Drones Terrorize Gaza
Israeli drones fly continuously over Gaza. Their low hum and buzz is a constant reminder of death in Gaza. A week before the extensive article about Israeli drones in Gaza on the front page article in the December 4, 2011 Washington Post, Pam Bailey and I met with Mahmud Abo Rahma, Coordinator for Communications and International Relations and Samir Zaqout, Field Work Coordinator of the Al Mezan Human Rights Center in Gaza City. They detailed year by year the Palestinian deaths from Israeli drone strikes as:
2004 2 deaths
2005 0 deaths
2006 91 deaths
2007 98 deaths
2008 172 deaths
2009 462 deaths
2010 19 deaths
2011 47 deaths
Total 891 deaths
The Washington Post article stated that according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, since 2006, when Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas, Israeli drones have killed 825 persons in Gaza, most of whom were civilians mistakenly targeted or killed by the deadly shrapnel of a drone strike. The article compares this statistic with the 1,807 deaths caused since 2006 by US drone strikes in Pakistan. In contrast to the large area in which U.S. drones are used in Pakistan, Gaza is tiny, only 25 miles long and 5 miles wide with a population of 1.6 million crammed into it.
The intended psychological impact of continuous drone buzzing over Gaza is inescapable emotional trauma. Eyad Sarraj, the head of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, said the constant presence of drones "induces a state of helplessness among Gaza's residents."
Hamdi Shaqqura, a human rights advocate, told the Washington Post, "Israel's military may not be on the ground in Gaza anymore. But they are in the air--looking, always, at every square inch of Gaza. They don't have to be here on the ground in Gaza City to affect every aspect of the lives of Gazans."
Machine Gun Killing with a Joystick-More Remote-Controlled Death
According to the 2010 UN report "Between the Fence and a Hard Place," the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) shoot at farmers who attempt to continue their farming in the ever-expanding "no go" area, the area the IDF has closed off inside Gaza. Approximately 113,000 persons, or 7.5 percent of Gaza's population has been displaced by the "no go" area. The IDF has constructed pillboxes every several hundred meters along the border fence. Each pillbox contains machine guns protected by retractable armored covers. Machine gun fire can target farmers who are up to 1.5 kilometers from the pillbox.
The UN reports that a team of all-female soldiers identify potential targets and suggest them to their battalion commanders, who authorize whether a warning shot is fired before direct fire is directed at the "target." The machine-gun fire is carried out by pressing a button, which opens the pillbox dome and exposes the machine gun. A "joystick" is used by the woman soldier to aim the weapon toward the target. The gunner is guided by images relayed from the field and from images and information from ground sensors, aircraft, and overhead drones.
The woman gunner hears real time audio of the target being struck: "This [the sound of the shots being fired] gives you the feeling of, "Wow, I've fired now'" explained one 20-year-old operator. "It's very alluring to be the one to do this. But not everyone wants this job. It's no simple matter to take up a joystick like that of a Sony PlayStation and kill, but ultimately it's for defense."
Monument to the Gaza Flotilla and International Citizen Activism
Three months ago, a 70-foot-high monument to international citizen activists, was dedicated at the Gaza City harbor. The monument, with a globe on the top and plaques with the names of those nine passengers murdered by the Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara in the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla, overlooks the harbor where ships would arrive if they were successful in breaking the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.
Eight Turkish and one American citizen were killed when the Israelis stormed the Mavi Marmara. The Turkish government launched an extensive investigation into the deaths of their citizens. Despite repeated requests from the family of American citizen Furkan Dogan, the U.S. government has refused to conduct its own investigation and, instead, has chosen to rely on the Israeli investigation of its own actions.
Plaques with names of the nine murdered by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara. American citizen Furkan Dugan's death has not been investigated by the U.S. government.
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