Guest Post by Steven MacMillan
The recent Israeli bombardment of Gaza is the latest example of the lack of equilibrium in a conflict that has been intermittently fought since the establishment of Israel in 1948. Following the killing of 3 Israeli teenagers last month, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the 4th largest military on the planet to conduct air, land and sea attacks on the densely populated Gaza Strip, which has left over 340 Palestinians dead – 75% of which are civilians, compared to 5 Israelis killed.
Netanyahu was quick to blame Hamas for the killings of the Israeli citizens that provided the sole justification for the military campaign. Yet Hamas has never taken responsibility for the attack – an anomaly for the group as most operations conducted are for political objectives – leading many to believe it was an Israeli false flag attack to justify further military occupation. The recent agreement reached between Hamas and Fatah is a deal that terrifies the Israeli establishment and is a major factor in the onslaught that has been seen on Gaza. Israel has been attempting to split and fragment the Palestinian population for decades, with the prospect of a unified people in the West Bank and Gaza unacceptable to the Israeli elite.
The recent inequality in the amount of casualties from the Palestinian-Israeli exchange is just the latest example of the disproportionate amount of force used by the Israeli establishment. A United Nations (UN) report from 2013 revealed that the Israeli government was the main perpetuator of violence carried out last year, with Israelis injuring 1265 Palestinian children compared to Palestinians injuring 8 Israeli children.
Often framed in the Western media as a conflict between two equally funded and equipped forces, the Israeli occupation and oppression of the native Palestinian population is one of the gravest injustices of modern times. Israel continues to violate international law and commit war crimes in full view of the international community; yet where is the call for NATO ‘love bombs’ to be dropped on Tel Aviv; where is the call for ‘humanitarian intervention’ against the State of Israel by Tony (the serial warmonger) Blair? I am by no means calling for the bombing of Israel or Palestine, but merely pointing out the glaring hypocrisy in Western narratives relating to the justifications for war. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict highlights the selective nature of the international community and the Western corporate media in condemning regimes who violate human rights. Imagine if Iran or Syria staring bombing a neighbouring state based on slim or invisible evidence and three quarters of the casualties were civilians, the neo-imperial cabal would be hammering the drums of war.
A Fair Peace Deal will only be reached if the West stops Funding and Arming the Oppressor
Whenever conflict breaks out between Palestine and Israel the talk of a ceasefire or a peace deal always arises. But for any objective deal to be brokered by an outside nation, the negotiator must be impartial to both parties – unlike Egypt, which was the latest country to attempt to broker a ceasefire. Egypt has been heavily cracking down on a major affiliate of Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, since the military coup ousted Mohammed Morsi of the Brotherhood in July 2013. The US is also in no position to be the negotiator of a deal since Israel has been a rogue puppet state of Anglo-American power since its inception in 1948. Barack Obama recently pledged his support to the Israeli onslaught on Gaza – laughably urging Israel to limit civilian casualties, in a conflict where over 75% of the casualties are civilians. The US is one of the largest arms suppliers to Israel and dogmatic supporter of the country’s policies, with Britain and the whole of the European Union also heavy suppliers of military equipment to the regime in Tel Aviv.
Opposition to the tragedy taking place in Gaza has been mounting over the past week, with pro-Palestinian protests taking place across the world. Many people inside Israel also oppose the policies of their government and see the killing of innocent women and children as a crime that has to be condemned, no matter who commits it. This stance was typified in an article titled ‘Why I’m on the brink of burning my Israeli passport’, written by an Israeli women Mira Bar Hillel, who compared the Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine to that of the Nazis. Her aunt was killed in 1942 by the Nazis along with many other members of her family, and she sees similar rationale being used by Israelis to commit horrifying crimes within Gaza.
Until the people of Israel and the world stand up en masse to demand a halt to the continued belligerent policies towards Palestine and the arming of the oppressive regime in Tel Aviv, the genocide will persist!
The good news is the number of people who oppose the corrupt ruling elite in Israel is rising.
Steven MacMillan is a Scottish researcher and writer who founded The Analyst Report, where this article first appeared.
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