“Operation Summer Rain,” the current Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, has been underway for two weeks. Since the kidnapping of Corporal Shalit, Israeli forces have killed fifty Palestinians. Most of them were armed militants, but numerous civilians and children have fallen victim to Israeli bombs as well. A group of approximately 100 women of the Fatah party have responded by taking up arms.

Women Martyrs of al Aqsa. Radicalism grows as mutual recognition decreases. Calls for dialogue go side by side with military escalation. Today, a new armed group held its first press conference: a womens’ militia will become part of the al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, the armed faction of Abu Mazen’s al Fatah party. One of their members, Um al Abed, announced the group’s formation in Gaza City, claiming that 100 women from the occupied territories, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip have offered to carry out suicide attacks in Israel in response to the current Israeli offensive. The Fatah women also promise to fight the Hamas party, which they hold responsible for killing some members of Fatah. Their statement makes it clear that the civil war between Fatah and Hamas, which the mutual agreement on the “prisoners’ document” briefly seemed to resolve, is ready to explode again. The newest justification for violence is the decision by the Palestinian president to nominate Mahmoud Zahar as Foreign Minister. Zahar stands accused of having orchestrated the kidnapping of Shalit. Hamas favors Zahar, while Fatah instead proposes Fatouk Kaddoumi.

Humanitarian Crisis. Israeli’s most recent invasion of the Gaza Strip, which the government refuses to call a re-occupation, has further aggravated the precarious conditions of its residents. Newly deprived of international relief funding, now they find Israel’s tanks on their doorstep. The destruction of primary infrastructure, such as the electricity generating plant, bridges, and cultivated fields, have provoked another humanitarian crisis. Medical supplies are running out in hospitals, diesel is increasingly unavailable for generators. Electricity is needed to pump water to people’s homes, and the Palestinian Authority is closing borders because they can’t pay the guards, which significantly reduces the food supply. European Union requests that Israel exercise restraint are falling into a void. Olmert responded to the EU request by saying the offensive won’t stop until Shalit is freed. He asked, “When was the last time the European Union condemned killing by the Palestinians or took measures to stop it? There is no other way to halt the fear and insecurity of Israeli citizens who live in terror of Qassam rockets.” In exchange for Shalit, Hamas is demanding freedom for Palestinians in Israeli jails, particularly the women and children. But Israeli refuses, “to negotiate with terrorists”.