Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019) | Full Documentary | Directed by Abby Martin

 

This debut feature film by journalist Abby Martin began while reporting in Palestine, where she was denied entry into Gaza by the Israeli government on the accusation she was a “propagandist.” So Abby connected with a team of journalists in Gaza to produce the film through the blockaded border.

It is a documentary about the historic Great March Of Return protests, which occurred every week from March 2018 until December 2019, but covers so much more.

It tells the story of Gaza past and present, showing rare archival footage that explains the history never acknowledged by mass media. You hear from victims of the ongoing massacre, including journalists, medics and the family of internationally-acclaimed paramedic, Razan al-Najjar.

At its core, ‘Gaza Fights For Freedom’ is a thorough indictment of the Israeli military for war crimes with exclusive documentary evidence and a stunning cinematic portrayal of Palestinians' heroic resistance.

Gaza - 70 Years Of Genocide - Norman Finkelstein

Israel accused of indiscriminate phosphorus use in Gaza

White phosphorus burns in contact with oxygen and causes deep burns when it touches human skin, sometimes reaching to the bone. The weapon is not illegal itself and can be used to provide a smokescreen on the battlefield or as an incendiary weapon against a military target. However, its use is regulated even by customary international law. It must be used in a way that distinguishes between combatants and civilians and cannot be used to target civilians.

Most of the Israeli military's white phosphorus in Gaza was fired in 155mm artillery shells, each containing 116 wedges soaked with the chemical.

In January, the Guardian found one such shell still smoking several days after it was fired, outside the home of the Abu Halima family in Atatra. One white phosphorous shell hit the house directly, killing a father and four of his children. His wife was severely burnt. Human Rights Watch also reported the same case.

Human Rights Watch found 24 spent white phosphorus shells in Gaza, all from the same batch made in a US ammunition factory in 1989 by Thiokol Aerospace. Other shells were photographed during the war with markings showing they were made in the Pine Bluff Arsenal, also in America, in 1991.

Human Rights Watch said the Israeli military often used the weapon even in areas where there were no Israeli troops on the ground, which it said, "strongly suggests that the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] was not using the munition for its obscurant qualities but rather for its incendiary effect".

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The group said it found no evidence that Hamas fighters used Palestinian civilians as human shields - a key Israeli claim - in the area at the time of the attacks it researched.

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THE WORSE GAZA GETS THE MORE MONEY ISRAEL MAKES

“The Gaza Strip has just declared ‘a state of emergency’. Whilst the BDS movement bolsters its wins, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis grows worse as the money pours into the hands of Israelis from international organizations seeking to help.

The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip right now – brung about as a result of Israel’s 12 year, illegal siege – has seen next to no coverage, being completely ignored by most popular News outlets.

Lately, the cause for ‘Palestinian human rights’ has been growing in support amongst people of the West, with many coming to terms with the reality of Israel’s brutality against the Palestinians. As a result of growing support for the cause, many people are now active in sharing information regarding human-rights abuses, carried out against the Palestinians, few however are sharing the following information.

Israel is making big bucks off of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, in fact, the worse the situation gets the more Israel makes.

If there is to be real efforts in a Boycott of Israel, perhaps not paying into the Israeli economy – international aid – would be a start.

Israel are actually rewarded – with hard cash, the usage of their services and work for their people – whilst they purposefully strangle the Gazan population. That’s right, people giving money to International Organizations, sending aid to Gaza, are actually contributing to an Israeli incentive to make Gaza’s conditions even worse.

How are International Organizations giving Israel the incentive to make Gaza’s condition more unlivable?

The answer to this is very simple, International Organizations, seeking to send aid into Gaza look for the cheapest options available to them, in order to send as much aid into the Strip as necessary. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), more than 80% of Gaza’s population are dependent upon International relief, this means there is a lot of items crossing the Erez (Israel/Gaza) border to help the people.

The International Aid Agencies then take their budgets and spend on the cheapest and most efficiently delivered items available, which come from… you guessed it, Israel. Normally products produced in Jordan or other neighboring countries would be cheaper, but due to international import taxes – into Israel, then through the border into Gaza – the price ends up being cheaper for Israeli made goods.

In 1994 Israel and the “Palestinian Liberation Organization” (PLO) signed an economic deal, known as the ‘Paris Agreement’, this agreement ultimately concluded that no import tax was to be charged on items entering the Gaza Strip from Israel. As a result of this Agreement, Israel has been able to make a monopoly out of International aid, coming in to supposedly help the deprived people of the Gaza Strip.

People now maybe asking why the border between Egypt and Gaza is not utilized, the answer to this, is that the Rafah crossing (Egyptian border) opens a few times per year and is also at he mercy of Israeli decision makers, who will not allow for aid to come through frequently this way.

More than just buying a few Israeli good, this is an industry for Israel.

Israel are not just having a few goods purchased from them, they are literally supplying the food to most Gazans. More than 80% of Gaza is completely impoverished and the worse it gets, the more aid is needed. Gaza has a population of over 2 million, thats a lot of goods everyday, for a lot of people.

Israel are never scrutinized for this and if International Aid Organizations, decided at this point to buy from elsewhere, there is every chance Israel could just close the Gaza border.

Think about this, Israel strangles the population of Gaza and for the tighter the death grip, the more revenue they receive, its the ultimate display of dominance and inhumanity. Not only are goods being purchased, this creates for jobs in Israel stimulating their economy. Even in order to bring the goods into Gaza, Israeli trucks are being used for this.

So what is the solution?

Well for a start, this is something that the BDS should at the very least be discussing!

If we simply leave this very important issue alone, we will allow for the humanitarian crisis to get worse and worse in Gaza. This is a key issue to act upon and will effect Israel greatly, if we are able to change the situation at hand.

This article is a condensed version of this case, written to try and get this point across, this is an urgent matter as people are dying as a result of inaction on this issue.

If we want the siege on Gaza to end, we need to take away the incentive of Israel to make money off of it, or at the very least, make people aware that they are.”

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