Gord's Notebook : Israeli Settlers & Colonization & the Expulsion & Marginalization of the Palestinians

Anyway today the Israelis go to the polls but it will probably not lead to an improvement in finding a peaceful solution to the Israeli Palestinian situation. As long as the Israelis believe they have the right to total control over Gaza and the West Bank what hope can there be. The Israelis are running a Apartheid style state where Palestinians and Arab Israelis are not treated as equals . Nor are they treated humanely or fairly or justly. The Israelis have a formidable army which they use to set policies and to enforce unjust laws . Once again the Israelis will claim something is moral or just because it is the " Law" which they make and then impose on the Palestinians. These so called laws are made in order to make the lives of the Palestinians complicated and eventually impossible as the Afrikans did to the Blacks of South Africa or the White Citizens Councils did in Southern United States to Black Americans.

In this clip below we see what is actually a common occurrence involving the Israeli Army and Palestinians. They used explosives to knock down the family's front door then tear the place apart claiming they are looking for weapons and then blow a hole through one side of the house. The husband begs the soldiers to call an ambulance but as is usual when it comes to Palestinians the IDF and Israeli citizens have little interest in trying to save the life of a Palestinian. As one of the soldiers says " we are here for purification" that sounds like Genocide to me.

Video Israel Doesn't Want You to See- CBC

Children of Settlers who are supposed to be paragons of Israeli virtues throw stones at an elderly women while they attack several Arab children on their way home from school. Note the that the soldiers have no interest in stopping the Jewish children . We know that Arab children on their way to and from schools if they are near a " Settlement" are often stoned by the Adult Settlers or are shot at by the Settlers. Also note the language of these children "fucking bitch " . If there were no camera or other witnesses one wonders if the children and their parents and the soldiers would have killed these human rights activists.

If these had been Arab children assaulting Jewish children we know the soldiers would not hesitate to use rubber bullets or tear gas. You can find lots of examples of IDF firing on children throwing stones even when there is no chance of a soldier being injured.

Crazy Settlers Stoning An Old Woman

The Israeli Settlers are in reality colonizing Palestinian land with the support of the Israeli Government and its military the IDF. This of course goes counter to International Law which forbids Israelis from setting up colonies within " the occupied territories " Once settlers move into these lands stolen from the Palestinians they arm themselves and harass the local Palestinians while the IDF joins in to further harass the Palestinians. If the Palestinians dare to to spek out about their treatment they can be arrested or shot or have their homes bulldozed .The settlers or colonizers have complete freedom of movement but the Palestinians do not. As other colonial powers have taken over foreign lands in a similar fashion so do the Israelis as they try to extend the borders of Israel. So who are the true aggressors . The Europeans for instance in America slowly took over what is now the United States by pushing further into the continent displacing large number of Native Americans. Millions of Native Americans were not just displaced but were massacred over a period of centuries til now there are is but a small remnant of the original Native Americans left.The Afrikaners in South Africa did the same thing to Black South Africans finally creating bantustans lands or reservations for the Black South African to live on. White South Africans had complete rights as citizens of South Africa but Black South Africans did not have the same rights as the White Afrikaners. Another comparison can be made to the African slaves in America who once they were freed from slavery were not given the same rights as white Americans. They did not receive equal rights at least on paper until the mid 1960s. Too bad Americans can not see the parallels between the Israeli-Palestinian situation and that of South Africa or Southern United States. But history keeps repeating itself in one way or another. These situations are analagous but that does not mean they are exactly the same in every detail.

But change some the phrases from Palestinians to Black South Africans or Black Americans , Imagine highways and roads that are for Whites only or Jews only or White Americans only.

Israel's "Colonies" - Anna Baltzer

October 21, 2008

Extracts of A Witness in Palestine, written by Anna Baltzer. Anna Baltzer, a young Jewish American, went to the West Bank to discover the realities of daily life for Palestinians under the occupation. What she found would change her outlook on the conflict forever. She wrote this book to give voice to the stories of the people who welcomed her with open arms as their lives crumbled around them. For five months, Baltzer lived and worked with farmers, Palestinian and Israeli activists, and the families of political prisoners, traveling with them across endless checkpoints and roadblocks to reach hospitals, universities, and olive groves. Baltzer witnessed firsthand the environmental devastation brought on by expanding settlements and outposts and the destruction wrought by Israels Security Fence, which separates many families from each other, their communities, their land, and basic human services.

and another ship attempting to bring Humanitarian Aid to Gaza is boarded , the aid workers are beaten arrested and deported etc. God forbid the people of Gaza get medical aid or enough food. After all they are in their Ghetto plotting to take over Israel with their rifles and poorly made rockets while the Israelis have one of the best equipped armies in the world.

Passengers of freighter seized by Israel return home with tales of abuse/Soldiers kicked and beat activists, journalists before setting them free
By Andrew Wander Daily Star staff Feb. 07, 2009

" What We Found in Gaza
Strong Indications of Violations of the Laws of War, U.S. Law, and War Crimes Found in the Gaza Strip NLG Delegation " by CommonDreams.org Feb. 8, 2009

GAZA CITY - We are a delegation of 8 American lawyers, members of the National Lawyers Guild in the United States, who have come here to the Gaza Strip to assess the effects of the recent attacks on the people, and to determine what, if any, violations of international law occurred and whether U.S. domestic law has been violated as a consequence. We have spent the last five days interviewing communities particularly impacted by the recent Israeli offensive, including medical personnel, humanitarian aid workers and United Nations representatives. In particular, the delegation examined three issues: 1) targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure; 2) illegal use of weapons and 3) blocking of medical and humanitarian assistance to civilians.

and they conclude that they found evidence of War Crimes:

This delegation is seriously concerned by our initial findings. We have found strong indications of violations of the laws of war and possible war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip. We are particularly concerned that most of the weapons that were found used in the December 27 assualt on Gaza are US-made and supplied. We believe that Israel's use of these weapons may constitute a violation of US law, and particularly the Foreign Assistance Act and the US Arms Export Control Act.

A report of our initial findings will be compiled and submitted to, among others, members of the United States Congress. We intend to push for an investigation by the United States government into possible violations by Israel of US law. We also hope to contribute our finding and efforts to other efforts by local and international lawyers to push for accountability against those found responsible for the egregious crimes that we have documented.

Another bad habit the Israelis have developed over the last 60 years is that of assassinating leaders of groups they do not approve of.
So the question also becomes if the MOSSAD are willing to kill this or that leader why not also kill someone who is too outspoken in their criticisms of the Israeli state . We know the Israelis do target and kill journalists every now and again and then come out with some sort of lame excuse.

Israel and assasinations of enemies:

" Hezbollah Commander Assassinated by Mossad " By Nazer Majli Asharq Al-Awsat- Feb. 7, 2009

...Israeli sources have revealed that Hezbollah Commander Imad Mughniyeh was assassinated by Israeli Mossad agents and aided by information gathered by the Central Intelligence Agency from Hezbollah commander Ali Moussa Daqduq, who was arrested in Iraq in January 2007.

...News of Mughniyeh's assassination was met with condemnation and anger in some parts of the Arab world, with the Israelis fearing an immediate retaliation that did not materialized. With the first anniversary of Mughniyeh's death fast approaching, Israeli fears are re-surfacing.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah vowed to avenge the killing of top commander Imad Mughniyeh on 29 January 2009 during a rare news conference where he said via video link "The Israelis live in fear of our revenge" adding "The decision to respond to the killing is still on. We decide the time and place."

Israeli Elections May Bring Extremist to Power

"Avnery on Israel Election: Dirty Socks " by Uri Avnery at Media With Conscience Feb. 8, 2009

...FOR ME, the greatest evil is Binyamin (“Bibi”) Netanyahu.

If he gets one vote more than his rivals, the President will entrust him with the task of setting up the next government. Netanyahu has already committed himself to inviting Avigdor Liberman, the pupil of the fascist Meir Kahane, as his first partner, as well as Shas, which has now become an extreme right-wing party. Perhaps he will also take in the “National Union”, which is even more extreme, and the remnants of the National Religious party, together with the Orthodox.

If this is to be the core of the next coalition, we shall have an extreme nationalist-racist government, a government that will reject outright any possibility of ending the occupation, setting up a Palestinian state and evacuating the settlements.

After that, Netanyahu could invite Kadima and Labor, but that would not matter anymore. Since he will be able to set up a government without them, he will get them for next to nothing. In such a government, their only function will be to serve as fig leaves, camouflage for the Americans.

and as for Ehud Barak Uri Avnery explains :

I CANNOT vote for Ehud Barak. Even if my head wanted to, my hand would not obey.

The inhuman Gaza War was a reflection of Barak’s own inhuman character. He waged the war as a part of his election campaign. When the anti-war demonstrators marched through the streets of Tel-Aviv and shouted: “Don’t buy votes / with the blood of babies” they were not so far off the mark.

Like Netanyahu, Barak is a documented failure. I was among the masses who celebrated his triumph in Rabin Square in 1999 when he was elected Prime Minister, and, hardly a year later, I sighed with relief when his government collapsed. In his short term of office he convened the Camp David conference and sabotaged it, spread the poisonous and mendacious mantra “We have no partner for peace”, provoked the second intifada and destroyed the peace camp from within.