January 2009 Update
TUFI’s monthly update looks at important trade union issues in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Middle East Peace Process, regional developments, domestic Israeli and Palestinian affairs and primary issues affecting British trade union policy on Israel
International Trade Union News: ITUC calls the ceasefire an opportunity for real peace and justice
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released a statement on 19 January calling the ceasefire in Gaza an opportunity to build a just and lasting peace that “both Israel and Palestine must seize”. The statement added that “the international community must do its utmost to help ensure that this happens, and needs to mobilize a massive humanitarian and reconstruction effort for Gaza.”
Guy Ryder, the ITUC General Secretary said: “There is not a moment to lose in re-starting negotiations to achieve a just settlement to the conflict, to make sure that no more innocent lives are lost in the future.”
British Trade Union News: TUC welcomes Gaza ceasefire and calls for peace
The TUC has welcomed the ceasefire declared by the Israeli government and Hamas, and joined the ITUC in calling on all parties to take steps towards a political solution. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:
“The fighting has stopped and must not be resumed by either Hamas or the Israeli army. Israel must withdraw and the border crossings must be opened. Gaza's people, and the rest of the region, need a sustainable peace which can only come through a political settlement leading to a durable two-state solution. The dreadful loss of life in Gaza, especially among the children, is a tragedy not only for the Palestinians but for the whole world. A sustainable peace must start with reopening the border crossings into Gaza for humanitarian assistance and, in the longer term, the free movement of people and goods: Gaza needs to be rebuilt and we must all play our part. It also requires an end to rocket attacks and smuggling of arms into Gaza.” (19/01/2009)
International Trade Union News: ITF speeds up aid to Gaza
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has been helping get aid into Gaza with cargos of vital medical supplies since the first days of Operation Cast Lead.
The ITF has played a positive role in the region over the last few years, mediating over a number of collaborative agreements between Israeli and Palestinian transport unions.
Israeli Trade Union News: Histadrut statement on the situation in Gaza and Southern Israel
The Histadrut (Israeli TUC) released a statement on 13 January regarding the situation in Gaza and Southern Israel, calling for an immediate cession of violence and “a new security reality created for both Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
The Histadrut and the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) signed an historic agreement in August 2008, setting out to base future relations on negotiation, dialogue and joint initiatives to advance “fraternity and co-existence”. The Histadrut’s statement called for this cooperation “to remain and be increased”, saying that it is of the utmost importance to “strengthen the pragmatic and reasonable forces on both sides, and not allow the extremists to set the agenda.” The statement goes on to say:
“The Histadrut would have preferred that the current situation had not developed this way. Israel embarked on operation "Cast Lead" after acting with great restraint for many years towards unbearable constant terror attacks from Gaza and making every diplomatic attempt to avoid confrontation. Israel agreed to a "state of calm", while Hamas exploited the agreement to build up its forces and rearm. Not only did Hamas rearm itself, but it terminated the calm by launching up to 80 rockets a day at Israeli civilians. By this time, Israel had no choice but to respond to the repeated attacks and aggression as an act of justifiable self-defense...The Histadrut will not cease in its efforts to promote peace and mutual understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. We will not allow ourselves to be frustrated by the extremist, whose views and actions, does not assist individual Palestinians nor the Palestinian cause.” (13/01/2009)
Israeli Industrial News: Number of Israelis made redundant reaches new high
Israel’s economy is being hit hard by the global financial crises; the number of Israeli workers made redundant reached 17,500 in December - a new high for the country according to a report released by the Israeli Employment Service on Sunday 25 January. High-tech workers, especially software engineers, were hit the hardest, with 690 fired in November and December. 205,800 people in Israel are now registered unemployed.
Relationship between the UK and Israel:British Parliamentarians call for BBC and Sky to broadcast Gaza aid appeal
Andrew Gwynne MP, Parliamentary Chair of Labour Friends of Israel, criticised the decision of Sky and the BBC not to air an appeal by the Disaster Emergency Committee for Gaza and asked his Parliamentary colleagues to sign an Early Day Motion (EDM) highlighting the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians of Gaza in the wake of the Israeli military operation. The BBC said that they took the decision to retain their journalistic impartiality.
Overview Briefing: After Israel’s Military Operation in Gaza
Background: Operation Cast Lead
- Israeli air strikes at key Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008. These targets included: weapons smuggling tunnels in and around Gaza, Hamas command centres; Hamas training camps; and various Hamas installations. To support these continuing airstrikes, Israel launched a ground offensive into Gaza on Saturday 3 January.
- Three weeks after it began its offensive, Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire. Hours after the ceasefire began, at 0200 (0000 GMT) on 18 January, Hamas militants shot at Israeli troops in northern Gaza, drawing return fire, and fired rockets into southern Israel, triggering an Israeli air strike in response. Hamas then announced its own immediate one-week ceasefire, demanding that Israel withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip. Over 1,300 Palestinians were killed in Gaza during the Israeli offensive, 412 of whom were children.
- Israel made clear that the operation was defensive. On the first day of the military operation, Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak set out the three objectives of the offensive as: I) dealing Hamas a forceful blow; II) fundamentally changing the situation in Gaza; and III) bringing the cessation of rocket attacks against Israeli citizens.
- Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel during the operation, firing over 200 rockets, missiles and mortar rounds over the 22-day conflict. For the first time, Hamas fired rockets (Iranian Grad-Katyushas) that reached Israeli towns and cities as far as 40 km inside Israel. Nearly a million Israelis are now in range of rocket fire – over 10 percent of the population.
- During the conflict, Hamas chose to fire rockets and store its arsenals in civilian houses, Mosques, schools and hospitals, using its citizens as human shields.
Leading up to Military Operation: Hamas end ceasefire and increase rocket fire
- Prior to the Israeli strikes, Hamas declared the six-month ceasefire was over while Israel expressed a desire to continue it. Along with other Palestinian militant groups Hamas responded to the end of the ceasefire by increasing the number of rocket, missile and mortar attacks launched at Israel. During the six month ceasefire (19 June – 19 December), 436 rockets, missiles and mortar shells were fired at Israel and just between 19 December (end of the ceasefire) and 26 December (day before the fist air strikes), over 170 were fired.
- Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit criticised Hamas on Saturday (27 December), placing responsibility for the Israeli operation on Hamas. Gheit added that prior to Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s arrival in Egypt on Thursday (25 December), 60 rockets were fired at Israel in a direct attempt to foil Egypt’s efforts to achieve quiet and that Egypt had repeatedly cautioned against continuing the situation. The Fatah Palestinian leadership in the West Bank and moderate Arab countries, that have made lasting peace with Israel, such as Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have also criticised Hamas for provoking the situation.
Diplomatic Developments since start of ceasefire
- Senator George Mitchell, US President Barack Obama’s newly appointed Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, visited Israel and Egypt on Wednesday (28 January). In a statement to the Israeli media, Mitchell said that consolidating the Gaza ceasefire was “of critical importance,” and called for an end to the hostilities; an end to arms smuggling; and the reopening of Gaza’s crossings, on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access between Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
- The Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority met with their EU counterparts in Brussels on Sunday (25 January) to discuss the future of Gaza and the Middle East Peace Process. At the meeting EU Foreign Ministers pressed Egypt to do more to prevent weapons being smuggled by Hamas into the Gaza Strip. The British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: “Action is required to prevent the illegal trafficking of arms into Gaza. It’s required to address the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the opening of crossings.” On Thursday (22 January) Egypt offered to increase the force of its border guards along the Egypt-Gaza border and Israel has reportedly taken a favourable view of this offer.
- Osama Abu Hamdan, an ally of Syrian-based Hamas leader Khalad Meshaal, told a Hamas supporters’ rally in Beirut on Sunday (25 January) that the militant group would not agree to reconciliation with Fatah unless peace negotiations with Israel are cancelled. Hamdan said that reconciliation with Hamas should be based on their agenda of “resistance” and all cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel over security in the West Bank should also be ceased. Hamdan also said that Hamas will continue to rearm against Israel: “Warplanes, aircraft carriers and satellite technology will not be able to monitor the entry of weapons through Gaza’s tunnels... Things might get difficult, but we will do whatever it takes to continue our resistance against Israel... Those who committed mistakes must correct their mistakes through a clear and frank declaration to stop security coordination with the [Israeli] occupation, release [Hamas] prisoners and later end negotiations [with Israel] because the peace process is irreversibly over.” (25/01/09)
Humanitarian Situation
- International aid agencies are battling to meet the urgent needs of tens and thousands of displaced, homeless and injured people in Gaza, as well as to get damaged water, power and sewage infrastructure working again. The UN has appealed for $613m for the initial recovery phase, but has estimated that long term reconstruction will run into the billions.
- Israel has stressed that it is working to speed the flow of aid into Gaza, and while more truckloads of supplies have entered Gaza than in the weeks preceding the operation, aid agencies say they are far from enough - and all border crossings must be opened if Gaza is to recover.
Background: Hamas in Gaza
- After the Israeli evacuation in August 2005, the Palestinian Authority took control of Gaza. The PA was made up mainly of secular-minded Palestinian nationalists from the Fatah party, which, unlike Hamas, thinks that a final agreement with Israel for a two-state solution can be made. In January 2006, Hamas won elections to the Palestinian legislature and formed a government in Gaza and the Palestinian territories on the West Bank. A unity government between Hamas and Fatah was then formed in March 2007, but Hamas Islamic militants seized power in a violent coup in July 2007 leaving over 100 dead and Palestinian territory divided; Fatah in the West Bank, Hamas in Gaza. Hamas now runs a strict Taliban-type religious military totalitarian system in Gaza.
- Hamas has stamped down on trade unionism, with many trade unionists in Gaza facing violence and intimidation. Soon after seizing power, Hamas seized the PGFTU headquarters, removing all existing slogans and flags, and raising a Hamas flag over the building.
- Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip rockets and mortars being fired from Gaza into Israel have increased exponentially. Since the start of 2008, there has been over 2,600 rocket and mortar shells fired at Israel; approximately seven rockets per day.
- Hamas has also significantly increased the size of its paramilitaries, with hundreds sent to train in Iran, and has acquired stock piles of advanced weapons from Iran, Syria and Hezbollah (smuggled from Egypt through tunnels into Gaza). Hamas used the six months of the ceasefire with Israel to build up its strength, develop and produce weapons and train terrorist operatives.
Background: Who are Hamas?
- Hamas (an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement) is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union, US, Japan and Canada and is banned in Jordan and Australia. The UK has proscribed its military wing, Hamas Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades, as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000. In all, Hamas have claimed the lives of at least 400 Israelis as well as injuring over 2,500 since 1989.
- Hamas was founded in 1987 as the Gaza wing of the Pan-Islamic Muslim Brotherhood organisation. Its charter calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian Islamic state. Hamas officials have repeatedly denied that they would ever be able to accept the existence of Israel on land they consider ‘Waqf’, an inalienable religious endowment and therefore not in their gift to bargain away.
- Hamas’ first known attack was the kidnapping and killing of Israeli soldier on February 16 1989. It formed the military wing 1992 and conducted knife attacks, shootings and car bombings before the first suicide bombing in 1993.
- Hamas were strident in their opposition to the September 1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). During the peace negotiations in the period between September 1993 and September 1995 Hamas is believed to have been responsible for 25 terrorist attacks of varying nature, killing 47 Israelis and leaving many more injured. Hamas continue to be against any kind of peace process between Israelis and Palestinians and try to derail it with violence and intimidation whenever it can.
- Hamas played a major role in the wave of suicide bombings and other attacks that took place in early 1996. In February and March 1996, Hamas killed 47 Israelis in attacks that included two major bus bombings in Jerusalem. It was also deeply involved in the wave of terrorist attacks that occurred during the second Intifada or uprising. The most notorious attacks include the 2001 attack on The Dolphinarium nightclub in Tel Aviv that killed 21 and wounded 130, and the 2002 Passover bombing at the Park Hotel in Netanyha, that killed 30 and injured 150 Israelis.
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