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War Crimes in Gaza  Interview with Donna Wallach

Anis Hamadeh, Nov. 21, 2008

Donna Wallach was on the first Free Gaza boat that came from Cyprus in 
August 2008 and has stayed in Gaza since. She comes from California and is 
of Eastern-European Jewish descent. Donna lived in occupied Palestine in the 
Tel Aviv area from 1981 to 1997 and experienced the impact of the Israeli 
occupation on Palestinians living inside Israel as well as the Palestinians 
in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. She also was in Ramallah during its 
siege in 2002.

How is the elecricity, food and medical situation in the Gaza Strip today?
The last shipment of fuel was 420,000 liters, not even enough to power the 
Gaza Power Plant for one day. Electricity is off in many places at least 12 
hours a day and in some places 20 hours a day. Some areas are without 
running water 12 hours a day. Today, 21st November Beach Camp was without 
running water all day. Jabaliya Camp was without running water and 
electricity for 12 hours. The The last flour mill closed on Thursday 20th 
November, they ran out of wheat to mill. This will impact the bakeries which 
make the various types of bread produced in the Gaza Strip. There were 72 
bakeries in Gaza Strip and many of them had already closed, it could be they 
are now all closed. I heard today that there is no bread to be bought. 
Access to food is a human right - Israel does not have the right to deny 
food, or water or medicine. The director of emergency ambulances said that 
300 kinds of medicines are lacking here. When the electricity goes out the 
hospitals are in dire straits, their generators are breaking down and there 
are no spare parts to fix them. (I was watching the news in Arabic - 
couldn't understand what was said - but the pictures showed the neonatal 
care unit for babies who need incubators. It looked like the doctors were 
having to care for the babies by their own hands - the incubators weren't 
functioning. This could mean death to defenseless babies.)

Were there any Palestinians killed by the Israeli forces?
Eighteen Palestinians have been killed by invading Israeli occupation force 
soldiers in the past three weeks, the last one was yesterday, 20th November. 
All the 18 Palestinian martyrs were killed defending Palestinian land and 
the Palestinian people from the invading Israel occupation force army who 
were illegally invading Gaza Strip.

You have been out with the fishermen as an international observer. We heard 
that Israel shoots at them. What is the background?
Fishermen can't fish. They are limited to a six mile limit which has already 
been overfished. Every day the fishermen are shot at by the Israeli 
occupation force navy. I have witnessed it every time I go out with the 
fishermen. The Israeli occupation force Navy shoots at them with M16s, 
cannons, grenades and high-powered water cannon. The high-powered water 
cannon ALWAYS causes damage to the boats. Fishermen and three of the 
international volunteers have been injured by the high-powered blast of the 
water cannon. Recently the Israeli occupation force Navy has been using the 
water cannon to shoot dirty water, which has a very bad smell and some of us 
think it is very toxic. We are getting samples tested here in Gaza and in 
Cyprus. We are DEEPLY concerned because in the recent times the Navy has 
waited to use the dirty water after a netful of fish has been brought onto 
deck and then they spray it, contaminating the fish, the entire boat and 
deck and any and all fishermen who get hit with the water. I have heard that 
some of the fishermen were sick for three days after getting hit with the 
dirty water. About a month ago, a 19-year-old fisherman from Rafah, Mohammed 
Muslah, was very seriously wounded for fishing on a very small boat, using 
paddles because they had no money to buy fuel for the outboard motor. With 
no warning whatsoever, the Israeli occupation force Navy shot at his boat 
and at him. He was wounded in the lower leg. The Israeli occupation force 
Navy was shining their very bright lights on him, so they could clearly see 
that he was a fisherman fishing in the sea. It took hours for him to get to 
shore and to hospital. Because of the illegal occupation and the genocidal 
siege, the hospital could not give him the necessary care. His family 
struggled very hard and were able to get him acceptance into a hospital in 
Ramallah, Al-Mokassed, for treatment. It took more than three weeks for him 
to be able to cross the Erez crossing and arrive to the hospital. He almost 
lost his leg. We still don't know his condition.

According to Article 55 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the 
Sea the Exclusive Economic Zone extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles 
(370 km) out from its coast. This is the zone where people may fish. On 
which legal grounds can it be only six miles for Gazans?
Israel imposes an arbitray six nautical mile fishing limit on the fishermen 
from Gaza City and an arbitrary four nautical mile fishing limit on the 
fishermen from Rafah. According to the Oslo accords the Palestinian 
fishermen have the right to fish out to 20 miles into the sea. The six mile 
limit is totally arbitrary and illegal by the Israeli occupation force navy. 
This genocidal policy must end! The fishermen associations of the world and 
the people of the world must stand up and call for an immediate end to all 
trade with the Apartheid Israeli State until they lift the siege on Gaza and 
totally leave the territorial waters of Gaza.

Are there similar arbitrary and unlawful restrictions on land?
Israeli occupation force army declared a "Buffer Zone" along the entire 
eastern border of Gaza Strip with the Apartheid Israeli State. A distance of 
300 - 500 meters wide this entire length of the Gaza Strip has turned this 
agriculturally-rich land into a desert, destroying all the trees, crops, hot 
houses, chicken farms, sheep farms, etc. Farmers living along the "Buffer 
Zone" can't farm, they are shot at by the Israeli occupation force soldiers 
when they go to their farms. Some of them haven't been able to farm for five 
to fifteen years. Taking away the livelihood and the food from the 
Palestinian farmers, their families and the people who bought the locally 
grown food. Now many, if not most Palestinians, are totally dependent on 
food aid - flour, oil, sugar and salt. In addition, most of the fruit and 
vegetables in the stores are Israeli fruit and vegetables. This is a 
genocidal policy, wreaking havoc on the Palestinian infrastructure, the 
Palestinian culture and the Palestinian economy.

There also appear to be restrictions for education in Gaza. What can you 
tell us about this?
500 students with scholarships can't get out to their universities, they are 
losing their scholarships. 3000 students who have been accepted to 
universities can't get out and are losing their admittance to go study 
abroad. Education is a human right - Israel does not have the right to deny 
education.

We are, of course, talking about war crimes here, not just about some 
inconvenient restrictions.
Something MUST be done to stop these crimes, these War Crimes against an 
entire population of 1.5 million Palestinians