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- Palestinian detainee in Israel now more than 50 days into hunger strike
Why do they hate the West so much, we will ask? By Robert Fisk.
So once again, Israel has opened the gates of hell to the Palestinians. Forty civilian refugees dead in a United Nations school, three more in another. Not bad for a night’s work in Gaza by the army that believes in “purity of arms”. But why should we be surprised?
Have we forgotten the 17,500 dead – almost all civilians, most of them children and women – in Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon; the 1,700 Palestinian civilian dead in the Sabra-Chatila massacre; the 1996 Qana massacre of 106 Lebanese civilian refugees, more than half of them children, at a UN base; the massacre of the Marwahin refugees who were ordered from their homes by the Israelis in 2006 then slaughtered by an Israeli helicopter crew; the 1,000 dead of that same 2006 bombardment and Lebanese invasion, almost all of them civilians?
What is amazing is that so many Western leaders, so many presidents and prime ministers and, I fear, so many editors and journalists, bought the old lie; that Israelis take such great care to avoid civilian casualties. “Israel makes every possible effort to avoid civilian casualties,” yet another Israeli ambassador said only hours before the Gaza massacre. And every president and prime minister who repeated this mendacity as an excuse to avoid a ceasefire has the blood of last night’s butchery on their hands. Had George Bush had the courage to demand an immediate ceasefire 48 hours earlier, those 40 civilians, the old and the women and children, would be alive.
What happened was not just shameful. It was a disgrace. Would war crime be too strong a description? For that is what we would call this atrocity if it had been committed by Hamas. So a war crime, I’m afraid, it was. After covering so many mass murders by the armies of the Middle East – by Syrian troops, by Iraqi troops, by Iranian troops, by Israeli troops – I suppose cynicism should be my reaction. But Israel claims it is fighting our war against “international terror”. The Israelis claim they are fighting in Gaza for us, for our Western ideals, for our security, for our safety, by our standards. And so we are also complicit in the savagery now being visited upon Gaza.
I’ve reported the excuses the Israeli army has served up in the past for these outrages. Since they may well be reheated in the coming hours, here are some of them: that the Palestinians killed their own refugees, that the Palestinians dug up bodies from cemeteries and planted them in the ruins, that ultimately the Palestinians are to blame because they supported an armed faction, or because armed Palestinians deliberately used the innocent refugees as cover.
The Sabra and Chatila massacre was committed by Israel’s right-wing Lebanese Phalangist allies while Israeli troops, as Israel’s own commission of inquiry revealed, watched for 48 hours and did nothing. When Israel was blamed, Menachem Begin’s government accused the world of a blood libel. After Israeli artillery had fired shells into the UN base at Qana in 1996, the Israelis claimed that Hizbollah gunmen were also sheltering in the base. It was a lie. The more than 1,000 dead of 2006 – a war started when Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on the border – were simply dismissed as the responsibility of the Hizbollah. Israel claimed the bodies of children killed in a second Qana massacre may have been taken from a graveyard. It was another lie. The Marwahin massacre was never excused. The people of the village were ordered to flee, obeyed Israeli orders and were then attacked by an Israeli gunship. The refugees took their children and stood them around the truck in which they were travelling so that Israeli pilots would see they were innocents. Then the Israeli helicopter mowed them down at close range. Only two survived, by playing dead. Israel didn’t even apologise.
Twelve years earlier, another Israeli helicopter attacked an ambulance carrying civilians from a neighbouring village – again after they were ordered to leave by Israel – and killed three children and two women. The Israelis claimed that a Hizbollah fighter was in the ambulance. It was untrue. I covered all these atrocities, I investigated them all, talked to the survivors. So did a number of my colleagues. Our fate, of course, was that most slanderous of libels: we were accused of being anti-Semitic.
And I write the following without the slightest doubt: we’ll hear all these scandalous fabrications again. We’ll have the Hamas-to-blame lie – heaven knows, there is enough to blame them for without adding this crime – and we may well have the bodies-from-the-cemetery lie and we’ll almost certainly have the Hamas-was-in-the-UN-school lie and we will very definitely have the anti-Semitism lie. And our leaders will huff and puff and remind the world that Hamas originally broke the ceasefire. It didn’t. Israel broke it, first on 4 November when its bombardment killed six Palestinians in Gaza and again on 17 November when another bombardment killed four more Palestinians.
Yes, Israelis deserve security. Twenty Israelis dead in 10 years around Gaza is a grim figure indeed. But 600 Palestinians dead in just over a week, thousands over the years since 1948 – when the Israeli massacre at Deir Yassin helped to kick-start the flight of Palestinians from that part of Palestine that was to become Israel – is on a quite different scale. This recalls not a normal Middle East bloodletting but an atrocity on the level of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. And of course, when an Arab bestirs himself with unrestrained fury and takes out his incendiary, blind anger on the West, we will say it has nothing to do with us. Why do they hate us, we will ask? But let us not say we do not know the answer.
This should dispel all this Israeli propaganda on the subject of “Surgical strike and we don’t target civilian” rethoric. Furthermore, could this be the reason why Israel “decmocratic government” has denied Journalist access to Gaza. I await BJW response with patience.
While we are on the subject of democracy in the middle east. Can I please remind my Israeli friend that IRAN was a democracy that was dismantled by the USA in 1952 and the Shah installed. I dont suppose they know that, hence their continuous repetitive statement of being the sole democracy in the region.
The conclusive solution to silence radical Palestinian groups will be to establish an international military force to police Gaza and the West Bank headed by a contagion of forces from the more secular Arab countries to ensure the smooth transition to a strong Palestinian state. If there is a well crafted plan to create a Palestinian state, I think most of the Arab countries will readily send troops to help develop a viable Palestinian state.
A peaceful Middle East will definitely have a lot of ramifications. A peaceful Middle East will stem the tide and accelerate a decline in radical Islam. There is no greater hope than that the Israelis and Palestinians get tired of their tortuous past full of wars then sit down and work towards a peaceful Middle East.
Rest of article on http://www.complainary.com here: http://xrl.us/beb6uc
Maybe the notion that Israel used surgical strikes and used every measure to limit civilian deaths is not entirely accurate and maybe should be dispeled, but the fact remains that Hamas and other Islamic factions have invited Israel into this mess. You want to talk about sabra and shatila… How about an israeli kindergarden held hostage by PLO terrorists which later slaughtered all of the children. Or… how about the olympics. see… the difference here is that palestinian terrorists target Israeli civilians NOT soldiers. On the other hand Israel responds by targeting those responsible for such attacks, but because palestinian teritories are so overpopulated and because the terrorists do their dirt from within the rest of their population you have civilian casualties. How was Israel to respond to the latest barrage of rockets on its civilians (the last few years)?? should Israel have launched missles too?? without the surgical strikes we would be looking at thousands of deaths in the last few weeks. Would that have been dissproportionate?? The rest of the world including you seem to think that what israel is doing the last couple of weeks has been a holocaust. Is it?? what should Israel do?? why doesnt the europeans and the rest of the arab world hold Hamas responsible for putting Israel in this position, a position of looking like the bad guys??? Its because this is what Hamas wanted. They knew and wanted their civilian population killed, this was their sad tactic
Well, how about stopping the occupation thathas lasted for so long. How about lifting the siege on Gaza? How about having the will to live and and let live? How about stopping the settlement expansion? How about returning the detainees held in prison without trial? How about retrieving back to 1967 borders which is in itself a huge concession?
You know what?
For once I agree with Hamas statement, their rights are not negotiable. Occupier should not be negotiated with and resistance is the right of the occupied. Maybe its high time you start asking your so called democratic government to get the hell out of Palestinian land so that you may have peace. Enough is enough. Israel would very much like the world to think they are the victim here…. but we refuse to be lied to by a rogue state who has shown total dis respect for human life and continues to ignore the will of the international community. What would any western country do if any of their land was being occupied…? Send bouquet of flowers to the occupier!
ok… so a bouquet of flowers is not an option. how about launching random missiles that land anywhere thirty miles of gaza, and lets send them to the most populated cities in that visinity. thats the answer! as long as the people of israel live in what is today israel they deserve to get a missile at their feet. thats the answer Rashid. Hamas does not want any Jews in what is now Israel, forget the west bank or Gaza. Lets talk about the occupation… and what is the occupation? I believe there are none (settlements)in what is now Gaza, I might be wrong. then there are probably some in the west bank, but isnt that what used to be teritories of two other countries lost in a war against Israel? The fact remains that there are border controlls in both areas due to… suicide bombings or other harmful things. Ask yourself this.. would Israelis want to oppress, lets say, and detain palestinians if they were not a threat. Hamas is a group that has vowed never to have peace with Israel as long as the jews remain in that land. What is a sabra like myself who was born there to think?? I never fought in any of the wars and i do not have any animousity towards any arabs, but as long as i consider Israel my home then I am at fault? a vilain? Im not sure what the pre 1967 border is but im sure there are a lot of Jews currently residing there. so where do they go?? wasnt Palestine/israel partitioned and that didnt sit well with arabs which later resulted in war and loss? you tell me to tell the Israeli gov to get the hell out of palestinian land so that we may have peace, but im sure no one is leaving which leaves us with more terrorism and in response more Israeli aggression…AND YOU AGREE…be realistic dude, no one is leaving. there is the west bank and there is Gaza, if the people in those two areas were content there would not be bloodshed. See Rashid… you cannot go on spitting aggressive rhetoric that calls for aggression when the outcome is not of your intrest. Launchig rockets that are aimed to kill any civilian is far worse than collateral damage. Heres another one for you: how often do you hear of a hate crime committed by Jews against arabs in the world?? Now switch it around.
Shame that you hide behind a facade as your friend when there is nothing in your writings or thinking that you truly value that name. I have written quite a bit about this subject. The problem remains Israel continued occupation of territories that it has occupied. Where do you put your people is not the issue. Its not the Palestinian fault that you have an open door policy to any jews who wants to live in Israel and this at the expense of the millions of palestinian refugee that your government will not allow to return to their homeland. I live in a democracy that is multifaith where co-existence is manisfested by our freddom to speak and demand of our government to act humanely and we protest when they act edversely. Sadly, this kind of action in your democracy is met by tear gas and arrests.YES Israel will not enjoy peace and security for as long as it continues to oppress the palestinian and dehumanise them.
You seem to know little of what you writing about except for what you have been fed by your government and the zionist propaganda machine.
Is this why you hide your identity. No need to, this forum does not operate like the state you live in.
you really believe that i’m hiding behind my user name?? you’re funny.. just because i point out the obvious doesnt mean that i am not friendly. I’m sure you are knowlegeable about the situation as am i, so dont question my knowlege. Lets get something straight, the israelis that currently live in what is the pre 1967 are there to stay. You want the israeli occupation to end in the occupied territories, which is the west bank and gaza. but remember that those two territories belong to Israel, and were captured from two other countries, not called palestine, in the war. but thats not my point. I’m not pointing any fingers and taking sides, I’m just stating that were in the present, not the past. I’m part of a new generation, one that hasnt seen those early wars, a generation that is not going anywhere. I feel bad for all the refuges that were forced out, probably due to the minority of that population that started trouble during the time of the partition, but its time to let it go. Using that as a tactic to use violence in the name of god is shameful. A couple of hundred Jews migrating to Israel is a lot different than millions of refuges coming back to a tiny land. Do you know that 1/6 of our population are Israeli arabs (palestinian). They share the same type of citizenship and rights as the jews do. Multifaceted? multifaith?? I as a jew would hate to find my self taking a walk down some gazan road. I would be slaughtered immediately by some mob. for what? because i’m jewish? I’m not sure how inhumanely the Israeli gov/army is in the territories, but why invite them to act that way. why give them the opportunity. youre doing that with your rhetoric. you agree with Hamas that there should be no peace until a fantasy of a request comes to fruition.. and then you ask why there is a resoponse to senseless aggression from islamic militants?? Youre questioning this and youre pointing a finger?? Do you really believe Israel wants to currently oppress the palestinians? they want no part of them, but Hamas and other islamic militia keep inviting them right back. Do you notice that Sheed??? So yes, i know plenty of whats going on over there. I live in the present, not the past, and in the present no jews are leaving any part of israel, and as long as people like you keep repeating angry rhetoric that calls for violence until we leave then there will be repeated backlash. If you were clearheaded you would see that. most likely you wont because you’re angry and filled with propaganda . terrorism doesnt solve s h i t!
Being new generation Jews does not exactly give you the right to occupy palestinian land. You atlk about the Jews not leaving those territories and that they are rightfully Israel territories. Therein lies your problem, there has been countless UN resolution asking Israel to leave the occupied teritories. I like how you equate the Palestinian rights to selfdetermination and a state of their own to them hating Jews. I agreed with Hamas that their rgihts to exists and have a viable palestinian state is not negotiable…..YES I DO and that should be on Palestinian land that is currentlyoccupied by Israel as recognised by the international community. By the way, do the arab israelis really have the same right as the jews. Maybe you will care to explain to me why is it that the jewish area has up to date advance warning system for rockets whereas the arabs areas dont? Maybe, you should explain to me why those same arab israeli citizen are arrested for peaceful protest? Maybe you should explain to me why those arab israeli feel marginalise?
Hamas are not inviting Israel back, Israel has gatecrashed and occupied and refusing to leave.
If you believe that I am in favour of resolving this conflict through violence, you sadly mistaken and have obviously not been following what i have been writing. Just to set the record straight with you, I am neither arab nor come from that region. I am human as anyone else, just that I may have more humane feelings than do others.
I have absolutely no intrest in having any Jews in those two territories. You obviously didnt understand what i said and that is is that no jews will leave in what is now ISRAEL. Hamas is not attacking israelis because of whatever settlements are left… they are attacking Israelis because they live in Israel. See.. i can see the solidarity and exude even if you’re not arab, you’re name is Sheed, a muslim name, so ofcourse you feel a comrodory even if the actions of Hamas are attrocious. You say that you have written about this subject quite often and that you are knowlegeable on this subject. Do you know that Hamas repeatedly said that their goal is to drive the jews into an ocean so that there will be no Israel, threatening to attack with no stop. This is not about the settlements, its about Israel. I said that NO ONE IS LEAVING ISRAEL, NOT THE TERRITORIES. You want to compare the advance warning systems between the two sides?? do palestinian civilians require a warning system? Israel is not targeting civilians.. Israel on the other hand is being bombarded constantly, so they need a such a system. Trust me dude… If Hamas or hezbala or whatever faction didnt fire any missles the palestinians would need no such system. why dont you see that??? You keep comparing the two sides’ technology.. thats not the issue at hand. As far as how the arab israelis are treated and if they are arrested for peaceful rallies.. you should shut your yap because neither you or I know exactly whats going on or how they are treated. Youre obviously not there so dont pretend you are. As far as me beliving that i see you as favoring violence to solve the conflict… well i kinda do. As long as you support rhetoric from a fundamental terrorist group who beheads individuals that they feel are a threat, or send suicide bombers into Israel, who could been there own children, or who constantly refuse to accept and recognize the state Israel and the people of Israel and leave them in peace. You refuse to see that supporting such a group and all the statements they have made pits you right in the circle of violence. I dont want any Jews to remain in any of those settlements because it gives Hamas or other groups to use that as an excuse for violence. but thats not where it will end, because as soon as whatever settlements are evacuated Hamas will then shift their attention to the people living in ISRAEL AS THE NEXT PROBLEM. and then you’ll continue to see more violence. You dont know the whole picture…
Dude….Read my writing carefully. I was pointing out the different warning system within your country afforded to jewsish areas as compare to arab areas of Israel not on palestinian territories.
Simillarly,if Israel did not break the cease fire in November 2008 and did not imprison 1.5 million palestinian and held them hostage, you would not have been fired upon. Using the firing of rockets intoIsrael is an excuse of the wider picture which you fail to see or realise.
Is it true that two Arab parties have been barred from the coming election in Israel? If so, what your view?
Sheed, i read your writing and warning systems have nothing to do with who is in the right and who is in the wrong. I’m sure Israelis would rather not have to worry about any warning systems, but theyre always under attack so they do. If Hamas and other islamic fundameltalist groups didnt fire any rockets into Israel then the palestinian people (who are not deliberately being targeted) would not require any system either. I’m not sure which side broke the cease fire, but firing rockets into israel and aiming to hit civilian populated areas is crazy! Firing rockets can not be accepted as an excuse for a wider picture. I dont care how frustrating a situation is.. you dont aimlessly fire missles aimlessly at civilian areas. no F ing way! THat type of shit causes reprisal which then causes a spiral of shit! I suppose that sending suicide bombers is an excuse for “occupation” and then using gods name to praise the action. Wow! dude…. aiming to kill anyone (civilians) is the ugliest action we have in our world. I hate hearing that Israel has to target these terrorist to prevent them from doing Israel harm. I hate hearing about all these casualties on the palestinian side, its ugly and very sad… I hate that Hamas decided to invite a reprisal from Israel and do it from civilian areas knowing that theyre puting their own people in harms way. As far as the two arab parties that have been barred from election, i believe you might be talking about bargouti, I’m not sure what happened.. who knows, maybe something shadyy.. maybe not.
Hey Dude,
Youare either being starved of news in your own country or is truly ignorant of whats going on.The two parties barred from taking part in the election has nothing to do with Palestinian. They are within Israel and current hold7 seats in your parliament. So, you either deliberately avoiding the issue or has not been told by your despot about this. I like how its terrorist when Israelis civilian gets cought in the resistance and when 1000 civilian lose their lives is self defense. What evidence do you have that Hamas is hiding amongst civilian? Are the IRC and UN Agencies lying when they say civilian are being targetted? Wake up and stop being brainwashed by your government propaganda and accept all what they say as correct. Maybe, you can explain why Israel has prohibited international Journalist from entering Gaza, much against a court ruling within Israel. You are being lied to and consumed by the Israel propaganda machine and your ideas and writings evidently shows that.
If your idea of winning an argument is by being abusive….so be it. I would not stoop so low myself.
There is term for this…it is called projection.
Israel broke the cease fire when it went into Gaza early november and that is well known to anyone who follows this. This was followed by imprisoning the Gazan through blockade and siege. You are consumed by the zionist propaganda and your attitude and response is nothing short of what I expected.
You live in a terror and rogue state and the facts are there for all to see. This is the same attitude adopted by your government and if it persists you will never have peace or security. Nothing is achieved at gun point. We in democratic west knows this and has demonstrated it. What kind of democracy bars apolitical party from participating in an election?
Shalom
Your friend, and other user..any comment that include bad language will be deleted. Discuss your ideas and thoughts without using such a language.
israel is not a country. its a european colony. 90% of jews that live in israel are european.
Found your site on a facebook group, do you use facebook daily?