetting about the Israeli crimes committed daily against the Palestinian civilians.
More than 20 Palestinian civilians, including children and women, have been killed by the Israeli murderers over the past two weeks, since the opening of the World cup 2006.
But nobody is paying any attention. Why? Is the World Cup tournament more important than the lost innocent lives in occupied Palestine?
Eight Palestinian civilians, including five family members, died and several others were wounded when Israel shelled a Gaza beach on June 9, claiming it’s “used by militants to fire rockets into Israel”.
Israel initially dismissed accusations it was behind the blast, but later on it admitted carrying out the attack after news reports uncovered that the military investigation it launched was “not credible”.
Shrapnel from an Israeli artillery shell was extracted from a young Palestinian who was wounded in the deadly Gaza beachfront explosion.
Citing medical sources whose findings contradicted Israel's official version of events that Gaza beach explosion was not caused by Israeli artillery, Channel 10 reported last week that a shrapnel was removed from a 12-year-old boy who was wounded in the beach attack on June 9.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), accused Israel on Thursday of conducting an incomplete probe into the crime to exonerate its troops.
"The Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) investigation of the Gaza beach explosion that killed eight Palestinian civilians and wounded dozens is incomplete because it excludes important evidence," HRW said.
The Israeli army “fired more than 80” 155mm shells in the area of the beach on the morning of June 9, Human Rights Watch said.
On June 13, another nine civilians were killed in another Israeli air raid.
Also three Palestinian children died Monday, June 19, by an Israeli missile.
The Israeli army claimed that the missiles fired by the IOF from Apache helicopters were aimed at cars ‘believed’ to be carrying “militants” who were allegedly preparing for rocket attack against Israel.
On July 21, two Palestinian civilians - a pregnant woman and her brother – died, and 13 other people were wounded, including children, after an Israeli missile hit their home in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli human rights group Bt'selem issued a statement earlier this month slamming the Israeli government for the killing of 23 Palestinian civilians who didn’t take part in any “militant activity”.
The group said it had written to the army's judge advocate general demanding an investigation into the killings.
"The killing of innocent civilians with missiles fired during the day in the heart of crowded neighborhoods, as occurred in most of the cases cited, is not an 'unfortunate mistake' but a near-certain result," the group said.
But those crimes, which have roused international condemnation, seem to have caused no embarrassment for Israel.
Ignoring the international criticism over the atrocities it committed in Palestine, Israel bluntly stated it would continue air strikes until Palestinian factions stop firing rockets into its territory, in other words, until Palestinians end their resistance against the occupiers of their lands.
An air force officer was quoted on palestinechronicle.com as saying:
"We will continue these aerial attacks in response to Palestinian rocket attacks because this style of operation is preferable to ground incursions (in the Gaza Strip) or imprecise artillery fire".
Will the picture of Huda Ghalya- the 7-year old girl who lost her family during a beach picnic in Gaza- weeping over the body of her dead father, stay in the minds of people to remind them of Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians, or has the World Cup excitement overshadowed Palestinian suffering?!
The Israeli government, always presented as the side exercising restraint in its conflict with the Palestinians, is using the World Cup matches, which caught the attention of everybody all over the globe, as a cover for killing as much Palestinians as possible, knowing that with the media busy covering the tournament's daily results, it would escape the blame for much of its crimes in the occupied territories.
Indeed. Tens of millions of people all over the world are busy watching the matches starting early morning hours, staying up to see late-night games, and forgetting about the Israeli crimes committed daily against the Palestinian civilians.
More than 20 Palestinian civilians, including children and women, have been killed by the Israeli murderers over the past two weeks, since the opening of the World cup 2006.
But nobody is paying any attention. Why? Is the World Cup tournament more important than the lost innocent lives in occupied Palestine?
Eight Palestinian civilians, including five family members, died and several others were wounded when Israel shelled a Gaza beach on June 9, claiming it’s “used by militants to fire rockets into Israel”.
Israel initially dismissed accusations it was behind the blast, but later on it admitted carrying out the attack after news reports uncovered that the military investigation it launched was “not credible”.
Shrapnel from an Israeli artillery shell was extracted from a young Palestinian who was wounded in the deadly Gaza beachfront explosion.
Citing medical sources whose findings contradicted Israel's official version of events that Gaza beach explosion was not caused by Israeli artillery, Channel 10 reported last week that a shrapnel was removed from a 12-year-old boy who was wounded in the beach attack on June 9.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), accused Israel on Thursday of conducting an incomplete probe into the crime to exonerate its troops.
"The Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) investigation of the Gaza beach explosion that killed eight Palestinian civilians and wounded dozens is incomplete because it excludes important evidence," HRW said.
The Israeli army “fired more than 80” 155mm shells in the area of the beach on the morning of June 9, Human Rights Watch said.
On June 13, another nine civilians were killed in another Israeli air raid.
Also three Palestinian children died Monday, June 19, by an Israeli missile.
The Israeli army claimed that the missiles fired by the IOF from Apache helicopters were aimed at cars ‘believed’ to be carrying “militants” who were allegedly preparing for rocket attack against Israel.
On July 21, two Palestinian civilians - a pregnant woman and her brother – died, and 13 other people were wounded, including children, after an Israeli missile hit their home in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli human rights group Bt'selem issued a statement earlier this month slamming the Israeli government for the killing of 23 Palestinian civilians who didn’t take part in any “militant activity”.
The group said it had written to the army's judge advocate general demanding an investigation into the killings.
"The killing of innocent civilians with missiles fired during the day in the heart of crowded neighborhoods, as occurred in most of the cases cited, is not an 'unfortunate mistake' but a near-certain result," the group said.
But those crimes, which have roused international condemnation, seem to have caused no embarrassment for Israel.
Ignoring the international criticism over the atrocities it committed in Palestine, Israel bluntly stated it would continue air strikes until Palestinian factions stop firing rockets into its territory, in other words, until Palestinians end their resistance against the occupiers of their lands.
An air force officer was quoted on palestinechronicle.com as saying:
"We will continue these aerial attacks in response to Palestinian rocket attacks because this style of operation is preferable to ground incursions (in the Gaza Strip) or imprecise artillery fire".
Will the picture of Huda Ghalya- the 7-year old girl who lost her family during a beach picnic in Gaza- weeping over the body of her dead father, stay in the minds of people to remind them of Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians, or has the World Cup excitement overshadowed Palestinian suffering?!
