http://yaminzakaria.blogspot.
A Moderate View in a Radical World
My views on current affairs, Islam and Muslims.
Sunday, 13 July 2014
Gassing
Gaza: Is Israel ‘defending’ itself once again?
“When
Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend
themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military
occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing. You
can't defend yourself when you're militarily occupying someone else's land.
That's not defence. Call it what you like, it's not defence.”
Professor
Noam Chomsky
President
Obama wants to broker a ceasefire, but what is the credential of the US to play
the role of an impartial broker? This is the country that has armed Israel to
the teeth, it continues to finance their existence and turn a blind eye to the
creeping colonisation of the remaining territories of Palestine; with
unrestrained access to the US media, the Zionist narrative is fed to the
American masses, who above all, stand by Israel, no matter how many Palestinian
civilians are killed and maimed, whilst the Israeli casualty figures barely reach
double figures.
Let
us put aside the point of US neutrality to act as a peace maker. The issue is -
brokering a ceasefire could only take place, if both sides had something to
negotiate. This conflict is not a fight between two armies; it’s a one-sided
massacre of civilians and the destruction of their livelihood and properties,
accomplished efficiently with US made weapons. Therefore, the brokering process
is essentially about getting the Israelis to halt their war machine, even if
Hamas were to continue to fire the rockets, the Israeli casualties will remain
close to zero.
As
usual, the Zionist apologists will point out the home-made Hamas ‘rockets’ as
the cause. If you want to identify the cause, then examine the sequence of
events, and the long-term Israeli strategy to suffocate the Palestinians, in
the concentration camp of Gaza. Not to mention the Zionisation of the West
Bank, where the illegal settlements (theft of land) continues to grow, in
flagrant breach of International Law. This process is to facilitate the right
of return for the Jews, whose ancestors may have lived there, and concurrently
the dispossessed Palestinians within the last 100 years are still seeking their
right of return. Many still have the keys to their houses, now occupied by
thieves, known as ‘settlers’. In addition, the impact of these so-called
rockets have been magnified beyond all proportions, and then recycled
continuously through the Zionist dominated media, to justify the carnage.
As
we entered the 5th day of the conflict in the month of Ramadan, the
UN managed to issue the most ridiculous statement with no provisions for any
action; the statements suggests the conflict is a two-way battle, both parties
should share the responsibility equally, but the facts on the grounds show
otherwise.
“The
Security Council members expressed serious concern regarding the crisis related
to Gaza and the protection and welfare of civilians on both sides.”
Well
so far only the Palestinians have suffered 140 casualties and no deaths of
Israelis reported, therefore, the statement should have reflected that, placing
much greater burden on Israel to ensure protection and welfare of civilians in
Gaza.
It then goes on to say the following:
“The
Security Council members further called for respect for international
humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.”
This
can only apply to Israel, whose army and the civilians are beyond the reach of
the Palestinians in Gaza; the IDF has been busy destroying houses, killing
civilians, cutting off power supplies to essential services like hospitals.
During the previous incursion into Gaza in 2006, Israel prevented medical aid
getting through and firing at ambulances, by the end of the operation, 1500
Palestinians had been killed, whilst Israel suffered only 17 casualties.
The
Zionist dominated media narrative, along with the voices of western leaders,
tells us the following about the Israeli incursion:
It’s
not a war crime despite the deliberate killing of defenceless civilians, and the
wanton destruction of their properties; it is not terrorism despite the killing
of non-combatants; it is not a collective punishment of a population, even
though it is acting in retaliation for the actions of a few, and it is not a
one-sided massacre, even though over 99% of the victims are the Palestinian -
Israel the victim, is simply defending itself.
Acting
in self-defence means, it is a preventative measure and not a full scale
offensive like that taken in a war situation. Given the failure of these Hamas
rockets to inflict any casualties or real damage, and many of the missiles are
intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome system, the ‘defensive’ measures taken by
Israel by bombing Gaza, are well beyond what is required, because
Israel’s intention is to wage a war, and subdue the Palestinian will for
existence. As the Palestinians are suffocating in the Gaza concentration
camp under siege, they will naturally retaliate with crude weapons, and this in
turn has become a basis for the Israeli slaughter, in the name of self-defence.
Since when did the Israeli Defence Force ever carry out a defensive operation
after the end of the 1973 war? Lebanon to Gaza has been a one-sided carnage of
cities and the civilian population.
So
why has Israel attacked Gaza? Professor Noam Chomsky answered this question
during the previous incursion into Gaza, and I think the answer is still
applicable now.
“The incursion and bombardment of Gaza is not
about destroying Hamas. It is not about stopping rocket fire into Israel, it is
not about achieving peace. The Israeli decision to rain death and destruction
on Gaza, to use lethal weapons of the modern battlefield on a largely
defenceless civilian population, is the final phase in a decades-long campaign
to ethnically-cleanse Palestinians.”
Finally,
the Arab clowns sitting as heads of state, collectively the impotent Arab
league, which has never managed to erect anything. The Arab ‘leaders’ are
paralysed and speechless; they could not even muster a protest. It’s
uncomfortable to confront the Israelis through the US and over the last 30
years, the Arabs have become accustomed to fighting each other, so much so, it
kind of evokes the pre-Islamic stories of tribes fighting for 40-years, just
over a camel.
So
what does the future hold? The Arab Spring has come and gone, the new Caliphate
(ISIS) has mysteriously emerged from nowhere, and I suspect that too will
vanish or prove to be just as hollow with the passage of time.
Yamin Zakaria (yamin@radicalviews.org)
Published
13/07/2014
London, UK
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