Here’s a little roundup of the ongoing and escalating Gaza invasion.

Deliberate attacks by Israeli forces against civilian property and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip violate international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes, Amnesty International said today.

“Israel must now take urgent measures to remedy the long-term damage it has caused and immediately restore the supply — at its own cost — of electricity and water to the Palestinian population in the affected areas,” urged the organization. “As the occupying power, Israel is bound under international law to protect and safeguard the basic human rights of the Palestinian population.” (Amnesty International)

Well, at least the Israeli government is going to cover the costs of rebuilding the power plant they blew up that provided electricity for up to 700,000 people, right? Wrong. Here is a bit of incestuous corruption for you:

United States officials said Saturday that U.S. funds would be used to pay for the damage caused by the strike. The power station was insured by a U.S. government agency, according to The Boston Globe.

The U.S. Foreign and Defense Ministry departments that oversee foreign relations were unaware of the decision to target civilian facilities in the Strip, or the decision to attack the power station. Because of this, officials did not know that the station was insured by a U.S. government agency. Israel did not inform the U.S. prior to attacking the power station.

The power station in Gaza was built over a period of five years, at a cost of $150 million. In 1999, the Enron Corporation, along with Palestinian businessman Said Khoury, began working on the project. In 2000, Khoury’s Morganti Group purchased Enron’s share of the project. (Haaretz)

Enron? Are you kidding me? Like there wasn’t enough corruption in Israel and Palestine already.

“We estimate that 25,000 people could be forced to flee Beit Hanun if Israel attacks in the north, as it has indicated,” Christer Nordahl, the deputy director of the UN’s relief agency in Gaza, told Reuters, referring to a town in the area where the IDF raided last week. (Haaretz)

I’m not sure what we call refugees from refugee camps. this is just part of the coming humanitarian crisis that Jan Egeland warned about.

The United States government has laid down three rules for the current Israel Defense Forces operation in the Gaza Strip, according to senior sources in Jerusalem: No harming Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas; no harming civilians and avoid damaging infrastructure. (Haaretz)

I don’t know which Israel the US government is talking about, but every action they take in Gaza is collective punishment against a civilian population. Of course, they made this statement after Israel bombed the power station and the bridge…