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Apr-21-2011 00:31printcommentsVideo

Children Make a Human Chain Spelling 'NO FLY ZONE OVER PALESTINE'

"Every single time another Israeli bomb drops on the innocents of Palestine, this picture shall be put forward as the demand of a truly sane and humane international community."
(PHOTO of the actual human chain BELOW)

Gaza children
Photos by Ken O'Keefe

(GAZA) - We intend to remind the world how the children of Palestine are terrorized and murdered by Israeli air power on a regular basis. We intend to tell the story of how the people of Gaza continue to suffer the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the horrific bombardment of Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.

We demand that the good people of the world acknowledge that Israeli planes simply flying over Palestine is an intentional source of panic and fear, of state sponsored terrorism, for countless people in Gaza, especially the children. There are kids in Gaza that wet themselves at night for fear of being bombed again when they hear Israeli aircraft overhead. And this is a nearly daily occurrence. There are children here that have seen loved ones crushed, bleeding, burned and dying, some hit with White Phosphorus, as a result of Israeli bombings.

Some of these children were seriously wounded themselves. One 11-year-old girl I know personally (from the Samouni family) still has pieces of an Israeli rocket in her head from a bombing during Operation Cast Lead. To this day this injury causes her to bleed from her nose and she has other neurological issues as yet undiagnosed and unresolved.

This is but one story but it makes the point that not only memories are embedded in these children forever, each time a jet, a drone or helicopter gunship flies overhead, the ongoing nightmare of what may come is re-visited. I ask every parent out there to imagine your child continuously traumatized and terrified in the name of “fighting terrorism”. Ask yourself how you would feel about being continuously bombarded by the fourth largest military in the world and having no way at all to protect your child from fear or harm? How would you feel?

Now think about how you play a direct role in the terrorizing of children in Palestine if you are a UK or American citizen. Your governments continue to supply the very same weapons used to carry out these missions. Maybe you in particular should do something to stop this homegrown madness, and if you are already doing something then maybe you should do more? Make no mistake; the flying of Israeli aircraft over Palestine is in itself a form of terrorism. Bombing with “high precision” weapons that continue to hit innocent people is a war crime and terrorism; and this is happening regularly. So what the hell are we doing about it? Some may say, “What difference will a picture make?”

Well, I believe the picture we seek to take will make a difference. We will gather around 200 schoolchildren of Gaza on Thursday April 21, 2011 and these children will form a human chain that will spell out the words ‘NO FLY ZONE OVER GAZA’.

As we do this let us face another shameful fact, the NO FLY ZONE OVER LIBYA is pure, unadulterated oil stealing hypocrisy posing as “humanitarian intervention”. If there were ever anything genuinely humane about Western intervention a NO FLY ZONE OVER PALESTINE would have been implemented decades ago.

But the Palestinians have no oil, and they certainly have no air defenses, and so the innocent people of Gaza continue to be bombed with impunity. How bloody stupid, powerless and hypocritical must we the people have become to allow unhindered bombings of Palestine for decades while doing nothing effective to stop it, meanwhile sitting back to watch a NO FLY ZONE OVER LIBYA be put into place in little more than a week or two? Face it people, we in the West remain staggeringly complacent and falsely inhumane when we allow such hypocrisies to be flaunted right in front of our faces. And so it is that those of us who are still human are compelled to do something. Symbols have power and the extent of that power is derived from the meaning and intensity people affix to the symbols. We intend to create a powerful global symbol made of a message sent directly from the children of Gaza, to the people of the world.

Now whether the world listens and responds to these children is yet to be seen, but at the very least we shall send this message. We hope that our photograph captures the message to such an extent that people are motivated to do more.

Ultimately seek to have this message heeded to such a point that Israeli aircraft will no longer be able to terrorize the people/children of Gaza/Palestine. And if not, every single time another Israeli bomb drops on the innocents of Palestine, this picture shall be put forward as the demand of a truly sane and humane international community.

The true cost of bringing 200 children to the spot to form the human chain is roughly $300 but the minimum amount to request with Indiegogo is $500, thus if we receive $500 or more we will look to bring more children as we must supply travel by bus and a minimum of refreshments for the kids.

If the amount we recieve is more than needed to do what we intend to do then the remainder will be given to the Samouni Project. To help: http://www.indiegogo.com/NO-FLY-ZONE-OVER-PALESTINE


____________________________________

Ken O'Keefe is a former U.S. Marine who served in the 1991 Gulf War and subsequently spoke out about the use of depleted uranium as a "crime against humanity" and the US military using soldiers as "human guinea pigs" with experimental drugs that were directly linked to Gulf War syndrome. He is also a social entrepreneur utilizing direct action marine conservation, he is more widely known for leading the human shield action to Iraq and as a survivor of the Israeli attack on the MV Mavi Marmara in which he participated in "defending the ship" and "disarming two Israeli Commandos". On January 7, 2004, O'Keefe burned his US passport in protest of "American Imperialism" and called for US troops to immediately withdrawal from Iraq. He replaced his US passport with a "World Passport", subsequently proclaiming himself a "Citizen of the World" with “ultimate allegiance to my entire human family and to planet Earth." Ken is also legal citizen of Ireland and Palestine citizenship. Read Ken O'Keefe's Biography, you can also visit Ken's Ken's Website alohapalestine.com




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Anonymous April 26, 2011 6:50 am (Pacific time)

"God already has a "No Fly Zone" over Israel" - reminds me a 2004 article written by Jewish-American journalist, Mark Ames, who said Evangelists's Salvation is based on "Save a Jew, save yourself". http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/save-a-jew-save-yourself/


GT April 25, 2011 10:40 pm (Pacific time)

Editor - You've misunderstood what I wrote. I don't laugh at the fact that soldiers get blown up by IEDs; that's not what I said. I said I laugh when people GRIPE that IEDs are used; the subtext is that they are somehow 'unfair' or 'dirty' forms of war... and yet the US has strewn a quarter BILLION bomblets and land mines across South East Asia. (And not for nothin' - is a M18A1 claymore morally superior because it's not 'improvised'?). No death should be minimised, but the invaders have put themselves in harms way - they're not draftees, and if they don't know by now that what they're doing is morally wrong then they are retarded. We didn['t permit Germans who participated in the excess of Nazism to shrug and say "Gaw-lee, Sar-jint... I wuz jes' follerin orders!" (Gomer Pyle voice) You can't say that about Cambodian and Laotian kids who weren't BORN when the US Air Force was dropping the ordnance that is killing them now. As to whether US or NATO is worse; let's be clear... Kosovo was ostensibly a NATO operation, but the bombs rained down hardest when it suited the US political agenda (taking people's minds off blowjobs, for example). To pretend that NATO forces are less psycho than US forces is engaging in mythology: there is nothing especially evil about US armed forces; as Smedley Butler (2x Medal of Honour Winner) said, they are just the hired muscle... the enforcers in a global racket. And so it is with most; if you had been humping a pack around Angola in the mid 80s you would have seen more brutality than you'll ever see in US engagements. If you want a pissing contest, let's just say that when I was a government killing machine, nobody wore body armour, and almost nobody wore helmets: it was greens, boots, webbing and a weapon. These days, even JSOC guys wear body armour and have fancy headsets, thermals, NVG and air support - didn't exist in my day. Anyhow... ignoring the 'GSTU' (get some time up) "I've been to the Golden Triangle too" childishness... a no-fly zone is rarely ever about preventing ground to air sorties by the target air force: it's mostly about taking out civilian support infrastructure; for a start most of the aircraft used are fighter-bombers with significant ground-attack capability rather than straight-up air-superiority fighters. And the guys laser-painting the targets aren't pointing at overflying fighters or helos. Anyhooo... as I said, it would be far more useful to treat the 'Israel' [sic] government the way the UN treated Saddam, or NATO treated the Taleban. Or even better (nobody needs to die at all), the US Congress could start to obey its own laws and cut off aid to Israel, which violates the Symington Amendment - an amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act that prohibits aid to countries who undertake nuclear proliferation in violation of the IAEA guidelines (chief of which is being signatory to the NNPT). Take a $3b hole out of the Zionist military budget, and freeze their US assets (and those who send them money) and the problem in Gaza would disappear in a week.


GT April 25, 2011 6:38 pm (Pacific time)

A 'No Fly' Zone over Gaza would be a DISASTER for the Palestinian people.

Inviting NATO and the rest of the Merchants of Death to bomb Gaza is a recipe for carnage; expecting such an effort to abstain from raining death on children is like expecting to hold back the tide.

Far better for the UN and NATO to bomb Tel Aviv until ‘Israel’ [sic] withdraws from territory it is occupying in violation of UNSC and UNGA resolutions. After all, when Saddam Hussein occupied parts of Kuwait he was bombed and sanctioned to oblivion (or more accurately, his people were).

Inviting NATO into Gaza invites the destruction of water treatment, sewage, and communications infrastructure, plus the dispersal of all those lovely bomblets that Raytheon and co leave strewn in their wake.

This is why I laugh out loud when yanks gripe about their soldiers beign exposed to IED’s: what is an IED but a LAND MINE? The the US spread 250 MILLION land mines and minelets across South-East asia in the 1970s – mines that kill people to this day.

Hey GT, don't you think making Israel ground their jet from operations against Gaza is a good start?  From what I have seen, a NATO mission is way safer for the populace than a US mission.  I have a spent time with many military groups overseas; French, Italian, German, UK, Romania, Uganda, Mongolian and several others.  I've also been with Afghan and Iraqi soldiers on patrols.  I can tell you that the European military groups in particular, are night and day from US troops.  So you laugh at people being blown up by IED's?  Exactly how many have you had explode under your HUMVEE?  That sucks, you toss your own credibility out the window by sounding like a warmonger.  No human death is a laughing matter, maybe when you figure that out you will have a starting point.    


Rotorman April 25, 2011 8:18 am (Pacific time)

I note the glee of the zionist, Golem, who rejoices in the murder of the martyrs Juliano and Vittorio. The world is awake to the blood thirsty nature of the zionist. No doubt they organised the killings of Juliano and Vittorio.


Rachel Golem April 23, 2011 5:47 pm (Pacific time)

I haven't laughed so hard since the Juliano and Vittorio killings!!!

Editor: Again, published only to show the spirit of Israel toward those who object to violence.  


Stowit April 22, 2011 8:20 pm (Pacific time)

no amos it's not "amazing prophecy" it's claptrap. 21st century reliance on 3000 year old superstition is what got the region into this mess. The CHILDREN are amazing. Human beings are amazing. Ancient superstitions are just ancient superstitions. STAY HUMAN.


mike April 21, 2011 5:15 pm (Pacific time)

Please also show "freedom fighters" using schools as rocket launch pads. Oh right - that wouldn't push your agenda.

Tim King: You're so full of shit Mike, bet you like to see kids killed and you are obviously an anti-Arab bigot, so it fits. There is no shred of truth to Mike's little hasbara suggestion.  His 'honorable' IDF told families they should go to certain places, then they sent bombs right down on them.  I'll bet you and your kind have nightmares; all of you Zionists with your prejudice and hate- you are a sick puppy.  You are what is wrong and bad with and about everything I could ever mention.  My agenda would like to take your attitude out in the back alley and show you just a little about what those kids could tell you everything about. Don't bother leaving comments here, they won't be approved.

STAY HUMAN


Beth April 21, 2011 6:37 am (Pacific time)

When are we ever going to quick sacrificing the world's most precious resource in the name of greed? I don't mean oil I mean our real treasures innocent children.


Hannah April 21, 2011 10:07 am (Pacific time)

Viva Palestina!!! This is beautiful thank you very much for loving all people equally and maybe it will spread around the world. Children are LOVE, a gift from God. Save them.


Fajar Maulana April 21, 2011 1:42 am (Pacific time)

Love this act... God bless you all, save you all, and always protect you all. FREE PALESTINE! Ameen...


amos33 April 21, 2011 1:07 am (Pacific time)

God already has a "No Fly Zone" over Israel. Get ready Church and remember this Prophecy: "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Daniel 9:27 Amazing Prophecy, isn't it? "And he will confirm the covenant with many for one week...". Well, the many would be the UN and the Covenant would be the Peace Treaty. But who would be the "CONFIRMER"? Be ready Church, the Day of the LORD is near.

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