downlander

I went on @LandscapesofF Mass Trespass yesterday. My heart swelled & sang to be with 300 like-minded freewalkers. I was with my people. The river of walkers flowing gently up the paths then gushing forth all over the coombe. Exhilarating!

Catastrophe unfolding now at al-Shifa hospital: I summarize comments of hospital director Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic about 30 minutes ago: There are about 7,000 people under total siege inside al-Shifa compound, including 650 injured people, 45 dialysis patients and 36 premature babies. A few hours ago one dialysis patient died and 4 are at imminent risk of death because no power for dialysis machines. Three premature babies died in recent days. Two injured persons died in recent hours due to lack of treatment. There is no water, fuel or electricity. Israel broke the main water line into the hospital. There is no purified water to make the special formula for the babies, so they are using ordinary water and some have become sick with diarrhea, infections, fever. There is no food. Children are starving and distressed. There is no medicine and the wounds of injured people are becoming horribly infected, some with maggots. Hospital administrators tried to send a delegation to the occupation forces to ask for food, fuel, medicine and safe evacuation of the sick and injured but the Israelis refused to to talk to them. The hospital is besieged from all sides by tanks and bulldozers. The bulldozers are destroying areas around the compound, but no one can see clearly what they are doing. Anyone who tries to move between hospital buildings is shot at by snipers or drones. There are hundreds of soldiers in the hospital compound searching all over and causing severe damage to hospital premises and equipment. In the 48 hours the occupation forces have been inside the hospital or on its grounds not a single shot has been fired at them. No one can leave the hospital or enter it. The situation is disastrous not just for people in Shifa but for anyone in Gaza City who is injured or becomes ill, because no one can reach the hospital and the hospital can't do anything for them anyway. Anyone who has a heart attack or a stroke at home will die. Dr. Abu Salmiya says "We hold the world responsible" for what he calls a genocide. "We are waiting for slow death."

Tower Hamlets students now marching to @rushanaraali’s office after she shamefully refused to vote for a ceasefire last night. #SchoolStrikeForPalestine #FreePalestine 🇵🇸 #CeasefireNOW

@netpol No Shit Sherlock

🔴 6pm Weds 15th November Picket of Hove Town Hall BN3 3BQ 🔴 As @bhlabour councillors meet, the people of Brighton & Hove demand they end their complicity of silence knowing thousands of innocent people are being slaughtered in Gaza. #CeasefireNowInGaza! 🇵🇸

17 Palestinians were killed in the SCHOOL that was bombed today in Shaikh Radwan in Gaza. Ceasefire Now!

Confronting and fighting genocide is a litmus test for any morality in this moment of barbarity!! #CeasefireForNOW

@muhammadshehad2 @m7mdkurd An important voice has been Arnesa Buljušmić-Kustura (@Rrrrnessa), who is both an academic expert on genocide and a survivor of genocide. But there's also Luis Moreno Ocampo, ex-ICC prosecutor. And Raz Segal, an Israeli expert on modern genocide: youtube.com/watch?v=ZWGGjL…

There are several folks who have been collecting these statements of intent. One of them is br Abu Bakr Hussain who's updating a list daily and has it available for download as well. Not everything in his list is from politicians/leadership, but a lot is: twitter.com/KintsugiMuslim…

It's also uncontroversial that Israel's leaders have repeatedly and systematically used language & references that makes it clear that *everyone* in Gaza, and not only Hamas, is a target. Israel's PM even tweeted it, and not just once:

Anyway: It's also well documented that Israeli ministry of intel produced a multi-stage plan for inflicting mass suffering on the population of Gaza to force them off their land and into the Sinai desert. So far Israel is following this plan actually: twitter.com/972mag/status/…

Alright, so let's for a sec follow the "inference" route. It is now very well documented that Israel systematically targeted: - Hospitals - Water tanks - Solar panels - Journalists - Bakeries - Fishing boats - Schools - Ambulances - Residential blocks - Aid & UN workers

The bar for the crime of genocide is met when there's intent to *destroy*, in whole or in part, a people. "Destroy" can manifest in many ways - killing is one, but also inflicting upon them unlivable conditions. "Conditions calculated to bring about the group's destruction".

Right off the bat let's debunk some common misconceptions about "genocide": You don't have to exterminate *everyone* for it to be genocide. Genocide is not a crime of body count (although body count matters). Genocide is a crime of *intent*.

There are multiple definitions of genocide, but the most widely cited is the 2002 Rome Statute's, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC). Around 120 countries are signatories (notably the US and Israel still refuse to sign it):

Alright, since you decided to ask me, I'll tell you why the same guy you praise for "wonderful analysis" also concludes, based on the facts & evidence, that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza:

Just this week, official Israeli government accounts have tweeted, then deleted, the following: - Video of a fake nurse claiming that Hamas took over the Al-Shifa hospital - False claim that “AP, CNN, NY Times, and Reuters had journalists embedded with Hamas terrorists on October 7th massacre” - Video with fake captions claiming a crying elderly Gaza woman blames Hamas for the siege - Graphic asserting Israeli ownership of all the occupied territories, including Syria’s Golan Heights - False claim that Israel is “facilitating the supply of humanitarian aid to Gazan civilians.” - Assertion that hospitals and ambulances constitute "legitimate military targets."

Mass Trespass in #Arundel THIS Saturday, 18/11! London #RighttoRoam & Hiking in Skirts lead this animal-themed trespass on private land. Meet Arundel station from 10.30am, for 11am start. Dressing up - animals of the farm or the wild -strongly encouraged, this will be fun!

I Joined Gaza’s Trail of Tears And Displacement My lastest to ⁦@theintercept⁩ theintercept.com/2023/11/12/gaz…