RTE's Pat Kenny Frontline Audience Attack

Pat Kenny Faces A Frontline Attack!

For Pat Kenny, host of the RTE's current affairs programme, 'The Frontline', the latest televised episode definitely lived up to it's name!! Pat found himself at the receiving end of a barrage of personal attacks from a rather irate member of the audience.


The central theme running through the 3 minute lambasting focused on Kenny's massive wages he receives as one of RTE's best paid presenters. 

Enjoy............

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Dissident Tyrone Sheep Demand Irish Unity

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Sectarian Sheep Painting Northern Ireland

BREAKING N-EWES:  

'Norn Iron' Sectarian Ewe Turn!

A remote field in Arboe, Co. Tyrone has been the scene of a SHEAR DYE-abolical sectarian attack on innocent sheep as they passively grazed in the Irish Republican heartland.  During the night 6 sheep were unsuspectingly spray painted with the Irish tricolour by presumably DYED IN THE WOOL Traditional Irish Republicans!  Undoubtedly, the RAM-ifications of such a SHEEPISH act will lead to a thorough investigation by the PSNI who will be careful to avoid having the WOOL pulled over their eyes on this 'THORNY' issue.!!

Whilst we may find the funny side, the farmer and the local DUP councillor were less than am-EWE-sed as they painted a grim picture!!!  Willie Frazer was eager to HOGG the limelight and re-iterate the plight of the rural border community for which he tirelessly campaigns.  He even found the time to produce a EWE Tube broadcast which included CLIPPINGS of the whole LAMB-entable episode!! 

Not to GLOSS over such an incident but due consideration must be given to the lack of scope for young rural Traditional Irish Republicans to develop their artistic talent.  This is in strong contrast to their urban comrades who have endless scope to perfect their wall mural painting skills.   Indeed, we must appreciate the high degree of stencil like accuracy required to skillfully paint the Irish tricolour on such jittery subjects!!  Very rarely do we witness such fine examples of the spray painting of moving targets which no doubt even the world renowned Banksy would be envious off!!

Furthermore, given the high media profile that this episode has already received, it would not be inconceivable that the proud owner of these NOW Traditional Irish Republican (Fenian) sheep should seriously consider entering them as an exhibit for the Turner Prize 2010.  The massive media attention would surely have the crowds FLOCKING to the Tate Britain in London next year!.  The potential £25,000 prize money would definitely off set any loss of earnings incurred by showing such fine specimens of Traditional Irish Republican (Fenian) sheep in potentially hostile 'Norn Iron' livestock markets!  The proud owner should be aiming to emulate Damien Hirst who was the victor in 1995 with a pickled sheep in formaldehyde.  Such an opportunity should not be missed especially since the markings will have to be retained on the sheep until next May well after the closing date for next year's competition!!

Tiocfaidh ár Baahhhh....
 

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Irish Republicanism, Sinn Fein And Eirigi

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Berlin Witnesses 1970s Style Leftist Violence

Berlin Fears Resurgence of Radical Leftist Violence

Berlin has witnessed a spate of arson attacks targeting exclusive cars including Mercedes-Benz, Porsches and BMW’s. The German police have warned that these attacks could signify a potential return to leftist and anarchist violence which ravaged the country during the 1970’s. Berlin have prompted police to warn of a resurgence of the leftist and anarchist violence that terrorised Germany in the 1970s.

Head of the German police union, Rainer Wendt, compared the arson attacks to;

"a renaissance of the leftist terror of the 1970s, borne by hatred of the state and its system, directed against the people who represent it".

History of the Red Army Faction

Germany has not witnessed such wide spread anarchy since the infamous Red Army Faction (RAF), founded in 1968, created havoc during much of the 70’s. The radical leftist group were also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, named after two of their founding leaders, Andreas Baader (1943–77) and Ulrike Meinhof (1934–76).

The Red Army Faction were the first leftist organisation to conduct a sustained armed struggle to combat anti-imperialism in the West. The organisation was steeped in Marxism-Leninism revolutionary ethos and existed for close to 28 years. The RAF affirmed their commitment to violence in pursuit of their anti-imperialist agenda in its first Manifesto entitled ‘The Concept Of The Urban Guerrilla’. This document concluded by stating;

‘To carry out urban guerrilla warfare means to lead the anti-imperialist struggle offensively. The Red Army Fraction creates the connection between legal and illegal struggle, between national struggle and international struggle, between political struggle and armed struggle, between the strategic and tactical position of the international communist movement.’

Between May 11th and May 24th 1972 the RAF embarked on a bombing spree targeting symbols of Western Imperialism including an American military base, a German Police head quarters in Augsburg, the US Armed Forces European Headquarters based in Heidelberg and Springer Press in Hamburg for printing what they regarded anti-left propaganda. Also, they murdered a Karlsruhe federal court judge, Buddenberg, in direct retaliation for alleged mistreatment of RAF prisoners.

However, within the first two weeks of June ’72 the majority of RAF members had been rounded up by German authorities and imprisoned. Undeterred the leftist faction re-organised their strategies and perspectives whilst in prison awaiting their trials. RAF militant activity was to resurface in 1976 when they seized the German embassy in Stockholm. They demanded the release of imprisoned RAF members in exchange for attaches that they were holding hostage. The siege ended when police stormed the building killing two captors.

Ulrike Meinhof was found murdered in her prison cell in September 1976. Following her death German authorities arrested and imprisoned the principle lawyers representing RAF prisoners and their supporters under anti-terrorism laws.

1976 also witnessed the highest number of 2,956 public demonstrations (2,956) in its history which formed the back drop for the now infamous ‘German Autumn’. It is the collective name given to a chain of events which began with the RAF assassination of Chief Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback, this killing signalled a significant shift in tactics by the organisation. Previously, the majority of their attacks were confined to western imperialist symbols whilst this killing signified a shift in emphasis to imperialist figure heads. Within 3 months of this attack the RAF struck again this time turning their attentions to Jurgen Ponto, the President of Dresdner Bank. Punto was one of the top five influential businessmen in Germany at the time and represented German interests in NATO and around the globe. However, it emerged that Punto’s assassination was a kidnap attempt that went drastically wrong. In September of ’77 RFA embarked on their most audacious kidnap attempt of their existence.

There target was Germany’s most influential capitalists of his generation, Hans Martin Schleyer, who was both President of the Federal Association of German Industries and the Federal Employers Association. Schleyer was a former Nazi SS officer and was perceived by many as a link between the Third Reich and the post-war Germany. Almost immediately having kidnapped their victim RAF demanded the release of 11 of their members from prison. As the stalemate continued a Palestinian group “Commando Martyr Halimeh” in solidarity with RAF hijacked a Lufthansa airliner and demanded the release of the 11 RAF prisoners and 2 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) being held in Istanbul. During the following five stand off the prisoners were refused all communication with their lawyers and media under emergency drafted legislation known as ‘Kontaktsperre’.

On day 5 of the hijacking German Special Forces, GSG-9, stormed the aircraft in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing 3 of the 4 hijackers. In retaliation, RAF killed Schleyer. That same night Gudrun Ensslin, Jan-Carl Raspe, and Andreas Baader were killed in suspicious circumstances whilst in their prison cells. Initially regarded as a suicide pact this was related refuted with medical evidence.

Sporadic violence followed until March 1998, when the Red Army Fraction (RAF) announced its dissolution after 28 years of armed struggle.

Are We Witnessing a Re-Emergence of Leftist Revolutionary Action

Regarding this recent resurgence in violence Rainer Wendt was remaining coy regarding any potential escalation saying;

"It cannot be ruled out that in the next level of escalation, politicians could again be back in their sights,"

German Conservative politicians have denounced Berlin’s left-leaning government of showing undue leniency towards the culprits. No comment has been forthcoming from Germany’s Federal government.

Left-wing protests have witnessed an upsurge in violence so far this year with 479 policemen injured in running battles with agitators at a Labour Day riot in the anarchist heartland of Kreuzberg.

Time will tell if this violence will dissipate or will manifest itself in more radical action.

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Human Rights Watch White Flag Report

When A White Flag Becomes A Target!

"The Israeli military is stonewalling in the face of evidence that its soldiers killed civilians waving white flags in areas it controlled and where there were no Palestinian fighters. These cases need thorough, independent investigations."

~Joe Stork (Deputy Director) Human Rights Watch (Middle East)~

Human Rights Watch has released the latest in serious damning reports on human rights violations during the 22 Day war in Gaza. Each report has scrutinised various accusations of IDF troops flouting international human rights interventions including White Phosphorous use, Israeli drone attacks, indiscriminate Israeli fire and Hamas rocket attacks into Israel.


Their 6th report (63-pages) entitled, "White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian
Civilians during Operation Cast Lead”, alleging blatant disregard to rules of engagement during Israel’s recent 22 Day Invasion of the Gaza Strip. Yet again this report alludes to the perpetration of potential war crimes upon innocent Palestinian civilians.


Their previous 5 reports along with those compiled by the International Red Cross and Amnesty International, have been discounted by Israeli authorities as being pro-Palestinian. However, ‘Breaking the Silence’, an Israeli organisation produced a report based upon the testimonies from front line Israeli troops actively involved during the 22 Day bombardment. The intricacies of their findings and how they correlated to those of those of the fore mentioned human rights organisations have already been examined by the Rebels Yell in two previous posts ‘Breaking The Silence’[Part 1] and [Part 2].  In a bid to stem this wave of negative criticism Israel released their own counter report called "The Operation in Gaza - Legal and Factual Aspects," which the Rebels Yell also scrutinised here . It is suffice to say that the central recurrent theme of all these human rights reports has been the allegation of IDF troops war crimes against residents of the Gaza Strip.

This meticulous document explicitly probes into 11 civilian fatalities during Operation Cast Lead where innocent Palestinians were gunned down whilst waving white flags. In all cases examined the civilians were explicitly attempting to distinguish themselves from combatants in the war torn enclave. During the course of the Human Rights Watch investigations the Israel Defense Force (IDF) refused numerous invitations to meet with the organisation to discuss these allegations and failed to reply to written requests presented to them regarding the incidents.

If the allegations are substantiated then 11 Palestinian civilians included 5 women and 4 children were shot in cold blood by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) personnel as they tried to flee the hostilities. Human Rights Watch has urged the Israeli authorities to perform scrutinising and authenticable internal inquiries into the alleged atrocities in order to counteract the culture of impunity that exists regarding IDF protocol during the invasion.

"White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead," was compiled on the basis of exhaustive field work analysis of seven alleged scenes within Gaza where white flag fatalities were reported. Human Rights Watch analysis of the allegations included irrefutable examination of ballistic reports compiled for each case, documented medical evidence pertaining to each victim, and exhaustive interviewing of eye-witnesses (minimum 3 people) to the each crime scene.

Whilst these 11 Palestinian fatalities, constitute a tiny proportion of the 1,100 plus Gazan fatalities during the 22 Days of Operation: Cast Lead, it is the manner of their deaths which is highly alarming. ALL these civilian killings have one common thread linking them; They were waving internationally identifiable conflict zone SYMBOLS (WHIT FLAGS AND/OR GARMENTS) of civilian status. Significantly, Human Rights Watch also revealed that there were NO Palestinian fighters in any of the areas when the killings took place.

This latter observation strictly refutes IDF claims to the contrary that Palestinian deaths were of a direct consequence of Hamas using civilians (Human Shields) and heavily populated areas to launch counter attacks on Israeli forces. The IDF has produced alleged claims from two of their commanders that Palestinian fighters were using the disguise of white flags to protect themselves but no corroborating evidence to substantiate both claims was provided. In an attempt to legitimize their soldiers actions an IDF statement read;

"Any person who displays a white flag in this way acts illegally, does not enjoy protection from retaliatory action, and endangers nearby civilian populations."

Human Rights Watch has drawn two possible scenarios to explain IDF personnel actions during each of the incidents. The first is that irrefutable evidence exists that Israeli troops did not employ sufficient precautions to differentiate between Palestinian civilians and combatants as stipulated by the laws of war. The second scenario is in fact the deliberate targeting by IDF personnel of Palestinian civilians which under international constitutes a WAR CRIME.

This WAR CRIME allegation can be substantiated by one particular incident investigated of the crime scene by Human Rights Watch. It took place in eastern Jabalya (07/01/09) and involved 5 members (2 women and 3 girls) of the Khalid ‘Abd Rabbo family. As they stood waving their white flags outside their house an IDF soldier opened fire instantly slaying two of the young girls (aged 2 and 7 respectively) and wounding the third along with their grandmother.

The grandmother in question testified to Human Rights Watch; "We spent seven to nine minutes waving the flags, and our faces were looking at them [the soldiers],.................."And suddenly they opened fire and the girls fell to the ground."

The Human Rights Watch report also reveals that in five of the seven incidents that unarmed civilians visibly brandishing white flags, were shot by IDF whilst attempting to escape from conflict areas.

One particular incident (13/01/09) is the day time shooting by an IDF soldier of two Palestinian women as they walked down a straight road in full view whilst holding a white flag after being ordered by Israeli personnel to leave the vicinity. As they compliantly left the hostile zone, Rawiya al-Najjar (47) who was carrying the white flag was shot dead and her relative, Jasmin al-Najjar (23), was wounded. Israeli soldiers who had commandeered a Palestinian house 230 yards further down the road had speciously failed to fire any warning shots to dissuade the oncoming women.

On July 29th, faced with increased international condemnation, Israeli military officials claimed to be actively conducting "field investigations” into five white flag related shootings perpetrated by their soldiers during Operation: Cast Lead. Of the five cases purported to be under Israeli scrutiny at least 2 (‘Abd Rabbo and al-Najjar cases) were also included in the Human Rights Watch report. However, as of the August 10th there has been no official approach to either family by IDF personnel involved in their internal investigations.

Consequently, Human Rights Watch has called for a full impartial investigation into the alleged incidents by an international body to counter act an endemic culture of impunity which exists with the Israeli military structure. Their Middle East Deputy Director Joe Stork claimed;

"The Israel Defense Forces have for years permitted a pervasive culture of impunity regarding unlawful Palestinian deaths...................Field investigations may serve a useful military purpose, but they are inadequate to determine whether a soldier violated the laws of war, and serve as a pretext that a serious investigation is taking place."

The human rights watch dog has also appealed to UN member states to implement a specific apparatus to accurately assess how both Israel and Hamas undertake their own inquiries into alleged breaches of laws-of-war by their combatants.

"White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead” can be read in its’ entirety here

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Sinn Féin's Political Dilemma

Sinn Féin's Ideological Cross Roads


I am penning this post in response to a recent article addressing the lack of progression on Irish Unity by Sinn Fein’s Declan Kearney in An Phoblacht. The article was a timely rallying cry to the remaining Sinn Fein activists prior to yesterday’s Ard Comhairle, in Navan, Co. Meath.



Given Mr Kearney’s esteem within the party hierarchy I thought that his views on Sinn Fein’s political agenda might make interesting reading. Alas, after the first paragraph my hopes of gaining a new political insight were severely dashed! Although eloquently written, it fails miserably to mask the fundamental problem and serves only to re-iterate the much vaunted but now lack lustre Irish Unity strategy adopted by Sinn Fein.

Did Sinn Fein have a Political Plan B?

From preliminary scanning its contents, Mr. Kearney’s article seems a mere pseudo attempt to stir ‘Irish Republican’ sentiment whilst remaining in a delusional (Sunningdale Mark II) comfort zone, hell bent on propping up THEIR ‘so far’ failed Irish Unity strategy and further side swiping and dissing the so-called dissident Irish Republicans! However, whilst remaining within these ‘safe’ confines might be music to the ears for their band wagon ex-SDLP supporters, many traditional Irish Republicans, the very bed rock of Sinn Fein’s foundation, are presumably less than impressed. One interesting observation form the entire article is the stark omission of the words ’32 County Strategy’. Instead he periodically refers to a specific Sinn Fein 26 county strategy. This is hardly conducive to a political party which is supposed to have an alleged 32 County United Ireland agenda at its core.

The first paragraph is quite predictable in re-enforcing upon the reader, Sinn Fein’s progress in true martyrdom style. It also underlines that their pinnacle strategy for Irish Unity still lies in their ‘Political Theatre of Dreams’, The Republic of Ireland. This single minded dogged stance has been the core selling point to Irish Republicans over the years and its continuous rehashing is making it increasingly suspect that Sinn Fein had no apparent Plan B! The only mention of the wee six counties comes to the end of the first paragraph.

Even without the benefit of hindsight given the North's political history, how anyone could actually expect Sunningdale Mark II would advance the cause of Irish Unity is beyond most rational thinking. It could also be construed that this constant infatuation with becoming a power house in Irish politics is in fact a form of acceptance of the failure of Sinn Fein’s Northern Ireland political strategy.

Try as it may and even by the authors self confessed attempts to the contrary, this article amounts to nothing but a string of vague clichés masking the lack of any clear political strategic fore-sight. As regards Sinn Fein’s less than impressive showing in the recent Republic of Ireland European elections, Mr Kearney seems to blame everything and everybody else bar Sinn Fein’s own political stance on the major issues. He lays the blame firmly at the door of various problems including; implementation of the North’s Peace Process, the physical construction of the Sinn Fein political machine in the Republic of Ireland.

Also internal questioning by party members and the existence of political opportunists within SF ranks were also blamed. These latter points have been a proverbial thorn in the side of the party in recent weeks both North and South of the border. In the Republic of Ireland, Christy Burke , John Dwyer and Louise Minihan all sited irreconcilable differences with party policy as their principle reasons for leaving. Louise Minihan gave this summation of her political discontent by claiming that;

"Sinn Féin has over the last 12 years moved steadily away from the core values of Irish socialist republicanism and is no longer willing, or able, to challenge the British occupation of the Six Counties or the rotten capitalist system which is causing so much hardship to working families across Ireland today,"

These resignations were quickly followed up by a public lambasting by Taoiresa Ferris in An Phoblacht regarding the party’s irrelevancy to the Southern electorate. Whilst in the North the recent resignation of Irish Republican stalwart Gerry ‘Gaffer’ Foley in Strabane sent shock waves through the Sinn Fein fraternity.

Whilst Mr Kearney’s article highlighted several peripheral issues within the Sinn Fein’s political structure it did little to address the fundamental political ideological clash and re-balancing required between their nationalist and socialist aspirations.

Nationalism –Vs-Irish Socialism

The whole problem appears to stem from SF’s inability to consolidate a meeting of minds between nationalism and socialism factions as they seek to fight on two political frontiers. This internal struggle to strike a balance between these schools of thought was seen by many as a natural ideological progression following the ‘perceived’ solving of the nationalist question following the Peace Process. However, an alarming out shot has been that nobody within the Sinn Fein party wants to step up to the plate and grasp the nettle of socialism which the party leadership insists is its very essence. This unwillingness in socialist aspiration is in stark contrast to the vision of James Connolly who wrote in ‘Nationalism and Irish Socialism – 1897’;

‘If the national movement of our day is not merely to re-enact the old sad tragedies of our past history, it must show itself capable of rising to the exigencies of the moment.’

The recent European Elections were a golden opportunity for a leftist political party to proverbially milk the leftward swing in Irish electoral sentiment in the midst of the worst recession of a generation.

In a recent article in the Sunday Tribune, ‘The Partitioning of Sinn Fein’ one disillusioned SF party activist bluntly summed up Sinn Fein’s woes;

"Look, Sinn Féin has been imploding for quite a while. The big mystery to everybody is how the media has managed to miss the story for so long............Republicanism is in turmoil. You've got the careerists at the top in their Armani suits gagging to be in government in both parts of the island in time for the centenary of the Rising and they'll get into bed with any other party to do it. And then you've got the people on the ground campaigning on housing and drugs and they see an unelected party official in Dublin involved in selling truckloads of illegal Sky TV boxes. The ties with the dissidents haven't been severed. The leadership turns a blind eye to that and goes off hobnobbing with Fianna Fáil."

Prior to yesterday’s Navan Ard Comhairle, many political pundits believed that the wheels had well and truly come off the Sinn Fein socialist wagon. Time will quickly tell in the boiler room of Irish politics if Sinn Fein can muster a unifying political ideology embracing nationalism and socialism. Or will political events that have yet to transpire show that the ducks have well and truly flown the nest!

‘Without a re-organisation of society on the basis of a broader and more developed form of that common property which underlay the social structure of Ancient Erin - is only national recreancy.

It would be tantamount to a public declaration that our oppressors had so far succeeded in inoculating us with their perverted conceptions of justice and morality that we had finally decided to accept those conceptions as our own, and no longer needed an alien army to force them upon us.’

~James Connolly~

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Indian Police Read Riot Act

Human Rights Watch Read Riot Act To Indian Police

Indian Police Service (IPS) has been read the riot act by a freshly published report by Human Rights Watch. The 118 page inculpating report by the human rights watchdog entitled ‘"Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse and Impunity in the Indian Police," catalogues a host of human rights violations committed by the IPS. Highlighted human rights infringements include the deployment of illegal procedures such as arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. 

Successive Indian governments have publicly recognised institutional failings within the Indian Police Service but privately have elected to fudge the controversial issues of reform and accountability. An Indian Supreme Court judgment in 2006 instructed the government to urgently address the specific issues of public accountability and police autonomy relating to staffing procedures.


Whilst Indian society is evolving economically and socially apace the same cannot be said for the IPS implementation of the rule of law. It remains stubbornly fixed in anachronistic British imperialist style time warp and has vehemently resisted international calls for 21st style reform. Asia director at Human Rights Watch Asian Director, Brad Adams, commented;

"India is modernizing rapidly, but the police continue to use their old methods: abuse and threats...............It's time for the government to stop talking about reform and fix the system."

The damning comprehensive report was compiled using material from was interviews conducted with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victim statements and also contributions from both regional experts and Indian reform activists. The litany of human rights violations includes accusations of;

• IPS, members adopting an above ‘the law approach’
• Insufficient ethical and professional codes of conduct
• Inability to counteract India’s criminal elements
• IPS was guilty of non registry of crimes, trumping up charges, illegal incarceration, extracting confessions via torture, and extrajudicial murders.

Human Rights Watch representative, Naureen Shah, regards the current Indian police culture is the remnants of institutional practice employed during the reign of British Imperialism in India;

"They are often relying on old methods of policing,.................When they were first constituted as a colonial force in the 1800's they were taught to use repression, fear - the public's fear rather than its cooperation. And, that is still the way they are doing policing today."

The by-product of this endemic attitude has been a wide scale incertitude and consternation towards the fear of police and to people avoiding it, fearing demands for bribes, illegal detention or torture.

Human Rights Watch emphasised a "dangerous state of disrepair" precipitating through all ranks of the Indian Police Service police. Furthermore the generic problems are exacerbated by poor governmental funding leaving the force "overstretched and ill equipped". India currently has triple the global average of police officers per head of population. Coupled with this, the human rights watchdog claims the “police infrastructure is crumbling and decaying police stations lack vehicles, phones or computers. The working environment for low-ranking police is often dismal.” According to Naureen Shah;

"A lot of the police we spoke to did not seem to realize or did not seem to understand that there were other ways of doing things." In the report one police officer said "If we said 'why is it you torture so much to get a confession...............................What do you expect me to do? Do you expect me to sit the fellow down and ask him politely if he committed the crime? He is not going to tell me anything. These harsh methods are necessary.' So, there is a lack of awareness that there are other ways of doing things. "

The comprehensive human rights report identifies that state and local obstruction of IPS implementation of the rule of law is rife throughout India.

Human Rights Watch concludes by invoking the Indian government to urgently address the issues they have highlighted in order to redress the plight of their stricken police force.

Further appraisal and link to the Human Rights Watch report, ‘"Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse and Impunity in the Indian Police," here

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ETA: 50 Years of Struggle

ETA: 50 Years of Struggle

The ‘Basque Country’ straddles the western end of the Pyrenees and comprises of some 20,000 sq km spanning the geo-political boundaries of France and Spain. Basque society contains a rich vein of genetic and ethnic-cultural constitution, boasting one of Europe’s oldest pre Indo-European unique tongues still spoken today, Euskara.


Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna, ETA, (Basque Homeland and Freedom) have been waging a war of parity of esteem against their Spanish colonists since the 1960’s. Their over-riding goal has been the formation of a separate Basque sovereign state.

ETA was founded in 1953 as a student discussion group in Bilbao’s University of Deusto. Over the last 50 years the militant group has went through several significant transformations to maintain their quest for Basque sovereignty. ETA’s inception filled a political void as a democratic Basque voice to challenge the Franco dictatorship of the time. Although originally affiliated to the PNV, they created their own political identity because they considered the PNV stance as being too moderate in confronting Franco’s dictatorship. This radical approach and tendency for militant action was in keeping with the revolutionary ethos of an era where global national liberation wars raged (e.g. Algerian anti-colonial war).


Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) Formation

ETA conducted their first assembly meeting in Bayonne, France in 1962, on this historic occasion their leadership called for a collective strategy of Basque "historical regenerationism." This regeneration plan was to have the Basque language, Euskara, as its central focal point. In another break with religious tradition, ETA opted to adopt an "aconfessional" (religiously pluralistic) stance whilst keeping Roman Catholic doctrine to refine their new social program. The slogan for their new socialist agenda read;

"Independence for Euskadi, compatible with European federalism".

• 1968 ETA effected its first high profile assassination by killing Spanish police chief Melitón Manzanas, a suspected torturer, in the Basque city of San Sebastián. 

• 1970 witnessed the Spanish Proceso de Burgos ("Trial of Burgos") where captured ETA members were sentenced to death but only after several were executed did the Franco government succumb to international revolt over the draconian measures.

• 1973 ETA carried out their most daring strike at the Franco regime by assassinating Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco by car bomb in Madrid. The government President was perceived by the dictatorial regime as the natural successor to Franco. Many regarded the direct strike at the heart of the aggressor was a reprisal for the execution of Basque independentistas.

ETA’s Transition to Main Stream Politics

Following Franco's death, Spain embarked on a transition towards democracy which resulted in the factional splitting of ETA into two separate organizations: the vast majority of ETA’s members reformed as ETA political-military or ETA (pm), whilst the remainder formed the ETA military or ETA (m). The former ETA (pm) denounced all forms of violence and aligned themselves to a purely democratic path whilst accepting the Spanish government's offer of a total amnesty for ETA prisoners. Their new political vehicle was named Euskadiko Ezkerra ("Left of the Basque Country") which was itself to fracture in the subsequent years. One ETA faction kept the party name Euskadiko Ezkerra for several years, before self-integrating into Partido Socialista de Euskadi (PSE), the Basque affiliate of the national PSOE); the other faction renamed themselves Euskal Ezkerra (EuE, "Basque Left") before merging into Eusko Alkartasuna.

• 1978-80 Meanwhile, ETA (m) took over the mantle for Basque Freedom and in the subsequent years adopted even more radical and ruthless stance against their Spanish oppressors with deadly consequence. This 3 year period, 1978–80, were to prove ETA's most violent and extreme resulting in 68, 76, and 91 fatalities, respectively.

ETA’s Continued Struggle for Sovereignty under Democracy

• 1985 Madrid witnessed ETA’s first car bomb assassination resulting in one fatality and 16 others injuries.

• 1986 Yet another Madrid bomb attack claimed the lives of 12 Guardia Civil and police officers are killed in Madrid and 50 wounded. Juan Manuel Soares is sentenced to 1,401 years in jail in 2000 for the killings.

• 1987 ETA’s Hipercor bomb on attack in a Barcelona shopping centre represented their bloodiest atrocity, killing 21 shoppers. Their statement in the aftermath of the attack claimed that an advance warning went unheeded by Spanish police.

In a "dirty war" orchestrated against ETA, the Spanish government sponsored an ostensive counter-terrorist organization, Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL, "Antiterrorist Liberation Groups"), which operated with a ‘Carte-Blanche’ between the years 1986-1987. This maverick unit was responsible for assassinations, kidnappings and torture, inflicted upon both ETA members and innocent civilians. The true power that this government agency wielded within the Spanish corridors of power was to be fully realised by a Spanish court in 1997. This trial resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of several GAL members, not only foot soldiers but politicians up to the highest levels of government, including a minister of the interior. No major cases of foul play on part of the Spanish government after 1987 have been proven in court, although ETA supporters routinely claim human rights violations and torture by security forces, and international human rights organizations like Amnesty International have backed some of these claims.

1986 also witnessed the formation of Gesto por la Paz (Association for Peace in the Basque Country) which held numerous silent demonstrations throughout the Basque Country direct after any violent killing perpetrated by either ETA or by GAL.

In the same year María Dolores Katarain, "Yoyes", a former ETA director was assassinated for abandoning armed struggle and was branded as a "desertion".

• 1988 all Basque political parties except the ETA-affiliated Herri Batasuna joined the Ajuria-Enea pact designed to establish a lasting peace for the Basque Country. Within weeks of its implementation ETA announced a 60-day "ceasefire.” Further peace negotiations Mesa de Argel ("Algiers Table"), convened in Algeria between ETA (represented by Eugenio Etxebeste, "Antxon") and Spain then ruling PSOE government could not reach as satisfactory conclusion. This failure signalled a familiar to violent opposition by ETA.

• 1992 seen the capture by Spanish authorities in the French Basque town of Bidart off three of ETA's top leaders; their military leader Francisco Mujika Garmendia ("Pakito"), political leader José Luis Alvarez Santacristina ("Txelis") and logistical leader José María Arregi Erostarbe ("Fiti").

These arrests forced ETA to radically change their command structure and the organisation’s direction. Following a two-month truce, ETA founded a new youth wing "Y Groups", consisting of predominantly minors who were dedicated to "kale borroka" (Street Struggle)

• 1995 again witnessed the Basque separatist group involve themselves in peace negotiations. The Democratic Alternative round of negotiations replaced the previous KAS Alternative as a minimum requirement for the formation of Euskal Herria. The Democratic Alternative proposed an ETA cessation of violence in return for Spanish government recognition of Basque sovereignty people the right to self-determination of its peoples. This proposal was emphatically denounced by the Spanish government.

• 1998 ETA declared yet another ceasefire and entered into constructive dialogue with Spain's PP government.

• 2000 However, given the lack of political breakthrough in the Lizarra/Estella Pact negotiations, ETA again resorted to violent assassinations whilst accusing the Spanish government of being "inflexible""not wanting dialogue" and .

• Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the subsequent toughening of global anti-terrorist measures appeared to many to have spelt the beginning of the of ETA’s campaign for Basque autonomy. The freezing of bank accounts, a concerted worldwide pooling of International police anti-terrorist resources and a public intolerance of such terrorist groups all culminated to seriously damage ETA’s effectiveness.

• 2002 Jarrai, the Basque nationalist youth movement and Herri Batasuna, ETA’s "political arm" of ETA even though it was under Spanish judicial investigation headed by judge Baltasar Garzón.

• 2003 Two policemen are killed by a bomb in the northern town of Sangüesa.

• 2006 In the aftermath of ETA’s bomb attack in Madrid's Barajas airport which killed two Ecuadorians, Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero called off Spain’s ceasefire agreement.

• 2008 Former Socialist party councillor, Isaías Carrasco, is assassinated two days prior to Spain’s general election.  In the same year a car bomb attack on a military academy in the northern town of Santona results in one fatality and several injuries.

• 2009 A senior investigating officer on combating ETA is killed by a car bomb in Bilbao

• 29 July 2009 a massive car bomb aimed at a Guardia Civil barracks in Burgos injured scores of people.

• 30 July 2009 a car bomb in the holiday resort of Mallorca leaves two police officers dead.

The recent escalation in violence by the Basque separatist group sends a very clear and timely signal to the Spanish government of their intent and how quickly they can rejuvenate their network. Also, it represents a major propaganda coup for the separatist group in making a public mockery of the Spanish governments repeated claims that ETA is a spent entity.

It further underlines the group’s commitment towards the establishment of a separate Basque State and these attacks are a chilling re-iteration of their 2006 statement when they declared;

"confirms its commitment to continue to fight... until independence and socialism for the Basque country is won". "The fight is not a thing of the past. It is the present and the future",

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Aidan McAnespie Murder: No Apology!

Aidan McAnespie Murder: No Apology!

“Deep regret” was the official line from Northern Ireland Secretary of State Shaun Woodward regarding the murder of Aidan McAnespie by a British soldier serving in the occupied six counties 21 years ago. Mr McAnespie, a Roman Catholic man was shot dead 300 yards from a permanent British Army/RUC Checkpoint, at as he crossed the border at Aughnacloy, Co. Tyrone en route to his local GAA ground.


It has taken almost 21 years for the British government to utter their acknowledgement and recognition of the “pain and suffering” inflicted upon the McAnespie family. However, both Mr. Woodward and the Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth, remained reticent that it was a ricochet that had killed Aidan McAnespie.


“It is a matter of deep regret that Aidan was killed by a bullet fired by a soldier which ricocheted from the road.”

The Murder of Aidan McAnespie

Prior to his murder, Aidan had been the victim of incessant and systematic harassment from the North’s British occupying forces for several years. On a twice daily basis, Aidan had been routinely stopped, questioned and his movements closely monitored by British crown forces. This incessant harassment was re-iterated by Aidan McAnespie’s parents, John and Liz, when they recently met with Mr Woodward accompanied by Sinn Fein’s Michelle Gildernew and Fianna Fail senator Mary White;


“To explain the extensive harassment that Aidan had been subjected to in the lead-up to his death and the devastating effect of his loss on his family, friends and community”.


Aidan McAnespie’s fate was to be sealed that fateful Sunday (21 February 1988) by a ‘ricochet’ bullet that was discharged ‘accidentally’ by Guardsman Holden as he manned a watch tower some 300 yards from where McAnespie was to be mortally wounded. The British government well, oiled spin machine sprung into action with a serious of statements skilfully designed to exonerate themselves of all blame and culpability. Both the British Army, “accidental discharge”, and that of the then RUC “accidental shooting” claims, had a hollow significance with many nationalists in Northern Ireland.

At the time of the shooting, his late sister Eilish was more candid regarding her brother’s death;


"It was cold-blooded murder. It's a bit much to believe that a bullet hit a target almost 300 yards away with that accuracy and for the British Army to say it was an accidental shooting. That was shoot on sight. There's no doubt in our minds about that. The harassment he was getting was unbelievable."

Grenadier Guardsman, David Holden, was charged with manslaughter but the decision was to be later over-ruled by the Director of Public Prosecutions. He was later fined for a lesser offence and discharged from the Britsh Army on medical grounds.

After the shooting, Holden claimed that he was moving the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) when his fingers allegedly wet from cleaning the sanger, slipped onto the trigger, which resulted in the discharge of three shots in the direction of Mr McAnespie. Subsequent ballistic and forensic tests proved that the fatal shot was a ricochet. Guardsman Holden denied that he had been neither aiming in Aidan’s direction or was ‘tracking’ him in his sights.


The Historical Enquiries Team (HET) investigation.

Late 2008 seen the release of the findings from the HET’s investigation into the circumstances of Aidan McAnespie’s murder. Their investigation focused upon three different scenarios:

• Guardsman Holden accidentally discharged the gun in the manner described by him in his statements or in some other unknown and undisclosed circumstances.

• Guardsman Holden deliberately discharged a burst of aimed shots at the victim or his vicinity.

•  Guardsman Holden was tracking the victim with the gun, or was aiming the gun at him, and being unaware that the gun was cocked and ready to fire, inadvertently discharging the three shots.

With respect to the much vaunted official British government stance of 'accidental discharge' theory, their report concluded:

"When the facts that the victim of this alleged random shot was a subject that the soldiers kept under observation, and was perceived by them as a potential terrorist suspect, are added to the equation, then the likelihood that it was a random shot is even less. Add to this the minimum 9lb pressure required to pull the trigger and the probability of 'accidental firing' recedes further."

The HET report continued:

"Having weighed up these propositions and taken all the circumstances into account, none of the three scenarios outlined above can be definitively ruled out; Guardsman Holden's version of events, however, can be considered to be the least likely."

As regards the fatal shot that killed Mr McAnespie, the HET report concluded:


"…the chances of it being or random seem so remote in the circumstances that they can be virtually disregarded."

One Final Piece of the Jigsaw Needed!

Whilst this British government statement makes no mention of an apology to Aidan McAnespie’s relatives, they believe that their response is tantamount to recognising the HET report conclusions that the original British army version of events was the “least likely”. They also regarded the inclusion of Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth along with Shaun Woodward in itself was “highly significant and positive”.

Mr McAnespie’s niece Una McCabe said:

“This is a huge step for the British Government. And just because (Secretary of State) Shaun Woodward has reiterated it was a ricochet does not mean it was not murder”

Summing up the implications of the British government announcement for the McAnespie family, Una concluded;


“We have gone as far with the British Government as we can now we hope the Irish Government will follow step. It is the final piece of the jigsaw................................The British statement must be taken as a whole. Mr Woodward says he is confident of the work of the Historical Enquiries Team which concluded the army’s explanation was the least likely version of events.”

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Breaking the Silence on 22 Day War [Pt.2]

Breaking the Silence on 22 Day War [Pt.2]


“Breaking the Silence” publication of Israeli ‘Front Line’ troops testimonies further echoes and corroborates concerns posed by all humans rights organisations working in the war torn enclave of the Gaza Strip. However, despite pro-Israeli counter arguments against the validity and authenticity of some of the testimonies provided, the authors of the report are extremely well respected on the international press and diplomatic circuits. The revelations contained in their report, along with those compiled by Amnesty International, International Red Cross and Human Rights Watch, put further pressure on Israel to answer International ’War Crime’ allegations inflicted upon the Palestinian people during ‘Operation: Cast Lead’.

This non-governmental organisation’s ethos and ‘raison d'être’ is to “demand accountability regarding Israel's military actions in the Occupied territories perpetrated by us and in our name,” As regards financial aid, “Breaking the Silence” receives active funding from such reputable benefactors as; British Embassy in Tel Aviv, Dutch Embassy, the European Union and the New Israel Fund to undertake its investigative work.

Following on from my previous review, “’Breaking the Silence’ on the 22-Day War”, this article will examine the remaining two areas highlighted regarding ‘Operation: Cast Lead’. These two sections take a closer look at the claims of ‘Disproportionate Use of Force’ and the alleged indiscriminate firing of White Phosphorus shells into civilian zones.

Disproportionate Use of Force

Time and time again Israel becomes confronted with allegations and world-wide condemnation of using disproportionate force against its aggressors.  Prior to the 22-Day War Israel sought global validity for what it was going to unleash on Gaza by cloaking it’s imminent invasion as an act of "Self-Defence".  The legal mandate Israel used was Article 51 contained in the UN Charter which declares that if a country attacks you, you are entitled to take action to defend yourself.  However, this does not permit the targeting of civilians either intentionally or non-intentionally as stipulated in the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Israel has a litany of allegations levelled against them through the years of using disproportionate force when dealing with their Middle East disputes, including;

• Their unprovoked attack on Iraq's Osirak in 1981
• Israel's seven-day bombing campaign of Lebanon in retaliation for Hezbollah rocket attacks (1993)
• The Second Lebanon War/July War (2006)
• Fresh allegations over 22-Day War (2008)

Yet again Israel is facing major allegations by international observers and world leaders for their conduct during the 22-Day War regarding the indiscriminate targeting of civilian areas by Israeli artillery. Current International condemnation is being led by The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In attempt to stave of this criticism, the IDF command defended their use of excessive retaliatory force in built up civilian areas of Gaza by claiming that Hamas were using such areas (including schools and offices) to launch rocket attacks on their positions and that their troops were merely acting purely in self-defence. However, one soldier’s testimony claims to completely refute the claim that Israeli fire upon Palestinian civilian premises was solely reactionary in defence of their positions.

Q: Were there house demolitions in your area?

A: All the time. Houses were demolished everywhere. You see clearly that these houses had been fired at with tremendous power. We didn’t see a single house that remained intact, beginning with such scenes as you saw photographed – a house totally shattered or a house with a huge hole in it or many bullet hits on it. We didn’t see a single house that was not hit. The entire infrastructure, tracks, fields, roads – was in total ruin. The D-9 had gone over everything, building up the tank positions and preparing the routes. Nothing much was left in our designated area. It looked awful, like in those World War II films where nothing remained. A totally destroyed city. The few houses that were still inhabitable were taken by the army. The less a house was damaged, all the more chances were it would be entered by soldiers to spend the day or night. As I said, there were lots of abandoned, miserable animals. 

Q: During your week inside the tank position were there still D-9s demolishing houses around and entering neighborhoods across from you?

A: All the time. Definitely. During the week we were there, almost daily, armored infantry would go into a house, this was not D-9s. It was armored infantry since they suspected the houses to be booby-trapped – they blasted the houses. They would open a hole in order to enter the house not through the regular entry door. There were constant blasts, and the D-9s would expand the tank positions and routes. Corps of Engineers was engaged there nonstop, with houses containing no one. It was funny because at some point someone said – I don’t quite remember who, I think our deputy commander or the company commander himself – that our company is supposed to be more active, assigned to do more. So, really, houses were entered where no one was present, and anyway those houses were monitored and I, personally, never saw anyone in there, perhaps the commanders did find a reason to enter them. I didn’t see the reason to enter houses in an empty area where we were monitoring the houses nonstop. Still houses were entered and damage was done to property, for we only saw property, not one person. No obvious reason whatsoever. Perhaps they thought there were weapons inside. I didn’t see any reason for this activity, but it was ongoing, all the time.

However, for any observer who is not akin to the technically advanced weaponry at IDF disposal should not be fooled into the misconception that all this pure wanton destruction could be blamed on afew misguided shells should pay close attention to this next extract. It explains the preciseness of a new mortar device (120mm Mortar) used on the Gaza Strip invasion by Israeli forces;

The 120mm Mortar (a type of mortar shell fired by the IDF in Gaza) is a relatively new system which Giv'ati does not yet possess.

What was the old one like?

The old one had wheels to turn. It takes half an hour to get a shell out. In the new system the computer does the whole calibration process. I have a map, an aerial photo. A code map. I am given a reference point. I click it into the computer. It's a touch screen. I have a keyboard. I click the reference point. It shows me where it is on the map. I press, the mortar is aimed and my subordinate simply fires.

How accurate is it?
Highly accurate. 95-100%

Deployment of White Phosphorus Munitions

White Phosphorus (WP), known as ‘Willy Pete’, is used by military forces in war zones for signalling, screening/incendiary purposes, and destroying enemy equipment or to limiting enemy vision. It is also deployed to combat against vehicles, ammunition dumps and enemy observers. Under specific conventions of The Geneva Treaty (1980) white phosphorus use is strictly prohibited in civilian areas although no blanket ban existed under international law on its deployment as a smokescreen or for illumination. During the 22-Day War there were several physical remnants of white phosphorus deployment in civilian areas of Gaza, specifically the village of Sheikh Ajilin in western Gaza. Locals retrieved the remnants of an exploded white phosphorus mortar shell, and were identified via distinctive code markings on the outer casing. Upon impact of the mortar shell eye witnesses recalled thick dense smoke and a strong garlic-like odour synonymous with the reaction of white phosphorous with air. Furthermore as regards this specific incident, Hebrew writing on the mortar shell read “exploding smoke” — an Israeli military term for this chemical agent.

When one interviewee in the “Breaking the Silence” report was asked about firing white phosphorous mortars he recalled;

Why fire phosphorus?
Because it's fun. Cool. 

Professionally do you have phosphorus for use against such threats?
I don't know what it's used for. I was just talking about this yesterday. I don't
Understand what it's even doing in our supplies if we're not supposed to use such
ammo. It's ridiculous.

When these allegations were initially put to the IDF command, all that they would divulge is that they could neither confirm nor deny white phosphorous use due to possible conflict with specific military operations. Instead they continuously reiterated that any ammunition at the disposal of their military personnel was “within the scope of international law”. However, given the close civilian confinements of Gaza city, Human Rights Watch repeatedly appealed to Israeli forces to cease using white phosphorus mortar shells in the area. It also transpired that other civilian areas of Gaza were also hit by white phosphorus mortars including;

• Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City (15th Jan ’09),
• Firing of up to 20 phosphorus shells into the heavily built-up area around the Beit Lahiya township of Gaza,
• The main UN compound in Gaza City,
• Deployment of white phosphorus mortars in northern Israel.

During the 22 Day War, the Human Rights Watch Executive Director, Kenneth Roth, publicly said “This is a chemical compound that burns structures and burns people.................It should not be used in populated areas.” Whilst acknowledging that it could be used to protect troops on the ground he went on to say;"But it should not be used in civilian areas because there's a parallel duty to take all conceivable precautions to protect the lives of non-combatants,”

Human Rights Watch went on to produce a 71-page report in March of this year to clearly substantiate their initial allegations during the invasion. This report that the IDF "deliberately and recklessly" fired white phosphorus shells into densely populated areas of Gaza in an "indiscriminate" manner that directly resulted in the death and wounding of Palestinian civilians and the actions were tantamount to "evidence of war crimes",

The report also claimed that Israeli military personnel were fully aware of the lethal ability that artillery shells containing this agent could inflict. Furthermore, its deployment in airburst artillery shells revealed a "pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage."

In addition, Human Rights Watch confirmed that such shells rained down on the Gaza’s UN compound incessantly over a two hour period despite repeated calls by UN staff to Israeli military officials to cease the bombardment. This single attack caused an estimated $10m (£6.8m) of damage whilst the resulting fires burned continuously for 12 days after the attack.

As illustrated, various elements of this entire “Breaking the Silence” report further corroborates allegations of potential 'war crimes' perpetrated by Israeli troops during the 22-Day 'Operation: 'Cast Lead'. Given this ever increasing weight of evidence from a lengthening list of observers, can we really take seriously the public assertions of the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak that the IDF;

'Is one of the world's most moral armies and operates according to the highest moral code!'

A Translated version of the Full Report is available @ ‘Soldier’s Testimonies From Operation Cast Lead Gaza 2009’

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'Breaking the Silence' on 22-Day War [Pt. 1]

'Breaking the Silence' on 22-Day War



In the face of mounting International pressure, Israel continues to denounce allegations of human rights violations during its 22-Day War against Hamas in Gaza launched in December ‘08. A series of hard-hitting reports in the last month from independent International human rights organisations clearly reveal incidents of blatant disregard for the human rights of the Palestinian community in Gaza during 'Operation: Cast Lead'. 

These three reports, carried out byThe Red Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch respectively, are believed to be precursors for a UN Report due in September headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone.

Whilst they were all dismissed by IDF and Israeli government authorities as mere pandering to Palestinian sentiment, the latest report comes from within their own establishment in the form of ‘Front Line’ troops who actually served during the 22-Day pummeling of the Gaza Strip enclave.

The Organisation in question is known as “Shovrim Shtika” (Breaking the Silence), who have recently released a booklet (7/15/09), entitled ‘Soldier’s Testimonies From Operation Cast Lead Gaza 2009’ which gives numerous substantiated testimonies by Israeli soldiers who actively participated in Operation; ‘Cast Iron’. “Breaking the Silence” founded in 2004, is an organisation comprising of Israeli veteran soldiers who served in Palestine since the Second Intifada (Sept. 2000). Their principle objective is to offer the Israeli public and global media an alternate ‘Front Line’ view of the true realities of Israel’s involvement in the Gaza Strip.

In producing this report, “Breaking the Silence” has strenuously attempted to portray the contents as more than just mere disgruntlement from within the military ranks and dispel IDF counter claims that their members represent nothing more than a few ‘bad apples’. The highly revealing testimonies contained within, vividly expose the discrepancies between the official IDF press line to the world on military restraint during their combat operations and what actually transpired on the ground in Gaza during ‘Operation Cast Lead’. In total, this 133-page report contains some 54 testimonies from 30 individual Israeli soldiers, who were actively on the ground during the ’22-Day War’. These testimonies lend considerable weight to previous global media and Independent Organisation’s allegations of ‘unlawful’ practices during the onslaught. In an overview of the report’s findings, “Breaking the Silence” spokesman Mikhael Mankin said;

"The testimonies prove that the immoral way the war was carried out was due to the systems in place and not the individual soldier.....................What was proven yesterday is that through the IDF the exception becomes the norm, and this requires a deep and reflective discussion. This is an urgent call to Israel's society and leadership to take a sober look at the foolishness of our policies."

The main areas highlighted for concern by ‘Soldier’s Testimonies From Operation Cast Lead Gaza 2009' include;

• The permissive use of by the IDF of so-called "accepted practices",
• The wanton destruction of hundreds of homes, private property and mosques,
• The indiscriminate firing of phosphorous gas into densely populated areas,
• The wide scale killing of innocent Palestinians
• An inherent ‘laissez-faire’ moral attitude, which existed within the upper tiers of the IDF’s command structure, that was allowed to manifest itself and precipitate down through all military ranks.

A central and recurrent theme throughout many of the testimonies is one of indiscriminate targeting of civilians as revealed by one Israeli soldier who claimed to be unable to see "the enemy before their eyes." This particular soldier went on to say;


"You feel like an infantile little kid with a magnifying glass looking at ants, burning them....................a 20-year-old kid should not have to do these kinds of things to other people."

Due to the complexity of this report and its far reaching implications regards substantiating the claims of the previous International Independent bodies, I will split this overview into two Parts.

Part 1 will Examine:

• Wide scale deployment of ’Neighbour Procedure’ 
• 'Fragmentation’ of the Gaza Strip 
• Israeli ‘Shoot First Ask Questions Later’ Policy?

And Part 2 will Examine:

•  Disproportionate Use of Force 
• Deployment of White Phosphorus Munitions

1.  Wide scale deployment of ’Neighbour Procedure’

‘Neighbour procedure’ is the name given to the military procedure of using civilians (Palestinians in this instance) as human shields by Israeli soldiers when entering a house where suspected militants were believed to be hiding. However, in one of these testimonials a Golani brigade soldier openly confesses that the Israeli occupation forces did use Palestinians as human shields during the 22-Day Conflict, even though the practice has been outlawed since 2005 by an Israeli High Court ruling. The Israeli soldier explains how these Palestinian civilians, referred to as ‘Johnnies’, were use as human shields by fellow IDF soldiers on the ground as they carried out door-to-door raids on Gazan properties. Many of these ‘Johnnies’ were Palestinian civilians who remained on the West Bank despite incessant leaflet drops, telephone warnings, TV campaigns to pressurize Gazan civilians to leave their homes prior to the onslaught. If the use of these civilian human shields proved that militants were present in a civilian property then soldiers automatically adopted the ‘pressure cooker’ approach to neutralise the posed threat.

These so called ‘pressure cooker’ methods to force suspected militants to surrender included the repeated use of helicopter anti-tank missiles and if they this tactic failed to persuade surrender, a D-9 dozer was brought in to demolish the building whilst the Palestinian fighters remained inside. Before each search on a particular building a ‘Johnnie’ was sent into demand the surrender of the individuals inside. In addition, on occasion they were also forced to re-enter the buildings during cessations of IDF fire, sometimes up to three times on an individual military assault.

As regards the blatant use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, one interviewee adds further credibility to accusations made by a Haaretz reporter, Amira Hassof, who had previously drawn attention to this unlawful practice by Israeli personnel during the campaign. The interviewee states;

Sometimes the force would enter while placing rifle barrels on a civilian’s shoulder, advancing into a house and using him as a human shield. Commanders said these were the instructions and we had to do it.

When asked about the Army’s official response to the prior accusations published in Haaretz about IDF abuses, the soldier replies:

It was ludicrous to…hear the response of the army spokesperson that the matter was investigated and there are no testimonies on the ground and that the Israeli army is a moral army. It raises doubts about the army spokesperson’s responses in general when you know for a fact that these things actually did take place..

However, in a bid to quell public opinion the brigade commander Colonel Avi Peled told Israeli Television that the "Johnnie" story and the use of "human shields" was "nonsense." He then went on to completely refute the soldiers’ testimony given to “Breaking the Silence” as "strictly hearsay" and claim that the soldier in question was not even involved in combat during the time of the alleged incident. However, the IDF did promise that it would "investigate any specific allegations presented by Breaking the Silence."

‘Fragmentation’ of the Gaza Strip

The report details how the principle IDF strategy of ‘Fragmentation’ was to be deployed by their soldiers on the ground during the offensive. ‘Fragmentation’ was basically Israel’s attempt to completely split the Gaza Strip in two, Northern and Southern sections. The military goal was to stop the movement of ammunitions, reinforcements, etc. between the refugee camps and Gaza city. Effectively a physical ground clearance operation as the Israeli military advanced.

Whole villages were completely obliterated from the Palestinian landscape as the Israeli war machine moved forward in an aim to completely neutralise any vain attempt of a Palestinian fight back. Such was the wholesale wanton destruction of whole swathes of Gazan civilian villages and towns that very few can argue that this was not a premeditated Israeli military operation from the very outset. If nothing else these testimonies only serve to reinforce the globally held sentiment that Israel was intent on re-occupation.

  Another interviewee gave a detailed description of how they were detailed to enter Palestinian property. In the report he describes the distinction between two types of military entry into a civilian property, ‘dry’ and ‘wet’. As regards the 22-Day War, the IDF soldier in question claims that to minimise the threat of booby trap devices all Gazan property searches involved the deployment of the ‘wet’ approach, i.e. the use of LPG/LAU/grenades, virtually anything at their disposal prior to entry. An extract from the report explains;

So how does 'wet' entry work?


Missiles, tank fire, machine gun fire into the house, grenades. Shoot as we enter a room. The idea was that when we enter a house, no one there could fire at us. Naturally by combat reasoning we would not take a house that the Hamas would expect us to take, for it would be highly likely for the Hamas to booby-trap it.

Israeli ‘Shoot First Ask Questions Later’ Policy?

This was one of the most fervent allegations made by human rights activists, medical personnel and civilians during Operation: ’Cast Lead’. On numerous occasions there were stories that innocent civilians waving white flags or sheets were indiscriminately shot by IDF soldiers.

During the 22-Day conflict, Jessica Montell of B’Tselem was one of a group of leading Israeli human rights campaigners who received several reports of such incidents. One in particular took place in a town Khuza’a on 13th January when a woman was shot as she left her house whilst waving a white flag. As she lay injured still waving the flag she was then shot in the head. As an ambulance tried to reach the scene it too was fired upon. As the day progressed more incidents transpired including 3 more fatalities when a group of 30 civilians also waving white flags were fired upon indiscriminately. As regards quantifying other incidents Montell claimed;

“This is not the first time that we get such information about the IDF shooting people who leave their houses with white flags, or waving white sheets."

Montell’s sentiment is again echoed by another soldier’s testimonial which appears to reflect an endemic ‘shoot first ask questions later’ approach running through all ranks of the IDF during the Gazan invasion. Within the report one soldier says;

We entered a yard and out of sheer fear the family was waiting in an exposed spot – a father, grandfather, young mother and babies. As we were coming in, the commander was firing a volley, and mistakenly killed an innocent.


What exactly happened?


We got to the house. It was surrounded by a yard, a fence. After the gate is broken in, he goes in with live fire. Several bullets, not a full burst…
The family was hiding from the bombings. They were under the stairs and that happened to be just in front of the door and when he went in and fired, he didn’t see who he was firing at. So he happened to kill an elderly guy…


The IDF soldier goes on to elaborate;



He died on the spot?


I don’t know. When I think back, it really seems insane that I don’t know. It hurts to admit it, but… not that I didn’t care. I did keep this in my mind and intended to write the battalion commander about it but I just didn’t have the time. Too bad I didn’t, come to think of it.


All the testimonials seemingly point to a recurring ‘laissez-faire’ moral attitude (coupled with a massive adrenalin rush) towards IDF soldier’s engagement with Palestinian fighters;


So the atmosphere there was laid back, no pressure, no reservations? There was nothing to hold the men back?



When your company commander and battalion commander tell you, "Go on, fire!" the soldiers will not hold back. They are waiting for this day, the fun of shooting and feeling all that power in your hands.

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Frank McCourt: Author of ‘Angela’s Ashes’ Dies

Frank McCourt: Author of ‘Angela’s Ashes’

Frank McCourt was an Irish-American raconteur and memoirist whose abilities gained a world-wide audience only after entering retirement. Prior to springing to international acclaim, Frank had been a public school teacher for 30 years and was fondly regarded as a jovial and well renowned New Yorker. The Pulitzer Prize-winning, "Angela's Ashes", catapulted him to prominence within the literary fraternity, and earned Frank McCourt a global audience.

Mr. McCourt, was being treated at a Manhattan hospice and was seriously ill with meningitis having been recently treated for melanoma (form of Skin Cancer) passed away yesterday (Sun. July 19th '09) at the age of 78.

The Irish-American writer’s path to international literary stardom began in 1996, when with the aid of a friend found a publisher in the form of Scribner for his then-uncompleted manuscript.  This manuscript contained the barbed memoirs of an ordinary man who had led quite an unprecedented life!  These memoirs were to become what we now know as “Angela’s Ashes”, which McCourt himself described as an “epic of woe”. Whilst only having an initial print run of just 25,000 copies, “Angela’s Ashes”, became an instant hit with readers and quickly became a global phenomenon.  Such is its success the novel is now translated into 30 languages and available in 25 countries.  The book was to later gain a whole new audience when it adapted for the big screen in 1999 and starred Emily Watson in the lead role as the mother and Robert Carlyle as the stereotypical Irish father.

Always the raconteur, when asked about accomplishing such celebrity status whilst in retirement, McCourt responded in his distinct Irish accent by reciting F. Scott Fitzgerald;

"F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. I think I've proven him wrong,"

McCourt went on to elaborate;

"And all because I refused to settle for a one-act existence, the 30 years I taught English in various New York City high schools."

However, he was to take this new found fame in his stride and was a regular guest at parties, readings, conferences on the celebrity and literary scene.  He thoroughly relished the invitations to these social events and compared himself to a "dancing clown, available to everybody."

"Angela’s Ashes”, a coming of age novel disguised as a memoir, recounts McCourt’s own life story as a native New Yorker (Brooklyn) who emigrated with his family to live in a ghettoized part of Limerick at the age of four.  It is a graphic depiction, yet tinged with laughter and lyricism, of growing up in the then brutal Irish impoverishment through a young boy's eyes.  Frank and his seven siblings (three of whom succomb to typhoid fever) were constantly resorted to begging and/or stealing food to merely survive.  The loss of the three family members coupled with his father’s alcoholism drove his mother, Angela, into the throws of deep depression and an eventual emotional wreck.

"Angela’s Ashes" indelible opening line;

"Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood," prepares the reader's incredulity from the off!

Following the success of his initial literary offering, Frank went on to launch a sequel, “’Tis”, which narrates his life following his return to New York City. The final novel of the trilogy, “Teacher Man”, describes his teaching experiences commencing in 1958.

I will leave you with this compelling exert from “Angela’s Ashes" to reflect upon.

"People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: the poverty, the shiftless loquacious father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests, bullying schoolmasters; the English and all the terrible things they did to us for 800 long years."

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Operation 'Cast Iron': Sheer Wanton Destruction!

Operation 'Cast Iron': Sheer Wanton Destruction!

'Much of the destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects,' 

Amnesty International’s extensive 117-page Report entitled ‘Israel/Gaza Operation ‘Cast Lead’:22 Days of Death and Destruction’ depicts a harrowing onslaught on a defenseless civilian population. Operation ‘Cast Lead’ commenced at 11.30am on 27 Dec. 2008, with an unrelenting and indiscriminate Israeli aerial bombardment (precision F-16 fighter jets) of the war torn Gaza Strip. Israel’s proposed legitimate aim was to end rocket attacks into Israel territory by armed groups affiliated with Hamas and other Palestinian factions.

Within 22 days of an incessant assault upon the region, some 1,400 Palestinians had lay dead, including some 300 children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians, including more than 115 women and some 85 men aged over 50. In addition to the human carnage, vast areas of Gaza were pummelled and left virtually inhabitable. had been razed to the ground, leaving many thousands homeless and the already dire economy in ruins.

According to Amnesty the indiscriminate attacks were a clear breach of international humanitarian law, most notably the prohibition on direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects (the principle of distinction), the prohibition on indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, and the prohibition on collective punishment.

The Amnesty Report unequivocally calls for an immediate implementation international arms embargoes against Israel and Hamas, and called for 'criminal investigations in national courts' under universal jurisdiction wherever there is sufficient evidence of war crimes.

Rather than go into depth in the full implications of this report I would like to invite Rebels Yell readers to watch this short film footage in order to truly visualise the horrific aftermath of the 22-Day War. The actual report can be found here.
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