Johann Hari: Dupes? No, we were telling the truth
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Independent Minds
For months, the opponents of Operation Cast Lead – the assault on Gaza that killed 1,434 Palestinians – have been told we are "dupes for Islamic fundamentalists", or even anti-Semitic. The defenders of Israel's war claimed you could only believe the reports that Israeli troops were deliberately firing on civilians, scrawling "death to Arabs" on the walls, and trashing olive groves, or using the chemical weapon white phosphorus that burns to the bone, if you were infected with the old European virus of Jew-hatred.
Now the very people who fought that war have confirmed we were simply describing reality. One Israeli Defence Force squad leader says of the orders he was given to target civilians: "I call it murder." As he put it: "In the end the directive was to go into a house, switch on loudspeakers and tell them 'you have five minutes to run away and whoever doesn't will be killed'." In a crowded civilian city, there are all sorts of people who cannot run away: the elderly, the disabled, the pregnant, the terrified. This soldier was told to kill them.
He is not alone. Anybody who has reported from the Occupied Territories has witnessed a culture of racist contempt for ordinary Palestinian civilians. They are treated as suspects simply for walking around their own home towns, or trying to sell their own produce. This is not a few bad apples: it is endemic to the nature of occupation, blockade and repeated assault.
Yet there is a swelling movement of young Israelis who are speaking out – and refusing to kill on occupied land. It's a strikingly brave move in a country that is drifting to the right. Ehud Olmert, Israel's out-going Prime Minister, has publicly bragged that Israel's response to attack "will naturally be disproportionate", just as he boasted about the 2007 war in Lebanon: "Half of Lebanon was destroyed – is that a loss?"
None of this had to happen. On the eve of the attack, Ephraim Halevy, the former head of Mossad, said that the way to stop rocket attacks on Israel was to draw Hamas, the elected Palestinian government, into negotiation and compromise – but "Israel, for reasons of its own, did not want to turn the ceasefire into the start of a diplomatic process with Hamas".
Instead, Israel launched an attack on civilians of which her own soldiers are ashamed. It can only increase hatred – and make the fair division of the land between Palestinians and Israelis recede even further on to the horizon.
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Comments
Smoke-screen. Israel's war against Gaza killed over a thousand people (mostly terrorists), while British professional (killing for money)soldiers and Gurka mercenaries killed half a million in an aggressive war that your governmente admited (finaly...) is over oil (armed robery). Hypocrites. While you criticize Israel's deffensive war against muslim jihadists terrorists, sharia is coming to you.
Where is the wisdom and justice of Solomon?
Their superiority complex always gets them into trouble, this time its no different.
Ethnic cleansing: Is what the arabs say they want to do to the Jews. Arabs in Israel, in spite of this "ethnic cleansing" only grow in number. They are 20% of the population now, with full rights, rights that they don't have in any other of the 22 arab countries, all bloody dictatorships or medieval kingdoms.
There has not been one day in the life of a Palestinian that hasn't been lived under terrorism from Israel.
They stole the Palestinians Land they destroyed their homes their businesses ran 400,000 Palestinians out of the country and will not allow them to return. Israel continues to build on occupied land. Absolutely refuse to abide by international law, and it has had more U.N. Rebukes and attempted sanctions stopped by America,
Then all the countries in the Middle East combined.
We have watched the Israelis build walls that spell, apartheid we have watched them bulldoze Palestinian Homes and farms, and in then turn around and build illegal settlements. We have listened to them talk about the "cleansing" and how they want control everything clear to the Euphrates
we have heard what they say about Lebanon and their destruction and killing of civilians there.
We have listened to them threaten to use nuclear weapons in a first strike against Iran. Even though Israel itself refuses to sign any of the nuclear nonproliferation treaties themselves. Iran has.
A rogue country that is the mad dog of America in the Middle East. What is the world to do with a country that refuses to abide by international law? But is supported by a world power that turns a blind eye to its massacres.
Ask yourself, how can Palestinians be the terrorists if their fighting over their land? If they are fighting over occupation? If they are fighting against abuse and starvation and living conditions how can they be terrorists?
It is Israel that is doing the taking the Palestinians are only trying to take back what is theirs. And that has never, never been terrorism. That is fighting for freedom.
You antisemites just use any excuse you can to attack Israel.
So be it.
Israel can't work peace out with them.
Pakistan can't work peace out with them.
India can't work peace out with them.
The dozens of countries around the world that get attacked regularly by islamic terrorists can't work peace out with them.
A tiny handful of Israeli soldiers acting out of line isn't the problem.
The millions of crazy lunatics right outside of Israel who refuse to stop attacking Israel are the problem.
You can tell who the wackjob club members are. They love the word "zionists" and hurl it at everyone who doesn't worship islamic terrorists.
Oh - and Arabs do not have the same rights as Jews in the State of Israel. Another lie or delusion. Israeli Arabs have number plates on their vehicles stating that they are Arabs. Arabs are not allowed to marry anybody from outside of Israel to prevent an enlargement of the Arab population. Jews however, are allowed to marry anyone, from anywhere in the world and hold dual-nationality.
Your arguments would be much more convincing if you also argued for the withdrawal of illegal settlements from the West Bank (ie. those without Palestinian Authority permission) and the re-aligning of the security wall to Israels border instead of around some of the most fertile areas in the West Bank.
And how about Jewish owed vehicles in Gaza, Saudi Arabia or any other arab country, what do they look like? Just kiding.... Arab countries are Judenrein, but no one complains.
Are we now also to believe that the shelling of the UN Building was accidental?
2. Israel dropped leaflets and made some 250000 phonecalls warning of the route of attack in advance
3..the undeniable facts are that hamas uses civilians to carry out suicide attacks
4.. 10% of the palestinian deaths during the gaza war were fatah people killed by hamas people on the accusation of collaberation with Israel
Phone calls before bombing! Absurd. Stupid Jews always worried about world opinion (that don't give a damn about us). Did Britain and the US make phone calls before "Shock and Awe"? Did the arab muslim jihadists terrorists warn their victims in New York, London, Tel Aviv, Bali, Mumbai, etc. warn their victims?
If you had paid attention to my posts here, you would have not noticed that I did not named any people or entity: you both name them. Because you two know very well who are the real victims and who are the agressors.
Fortunately, even among the military in Israel, there are Jews who recognize this for what it is and what it has been...Murder.
Can't wait to see the spin from Downing Street and the White House...That is, of course, if they even respond to it
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
verse 20
So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
verse 21
And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.
It's all there...
To be honest, the Palestinian and Israeli sides are more similar than either would like to admit. This is a terrifying thought - unless they both change in some big ways, there's probably no chance of peace...
What fair division? Why the hell should those who have stolen someones land divide it with those whose land it is?
Don't be fooled, Hari is just a mealy-mouthed Zionist.
There's nothing left to deny. The whole world has borne witness. Israel is now losing once supportive friends throughout the world. Supporters who even now are still paying to clean up the illegal cluster bombs that are still killing children dropped during the last ill concieved fit of hate. The spin doctors have failed to cover up the evil act of putting one and a half million people, the majority innocent, in a cage for eighteen months, starving them, terrifying them, flying nightly low level sonic booming sorties, preventing access to employment, education, family, healthcare, electricity, water, any semblance of human decency to ones fellow man. Then finally breaking the ceasefire to attack a broken friendless people with disgusting armaments, dime bombs, phosphorous bombs and point blank killing of men, women and children in their schools, in their fields, in their beds, with nowhere to run, with a bloodlust that has not been seen since the killing fields of Pol Pot and then offering the pathetic insulting excuse that these same starving women and children are trying to drive you into the ocean. How stupid do you think people are?
Todays report from IDF soldiers themselves have come out against it. Combatants for Peace have come out against it. Breaking the Silence, more IDF soldiers, have come out against it. You racists will deny the truth even from the mouths of your own people. You are making fools of yourselves and show no love for Israel with your continued malevolence. Who are you working for, arab extremists ? You are certainly proving a point in their favour with your filthy ignorance. Get into your white robes and pointy hats and stop littering the page with your garbage.
Do you really think that killing innocent civilians is always justified because others have done it?
You don't say a word, for 2-3 YEARS, as TENS OF THOUSANDS of rockets fly into Israel.
Then, when Israel FINALLY responds with military action, you have the damn NERVE to criticize Israel for taking action.
So, in other words, you want Israel to just sit there and take rocket attacks and have a million Israelis hiding in bomb shelters constantly, and that's it.
Their mentality is no different from their nazi tormentors. What a brave nation. The chosen people of God send to kill unarmed women and children in cold blood. Truly outstanding from israel.
And as usual the media silence is really not suprising. Barely an out cry from human rights agencies. amnesty international, western governments and the rest of so called liberal democracies. Palestinian blood is cheap to them. And this will be proven by the fact that none of the animals who murdered the palestinian civilians will ever ever be brought to justice. Not one israeli. Mark my words.
In israel killing a palestinian is considered to be a badge of honour. Whether they are innocent or not makes no difference. A nation built on subjugating and terrorising a population seldom loses sleep over murder and destruction that is meted out. Especially when you have religious rabbis who hand out pamplets to soldiers egging them on for a massive scale destruction of people and property.
The only positive from this is that those innocent palestinians are at peace now.