Nam breaks Gaza silence

NAMIBIA has expressed concern about the ‘vicious cycle of violence’ between Israel and Hamas, in which nearly 600 people, including defenceless civilians in Gaza City, have lost their lives and close to 3 000 others have been wounded.

Finally breaking its silence since the incursion began nearly two weeks ago, Government condemned the Israeli bombardments and ground assault on the Gaza Strip.
‘This naked aggression and disproportionate use of force by Israel is unfortunate and only leads to further escalation of violence,’ a statement issued by the Ministry of Information said.
The Government called on Israel to withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and urged the UN Security Council to assume its responsibility under the UN Charter and bring to an immediate end the ongoing violence which threatens peace and security in the Middle East.
Israel launched a massive air offensive on the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip on December 27 and followed this with a ground invasion on Saturday night.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the operation, which Israeli leaders say is aimed at halting rocket fire on Israel by Gaza militants.
The Namibian Government appealed for calm and urged the two sides to stop the bloodbath in order to allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
‘Namibia wishes to remind the government of Israel of its responsibility under international humanitarian law to protect civilians caught up in the conflict.
‘The Government of Namibia further calls on the government of Israel to allow the people of Palestine to exercise their right to self-determination, including the right to their land and the creation of a Palestinian state.
This is the only viable path which could lead to a comprehensive peace in the Middle East,’ the statement said.
Human rights lawyer and Director of the Legal Assistance Centre Norman Tjombe described the bombings as ‘most atrocious’.
‘Not only should the firing of rockets into Israel stop without delay, but the Israeli response is the most disproportionate under these circumstances, and which has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties, including small children.
‘In this day and age, it should be possible to settle disputes through dialogue and not by the most uncivilised form of using guns and bombs,’ he said.
Tjombe called on the parties to return to the dialogue and enter into a ceasefire in the interest of the millions of innocent people.
‘We are already witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe, which will only exacerbate with the war continuing,’ he said.
Yesterday media reports quoted Israeli military sources as stating that there were plans to halt military operations for three hours a day near the city of Gaza to enable aid to flow through a humanitarian corridor it is setting up in the Hamas-ruled territory.
Israeli military would lay down its weapons every day from 13h00 to 16h00 in the area of the city of Gaza to allow shops to open and funerals to take place.
Aid agencies have complained of a mounting crisis for the 1,5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli ground forces, which invaded the enclave on Saturday to counter rocket fire by armed Palestinian factions, have bisected the territory and encircled major populated areas.
Yesterday Israel and Hamas studied an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that won immediate backing from the United States and Europe, hours after Israeli shells killed 42 Palestinians at a UN school.
However, Israeli officials also said ministers would discuss a major escalation of their 12-day-old offensive that would push troops deep inside Gaza’s cities and refugee camps in their bid to end rocket salvoes into Israel by Islamist militants.
At least eight Hamas rockets hit southern Israel, causing no casualties.
International news agencies quoted Israeli government sources as saying that ministers were likely to defer a vote on starting an urban warfare stage of the offensive and give Egypt’s ceasefire efforts a chance.