Bolivian President Evo Morales on 30 July declared Israel a “terrorist state” and tore up a long-standing visa exemption agreement with the country in protest at the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza strip. Morales announced that the Bolivian government would now be demanding Israeli visitors apply for a visa in order to enter the South American country, according to Bolivia’s El Deber news site.
Earlier in July, Morales filed a request with the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights to prosecute Israel for “crimes against humanity.” Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken off in 2009, during the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza. At that time, Morales labelled the conflict a “genocide.”
Five Latin American Countries Withdraw Envoys from Israel
El Salvador on 30 July became the fifth Latin American country to withdraw its ambassador from Israel in protest at Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru have already recalled their ambassadors. Brazil was one of 29 countries in the UN Human Rights Council that voted on 23 July to investigate Israel over its military offensive in Gaza. During a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping on July 17, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said her country was “profoundly concerned by the dramatic events” in Gaza.
Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem Sign Open Letter Condemning Israel for ‘Genocide’ in Gaza
Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are among the Spanish stars behind an open letter condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza as “genocide”. The actors demanded a stronger response by the European Union to stop the military operation that has so far killed more than 1,500 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The letter, printed by Europa Press and other Spanish news outlets, reads: “Gaza is living through horror these days, besieged and attacked by land, sea and air. Palestinians’ homes are being destroyed, they are being denied water, electricity [and] free movement to their hospitals, schools and fields while the international community does nothing.” Labelling the Israeli military the “Israel Occupation Forces”, it demanded an immediate ceasefire and urged Israel to “lift the blockade, which the Gaza Strip has suffered for more than a decade”.
Erdogan “Glad” to Return U.S. Jewish Group Award
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan would be glad to return an award given to him by a Jewish-American association a decade ago, a letter released by his office showed on 29 July, and it called on the U.S. group to condemn the Israeli government’s policies. The New York-based American Jewish Congress said in a letter to Erdogan last week that he had become the world’s “most virulent anti-Israeli leader” and it demanded that he return an award it had given him partly for his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Erdogan’s office released a copy of the letter to the media, describing it as Turkey’s official response. “The absence of this award will not prevent Prime Minister Erdogan from resolutely fighting against terrorism, working towards the peaceful solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and upholding the safety and well-being of the Jewish community in Turkey,” the letter continued.
Moeen Ali Banned from Wearing Free Gaza Wristbands by ICC
The International Cricket Council has banned England cricketer Moeen Ali from wearing any wristbands with political messages on them after he was seen wearing “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine” inscribed wristbands during his first innings in the third Test between England and India. Former Australia batsman David Boon, who is the ICC’s match referee for the encounter at Southampton’s Aegas Bowl, has made the ruling after conflicting statements left a state of confusion around the incident.
The ECB had cleared Moeen to wear the wristbands because he was making a humanitarian statement as opposed to a political one, but the ICC have taken a different approach. A statement released by the ICC on Tuesday morning – ahead of the third day’s play began – read: “The ICC equipment and clothing regulations do not permit the display of messages that relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes during an international match.
HAMAS Demands Israel Pulls Back to 1967 Borders
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas searches for a new ceasefire formula in the Gaza Strip as well as an end to Israeli aggressions against Gaza, a senior Hamas leader said on 30 July. “Any international resolution for stopping the aggression must include the deployment of international troops along the 1967 borders,” Osama Hamdan, Hamas’ foreign relations chief, was reported as saying.
He added that his movement had already rejected the Egyptian ceasefire initiative for important reasons. Even with this, Hamdan, who is based in the Lebanese capital Beirut, said Hamas does not mind an Egyptian role in adopting the new ceasefire formula together with other international parties.
Hamdan said lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has been in place since 2006, is about the main demand of his movement. He said international troops need to be deployed along the 1967 borders, both in Gaza and in the West Bank, so that Israel would not repeat its aggressions against the Palestinians in the future.
‘We cannot Coexist with Occupiers’: Hamas Leader
In an interview broadcast on 27 July Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal demanded Israel lift its blockade of Gaza and warned that Palestinians cannot coexist with their neighbours while their land is occupied.
On Saturday, Meshaal was interviewed by U.S. broadcaster PBS in the Qatari capital Doha while in Gaza his Islamist militia was under assault from Israeli forces in renewed fighting that has left hundreds dead.
Asked by veteran interviewer Charlie Rose whether he could foresee living beside Israelis in peace, Meshaal said only a future Palestinian state could decide whether to recognize the Jewish state. “We are not fanatics, we are not fundamentalists. We are not actually fighting the Jews because they are Jews per se. We do not fight any other races. We fight the occupiers,” he said. “I’m ready to coexist with the Jews, with the Christians and the Arabs and non-Arabs,” he said. “However, I do not coexist with the occupiers.”
Israel Bans Radio Broadcast that Named Children Killed in Gaza
A radio broadcast that announced the names of some of the children killed during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has been banned in Israel. Human rights group B’Tselem was told by the Israel Broadcasting Authority that the broadcast was “politically controversial” and has already had an appeal against the ruling rejected. “Is it controversial that the children [aren’t] alive? That they’re children? That those are their names? These are facts that we wish to bring to the public’s knowledge,’ B’Tselem said.
More than 1500 people have died in Gaza during the last three weeks, a quarter of them children. Aid agencies said that on Monday and Tuesday (21 and 22 July) a child died in Gaza every hour. “Entire families are being wiped out in seconds as a result of the targeting of homes,” said Save the Children.
2 Professors Arrested in New York Pro-Palestine Protest
Professor Norman Finkelstein, a fierce critic of the Israeli government for its acts of genocide against the Palestinians, was arrested during a protest he organised outside the Israeli Consulate in New York on 29 July. A day earlier, Prof. Finkelstein, who is himself Jewish and a descendent of Holocaust survivors, called for civil disobedience on his website, saying “It’s got to be a collective action. If one hundred people either sign up to get arrested or to be there in solidarity, I’ll be there too.” Dozens of people had turned up outside the Consulate at 12:30 pm on 29 July in Manhattan after Prof. Finkelstein encouraged people to join the protest. Traffic in the area was stopped for around twenty minutes as police swooped in and handcuffed demonstrators.
Corey Robin, a Jewish professor of political science at Brooklyn College and a longtime critic of Israel, was also arrested at the protest. The protesters gathered to voice their anger against the Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 1,500 Palestinians since attacks began on 8 July.
Gaza Faces Major Environmental and Health Disaster
A Palestinian official has warned that the embattled Gaza Strip is reeling under an environmental and health disaster after the enclave’s only power plant was forced to shut down on 29 July following an Israeli attack on the facility’s fuel depot. “The Israeli attack against the power plant and the subsequent power outage has led to the halt of the work of wastewater treatment stations as well as lack of drinkable water,” Nazar Hegazi, head of Gaza municipality, said. “The municipalities had to discharge wastewater into the sea without treatment, which might cause a major health crisis,” he added.
Egypt’s Eid Sermons Call for Gaza Support
A devastating Israeli military onslaught on the Gaza Strip has dominated mosque sermons in Egypt on the first day of Eid al-Fitr. In the main sermon at Cairo’s Al-Azhar mosque, the preacher called for supporting the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been reeling under unabated Israeli attacks for three weeks now. Similar calls for support for the embattled Gaza Strip were also reported in several mosques across the Arab country.
Meanwhile, supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi staged several rallies following the Eid prayer in solidarity with the beleaguered Palestinian territory.
Thousands Ignore Ban in Paris to Protest Israeli Attacks in Gaza
Pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police in central Paris on 26 July when thousands of marchers defied a ban by French authorities to rally against Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve warned organisers in a television address that they would be held responsible for any clashes and could be prosecuted for ignoring a ban that was confirmed by the country’s top administrative court.
French authorities have refused to permit several pro-Palestinian protests demanding to show their support for Gaza. Some protesters, NGOs and even ruling Socialist politicians have criticised the bans on the rallies as counter-productive. Cazeneuve noted that over the last two weeks, five marches had been banned, out of about 300 such protests across the country.