Israel Betrays Ceasefire With Palestinians Through Operation Cast Lead 2008-2009

A Palestinian worships amid israeli army siege (Source: Reuters via Antara)

JAKARTA - Several ceasefires have been agreed upon by Israel and the Palestinians. One of the most memorable perhaps the june 9, 2008 ceasefire. Through operation Cast Lead, Israel at that time violated the ceasefire. Not only that. Israel is blackmailing The Palestinians. A moment that on the other hand opens the eyes of the world about who Israel is.

The deal initially went well. However, Israel violated it. The Cast Lead operation itself ran from 2008 to 2009. The barrage of conflict led the two countries to a ceasefire agreed on June 19, 2008. The agreement was reached through negotiations in Cairo, where Egypt serves as a mediator.

As part of the ceasefire, Israel agreed to open a blockade of Gaza so that merchant ships could cross the border. Initially the ceasefire went well. However, Israel later violated the ceasefire, with their returning forces intimidating gazans.

"During the ceasefire period, the Israeli Navy attacked fishing boats belonging to unarmed civilians off the Gaza Coast. Israel expects Hamas to respond. In fact Israel intimidated gazans for a long time. Hundreds of fishermen were injured. Their ships were destroyed. Even international anti-colonial volunteers were also shot by Israeli soldiers as living shields of fishermen so as not to be fired upon by Israeli soldiers off the coast of Gaza," said Anwar M. Haris in the book Israel Is Not Real: A Fictional State in the Land of Spoils (2015).

Photo illustration of Israel's attack on Gaza (Source: Reuters via Antara)

On that basis Israel called it in violation of the main principle of ceasefire. In addition to intimidation, Israel has also again illegally blocked economic activity in Gaza. As a result, Gaza's 1.5 million people -- mostly children and refugees -- have had to suffer from a shortage of medical aid, electricity supplies, water and food throughout the day.

The blockade led the world community to call Israel a war criminal. Nevertheless, Israel does not want to be blamed. Israel insists that violating the ceasefire is hamas. Israel began spreading the issue through various mass media that they were attacked first by Hamas.

Israel calls what they do is retaliation for attacks, that they are only defending themselves. But this was disputed by the United States Council of Synagogues(USA), which is also a former Member of the American–Jewish Congress, Henry Siegman.

"Let me express bluntly that all of Israel's claims are lies. Israel, not Hamas, is violating the ceasefire: Hamas has stopped its rocket attacks on Israel. Instead, Israel wants to launch its siege of Gaza," said Henry Siegman quoted Dina Y Sulaiman in the book Obama Revealed: The Reality Behind Imaging (2010).

"In fact, throughout the ceasefire, the siege of Gaza was tightened. This was confirmed not only by all international observers and NGOs who came to the region, but also by Brig. Gen. Samuel Zakai, a former Israeli military commander in the Gaza Division," he added.

Operation Cast Lead 2008-2009

Mutual retaliation for attacks triggered the end of the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire. Officially, the truce ended on December 19, 2008. Meanwhile, efforts to extend the ceasefire have always failed.

After the end of the ceasefire, Israel then launched an attack on a tunnel allegedly used to kidnap Israeli soldiers. The attack killed several Hamas fighters.

"Following this, Hamas continued rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli cities, mainly firing more than 60 rockets on December 24. On December 27, 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead against Hamas. Many human rights organizations accuse Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes," Willem Brownstok wrote in the book Islam: From the Mughal Empire to the Arab-Israeli Conflict (2020).

Photo illustration (Snowscat/Unsplash)

Through operation Cast Lead, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas rockets. The goal of operation Cast Lead itself is to lower the security threat by reducing rocket launches in Gaza and weakening Hamas.

The operation, which took 22 days -- from December 27 to January 11 -- is estimated to have claimed the lives of as many as 1,500 Palestinians. Most of them are civilians.

As a result of the Cast Lead operation, five thousand Palestinians were physically disabled. Other civilian objects were also destroyed by land, sea and air strikes.

"The attack that Israel carried out on Gaza was called by Operation Cast Lead. In the attack, Israel maximized its military strength. Israel attacks Palestinians from land, air and sea. The Israeli government built the Iron Dome, and Israel launched airstrikes to help and protect ground troops. The main mission of this attack is intended to weaken the power and legitimize attacks on Palestine," concluded Ira Gabriella et al in the Diponegoro Law Journal (2017).

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