Operation Cast Lead five years on: 'We are still demanding justice' - Opinion - Al Jazeera English:
This year marks the fifth anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, Israel's 22-day offensive (December 27-January 18) on the Gaza Strip. Sitting in Gaza today it is hard to believe that five years have passed.
The horrors of that offensive remain indelibly etched in the minds of all Gazans. For 22 days we were closed in and relentlessly attacked, while the world watched as war crimes were broadcast live on television. At the end of the offensive over 1,400 Palestinians were dead; 82 percent of them - the overwhelming majority - were innocent civilians. In January 2009, Gaza looked like the scene of a natural disaster. Its people stood numb and in shock. But in the middle of the destruction and the loss, there was hope.
We believed that the world had to react: Who can forget the sight of white phosphorous raining down over Gaza City, and the suffering and death it caused to our families? Who can forget the indiscriminate artillery bombardment, the drone attacks that killed only civilians and children, or the bulldozers and explosive charges that left the homes in the Gaza Strip in ruins? We believed that justice would be done for the innocent civilians, and those responsible would be held to account.
The Israeli justice system has systematically turned its back on Palestinian victims and the rule of law [AFP]
