Executive Conference condemns bombardment of Gaza
January 16, 2009
By AT
In line with the "Cities Are Not Targets" Project, the leading body of Mayors for Peace, acting on behalf of its 2635 member cities, has issued a statement on the conflict in and around the Gaza Strip. The disproportionate nature of the Israeli attack on the densely populated Palestinian cities is singled out for the harshest condemnation. Unleashing massive explosions in the heart of a city is simply intolerable -- no better than terrorism. The full text of the Statement can be found on the Mayors for Peace website(use link above), and is reproduced directly below with some background information.
Cities are not targets! Populated areas are not targets! Anger at or fear of terrorists, unjust governments, or warriors of any kind is no excuse for the wanton slaughter of innocent noncombatants.
In August 2006, Mayors for Peace condemned both the indiscriminate firing of thousands of rockets toward populated areas in Israel by Hezbollah and the disproportionate bombardment of populated areas in Lebanon by Israeli armed forces.
Today, with Hamas firing only one tenth as many rockets as Hezbollah and with Israel concentrating firepower comparable to that used in Lebanon on an area ten times smaller, i.e. the Gaza Strip, even-handed criticism is no longer appropriate. Our condemnation of indiscriminate rocket fire stands. We call on Hamas to immediately halt all violent attacks. However, to simply condemn the disproportionate use of explosive force is, under these circumstances, grossly inadequate. We are appalled by the Israeli Government’s lack of humanity and demand immediate international intervention.
We demand an immediate halt to all use of explosive force in and from the Gaza Strip; a guarantee of immediate access for humanitarian aid to assist the Palestinian civilian population; an internationally monitored ceasefire; and negotiations involving all parties to begin as soon as the ceasefire has taken effect, as called for in UN Security Council Resolution 1860. We are convinced that the search for a political solution through dialogue and respect for human rights are the most effective avenues towards peace.
January 15, 2009
The Conference of Mayors for Peace
Tadatoshi Akiba President Mayor of Hiroshima, Japan
Tomihisa Taue Vice President Mayor of Nagasaki, Japan
Stephen Weil Vice President Mayor of Hannover, Germany
Catherine Margate Vice President Mayor of Malakoff, France
Mabis Smitheman Vice President Deputy Mayor of Manchester, UK
Aldrin L. San Pedro Vice President Mayor of Muntinlupa, Philippines
Roman Grebennikov Vice President Mayor of Volgograd, Russia
Donald L. Plusquellic Vice President Mayor of Akron, USA
Bob Parker Vice President Mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand
Leonardo Domenici Vice President Mayor of Florence, Italy
Tine Gielis Vice President Mayor of Laakdal, Belgium
Luc Dehaene Executive Official Mayor of Ypres, Belgium
Ivan Knez Executive Official Mayor of Biograd na Moru, Croatia
Josep Antigas Executive Official Mayor of Granollers, Spain
Khder Kareem Executive Official Mayor of Halabja, Iraq
Robert Harvey Executive Official Mayor of Waitakere, New Zealand
Background
Mayors for Peace condemned the bombardment of civilian populations in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
-- Rockets attacks on Israeli towns and cities were an illegal use of indiscriminate force;
-- Israeli air raids on Lebanon were an illegal use of disproportionate force; as evidenced by the 10:1 casualty ratio.
The Executive Conference of Mayors for Peace called for the bombardment of civilian populations in the area to cease immediately and for negotiations to begin.
Turning to the Gaza Strip, the fact that during the recent six-month ceasefire Hamas was able to enforce an end to rocket fire into Israel implies that it can and should be held accountable for the recently unleashed rocket attacks on southern Israel. (Also Hamas is not denying their involvement, indeed some Hamas representative brag of it.) These rocket are highly inaccurate, they cannot be used in a way that permits reliable targeting of military objectives. It is, therefore, not surprising that most of their victims are civilians living in populated areas.
That said, the civilian death toll in southern Israel – thirteen persons at this writing – is dwarfed by the slaughter of the people of Gaza – over 1000 at this writing. The Israel attacks, beginning on 27 December and continuing daily are so massive, that they are inevitably killing civilians in large numbers. If the two to one ratio of children to adult women holds for adult men as well, then, since one-third of the casualities are children, two-third of the casualties must be civilians. Furthermore, unlike Lebanon where over a million people became refugees, there is nowhere for the residents of Gaza to flee, they are trapped.
The intensity of the Israeli raids has been attributed to a desire not to repeat the ‘error’ of the attack on Lebanon in August 2006. The International Herald Tribune quotes Mark Heller, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies at Tel Aviv University as saying, “This operation is an attempt to re-establish the perception that if you provoke or attack you are going to pay a disproportionate [sic] price.”
The initial disproportional use of force in Lebanon was illegal; increasing it only makes it more blatantly illegal. Where will this stop? When will it become clear that, short of total genocide, this will not bring security to Israel or any one else?
