The Israeli military is using flechette shells, which spray out thousands of tiny and potentially lethal metal darts, in its military operation in Gaza. Six flechette shells were fired towards the village of Khuzaa, east of Khan Younis, on 17 July, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Nahla Khalil Najjar, 37, suffered injuries to her chest, it said. PCHR provided a picture of flechettes taken by a fieldworker last week.
B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, describes a flechette shell as “an anti-personnel weapon that is generally fired from a tank. The shell explodes in the air and releases thousands of metal darts 37.5mm in length, which disperse in a conical arch 300 metres long and about 90 metres wide”.
HAMAS HAS DEFEATED ISRAEL’S GAZA OFFENSIVE: HEZBOLLAH
Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanon-based Shiite Hezbollah group, on 25 July said that Palestinian resistance faction Hamas had successfully resisted Israel’s weeks-long onslaught on the Gaza Strip. “Hamas, relying on armed resistance, has emerged the victor in Gaza,” Nasrallah said in a speech in Beirut. “Israel and the rest of the world failed to achieve their targets” in the blockaded Gaza Strip, he added, which has reeled under unrelenting Israeli bombardment since July 7.
Nasrallah, who led his group in a 33-day war against Israel in 2006, which was widely regarded as a victory for the former, accused the United States of “supporting and whitewashing the war on Gaza since the beginning.” He also accused some Arab leaders of complicity in Israel’s Gaza offensive, which has thus far killed at least 848 Palestinians – mostly civilians – and injured over 5400.
The war is extracting a heavy toll on impoverished Gaza, with Palestinian officials saying that at least 475 houses had been totally destroyed by Israeli fire and 2,644 partially damaged. Some 46 schools, 56 mosques and seven hospitals had also suffered varying degrees of destruction.
TURKEY DECLARES 3-DAY MOURNING OVER PALESTINE DEATHS, BOYCOTTING ISRAELI GOODS
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has announced three days of mourning beginning on 22 July with lowering all flags in public places and official buildings to show solidarity with Palestinians against the Israeli campaign on Gaza. Arinc said Turkey condemns Israel’s massacre on Palestinians and he described Israel’s military operation, as an “atrocity that has almost turned into a genocide.”
Turkey is conducting diplomatic talks with its neighboring countries as well as the U.S. and the UN Security Council to help to resolve the situation in Gaza, he added.
Municipal authorities in Turkey are backing a boycott of Israeli goods in response to Israel’s military attack on Gaza. Authorities in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa and cities and towns across the country are refusing to stock Israeli products in shops, cafes and recreation centres they manage and are calling on residents not to buy them. As well as Israeli goods, many are also banning Coca-Cola in protest at U.S. support for Israel.
BRAZIL WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR FROM TEL AVIV
Brazil’s Ministry of External Affairs, the Itamaraty, on 23 July issued a note saying it viewed the “escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine” as “unacceptable,” and that Brazil “strongly condemns the disproportionate use of force by Israel in the Gaza Strip.”
The note said Brazil’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, Henrique Pinto, had been recalled, a move that Brazil’s Globo News website labelled “exceptional,” adding that such a tactic was “taken when the government wants to show its discontent and believes that the situation in [the] other country is extremely grave.” Brazil has also summoned the Israeli Ambassador to Brazil, Rafael Eldad.
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. The United States voted against the inquiry and 17 countries abstained.
MUSLIM ACADEMICS CALL FOR UNITY AGAINST ISRAELI STRIKES
Muslim intellectuals from Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and Turkey have jointly condemned Israel’s aggression on Gaza Strip accusing Israel of being “primarily liable” for the massacre of Palestinians.
“Unity brings triumph so I call upon all groups in Gaza to band together. The Gazan people should continue the resistance,” said Dr. Nawaf Al Takruri, Secretary General of the Palestine Scholars Association reading out a joint declaration on behalf of Muslim scholars during a press conference at Istanbul headquarters of Turkish IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation.
US LAW ENFORCEMENT UNFAIRLY TARGETED MUSLIM-AMERICANS
Two leading rights groups on 21 July alleged that U.S. law enforcement agencies coerced, and in some cases paid, Muslim-Americans to plot terrorist attacks they were then prosecuted for. Human Rights Watch and Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute investigated 27 of the nearly 500 federal terrorism cases since September 11, 2001, and uncovered tactics that question the U.S.’ counterterrorism practices.
“Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington DC, the United States government has failed to meet its international legal obligations with respect to its investigations and prosecutions of terrorism suspects, as well as its treatment of terrorism suspects in custody,” the report alleges. Many of the cases involve law enforcement agencies sending an informant into a Muslim-American community who then targets individuals and suggests that they take part in terrorist activity, or encourages them to act.
MCB RESPONDS TO PETER CLARKE’S “TROJAN HORSE” LETTER REPORT
The Muslim of Council of Britain has welcomed the Education Secretary Nicola Morgan’s assurance that the government supports ‘the right of Muslim parents to be involved in their children’s schools and their commitment to take leading roles in public life.’ The Education Secretary was responding to the latest report issued by Peter Clarke, who was asked to investigate Birmingham schools following the so-called “Trojan Horse” letter.
The letter purports to outline a plot by Muslims to takeover schools and impose extremist or hard-line views of Islam. The document proved to be a fake, but accusations of an extremist plot still persists. The Muslim Council of Britain unequivocally condemned all terrorism and extremism and said they have not seen any evidence to date of such activities in Birmingham schools.
INDONESIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT JOKOWI CALLS FOR UNITY
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was declared the winner of Indonesia’s presidential election on 22 July, bringing the promise of major reforms to the world’s third largest democracy. The Elections Commission, known as KPU, said the Jakarta governor had won by just over six percentage points, with 53.15 per cent of the nearly 130 million votes cast on July 9.
“This victory is a victory for all the people of Indonesia,” the president-elect told hundreds of supporters gathered at a port on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, chosen to emphasise his commitment to Indonesia’s maritime potential. “With humility, we ask the people…to go back to a united Indonesia,” he added.
IMAM SHOT DEAD BY THUGS IN UGANDA
Gunmen shot dead and robbed an imam in Uganda on 19 July, making off with an unspecified amount of money. New Vision reported that Twahir Kamisi, the 42-year-old the imam of Masjid Sharaf in Mbiko was killed after being shot in the neck. A witness said three bullet cartridges were recovered at the scene, saying that the thugs were brandishing AK47s. It is believed to be the third recent armed robbery in the area.