Myths Debunked about Hamas Rockets

Things you should know about rockets from Gaza:

• They are homemade. No, really. They cost about $800 to make, which makes them incredibly primitive. They do not use any advanced technology and cannot be guided, directed, or controlled. They are largely ineffective and have a very limited range (up to a maximum of 20 km/12.4 mi). See this video from Current TV for a demonstration of how they are made.

• In the past 9 years, about 6,000 homemade Qassam rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel by various groups. Of those, over 90% landed in uninhabited areas, causing no injuries or damage. Seriously. Did I mention these things are really ineffective?

• Israel’s missile/rocket defense system, called the Iron Dome, is set up to intercept rockets/missiles fired into Israel, primarily from Gaza and Lebanon. They don’t stop every projectile that crosses the border—only those that, according to trajectory models calculated by sophisticated computer programs using data from radar, are likely to land in populated areas (or, more specifically, militarily significant areas). If a rocket is projected to land in a populated area, a $40,000, highly sophisticated guided-missile is launched to intercept and destroy said $800 Qassam rocket. If the rocket is projected to land in an uninhabited area, the system does not respond and the rocket completes it path, landing in the middle of nowhere and hurting no one. This means that very few rockets from Gaza ever land in civilian populated areas, and thus rarely cause any lasting damage. (Source)

• Qassam rockets fired from Gaza have resulted in fewer than 25 deaths in the last 9 years, including the most recent rocket attacks. (Note: Qassams do not account for all deaths on the Israeli side. Over the last nine years, another 20-25 were killed by mortar fire, and 2 were killed by anti-tank missiles. See B’Tselem for more). For comparison, the IDF killed nearly 1,400 Palestinians in less than one month during Operation Cast Lead in 2008/2009. More than half of the dead were deemed to have taken no part in the conflict. Another 5,300 Palestinians were wounded in these attacks. More than 3,500 residential dwellings were destroyed and more than 20,000 people were left homeless. And all of this was done over the span of a single month. (For more, read this).

• Groups in Gaza that rely on Qassam rockets do so because they are the only available options. They do not have access to $40,000 guided missiles like the IDF. They use crudely made, ineffective, and unreliable homemade rockets because that is simply all they have access to.

• The fact that Hamas has killed fewer Israelis than the IDF has killed Palestinians does not reflect a moral superiority on the part of Hamas. If they had more effective and deadly weapons, they would use them. The death toll difference is more a reflection of the grave disparity in resources and technology, not a difference of morality. That being said, nothing can justify Israel’s clearly disproportionate response. No matter how you look at it, the IDF is still clearly in violation of both the Geneva Conventions and Just War Theory. They are recklessly targeting civilian populated areas and, as a result, killing civilians. They are relying on extra-judicial executions. They are using unnecessary and disproportionate force. And they are attacking an occupied population. What the IDF is doing could very easily be argued to amount to genocide.

Original source Things you should know about rockets from Gaza

Nakba: That's not fair

The following poem is by a Palestinian poet named Iqbal Tamimi

That's not fair

In 1917
A man by the name of Balfour
From a very far land called Britain
Offered total strangers
Across oceans and shores
My homeland as a gift
He was not the owner of my country
Nor they have the right to be there
That was not fair


He said they were oppressed in Europe
And were treated very bad
We had nothing to do with his claims
He did not offer them part of his country
Yet he gave them everything we had
That was not fair


While the Ottomans were leaving Palestine
The British arrived
We were told the British mandate is there
To make sure peace prevail
But the British turned a blind eye
To the Jewish gangsters horrors
They were offered training and arms
By which they massacred our families
Wiping our villages from all the maps
And those who escaped death
The Zionists terrorised them
Forcing them to flee
That was not fair


The United Nations did not ask us what we think
They claimed the intention is to solve the conflict
They segmented my country on a platter
They gave the owners of the land the breadcrumbs
And gave the occupiers the biggest share
That was not fair


We became refugees
In our own home land
Mine fields, barbed wire and road blocks split us apart
My home became a headquarter
For the Israeli police
Total strangers from as far as Poland and Russia
Occupied our homes
Stolen our water and fruits
And imprisoned those who dared to declare
That they are not going to leave
That was not fair


In 1967
We were enjoying a day out
On the other side of the Jordan River
The Israeli army invaded the West Bank
Occupying our homes again
Rearranging our destiny
We were denied the right to go back
Forced to became second time refugees
Carrying on our shoulders
Our plight and despair
That was not fair


The good USA sent its aid
To both sides across the sea
The Israeli occupiers received
Rockets, tankers, planes and bombs
While the Palestinian refugees’ share
Was tents, biscuits and canned sardines
That was not fair


The secular politicians of the democratic West
Suddenly turned religious
When the Palestinian plight was discussed
They endorsed a racist God
Who says some of his children are chosen
And better than the rest
He gave them permission
To kill, maim and steal from their brothers
And use an iron fist
That was not fair


I am one of five million dispersed
People eye them with disgust
Frequently asked:
“why don’t you go home?”
Well…what can I say?
Your government approved kicking me out of my homeland
And forced you
To share your loaf of bread with me
Your media calls the freedom fighters terrorists
And the racist state a democracy
Turning a blind eye to thousands of Palestinians
Rotting inside Israeli jails
Palestinians in Gaza
Were starved to death
While the apartheid wall
And the illegitimate settlements
Are not challenged by the International Community
We are the legitimate owners of the land
Yet we were forced to shelter
In refugee camps for 63 years
Watching across the borders savages
Uprooting our trees
That is not fair


When Mary is forced
To go through 16 check points
Between Nazerath and Bethlehem
And still gives birth on the side of the road
For fabricated reasons of security
While the soldiers stand and stare
That is not fair


When children at schools
Do not know where Palestine is
Because Google forged the facts
Deleting its name from the maps
That is not fair


When I’m denied access to my home
And forced to move 56 times
Carrying my memories in my head
Knowing that I will never sleep
In my own bed
Or hang family pictures on a wall
That I can call mine
That is not fair


When the number of suitcases
Outnumbers the relatives who remained alive
When the number of true facts circulated
Are much less than those of lies
That is not fair


Here I am in exile alone
Lost everything I had
No family weddings to attend
No feasts to celebrate
My belongings are not that much
A mirror
To watch the grey invade my hair
And shreds of newspapers
Attributing the victims of terror
That is not fair

The Committee on Jerusalem: The occupation forces are carrying out a new type of "Judaization"

The news article (La commissione gerosolimitana: le forze di occupazione stanno portando avanti un nuovo tipo di “ebraicizzazione”) was translated from Italian:

The Committee on Jerusalem: the occupation forces are carrying out a new type of "Judaization"

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) - Pal.info. The Muslim-Christian Committee for the defense of the holy places has warned that the Israeli occupation authorities are developing a new type of "Judaization" in occupied Jerusalem.

The commission, in press, has announced that the Israeli occupation is planning to build a cemetery of six floors, which can hold 35 thousand well-tombs in Jerusalem, adding that the intention part of the plan of "Judaization" of whole area.

The committee felt this decision would be the implementation of a new type of politics "Judaization" of Jerusalem, in addition to those already in place, and providing for the construction of numeroussynagogues and all around them, Jewish settlements.

The committee also highlighted the Israeli intention to build 11 new railroads in the West Bank, to ensure the connections between the various settlements scattered throughout the region.

It is therefore clear design pursued by Tel Aviv, which at first had expropriated thousands of acres of Palestinian land, then build the wall of annexation and settlements that now going to connect with new railroad.

The commission has therefore appealed to Islamic countries and the international community to become aware of such "crimes", also increasing rapidly.

February 2012: 145 Israeli attacks against Palestinian people and property

The news article (Febbraio 2012: 145 attacchi israeliani contro persone e proprietà palestinesi) was translated from Italian:

February 2012: 145 Israeli attacks against Palestinian people and property

Ramallah - InfoPal. A Palestinian report exposes 145 attacks by Israeli (occupation soldiers and settlers) which took place in February.

The attacks are meant to people and Palestinian property and Tala'at Ramiyah mentions the killing of 26 Palestinians and wounded.

The paper shows the extent of demolition and unilateral seizures of land scarred, Judaization of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the attacks on demonstrators and the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements.

February 2012

54 demolition operations. Half of the building demolitions have invested al-Khalil (Hebron). Nablus followed with 12 demolitions and same amount was recorded in Jerusalem and Toubas (houses and stables). Three wells have been killed by Israelis in al-Khalil (Hebron) and one in Jenin.

88 Notification of demolition, including two against mosques and against a school (Hebron and Jenin).

Specifically, the demolitions have hit Hebron in 24 cases. Here are the 22 events in Jerusalem (Silwan, Sur Baher and Bethany), 17 in Bethlehem, 15 in Jenin, Salfit, and 2 to 8 in Qalqiliya.

The Palestinian land confiscated under these operations covers a total area of ​​4.931 hectares.

Trees uprooted: 1.169. The greatest damage has been made at Sourif and Beit Omar, and Tarmas'ia Mikhmas.



Judaization of Jerusalem.

The Judaization project is conducted without discrimination by institutions, the executive (police and army) and Israeli settlers and intends to disfigure, to destroy the historical-religious Arab Muslim and Christian of Palestine, through demolitions, expulsions, unsustainable tax burden the Palestinian community in Jerusalem.


In this regard, we list here some of the most striking facts dating back to February 2012:

- It covers about 4 thousand square meters an ambitious Israeli project that threatens the mosque of al-Aqsa. Israel plans to build here the Jewish center "Aliya Bet";

- 1.500 square feet will occupy the western side of the door-Mugaribah. On the north side a three-storey building will cover 3.722 square meters, with a plan to build underground excavations;

- The "center of the Past" in Wadi al-Helwe (Silwan) adjacent centers and car parks;

- Tunnels and underground tunnels in the basement of the Old City of Jerusalem.


Reactions to non-violent demonstrations. 

The repression has characterized, once again, the action of Israel against Palestinians and international riuscono a weekly protest against colonization and the Wall of Apartheid. The Palestinian villages of an-Nabi Saleh, Bil'in, Ni'lin, Kfar Qaddoum, Beit Omar, Qalandiya, 'Iraq Bourin and Kfar Deik suffered the injury of 22 demonstrators, five are journalists.


He then mentions the burning of the mosque an-Nabi Saleh (Ramallah) and the mosque Haloul an-Nabi Younes (Hebron).


Israeli settlements in Palestine: the projects. 

Extension and construction have also received approval in February the Israeli government.

- The colony of Shilo (between Ramallah and Nablus) will expand with 500 new housing units;

- The colony of Shevat Rachel (Nablus) will host 101 new housing units;

- Itamar (Nablus) will host a Jewish religious school;

- Settlement of Gush Etzion (Bethlehem). Here confisctaa confiscating Palestinian land to create military areas to protect the settlement;

- The outpost of Migron (Ramallah) extends even;

- 18 new colonial furniture units were placed between Ramallah and Nablus.

Feb 28- Ferwana: 4600 prisoners in the prisons of the occupation, including 309 administrative detainees

The following news (Ferwana : 4600 pri­son­niers dans les prisons de l’occupation, dont 309 détenus administratifs) was translated from French:


Ferwana: 4600 prisoners in the prisons of the occupation, including 309 administrative detainees


Bureau of Statistics Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners, Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, former prisoner, Director of the Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of prisoners in Palestinian National Authority has today published a report containing the latest statistics on prisoners held in prisons and detention centers of the Israeli occupation, and in accordance with what is documented has the information and data.

Ferwana Nasser has confirmed in its report that since 1967, until today nearly 750,000 apprehensions were recorded, including 12 000 women, among them four pregnant prisoners have given birth in difficult conditions and 10 000 children, and that these arrests were not limited to a specific category, but affect all levels of Palestinian society without exception.

He also said that the total number of Palestinian prisoners in prisons and detention centers of the Israeli occupation has now reached 4,600 prisoners, including eight women, 138 children, 309 administrative detainees and 27 elected members including Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Saadat, Hassan Yousef, in addition to the two former ministers and a number of political leaders detained in 17 prisons and detention centers and dozens of Arab prisoners of various nationalities, especially Jordanians, Syrians and Egyptians. He added that 3410 prisoners forming 74.1% of prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment for various terms, including 533 prisoners sentenced to life twice or more, 456 prisoners has more than twenty years, and 1135 prisoners sentenced to more than 10 years but less than 20 years.

Of these, 881 prisoners representing a rate of 19.2% which are under arrest and awaiting trial, and 309 administrative detainees who represent 6.7% of the total number of prisoners.

Regarding the former prisoners, Ferwana talking about 57 "deans of prisoners", a term used for those held for more than twenty years in the prisons of the Israeli occupation, among them 23 prisoners have been held for more a quarter century. This is called "the generals of patience" with the Arab prisoner occupied Syrian Golan Sidqi Al-makt and Karim Younes, 48 ​​in the occupied territories, held since January 1983 and is considered the prisoner the oldest with more than 28 years in prison.

In his report, says Nasser Ferwana occupation forces arrested since the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, nearly 10 000 children, 138 children are still in detention, they represent 3% of total prisoners, among them 118 children aged 16 to 18 years and 20 children under 16 years. They are exposed to suffering, torture and unfair trials, thus violating their fundamental rights and their future in contravention of international law and the Convention of the Child.

Today eight Palestinian women are held in inappropriate places, regardless of their conditions of women and no respect for their fundamental rights stipulated by international conventions and humanitarian.

Lina Jarbuni 38 years of Arabeh Bathouf in the occupied territories in 1948, is the oldest inmate. She was arrested April 15, 2002 and is serving 17 years.

Wurud Maher Kasem 26 years of Al-Tireh in the occupied territories in 1948, was arrested on 4 October 2006 and is serving six years. The parole board decided to release her after she had served more than two thirds of his sentence. However, the prosecutor appealed the decision. On 21 November 2011, the regional court in Petah Tiqva accepted the appeal and revoked the release prematurely.

Saga Alalami 18 years of Beitunia Ramallah district, arrested Jan. 9, 2012
Alaa Juabi, a minor, of Hebron, arrested on 7 December 2011.
Salwa Hasan, of Hebron, arrested on 19 October 2011
Mufika Qawasme, of Hebron, arrested Feb. 15, 2012
Muna Abu Sanina, of Hebron, arrested Feb. 15, 2012
Hana Al-Shalabi, 28, of Jenin, released in October 2011 following the agreement Shalit, then arrested on 16 February 2012, she continues a hunger strike for 11 days to protest against his arrest and subsequent violence, and its arbitrary administrative detention.

Ferwana Nasser reported in his report in accordance with what is documented that the total number of martyrs of the movement of captivity since 1967 amounted to 202 martyrs. And among them 51 prisoners died due to medical negligence, 70 prisoners died under torture, 74 prisoners were killed intentionally after being arrested and killed seven other prisoners in their cells by the use of forceexcessive and with live ammunition in prisons and detention centers.

He recalled that in addition, dozens of former inmates died after liberation by the disease contracted in prison, or who were released before the expiration of their sentences because of their deteriorating condition health and died after release from a few months, as Hael Abu Zeid Al-Wali Sitan the Golan Heights, and Zechariah Issa, Fayez Abu Murad Sakut Zaidat and the West Bank and many others.

Mr. Ferwana appeals to associations and institutions dealing with prisoners and the bodies of human rights and humanitarian coordination to work together by adopting a unified strategy for the cause of prisoners.