Ramallah, 2-1-09: The first day of the New Year, Israel continued its attacks on the Gaza Strip, in which an additional 23 Gazans lost their lives, including 11 children and 9 women.
Since the beginning of the Israeli invasion, 420 people in Gaza were killed, of which approximately 50 children and 25 women. By now, a total of 2200 Gazans are injured.
It is a war that has predominantly been waged against civilians.
Meanwhile, the attention of the international media is still diverted, emphasises Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative. "Due to Israeli movement restrictions imposed on press and media personnel, the international media became a tool for Israeli to maintain its security discourse. The media globally reports on the treats Israel is confronted with, but has proven inadequate to cover the full story from the perspective of the Gazan population that is under attack, and whose human rights are violated on massive scale."
Might one still be confused about whom to define as perpetrator and whom the as victim, the death toll speaks for itself. On Israeli side, 4 have lost their lives versus 420 Palestinians that have been killed.
The fact that Israel prevented the press from entering Gaza is not only violating press freedom, it is also indicative for Israel’s intention to cover the massive crimes it inflicted on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.