Saturday, July 20, 2024

Another journalist killed in Gaza

Gaza remains under assault. Oxfam notes:

A new Oxfam report reveals how Israel has been systematically weaponizing water against Palestinians in Gaza.

The report, Water War Crimes, finds that Israel’s cutting of external water supply, systematic destruction of water facilities and deliberate aid obstruction have reduced the amount of water available in Gaza by 94% to 4.74 liters a day per person – just under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies and less than a single toilet flush.

Oxfam analysis also found:

Israeli military attacks have damaged or destroyed five water and sanitation infrastructure sites every three days since the start of the war.
The destruction of water and electricity infrastructure and restrictions on entry of spare parts and fuel (on average a fifth of the required amount is allowed in) saw water production drop by 84% in Gaza. External supply from Israel’s national water company Mekorot fell by 78%.
Israel has destroyed 70% of all sewage pumps and 100% of all wastewater treatment plants, as well as the main water quality testing laboratories in Gaza, and restricted the entry of Oxfam water testing equipment.
Gaza City has lost nearly all its water production capacity, with 88% of its water wells and 100% of its desalination plants damaged or destroyed.

The report also highlighted the dire impact of this extreme lack of clean water and sanitation on Palestinians’ health, with more than a quarter (26%) of Gaza’s population falling severely ill from easily preventable diseases. In January, the International Court of Justice demanded that Israel immediately improve humanitarian access upon finding that South Africa had brought plausible claims under the Genocide Convention. Since then, Oxfam has witnessed firsthand Israel’s obstruction of a meaningful humanitarian response, which is killing Palestinian civilians.

Scott Paul, Oxfam America’s Associate Director of Peace and Security, said, “Oxfam’s new analysis leaves little doubt that Prime Minister Netanyahu's government has systemically obliterated Gaza’s clean water supply and infrastructure.

“Today, Palestinians in Gaza have almost no water to drink, let alone to bathe, cook, or clean. Prime Minister Netanyahu must restore sufficient water, food, electricity, and other vital assistance for all people in Gaza. Instead of granting him the platform to double down on his deadly offensive to Congress, US leaders must cut off the supply of bombs that are being used to kill civilians and destroy Gaza and with it, any hope for peace.”

Oxfam Water and Sanitation Specialist Lama Abdul Samad said it was clear that Israel had created a devastating humanitarian emergency resulting in Palestinian civilian deaths:

“The deliberate restriction of access to water is not a new tactic. The Israeli Government has been depriving Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza of safe and sufficient water for many years,” she said.

“The widespread destruction and significant restrictions on aid delivery in Gaza impacting access to water and other essentials for survival, underscores the urgent need for the international community to take decisive action to prevent further suffering by upholding justice and human rights, including those enshrined in the Geneva and Genocide Conventions.”

Monther Shoblak, General Manager of the Gaza Strip’s water utility CMWU, said:

“My colleagues and I have been living through a nightmare these past nine months, but we still feel it’s our responsibility and duty to ensure everybody in Gaza is getting their minimum right of clean drinking water. It’s been very difficult, but we are determined to keep trying – even when we witness our colleagues being targeted and killed by Israel while undertaking their work.”

Oxfam is calling for urgent action including an immediate and permanent ceasefire; for Israel to allow a full and unfettered humanitarian response; and for Israel to foot the reconstruction bill for water and sanitation infrastructure.

Benjamin Netanyahu is a War Criminal. Next week, he'll address Congress because that's how whorish this country is. We've invited a War Criminal to stand before our branch of government that makes laws. What's Netanyahu planning to do? Stick out his tongue and say nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-han?

Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) reports:

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to visit Washington, D.C. next week, an American legal group on Friday pressured the U.S. Department of Justice to open a criminal investigation into him and other officials for committing or authorizing genocide, war crimes, and torture targeting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Since Israel launched its retaliation for a Hamas-led attack on October 7, Israeli forces partly armed by the U.S. government have killed at least 38,848 people and wounded another 89,459—according to Gaza officials—while destroying civilian infrastructure and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.

"We believe ample credible evidence exists to sufficiently establish that serious crimes falling within U.S. criminal jurisdiction are systematically being perpetrated in Gaza," says the Center for Constitutional Rights' (CCR) 23-page letter to Hope Olds, who leads the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) of the DOJ's Criminal Division.

"Given the frequent travel of Israeli officials and citizens to the United States resulting in their presence within U.S. jurisdiction, and recalling that HRSP is part of a coordinated, interagency effort to deny safe haven in the United States to human rights violators," the letter states, "the Department of Justice must urgently investigate and hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and other serious crimes being committed on a wide-scale basis in the occupied Gaza Strip, including potentially U.S. and U.S.-dual citizens."

As the violence continues, the deaths pile up. Today's deaths include a journalist. THE NEW ARAB notes:

An Israeli air strike in north Gaza has killed the journalist Mohammed Abu Jasser and his family, Palestinian medical officials announced on Saturday.

The journalist’s home in the Jabalia area was targeted at dawn, making him the latest of 161 journalists to be killed in the enclave since the start of Israel’s latest war on Gaza on 7 October.

Local Palestinian media reported his two children and wife were also killed in the strike.

In an IOF airstrike targeting Jabalia at dawn today, journalist Mohammed Abu Jasser (left) ascended to martyrdom along with his wife, children, and his mother.

He is the 161st journalist martyr since October 7th, 2023.

Glory to the martyrs. pic.twitter.com/j8Q85DTGuz
— Julie Webb-Pullman (@juliewebbp) July 20, 2024

Inside the home of the family of the martyr journalist Mohammed Abu Jasser, who was martyred this morning with his family members in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. https://t.co/aHtUBQ66EE
— ED🔻 (@ErransDeserti) July 21, 2024

Palestinian journalist Mohammed Abu Jasser along with his family members by Israeli occupation airstrikes in North Gaza, bringing the number of journalists killed since the start of the Israeli genocide in #Gaza to 161. pic.twitter.com/FHJR4ycOb3
— Al-Jarmaq News (@Aljarmaqnetnews) July 20, 2024

Another Israeli attack on Gaza today resulted in a journalist being injured.

🚨 The journalist Mahmoud Aki was injured after IOF warplanes targeted a residential tower east of Al-Nusseirat Camp in the central #Gaza Strip where journalists were covering.

This comes hours after journalist Mohammed Abu Jasser ascended to martyrdom along with his wife,>> pic.twitter.com/K3uGe8C7aE
— khadija kousar (@khadijakou31783) July 20, 2024

AP notes, "At least 13 people were killed in three Israeli airstrikes that hit refugee camps in central Gaza overnight into Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials, as cease-fire talks in Cairo appeared to make progress. Among the dead in Nuseirat Refugee Camp and Bureij Refugee Camp were three children and one woman, according to Palestinian ambulance teams that transported the bodies to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital. The 13 corpses were counted by AP journalists at the hospital." This as a potential health crisis lurks. Edward Carver (COMMON DREAMS) reports, "Poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples at six locations in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization said on Friday, following announcements from both the Israel and Gaza health ministries." ALJAZEERA reminds, "Health advocates have also warned of the spread of diseases because of sewage spills around displaced people’s encampments."

Meanwhile, Jake Johnson (COMMON DREAMS) reports on a court ruling:

The International Court of Justice said Friday that Israel's decadeslong occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful and must end "as rapidly as possible."

The court's nonbinding advisory opinion was read aloud by ICJ President Nawaf Salam, a Lebanese judge and academic. Salam said the court determined based on "extensive evidence" that Israel is guilty of confiscating "large areas" of Palestinian land for use by Israeli settlers, exploiting natural resources, and undermining the local population's right to self-determination under international law.

The court pointed to "Israel's systematic failure to prevent or punish" settler violence and "demolition of Palestinian property" in the West Bank as part of its case that the Israeli government's actions in the occupied territories are indicative of an attempt to permanently annex land and forcibly transfer Palestinians from their homes.

"Israel is not entitled to sovereignty in any part of the occupied Palestinian territory on account of its occupation, nor can security concerns override the prohibition on acquisition of territory by force," said Salam.

The ICJ vote against Israel's occupation was 11-4. The court also voted to call on Israel to evacuate all settlers from the West Bank.

In a 12-3 vote, the ICJ said that all nations "are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the state of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the state of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory."

THE GUARDIAN reports, "Iceland’s foreign ministry has said Israel should 'cease all activity that violates international law' after the international court of justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories was against international law." THE NATIONAL notes:

The UAE has welcomed an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that regards Israeli policies including the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a violation of international law.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the UAE’s rejection of all measures aimed at altering the historical and legal status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and all practices in contravention of resolutions on international legitimacy, which threaten further escalation and instability in the region, and impede endeavours to achieve peace and stability.

The ministry stressed the need to support all regional and international efforts to advance the peace process in the Middle East, as well as end illegal practices that undermine the two-state solution, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

ALJAZEERA observes, "Friday’s ICJ ruling was groundbreaking – but it has not changed the violent reality on the ground."

In the US, Dr Ahmad Yousaf speaks with Gary Burton Jr. (FOX 16) after returning to the US from Gaza on Thursday:

Yousaf said he’s “been on many other medical missions but never one where the population we were treating was trapped.”

In Gaza, Yousaf said he was faced with the constant sound of bombs, and drones and the sight of injured and lifeless people, describing it as a “zombie apocalypse.”

“We saw exposed brain matter. I saw eviscerated children. I saw kids without limbs and their parents all had the same look on their face like, ‘Help me fix this problem.’”

Gaza remains under assault. Day 288 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "The Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed 38,919 Palestinians and wounded 89,622 since October 7, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Saturday. The toll includes 37 people killed and 54 injured in the 24-hour reporting period, the ministry added." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:

April 11th, Sharon Zhang (TRUTHOUT) reported, "In addition to the over 34,000 Palestinians who have been counted as killed in Israel’s genocidal assault so far, there are 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza who are missing, a humanitarian aid group has estimated, either buried in rubble or mass graves or disappeared into Israeli prisons. In a report released Thursday, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the estimate is based on initial reports and that the actual number of people missing is likely even higher."

As for the area itself? Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells." Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new study of satellite imagery by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of 45 per cent of housing destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War."

Turning to Iraq . . .

This paperweight, made of haematite carved in the shape of a grasshopper, looks pretty modern. But it was hand-carved between 1800-1700 BC, in ancient Babylonia (in modern-day Iraq).

British Museum#drthehistories pic.twitter.com/XAuzuq79jX
— Dr. M.F. Khan (@Dr_TheHistories) July 20, 2024

In other Iraq news, people grow further alarmed by the Turkish government's continued attacks on the Kurdistan. Amberin Zaman (AL-MONITOR) reports:

Iraq’s first lady sharply condemned Turkey’s ongoing military operations against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the Kurdish- administered north of the country. Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, wife of Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, took to Twitter on Wednesday to spout her anger amid reports that Turkish troops had penetrated 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) into Iraqi territory, in a fresh offensive that was mounted in early July to encircle PKK fighters holed up in the mountainous Metina and Gare region lying south of the Turkish border.

Ahmed echoed claims that some 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles) of agricultural land had been burned and thousands of civilians had been forced to flee their homes as a result of the Turkish airstrikes, with some 602 villages, including those populated by Assyrian Christians, under threat. The Iraqi public is entitled to know whether “there is any agreement between Ankara and Baghdad, or Ankara and Erbil, which permits a neighboring country to treat Iraq as its own territory,” she said. "If there is such an agreement, then public outrage should be directed at Iraqi or Kurdish authorities."

Fun fact, Shanaz may be the world's only First Lady who has a sister that was also a First Lady. Jalal Talabani's wife Hero was First Lady of Iraq from 2005 to 2014. Hero is Shanaz's sister.

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Congressman Robert Garcia Welcomes Secretary Pete Buttigieg to the Port of Long Beach for Pier B Groundbreaking Ceremony

July 18, 2024

•

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) welcomed Secretary Buttigieg to the Port of Long Beach for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Pier B Port Project, which will complete the North Rail Yard Expansion and the South Rail Yard Expansion at the Port of Long Beach. Last year, Congressman Garcia helped secure over $283 million in federal grant money for the completion of the project, which is estimated to create over 1,000 new jobs directly in our community and over 13,000 jobs nationwide. The project will connect the Port with inland rail yards, enhancing on-dock rail operations at one of the nation’s busiest container ports. This will significantly reduce truck traffic and harmful emissions while improving safety, local congestion, and yielding nationwide economic benefits.

“This project is a homerun for good jobs, clean air, and a strong supply chain. As Mayor, we worked to electrify and green our port, and this major investment will do just that. In Congress, we have fought for this project every single day, and I’m grateful to President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg for investing in Long Beach and the region,” said Congressman Robert Garcia.

“Today, work starts on a rail network that triples cargo volume, keeps costs down, and reduces pollution—and it's all because of the historic funding made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "Through projects like America's Green Gateway and the hundreds of other supply chain improvements we’re making across the country, we're making our supply chains more robust and resilient in the face of any potential future disruptions."

Congressman Garcia has been committed to improving port infrastructure both during his time in Congress and as former Mayor of Long Beach. In May, Congressman Garcia joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to introduce the BUILD GREEN Infrastructure and Jobs Act to electrify and modernize the nation’s transportation infrastructure. Congressman Garcia also joined Senator Alex Padilla to introduce the Clean Shipping Act of 2023, which sets a path to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from all ocean shipping companies that do business with the United States. Garcia is the co-chair of the Congressional PORTS Caucus. As Mayor, Congressman Garcia worked with the Port of Long Beach to navigate the historic surge in volume in freight in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Issues:Reducing Emissions Through Green Jobs and Technology

Chrissie Hynde - Dark Sunglasses live - Royal festival hall 2014

ICYMI: Congresswoman Bush Calls For Immediate Court Reform in Response to Supreme Court’s Judicial Coup

July 16, 2024

ICYMI: Congresswoman Bush Calls For Immediate Court Reform in Response to Supreme Court’s Judicial Coup

Washington, D.C. (July 16, 2024) — As seen in MSNBC, Congresswoman Cori Bush authored an op-ed in which she asked her Congressional colleagues,“In this perilous moment, will we reform the court or will we watch democracy die.”

Op Ed

Congresswoman Cori Bush

MSNBC: The Supreme Court has pulled off a judicial coup. Here’s how to fight back.

July 11, 2024

Last week, the Supreme Court’s far-right majority went home for the summer, but only after a stark reminder that they do not serve the people of this country — they serve Donald Trump and MAGA extremism. They serve wealthy corporations exploiting our communities. They serve whichever right-wing billionaire gives them the most gifts.

This term, the same extremist justices who overturned the constitutional right to abortion and ended affirmative action doubled down on the court’s legacy of protecting the interests of wealth and white supremacy.

The Republican-appointed justices are fighting a war on behalf of far-right extremists against the people of this country.

These unelected justices have pulled off a judicial coup on behalf of fascists and billionaires. They have enabled Trump to evade accountability. They have opened the door for the MAGA cult to destroy our rights through Project 2025. They have greenlit the criminalization of homelessness. They have left millions of people in states like Missouri vulnerable to bans on emergency abortions and other attacks on reproductive rights. And they have provided a road map for wealthy corporations to harm our planet and our communities by handcuffing the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and countless other agencies from regulating them.

The Republican-appointed justices are fighting a war on behalf of far-right extremists against the people of this country, and they are just getting started. Congress has a choice to make: reform the court or bear witness to the death of democracy and the destruction of the communities it should protect.

Court reform is often discussed in abstract terms, but the reality is that for communities like St. Louis, it is a matter of life or death. This court has determined that my constituents cannot access abortion care. That they deserve weaker labor protections. That it’s fine if they drink polluted water and breathe polluted air, are subject to voter suppression, are more likely to be unhoused, and are subject to the whims of fascist presidents who seek immunity and absolute impunity.

Court reform is personal for me — not just as a member of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, but as a survivor of gun violence, as someone who has had an abortion, as the daughter of a former union meat cutter, and as a congresswoman representing a community that has been systematically denied the right to vote. And it should be personal to everyone who cares about our democracy and our freedoms. The gavel’s fall should signify justice served, not lives destroyed. Our lives and our communities are worse off because of this unchecked, extremist Supreme Court. The time for reform is now.

Congress must remove lawless justices through impeachment — that’s why this week my colleagues and I introduced articles of impeachment against Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito over their multiple ethical conflicts and failures to disclose. Congress must also pass legislation that imposes a binding code of ethics for every justice. We must expand the Court to 13 seats by passing the Judiciary Act, which I proudly co-lead. Congress must enact term limits for the justices. Finally, we must strip the Supreme Court of its power to invalidate federal laws that protect our fundamental rights.

We cannot let the Supreme Court continue to sign death warrants for our communities. The longer we wait, the more vulnerable to fascism we become. I ask my colleagues in Congress: In this perilous moment, will we reform the court or will we watch democracy die?

The Supremes "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart" on The Ed Sullivan Show

NEWS: Casar Delivers $1M Federal Investment for Eastern Travis County Water Infrastructure

Travis County Judge Andy Brown, Commissioners Jeff Travilion, Margaret Gómez, Brigid Shea, and Congressman Greg Casar pose with the check for $1 million.

July 18, 2024

Press Release

ELROY, Texas – Today, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) presented Travis County with a $1,000,000 check for the Eastern Travis County Water Main Improvements Project, which will help bring water service to residents in the Elroy area.

Currently, residents in the FM 812 area do not have water service extended to their homes. For decades, these Travis County residents have had to rely on using a standpipe of non-potable water as their primary source of water. The community also has a lack of fire hydrants, which puts them at a particularly significant risk in emergencies. The $1,000,000 in federal funds earmarked by Casar will be used to bring clean drinking water to these communities and extend water service to fire hydrants.

“It’s hard to believe — but many working class people in Southeast Travis County have to leave their house and walk to a pipe to get their water,” said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas). “I’m committed to making Congress work for working people, not just the rich and powerful. Bringing basic water service to these families is part of this commitment.”

“All Travis County families deserve to have safe, reliable drinking water in their homes,” said Travis County Judge Andy Brown. “Thanks to Congressman Greg Casar, we’re one step closer with this $1 million award to ensure no one has to drive to a water standpipe to fill up their water tanks and haul it home to their families for access. This grant will help fund the design and construction process for the FM 812 neighborhood.”

“Many southeastern Travis County residents have been living for far too long without easy and convenient access to affordable clean drinking water,” Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 4 Margaret Gomez said. “Being able to design and build a new water main will be life changing for these residents. My thanks go out to Travis County staff that have worked tirelessly on this effort, as well as to our federal representatives and the Biden administration.”

“This $1 million federal grant will bring much-needed and much-anticipated improvements to families living in rural areas of Travis County that have grown exponentially over the last several decades,” said Jeff Travillion, Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 1. “I appreciate Congress Greg Casar for bringing this grant to our neighbors in the FM812 area.”

“This is an amazing example of local and federal elected officials working together to improve the lives of our Travis County residents,” said Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 2 Brigid Shea. “Nobody should live without access to safe and clean drinking water. This federal funding will not only make it easier for the FM812 area residents to get water, but also make the neighborhood safer by extending services to fire hydrants.”

This federal funding was made possible through the Community Project Funding process for the Fiscal Year 2024 spending bills. Travis County applied for the grant through Casar’s office last year. It was approved in the first round of the appropriations government funding packages that passed the U.S. House on March 6 and signed by President Joe Biden on March 9, 2024.

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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio. A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture.

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Baldwin Announces $3.2 Million for Ozaukee County Project to Reduce Flooding and Restore Habitat along Lake Michigan

07.18.2024

Baldwin Announces $3.2 Million for Ozaukee County Project to Reduce Flooding and Restore Habitat along Lake Michigan

Project to reconnect Sucker Creek to nearby wetlands and floodplains will protect infrastructure from more frequent and extreme flood events

OZAUKEE COUNTY, WI – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced $3.2 million for a project in Ozaukee County that will reduce the impacts of increased flooding events and restore habitat for Great Lakes fish populations. The funding for habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, both of which Senator Baldwin voted for.

“Across Wisconsin, communities are struggling to deal with increased flooding events that cause millions in damages and wipe out infrastructure that families rely on to get to work, school, and our main street businesses. I was proud to support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to invest in resilient infrastructure that can last the test of time, and keep our communities and freshwater resources safe,” said Senator Baldwin. “This investment for Ozaukee County will not only improve the health of our Great Lakes, but also protect our communities from flooding and the infrastructure families and Made in Wisconsin businesses rely on.”

Ozaukee County will complete a large-scale stream restoration project to reconnect Sucker Creek, a tributary to Lake Michigan, to nearby wetlands and floodplains. This work will directly benefit Great Lakes fish species by restoring habitats they rely on for spawning and rearing. The project will also be designed to improve the protection of infrastructure in the face of more frequent and extreme flood events.

The funding, which Senator Baldwin supported, comes through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries as part of a nearly $220 million in funding and an additional $66 million in future year funding for 32 transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Senator Baldwin has championed initiatives to protect and preserve the Great Lakes, re-introducing legislation to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through 2031. The Biden-backed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is also investing an additional $1 billion in the Great Lakes to clean up and restore severely degraded sites, known as “Areas of Concern” or AOCs. This will allow for a major acceleration of progress that will deliver significant environmental, economic, health, and recreational benefits for communities throughout the Great Lakes region.

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Senator Murray Statement on Menendez Guilty Verdict

July 16, 2024

Senator Murray Statement on Menendez Guilty Verdict

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, issued the following statement:

“Nearly a year ago, I called on Senator Menendez to resign—now that he’s been found guilty on all counts, I strongly reiterate my call for him to step down. No one is above the law—it’s pretty straightforward. Now if only my Republican colleagues would apply the same standards to the convicted felon who is running for President of the United States as their nominee.”

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Iraq snapshot

Friday, July 19, 2024. The GOP wraps up Hate Week in Wisconsin, the world watches to see what Joe Biden will do, Amnesty International decries the treatment of detained Palestinians, and more.

The GOP ended their week-long hate rally last night with Donald Trump delivering a speech . . .

. . . and, yes, he still had the maxi pad on the side of his head. No word on whether the rumors are true that he also plugged his anus with a tampon. Careful, Donald, toxic shock syndrome is real and can effect men as well.

There he was last night, raging around onstage, seeking attention, like when he used prance around in mommy's heels while Fred raged at him to "act like a man!" (true story, by the way, not just a joke, Fred would sneer "little fancy" at him).

At COMMON DREAMS, Jake Johnson reports:

The former president who sparked a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol less than four years ago took the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Thursday night claiming to desire an end to the "discord and division in our society."

But Donald Trump's record, rhetoric throughout the 2024 campaign, insidious plans for a second term, and remarks as he accepted his party's presidential nomination give the lie to his fleeting attempt to posture as a unifying figure, critics said in the wake of the former president's speech, which came days after an attempt on his life in Pennsylvania.

"What we witnessed tonight were just empty words," said Christina Harvey, executive director of Stand Up America. "This is the same twice-impeached, convicted felon who botched the Covid response, repeatedly tried to take healthcare away from millions of Americans, incited an insurrection to cling to power after voters rejected him, and to this day brags about appointing the justices that 'killed' Roe v. Wade."

"Let's be clear—Trump hasn't changed. He's only gotten more extreme," Harvey added. "If elected, he will enact the radical Project 2025 plan that allows employers to stop paying overtime, takes away health protections for preexisting conditions, and lets the government monitor Americans' pregnancies to potentially prosecute them if they miscarry. The damage of a second Trump term won't just last for four years. Trump would appoint more MAGA justices to the Supreme Court who will continue eroding our freedoms for decades. We must vote this November to keep Trump out of the Oval Office and protect our democracy and fundamental freedoms."

Not long after pledging to "be president for all of America, not half of America," Trump reverted to well-worn falsehoods about his 2020 election defeat, claiming that the Democratic Party "used Covid to cheat."

That was Donald, ending the week on a hate note. It was the week that the country met Miss Scarlet Natchez -- Matt Gaetz's drag name. Daniel Villarreal (LGBTQ NATION) reports:

During his speech, numerous web commenters noted that Gaetz’s face seemed different from its previous appearances. Some commenters blamed Botox, a toxin used as a cosmetic product to tighten face muscles. Others claimed he had undergone plastic surgery or was experimenting with becoming a drag queen.

As mentioned earlier, Rep. Orden posted a pic of Gaetz during his speech on X and joked that the RNC had debuted the “first AI powered inflatable sex doll to speak at a national convention.”

Miss Scarlet Natchez fit right in with the GOP's attempt to turn Milwaukee into Jonestown but with a splash more of crazy. Bill Lueders (THE PROGRESSIVE) reports:

“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him,” Haley told the gathering. “Take it from me. I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree.” Earlier this year, Haley said it would be “like suicide for our country” were Trump to again be the Republican presidential nominee. She also called Trump “unhinged,” saying he is “more diminished than he was” and “is now saying things that don’t make sense.”

Cruz began his remarks with a proclamation: “God bless Donald J. Trump.” This is a guy who once stood up, ever so slightly, to Trump, declining to urge others to vote for him in 2016 after Trump had insulted Cruz’s wife and suggested his father helped kill JFK. DeSantis—who during the primary campaign also attested to Trump’s diminished capacity, saying “He’s lost the zip on his fastball”—also fell in line, referring to Trump in near-messianic terms: “Donald Trump has been demonized, he’s been sued, he’s been prosecuted, and he nearly lost his life. We cannot let him down, and we cannot let America down.”

DeSantis devoted the heart of his speech to recounting horrific instances in which “illegal immigrants” have committed heinous crimes, making it sound as though they were both common and deliberate, which they are not. But the Republicans are now all singing from the same hymnal, accusing Democrats of purposely seeking to destroy the country—a ridiculous assertion that no one would be asking had this not originated from the twisted worldview of Donald Trump.

Not all of Donald's deranged base could make it to Milwaukee. Such as the Nevada judge who loves Donald but apparently loves stealing from the families of dead police officers even more. Trina noted last night:

Need some more disgusting news? Or news about disgusting people? Michele Fiore. Who? Wikipedia:

Michele Ann Fiore (born July 29, 1970) is an American Republican politician serving as a justice of the peace for Nye County since being appointed to the position by the Nye County Commission in December 2022.

Biography[edit]

Fiore moved to Nye County in November 2022 after losing the race for Nevada State Treasurer in the 2022 election. She was a member of the Nevada Assembly from 2012 to 2016.^[1] Fiore, who represented much of northwestern Clark County, served two Assembly terms. On December 7, 2015, she confirmed that she would not seek reelection, and would instead enter the 2016 race for Nevada's 3rd congressional district in southern Clark County.^[2] On June 15, 2016, Fiore placed third in the primary, with 18% of the vote.^[3] She was elected to the Las Vegas City Council in 2017 and represented Ward 6.^[4] Fiore has been a high-profile supporter of Cliven Bundy and Donald Trump.^[4]^[5] She briefly ran in the Republican primary for the 2022 Nevada gubernatorial election before dropping out and winning the Republican nomination in the 2022 Nevada State Treasurer election, which she lost to Democratic nominee Zach Conine, 46.0% to 47.7%. She is currently the Nevada Republican Party national committeewoman responsible for fund-raising in the state.^[6]^[4]

Supporter of the jerk? So you know she's trash. Natalie Neysa Alund (USA Today) reports:

An ex Las Vegas councilwoman, former assembly member and current Nevada judge has been federally charged in connection with an alleged charity fraud scheme in which prosecutors say she pocketed more than $70,000 in donations intended to honor fallen officers.

Michele Fiore, 53, is charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.

According to the indictment handed down on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Fiore, who lives in the town of Pahrump, "solicited donations to build a statue honoring Las Vegas police officers" killed in the line of duty as a then-Las Vegas city councilwoman.

[. . .]

Fiore allegedly promised donors “100% of the contributions” would be used to create the statue, the indictment alleges.

But prosecutors said Fiore did not use the tens of thousands of dollars in charitable donations for the statue of the fallen officer and instead converted the money to her personal use.

"The donations were used to pay her political fundraising bills and rent and were transferred to family members, including to pay for her daughter’s wedding," officials wrote in the release.

As someone who has multiple brothers who are police officers (and a father whose a retired one), I find that disgusting and I hope that they throw the book at her. A fine is not enough. She needs to serve hard time. I agree with Ann that we tend to pretend crime in the streets is the worst when crime in the suites is just as bad. And to betray public trust when you're a public servant should come with an additional cost.

When Trump Land's not stealing from widows and orphans, they like to pretend that they back the blue. Jeffrey St. Clair (COUNTERPUNCH) notes:

+ Tuesday was Back the Blue night at the GOP convention. It says something about the truly perverse psychological state of American politics that the RNC convention spent last night heaping praise on law enforcement days after local police retreated from confronting the Trump shooter, while in Milwaukee out-of-town cops providing “security” for the RNC gunned down an unarmed black homeless veteran as a threat more than a mile from the convention.

+ Samuel Sharpe, a homeless Black veteran who was a regular at an encampment in downtown Milwaukee, was shot and killed by police today. Not by Milwaukee Police, but by a Columbus, Ohio police officer, in town to help police the RNC Convention, who shot Sharpe a mile from the convention. “Why are cops from Ohio way out here?” asked David Porter, a friend of Sharpe’s. “Had that been Milwaukee PD that man would be alive right now. I know that because they know him.”

+ As if to emphasize their indifference to the victims of the shooting, they’re having an AR-15 giveaway at the GOP convention…

+ Days after a 20-year-old tried to nail Trump with an AR-15, a federal appeals court ruled that Minnesota’s law requiring people to be at least 21 to carry a handgun in public is unconstitutional.

They used the week to lie and preach violence. It's an ugly America that they see. They came off like a dying breed, gasping for air and choking on their own bitterness.

Joe Biden could deliver a victory for the country by announcing he was stepping aside and passing the torch on to another generation. That's what leadership is, knowing when to step aside and let a new leader emerge. Today would be the ideal day for him to make such an announcement, it would end the 'sick COVICD Joe' coverage and the rah-rah for the RNC for the weekend and make the Democratic Party the number one story in the news cycle.

Gaza?

Mina Aldroubi (THE NATIONAL) reports:

The World Health Organisation has appealed to all parties in the Gaza war to "adhere to humanitarian and human rights laws at all times" after the deaths of medics and aid workers in the enclave, an official told The National on Friday.

"Health facilities, workers and patients must not be attacked nor used for military purposes, and the principles of precaution, distinction and proportionality are absolute and always apply," said WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier.

Yesterday, Amnesty International issued the following press release:

Abusive Israeli law used to arbitrarily detain Palestinians from Gaza indefinitely without charge or trial
Unlawful Combatants Law legalizes incommunicado detention, enables enforced disappearance and must be repealed
Harrowing torture testimony from 27 former detainees, including a 14-year-old boy

Israeli authorities must end their indefinite incommunicado detention of Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip, without charge or trial under the Unlawful Combatants law, in flagrant violation of international law, said Amnesty International.

The organization documented the cases of 27 Palestinian former detainees, including five women, 21 men and a 14-year-old boy, who were detained for periods of up to four and a half months without access to their lawyers or any contact with their families, in connection with this law. All those interviewed by Amnesty International said that during their incommunicado detention, which in some cases amounted to enforced disappearance, Israeli military, intelligence and police forces subjected them to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The Unlawful Combatants Law grants the Israeli military sweeping powers to detain anyone from Gaza that they suspect of engagement in hostilities against Israel or posing a threat to state security for indefinitely renewable periods without having to produce evidence to substantiate the claims.

“While international humanitarian law allows for the detention of individuals on imperative security grounds in situations of occupation, there must be safeguards to prevent indefinite or arbitrary detention and torture and other ill-treatment. This law blatantly fails to provide these safeguards. It enables rampant torture and, in some circumstances, institutionalizes enforced disappearance,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“Our documentation illustrates how the Israeli authorities are using the Unlawful Combatants Law to arbitrarily round up Palestinian civilians from Gaza and toss them into a virtual black hole for prolonged periods without producing any evidence that they pose a security threat and without minimum due process. Israeli authorities must immediately repeal this law and release those arbitrarily detained under it.”

Our documentation illustrates how the Israeli authorities are using the Unlawful Combatants Law to arbitrarily round up Palestinian civilians from Gaza and toss them into a virtual black hole for prolonged periods without producing any evidence that they pose a security threat and without minimum due process
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International

Amnesty International is calling for all detainees held under the Unlawful Combatants Law, including suspected members of armed groups, to be treated humanely and given access to lawyers and international monitoring bodies such as the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC). Those suspected of responsibility for crimes under international law must be tried in line with international fair trial standards, while all civilians detained arbitrarily without charge or trial must be immediately released.

The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) confirmed to the Israeli NGO Hamoked that as of 1 July 2024, 1,402 Palestinians were detained under the Unlawful Combatants law. This number excludes those held for an initial 45-day period without formal order.

Between February and June 2024, Amnesty International documented 31 cases of incommunicado detention and found credible evidence of widespread use of torture and other ill treatment. Interviews were conducted with 27 released detainees – all civilians arrested from the occupied Gaza Strip (20 men, six women and one child). The organization also interviewed four family members of civilians detained for up to seven months whose whereabouts are yet to be disclosed by Israeli authorities and two lawyers who recently managed to meet with detainees.

Israeli military seized the detainees from locations across Gaza including Gaza City, Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Khan Younis. The detainees were rounded up at schools housing internally displaced people, during raids on homes, hospitals, and newly installed checkpoints. They were then transferred to Israel and held for periods ranging from two weeks to up to 140 days in military or IPS-run detention facilities.

Those detained included doctors taken into custody at hospitals for refusing to abandon their patients; mothers separated from their infants while trying to cross the so-called “safe corridor” from northern Gaza to the south; human rights defenders, UN workers, journalists and other civilians.

All those interviewed by Amnesty International said they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

Detention of Palestinians from Gaza under the law

“Torture and other ill-treatment including sexual violence are war crimes. These allegations must be independently investigated by the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor’s office. This is crucial due to the documented failure of the Israeli judiciary to credibly investigate torture allegations by Palestinians in the past. Israeli authorities must also grant immediate and unrestricted access to all places of detention to independent monitors – access that has been denied since 7 October,” said Agnès Callamard.

The Detention of Unlawful Combatants Law, enacted in 2002, was invoked for the first time in five years following the horrific attacks perpetrated by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October in southern Israel.

The Israeli military initially invoked the law to hold alleged participants in the 7 October attacks, but shortly thereafter expanded its use to detain Palestinians from Gaza en masse without charge or trial. The lack of due process means that both civilians and those directly engaging in hostilities have been detained under this law.

For the first 45 days of detention, the military are not required to issue a detention order. The law denies detainees access to a lawyer for up to 90 days, codifying incommunicado detention, which in turn enables torture and other ill treatment.

Detainees must be brought before a judge within a maximum period of75 days of their detention for judicial review, but judges typically rubberstamp the detention order in sham proceedings.

The law does not stipulate a maximum time for detention and allows security services to hold detainees under indefinitely renewable orders.

Amended law facilitates incommunicado detention

The Unlawful Combatants Law was originally enacted in 2002 to allow for the prolonged detention without charges or trial of two Lebanese nationals, who were not under Israeli jurisdiction. Since its unilateral “disengagement” from the occupied Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel has used this law to hold people from Gaza it deems a national security threat for indefinitely renewable periods.

In December 2023, the Israeli authorities passed a temporary amendment to the law, extending the time the military is permitted to detain Palestinians without a detention order from an initial 96 hours (extendable up to seven days) to up to 45 days. It also increased the maximum time a detainee can be held before being brought before a judge to review the detention order from 14 days to 75 days and extended the period a detainee can be held without seeing a lawyer from 21 days to up to six months, later reduced to three months. This amendment was renewed again in April 2024.

Evidence justifying the detention is withheld both from the detainee and their lawyer. This means many of those detained are held for months without the slightest idea of why they have been detained, in violation of international law, completely cut off from their family and loved ones and unable to challenge the grounds of their detention.

Two detainees told Amnesty International they were brought before a judge twice for virtual hearings and on both occasions were unable to speak or ask questions. Instead, they were simply informed that their detention had been renewed for a further 45 days. They were never informed of the legal basis of their arrests nor of what evidence had been brought against them to justify their arrests.

Following a petition brought before the Israeli Supreme Court by Hamoked on behalf of a detained X-ray technician from Khan Younis, the state informed the Court in May 2024 that lawyers can apply to visit detainees from Gaza 90 days after their detention. Only a very limited number of such applications has been approved since.

In addition to being denied access to legal counsel, detainees are also cut off from their families. Families described to Amnesty International the agony of being separated from their loved ones and living in constant fear of discovering that they died in prison.

Alaa Muhanna, whose husband Ahmad Muhhana, the director of Al-Awda hospital, was detained during a raid on the hospital on 17 December 2023, told Amnesty International the only scant information she receives about him is from other released prisoners: “I assure the children that Ahmad is fine, that he’s coming back soon, but to live through this war, the constant displacement, the bombing and also have to fight to know where your husband is, not to hear his voice, is like a war within the war.”

One released health worker told Amnesty International that not knowing whether his family in Gaza were alive or dead while he was detained was “even worse than torture and starvation”.

Torture and other ill-treatment

The extensive periods of incommunicado detention facilitate torture by eliminating any monitoring of the physical condition of detainees and communication with them.

The 27 released detainees, interviewed by Amnesty International, consistently described being subjected to torture on at least one occasion during their arrest. The organization observed marks and bruises consistent with torture on at least eight detainees interviewed in person and also reviewed medical reports of two detainees corroborating their accounts of torture.

Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab verified and geolocated at least five videos of mass arrests including of detainees filmed while stripped to their underwear after being detained from northern Gaza and in Khan Younis. Public forced nudity for long durations violates the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment and amounts to sexual violence.

Those held at the notorious Sde Teiman military detention camp, near Beersheba in southern Israel said they were blindfolded and handcuffed for the entire time they were detained there. They described being forced to remain in stress positions for long hours and being prevented from talking to one another or raising their heads. These accounts are consistent with findings of other human rights organizations and UN bodies as well as numerous reports, based on accounts of whistleblowers and released detainees.

One detainee who was released in June after 27 days during which he was detained in a barrack with at least 120 others told Amnesty detainees they would be beaten by the military or sent to be attacked by dogs simply for talking to another prisoner, raising their head or changing position.

Said Maarouf, a 57-year-old pediatrician who was detained by the Israeli military during a raid on al-Ahli Baptist hospital in Gaza City in December 2023 and detained for 45 days at the Sde Teiman military camp, told Amnesty International that detention guards kept him blindfolded and handcuffed for the entire duration of his detention, and described being starved, repeatedly beaten, and forced to sit on his knees for long periods.

In another case, the Israeli army arrested a 14-year old child from his home in Jabalia, in northern Gaza on 1 January 2024. He was held for 24 days in the Sde Teiman military detention centre with at least 100 adult detainees in one barrack. He told Amnesty International that military interrogators had subjected him to torture, including by kicking him, punching him in the neck and head. He said he had been repeatedly burnt with cigarette butts. Signs of cigarettes burns and bruises were visible on the child’s body when Amnesty International interviewed him on 3 February 2024, in the school where he was sheltering with other displaced families. During his detention, he was not allowed to call his family or see a lawyer and was held blindfolded and handcuffed.

On 5 June Israeli authorities announced plans to improve detention conditions at Sde Teiman military camp and limit the number of detainees held at the site in response to a petition from Israeli human rights organizations demanding its closure, but over a month later little appears to have changed.

The lawyer Khaled Mahajna was able to gain rare entry into Sde Teiman on 19 June. He told Amnesty International that his client, Mohammed Arab, a detained journalist, told him he was being held with at least 100 people in the same barrack in inhumane conditions and that the detainees had seen no improvement whatsoever over the past two weeks. He also said he had been held in Sde Teiman for over 100 days, without even knowing why.

The Israeli military confirmed to Haaretz on 3 June that it is investigating the deaths in custody in Israel of 40 detainees, including 36 who died or were killed in the military detention facility in Sde Teiman. No indictments have been filed yet. This number does not include detainees who died or were killed while in the custody of the Israeli Prison Service.

Women detainees

Among the detainees interviewed by Amnesty International were five women all of whom had been detained incommunicado for over 50 days. They were first held in a women-only detention camp at Anatot military detention centre, in an illegal Israeli settlement near Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, then in Damon prison for women in northern Israel, under the control of the Israeli Prison Service. None of the five was informed of the legal grounds for their arrest or brought before a judge. All of them described being beaten while being transported to detention.

One of them, arrested on 6 December from her home, said she was separated from her two children- a four-year-old and a nine-month-old baby – and held initially alongside hundreds of men. She was accused of being a Hamas member, beaten, forced to remove her veil and photographed without it. She also described the torment of being subjected to the mock execution of her husband:

“On the third day of detention, they put us in a ditch and started throwing sand. A soldier fired two shots in the air and said they executed my husband and I broke down and begged him to kill me too, to relieve me from the nightmare,” she said.

On the third day of detention, they put us in a ditch and started throwing sand. A soldier fired two shots in the air and said they executed my husband and I broke down and begged him to kill me too, to relieve me from the nightmare
Former detainee

“I was terrified and scared for my kids all the time,” another released woman detainee told Amnesty that her repeated requests for information about her children were ignored by prison guards whom she overheard laughing and mocking her.

She told Amnesty International that after three weeks at Damon prison she was told she would be released. She was handcuffed, blindfolded and had her feet shackled and was taken to another location. Upon arrival there, instead of being released she was violently strip-searched by guards who used a huge knife to rip off her clothes. She was then returned to Anatot for 18 more days.

She told Amnesty that she was threatened by prison guards who said: “We will do to you what Hamas did to us, we will kidnap and rape you”. She was never informed of the reason for her detention.

She and other detainees interviewed by Amnesty International said that they were dropped off near Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing and had to walk for more than half an hour until they reached an ICRC -run point for released prisoners. All detainees said that all or most of their belongings were never returned to them, including their phones, jewellery and money.

Background

Amnesty International expressed grave concerns over Israel’s use of the Unlawful Combatants Law and its violations of international human rights law in a 2012 report Starved of Justice: Palestinians detained without trial by Israel. As explained in detail in that report, Israel previously derogated from its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) citing the fact that the nation has been in a declared state of emergency since its formation, a derogation that continues to this day. However international humanitarian law, which is not subject to derogation, requires that the right to a fair trial must always be respected. In addition, Article 4(2) of the ICCPR prohibits derogation from certain rights in the ICCPR even during a state of emergency, including the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 7). Accordingly, incommunicado detention, the lack of fair trial, and torture and other ill-treatment violate international law, even during a state of emergency.

Beyond this law, Israeli authorities have a history of incarcerating Palestinians without charge or trial through their systematic use of administrative detention, a key feature of Israel’s system of apartheid. According to Israeli human rights organization Hamoked, as of 1 July Israeli authorities were holding 3,379 people under administrative detention, the vast majority of whom are Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Gaza remains under assault. Day 287 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "Gaza death toll reaches 38,848, with 89,459 wounded." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted: