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No red lines for Senator Ron Wyden on Israels attacks on Palestinians in Gaza

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Written by Peter Miller Peter Miller
Published: 12 November 2024 12 November 2024

(Photo: Dan Shea)

Senator Ron Wyden had a Town Hall in Multnomah County on November 8, 2024. Two speakers got to ask him questions about Gaza and, whether Wyden would stand up to Israel and whether there were any red lines or anything that Israel would do that would make him stop sending more arms to Israel. Wyden refused to answer the question about red lines but made clear he would continue to fund Israel's wars, blame Hamas for Palestinian civilian deaths, and offer only the vaguest of support for a limited ceasefire and humanitarian aid. It was a pathetic but not surprising performance for Oregon's senior Senator. He condescended to the speakers and acted as if the audience were uninformed children. He acted like the Town Hall was a fabulous venue for interacting with voters, but he wasn't listening. Instead, it highlighted Wyden's lack of transparency and accountability to voters and the emptiness of his touted "Town Halls."  We need and deserve better people in Congress! Below is a transcript and links to videos for both questions.

Read more: No red lines for Senator Ron Wyden on Israels attacks on Palestinians in Gaza

We are witnessing the final stage of genocide in Gaza

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Written by Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian
Published: 06 November 2024 06 November 2024

 

Rafah was a grim milestone. But the very last stage of this genocide, Bartov says, is happening right now in Jabalia in north Gaza, where over 1,000 people have been killed in the last three weeks. What’s happening in north Gaza should not be considered – as it often seems to be in the media – as just more bombing. Rather, Bartov notes, it is a genocidal campaign clearly based on The General’s Plan.

“This is a plan sketched out by retired General Giora Eiland, which has been discussed for months now in the Israeli media, to empty that region of civilians through military pressure and starvation … This is a first step toward annexing the Strip north of the Netzarim Corridor, which will lead to its settlement by Jews and will itself be only the first phase in the gradual takeover of increasing portions of the Strip, squeezing civilians into ever shrinking areas and eventually either forcing them out of the Strip or causing ever larger numbers of them die. In short, this is a genocidal plan.”

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/06/we-are-witnessing-the-final-stage-of-genocide-in-gaza

Israeli assault has caused ‘apocalyptic’ situation in northern Gaza, UN warns

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Written by Reuters at the United Nations Reuters at the United Nations
Published: 01 November 2024 01 November 2024

Key officials say entire population of northern Gaza ‘at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence’

The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is “apocalyptic” as Israel pursues a military offensive against Hamas militants in the area, top United Nations officials have warned.

“The entire Palestinian population in north Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence,” they said in a statement on Friday signed by the heads of UN agencies, including the UN children’s agency Unicef and the World Food Programme, and other aid groups.

Israel began a wide military push in northern Gaza last month. The United States has said it was watching to ensure that its ally’s actions on the ground show it does not have a “policy of starvation” in the north.

But on Friday, the UN officials said humanitarian efforts could not keep up with the scale of the needs in northern Gaza, due to constraints on access for aid workers.

“Basic, life-saving goods are not available. Humanitarians are not safe to do their work and are blocked by Israeli forces and by insecurity from reaching people in need,” they said.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/01/un-northern-gaza-israel

Israel’s mass killing campaign in Gaza is escalating

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Written by TAREQ S. HAJJAJ | Mondoweiss TAREQ S. HAJJAJ | Mondoweiss
Published: 01 November 2024 01 November 2024

The Israeli army has killed 639 Palestinians while injuring over 2,000 people between October 22 and October 31, the Gaza Ministry of Health reports. This number only includes those whose bodies were retrieved by civilians or rescue teams and sent to hospitals or centers affiliated with the Ministry of Health. The number of people who are unaccounted for and are still trapped under the rubble are estimated to be in the dozens but are not included in the official statistics of the Ministry.

While north Gaza, and the areas of Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun in particular, have been the most targeted by Israel’s ongoing military assault, the Israeli army has escalated its attacks against civilians across the entire Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses who spoke to Mondoweiss describe a situation in which both military and “humanitarian” zones (designated as such by the Israeli army) are being targeted with regularity. The overall pattern of Israel’s assaults points to a campaign of mass killing and extermination.

https://mondoweiss.net/2024/11/israels-mass-killing-campaign-in-gaza-is-escalating/

Israeli parliament passes law to ban Unrwa from operating inside country

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Written by Associated Press in Jerusalem Associated Press in Jerusalem
Published: 28 October 2024 28 October 2024

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/28/israeli-lawmakers-pass-bill-that-could-halt-unwra-relief-work-in-gaza

Israeli lawmakers have passed legislation that could threaten the work of the main UN agency providing aid to people in Gaza by barring it from operating on Israeli soil.

The bill bans the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or Unrwa, from conducting “any activity” or providing any service inside Israel.

The legislation, which does not take effect immediately, risks collapsing the already fragile aid distribution process at a moment when the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening and Israel is under increased US pressure to ramp up aid.

The vote was passed 92-10 and followed a fiery debate between supporters of the law and its opponents, mostly members of Arab parliamentary parties.

A second bill severing diplomatic ties with Unrwa was due to be voted on later on Monday.

Taken together, these bills would signal a new low in relations between Israel and Unrwa, which Israel accuses of maintaining close ties with Hamas militants. The changes would also be a serious blow to the agency and to Palestinians in Gaza who have become reliant upon it for aid throughout more than a year of devastating war.

The bills risk crippling the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. More than 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced from their homes and Gaza faces widespread shortages of food, water and medicine.

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  3. Inside the State Department’s Weapons Pipeline to Israel
  4. Special Report: Emails show early US concerns over Gaza offensive, risk of Israeli war crimes
  5. ‘Game of demographics’: How Israel aims to wipe out Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem
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