Raf Gangat
Language has become the new Battlefield, Media is the Artillery and Words are the Ammunition but most importantly in all of this and sadly, Reality is the Casualty.
Thus it is imperative to provide an objective appraisal of what has happened and continues to happen in the Holy land.
Prior to the current Israeli attack on Gaza: the Israeli Prime Minister called all foreign ambassadors to Ashkelon, a city in the so-called line of fire from Gaza, to do a PR- job before launching the current attack. Attendees were ‘sold’ on the ‘victim status’ of Israel with the mantra of ‘Israel has a right to defend itself’.
In reality, Israel engineered this confrontation to provide the pretext for a “retaliatory” attack, just as it did in 2008’s Operation Cast Lead. Then Israel broke a six-month ceasefire agreed with Hamas by staging a raid into Gaza that killed six Hamas members.
This time, on 8 November, Israel achieved the same end by invading Gaza again, on this occasion following a two-week lull in tensions. A 13-year-old boy out playing football was killed by an Israeli bullet.
Tit-for-tat violence over the following days resulted in the injury of eight Israelis, including four soldiers, and the deaths of five Palestinian civilians, and the wounding of dozens more in Gaza.
On November 12, as part of efforts to calm things down, the Palestinian militant factions agreed on a truce that held two days – until Israel broke it by assassinating Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari. The rockets out of Gaza that followed these various Israeli provocations have been misrepresented as the casus belli.
This is what CNN had to say: “The fighting began last week with rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza, to which Israel responded with an aerial offensive….”
Here are some facts to consider:
- Israel says: ‘We left Gaza!’ – This is a half truth. Yes! Israel evacuated its illegal settlements and moved its people out. But the fact is – Israel continues to control all aspects of the lives of Palestinians living there, even the food they receive, and bragging that they have put them on a diet to survive but not to die. So the question that begs itself and no media ever dares ask is; did Israel really leave Gaza?
- The chicken and egg story comes into play: when Palestinians in Gaza launch homemade projectiles at the South of Israel and Israel reacts with aerial and artillery bombardments into the most densely populated place on the planet, also an open air prison that its inhabitants cannot escape from, they claim to do so with the mantra of self defence. On the other hand the reality is; Palestinians are resisting their inhumane subjugation!
- In one year of continual Israeli attacks on Gaza and Palestinian reactions in the form of these primitive rockets which generally fall into open spaces, NO Israeli has been killed, whilst scores of Palestinians including innocents have been blown up, maimed for life or seriously injured. That is an indisputable fact!
- Also another pattern has emerged: Israel stages attacks on Palestinians prior to their elections and since 2008, after US elections and before the new Administration is in place. Much can be read into these wanton killings of Palestinians as part of an election campaign for Zionism!
- The West Bank has a pliant Palestinian dictatorship in the corrupt Fatah leadership, which has behaved itself and for doing so, Israel has generously opened the gates of the West Bank prison during periods like Eid for Palestinians to spend their monies in Israel, whereas the Hamas Government in Gaza, elected in a free and fair elections, refuses to comply with the dictates of the Israelis, so they must be punished so severely to make them realise that resistance is futile!
- Thus an enforced closure with constant aerial and naval bombardments followed by regular large scale incursions into Gaza is Israel’s way of making sure that Palestinians do not resist their dictates, which it has so successfully achieved in the West Bank!
- Gaza also is a useful laboratory for testing of the latest and most modern warfare equipment, so-called long range and pinpoint bombs which supposedly do minimal collateral damage – the reality is that innocents are killed, maimed and seriously injured!
- Israel which has manufactured the ‘Iron Dome’ interception system needs these attacks to showcase them and their effectiveness, in order to obtain more U.S. funds for increased deployment elsewhere in the country. War is business!
- Gas fields have been discovered off the Gaza shoreline, and Israel needs a pliant and collaborative regime like the one it has installed in the West Bank, to harvest and benefit from this natural bounty. The recent visit of the Ruler of Qatar, who has close ties with Israel, points to investments from his side with Israel being the major benefactor of the deal!
- Lastly, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and all the Islamic parties that sprung forth from the so-called Arab Spring are being put to the test with this latest attack, as any impotent response from them weakens not only their resolve but their entire rationale for existence – the Israeli aim is to create a moderate Islam subservient to its dictates!
And here is my assessment to think about:
- While all kinds of reasons and theories may be postulated, innocents are being killed, maimed for life and seriously injured – (At the time of writing, Monday 19 November about 100 people have been killed in Gaza, with around 750 injured, and 3 killed on the Israeli side) – horror stories and heart rendering pictures are coming out of the war zone daily, making anyone with a heart grieve in pain!
- Israelis believe that they are a chosen race and the blood of ‘Goyim’ does not matter, they continually ‘con’ the world into believing that they are the victims and they need to defend themselves….It is their right!
- The reality is simple – If Israel allows the Palestinians in Gaza to be free, they shall have no fear and no reason to defend them. It is as simple as that!
- Yet, the story becomes complex and complicated with layers and layers of lies woven into it, all to maintain the status quo of Israeli dominance both militarily and psychologically of a People whose land they stole in the first instance and which seems to be conveniently lost!
- Then there is the Iran factor: keeping Hezbollah focused on the Syrian civil war and wiping out Hamas’ capabilities on its southern flank, prior to embarking any attack on Iran. Interestingly Sunni Gulf Media blame Assad of Syria and Iran for what is happening in Gaza, adding a surreal dimension to an already clouded story!