Gaza government says Israeli complaints about rockets are an excuse for attacking the Strip

The Palestinian government in Gaza has said that the complaints submitted by the Zionist state to the United Nations about rockets fired from the beleaguered territory are being used to justify further Israeli airstrikes. In his message to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the acting Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Meron Reuben, said that his country holds Hamas responsible for launching rockets in violation of international law. He wants the UN Security Council to send a clear signal that it rejects the missile attacks. Israel, said Mr Reuben, will continue to exercise its right to self-defence. Observers have pointed to the irony of Israel citing international law in its complaints about the Palestinians; the Zionist state treats international laws and conventions with contempt and breaks them with apparent impunity.

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Commenting on the Israeli complaint, Palestinian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr Ahmed Yousef said that Israel is trying to take advantage of the situation so that it does not repeat the mistakes made during “Operation Cast Lead” in Gaza two years ago. The UN’s Goldstone Report found that Israel committed “war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity” in that assault. “Israel is trying to prepare the ground for future aggression against the people of Gaza,” said Dr Yousef. “By building up a dossier of complaints at the UN, the Israelis believe that it will be easier for them to ‘retaliate’ against rocket fire.” The international community is more likely to be sympathetic to such “retaliation”, allowing Israel to justify whatever disproportionate force it chooses to use, he added. “This is a very smart step by the Israelis,” asserted Dr Yousef, “especially when we consider that most of the world community forgets the obvious fact that rockets are launched from Gaza in response to the occupation of our land and Israeli aggression against our people.”

Dr Ahmed Yousef appealed to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, which represents the Palestinian people at the United Nations, to submit complaints against the Zionist state about its on-going aggression in the Gaza Strip. In stressing that the split between Fatah and Hamas should not affect the PA’s responsibilities towards all Palestinians, he expressed regret that the Authority has so far failed in this respect. “The absence of national unity means that the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah is not really concerned much about what happens in and to Gaza, so our rights are being trampled on.”