2008–2009 Israel–Gaza foreign involvement
Encyclopedia
This article documents the involvement of foreign powers in "Operation Cast Lead", the 2008-2009 Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. It may be useful for the reader to review foreign support available during other, related conflicts such as Operation Orchard
, the 2006 Lebanon War, and 2003 invasion of Iraq
.
Unnamed US diplomatic sources confirmed on or around January 25, 2009 that United States Navy
warships stationed in the Gulf of Aden
had been ordered to track Iranian arms shipments. Israeli intelligence reports that were distributed to cabinet ministers suggested that Iran's Revolutionary Guard has an arms resupply program for Gaza.
Political support
The U.S. initially blocked the 30 December 2008 ceasefire proposal at the U.N. Security Council.
On 31 December, the U.S. sought to hire a German merchant ship to deliver more ammunition to a U.S. supply base in Israel. Arms and munitions from such bases can be handed over to Israeli use in case of an emergency. Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip was allegedly made possible by weapons supplied by the U.S.:
On 9 January, Secretary Rice defended Israel on the issue of deaths of civilians in Israeli operations and blamed Hamas' alleged practice of fighting from populated civilian structures - use of human shields - for Palestinian deaths. Also on 9 January, the U.S. House voted 390-5 to support the Israeli offensive(H.R. 34).
The Institute for Policy Studies has condemned the U.S. role in alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip . "The Israeli air strikes represent serious violations of international law -– including the Geneva Conventions and a range of international humanitarian law -– and the U.S. is complicit in all of it," wrote IPS fellow Phyllis Bennis. The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a coalition of anti-Israel organizations, claim that the Israeli assault was made possible by U.S. military assistance and diplomatic backing. Amnesty International has expressed concern about the U.S. role in the conflict. CODEPINK, a grassroots women's antiwar group, has criticized a recent American Senate vote in support of the Israeli offensive.
On 28 December 2008, the second day of the war, after the first bombing of the Rafah tunnels, hundreds of young Palestinians tried to seek refuge in Egypt. Egyptian guards opened fire on unarmed civilians and injured 10 Palestinians. Palestinian resistance shot back and killed an Egyptian guard. Egyptians arrested about 40 Palestinians that have fled to Egypt ISM activists have taken footage of the incident of that day.
is viewed by many observers to be a serious component of the "Battle of Gaza." http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWViYTRlYmEzNmNmN2VkNGQzNzExZjBjMjY0YjQ2Yzg= Hosni Mubarak
warned that "the Persians
are trying to devour the Arab states." http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1228728151219&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Saudi Arabia's Shura Council member Mohammed Abdallah Al Zulfa stated that "Iran is the big threat in today’s world, supporting all the terrorists from Hamas to Hezbollah to some other terrorists that we don’t know their names yet," and that "Iran destabilized the region by supporting all the illegal activities and activists such as Hamas." http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/12/022411.php "Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman reportedly told the Israelis that Egypt wouldn’t oppose a quick strike designed to bring down Hamas." Palestinian Authority chief Abu Mazen blames Hamas, which is largely an Iranian proxy, for the fighting."http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWViYTRlYmEzNmNmN2VkNGQzNzExZjBjMjY0YjQ2Yzg= Hamas "has drawn itself increasingly into Iran's orbit. Much of its imported weaponry, and the expertise with which it now produces and refines its own rockets, have been provided by Iran. Dozens of its commanders have been trained in Iran in recent years, coming home and disseminating that 'education' as Hamas has built an army in Gaza. And, increasingly too, Hamas has come to act in the service of Iran's aims," according to a Jerusalem Post analysis. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456504726&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFullIran’s Supreme Leader
, Ali Khamenei
issued a religious decree
to Muslims around the world on December 28, ordering them to "defend the defenseless women, children and people in Gaza in any way possible", and calling those who die as "martyr[s]". More than 70,000 Iranian student volunteers have registered to carry out attacks against Israel. Several riots broke out in Tehran where students demanded to be sent to Gaza where they could fight the Israelis. Several weeks before the start of the war, Iran allegedly attempted to send military experts to Gaza on board a Libyan ship, which was intercepted and turned back by the Israeli Navy. Iran sent several ships and a plane with humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians. Iran also asked Egypt to open its borders to enable it to send oil, clothing, and other "basic human needs".
On 3 January 2009, Libya, the only Arab member of the UN Security Council, called on all parties "to observe an immediate cease-fire.". In the draft, Libya expressed "serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza, in particular, after the launching of the Israeli ground offensive". According to diplomats, the United States refused to back the Libyan-drafted text, killed the initiative, and refused to back a watered-down call for a truce.
Operation Orchard
Operation Orchard was an Israeli airstrike on a nuclear reactor in the Deir ez-Zor region of Syria carried out just after midnight on September 6, 2007. The White House and Central Intelligence Agency later confirmed that American intelligence had also indicated the site was a nuclear facility...
, the 2006 Lebanon War, and 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
United States
Military supportUnnamed US diplomatic sources confirmed on or around January 25, 2009 that United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
warships stationed in the Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....
had been ordered to track Iranian arms shipments. Israeli intelligence reports that were distributed to cabinet ministers suggested that Iran's Revolutionary Guard has an arms resupply program for Gaza.
Political support
The U.S. initially blocked the 30 December 2008 ceasefire proposal at the U.N. Security Council.
On 31 December, the U.S. sought to hire a German merchant ship to deliver more ammunition to a U.S. supply base in Israel. Arms and munitions from such bases can be handed over to Israeli use in case of an emergency. Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip was allegedly made possible by weapons supplied by the U.S.:
The U.S. was the only UNSC member that refused to support the 8 January 2009 ceasefire resolution. Other Security Council members were stunned by the U.S. abstention. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is said to be proud of the role he played in persuading U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to refrain from supporting a ceasefire resolution she herself had helped to prepare:
"Israel's intervention in the Gaza Strip has been fueled largely by US supplied weapons paid for with US tax dollars," says a background briefing released Thursday by the Arms and Security Initiative of the New York-based New America Foundation.
Rice did not end up voting for Resolution 1860, thanks to a phone conversation Olmert held with US President George Bush shortly before the vote, the prime minister told a meeting of local authority heads in Ashkelon as part of a visit to the South.Israel succeeded in persuading the U.S. to prevent the UNSC from condemning Israel's alleged white phosphorus attack on the Gaza UN headquarters. The U.S. veto of the proposal came only after being contacted by Israel's representatives. Israel's deputy ambassador to the UN, Danny Carmon, commented: "this is the first time we have succeeded in thwarting an attempt to act against us thanks to reliable firsthand information received from the Foreign Ministry and the IDF".
On 9 January, Secretary Rice defended Israel on the issue of deaths of civilians in Israeli operations and blamed Hamas' alleged practice of fighting from populated civilian structures - use of human shields - for Palestinian deaths. Also on 9 January, the U.S. House voted 390-5 to support the Israeli offensive(H.R. 34).
The Institute for Policy Studies has condemned the U.S. role in alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip . "The Israeli air strikes represent serious violations of international law -– including the Geneva Conventions and a range of international humanitarian law -– and the U.S. is complicit in all of it," wrote IPS fellow Phyllis Bennis. The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a coalition of anti-Israel organizations, claim that the Israeli assault was made possible by U.S. military assistance and diplomatic backing. Amnesty International has expressed concern about the U.S. role in the conflict. CODEPINK, a grassroots women's antiwar group, has criticized a recent American Senate vote in support of the Israeli offensive.
Egypt
Egypt's participation in blocking off the Gaza Strip, and when Egyptian authorities denied foreign doctors entry into the area, has been seen by some as abetting Israel's siege of the strip. Cairo has officially refused to give an Iranian relief ship permission to unload Gaza-bound humanitarian aid at an Egyptian seaport.On 28 December 2008, the second day of the war, after the first bombing of the Rafah tunnels, hundreds of young Palestinians tried to seek refuge in Egypt. Egyptian guards opened fire on unarmed civilians and injured 10 Palestinians. Palestinian resistance shot back and killed an Egyptian guard. Egyptians arrested about 40 Palestinians that have fled to Egypt ISM activists have taken footage of the incident of that day.
Iran
IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
is viewed by many observers to be a serious component of the "Battle of Gaza." http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWViYTRlYmEzNmNmN2VkNGQzNzExZjBjMjY0YjQ2Yzg= Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
warned that "the Persians
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
are trying to devour the Arab states." http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1228728151219&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Saudi Arabia's Shura Council member Mohammed Abdallah Al Zulfa stated that "Iran is the big threat in today’s world, supporting all the terrorists from Hamas to Hezbollah to some other terrorists that we don’t know their names yet," and that "Iran destabilized the region by supporting all the illegal activities and activists such as Hamas." http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/12/022411.php "Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman reportedly told the Israelis that Egypt wouldn’t oppose a quick strike designed to bring down Hamas." Palestinian Authority chief Abu Mazen blames Hamas, which is largely an Iranian proxy, for the fighting."http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWViYTRlYmEzNmNmN2VkNGQzNzExZjBjMjY0YjQ2Yzg= Hamas "has drawn itself increasingly into Iran's orbit. Much of its imported weaponry, and the expertise with which it now produces and refines its own rockets, have been provided by Iran. Dozens of its commanders have been trained in Iran in recent years, coming home and disseminating that 'education' as Hamas has built an army in Gaza. And, increasingly too, Hamas has come to act in the service of Iran's aims," according to a Jerusalem Post analysis. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230456504726&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFullIran’s Supreme Leader
Supreme Leader of Iran
The Supreme Leader of Iran is the highest ranking political and religious authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The post was established by the constitution in accordance with the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists...
, Ali Khamenei
Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
issued a religious decree
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
to Muslims around the world on December 28, ordering them to "defend the defenseless women, children and people in Gaza in any way possible", and calling those who die as "martyr[s]". More than 70,000 Iranian student volunteers have registered to carry out attacks against Israel. Several riots broke out in Tehran where students demanded to be sent to Gaza where they could fight the Israelis. Several weeks before the start of the war, Iran allegedly attempted to send military experts to Gaza on board a Libyan ship, which was intercepted and turned back by the Israeli Navy. Iran sent several ships and a plane with humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians. Iran also asked Egypt to open its borders to enable it to send oil, clothing, and other "basic human needs".
Libya
On 1 December 2008 (several weeks prior to the start of "Operation Cast Lead"), Libya sent a ship with what it claimed was 3,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. Israeli warships intercepted the vessel and turned it back, stating that the ship was suspected of carrying weapons and Iranian military experts. A senior Libyan government official responded:"The Israeli warships are making it difficult for the ship to reach the Gaza coast, in spite of the fact that this is a civilian ship, sent to help Palestinians during the siege".
On 3 January 2009, Libya, the only Arab member of the UN Security Council, called on all parties "to observe an immediate cease-fire.". In the draft, Libya expressed "serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza, in particular, after the launching of the Israeli ground offensive". According to diplomats, the United States refused to back the Libyan-drafted text, killed the initiative, and refused to back a watered-down call for a truce.
Syria
Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal resides in Damascus. On 31 December 2008, Syria and Turkey called on Arab and Islamic countries to encourage Israel to end its offensive. Syria's Sana news agency reports that Syria sent 230 tons of food and medical products to Gaza on 3 January, this in addition to 50 tons sent on 31 December.Turkey
Turkey has suspended indefinitely its mediation between Israel and Syria. Turkish diplomatic sources explain:"Israel's policy to go to war with the Palestinians while talking about peace with the Syrians is very disappointing," the diplomatic source said, adding that "it will be difficult to continue from this point on".Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has visited Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, seeking ways to halt Israel's attacks.