"The dehumanization and demonization of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims has escalated to the point where Israel can with full self- righteousness bomb their homes, places of worship, schools, universities, factories, fishing boats, police stations -- in short everything that sustains civilized and orderly life -- and claim it is conducting a war against terrorism.
Yet paradoxically, it is Israel as a Zionist state, not Palestine or the Palestinian people, that cannot survive this attempted genocide.
Israel's "war" was not about rockets -- they served the same role in its narrative as the non-existent weapons of mass destruction did as the pretext for the American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.
....
But anyone surveying the catastrophe in Gaza -- the mass destruction, the death toll of more than 100 Palestinians for every Israeli, the thousands of sadistic injuries -- would surely conclude that Palestinians could never overcome Israel and resistance is a delusion at best.
True, in terms of ability to murder and destroy, Israel is unmatched. But Israel's problem is not, as its propaganda insists, "terrorism" to be defeated by sufficient application of high explosives. Its problem is legitimacy, or rather a profound and irreversible lack of it. Israel simply cannot bomb its way to legitimacy.
....
Israel began its massacres with full support from its Western "friends." Then something amazing happened. Despite the official statements of support, despite the media censorship, despite the slick Israeli hasbara (propaganda) campaign, there was a massive, unprecedented public mobilization in Europe and even in North America expressing outrage and disgust.
... Every new massacre makes it harder, but a de-zionized, decolonized, reintegrated Palestine affording equal rights to all who live in it, regardless of religion or ethnicity, and return for refugees is not a utopian dream."
AlJazeera image.
Once again, the UK Guardian has posted a great article, this one by Ben White, on the sinister goal of Israel to turn Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, purposely. Which of course, while Gaza is a catastrophe and many were people were massacred and are terribly injured, as the Free Palestine Alliance reminds us, it is the resistance of the Palestinians to liberate themselves and their lands that will never be killed, taken away, quashed, or beaten out of them:
"it is impossible to list every atrocity. Israel has repeatedly hit ambulances, medics, clinics, and hospitals, while last week, aid volunteers who tried to douse a fire in a Red Crescent warehouse (attacked by Israel) were then shot at by Israeli forces.
UNRWA facilities have also been attacked, including several schools sheltering civilians – just this last weekend, a civilian refuge was repeatedly shelled. Last week, the UN headquarters was also shelled, hitting a vocational centre, a workshop, food warehouse, and fuel depot. Like the massacre of 6 January, Israeli officials quickly began to produce a confusing fog of denials, apologies, promised enquiries and contradictions.
Those are just some of the more shocking examples from a military operation that has targeted everything from schools, money-changers and a bird farm, to entire apartment blocks, harbours, and a market. Palestinians have been killed when Israeli tanks fired shells at residential neighbourhoods. Every day has brought fresh horrors; last Wednesday, for example, 70 unarmed civilians including 18 children were killed by the Israeli military. This week's Observer carried a story alleging Israel bulldozed homes with civilians inside (not for the first time) and shot those waving white flags. Little wonder that Israeli officials predicted with concern that "negative sentiment" towards the state would "only grow as the full picture of destruction emerges".
Much of this is widely known, and easily accessible; yet still the analytical emphasis has remained on Palestinian rockets, Israeli elections, and deterrence.
....
Ironically, the same Peres who now justifies collective punishment, in 2002 chastised Avigdor Lieberman for suggesting that the IDF should bomb civilian targets, warning the minister that such a tactic would be a war crime. The last three weeks show that proposals made by Israel's political extremists and originally considered outlandish, do not take long to become normal policy.
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Israel seeks to turn the Gaza Strip into a depoliticised humanitarian crisis, always on the brink of catastrophe, always dependent; its population reduced to ration-receiving clients of international aid. Yitzhak Rabin famously wished that Gaza "would just sink into the sea", but perhaps the best Israel can do is to share the problem with the international community, possibly to the extent of troops on the ground."
This sinister goal, however, will be thwarted not only by the determination and the resistance of the Palestinian people, but also the solidarity of all justice-minded peoples, groups, and nations.
Hopeful is the report that
"Some groups are already preparing legal action against Israel over the Gaza onslaught. These groups from around the world are engaging in the work of bringing the Israeli war criminals to international courts. You can read who they are in the article. They are joined by groups inside Israel, too:
"A coalition of Israeli human rights groups, including the local chapter of Amnesty International, also wants an international investigation into war crimes in Gaza."
3 comments:
I've read your always interesting and very informative posts. Dear Taina, we'll see if Obama is REALLY going to be a change if, and when, he helps to bring the Zionist government of Israel to the International Court of The Hague to account for their war crimes. We'll see. I am glad to read that many associations are submitting lawsuits. Very good news. Hugs, M.
By the way, I'm telling all my bloggers that we must unite and help to get Israel's Government to the International Court to pay for their crimes. Hugs, M.
Merche, thank you, but I am simply learning from others more and more and posting excerpts from their thoughtful analyses and commentary. It is a must to read the whole article of what I post as there is much knowledge all over the internet.
Social media and social networking crosses all borders and while cyberspace communities cannot be all that there is (LOCAL action is a MUST) we can create new forms of belonging and activism on the net that can HELP lead to real physical material change.
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