Israel's War On Palestine: Israel
Remains Free To Kill And Destroy Again
18 November 2012
By Stephen Lendman
Operation Pillar of Cloud reflects the latest chapter
in Israel's decades-long, slow-motion, genocidal war
on Palestine.
So-called memorandum of understanding terms changed
nothing. They're nonbinding, meaningless, and
insulting.
Israel disregarded all past agreements. It'll violate
this one with impunity and already did. More on that
below.
With full US support, it flagrantly ignored dozens of
Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.
They condemned or censured Israel for its crimes,
deplored it for committing them, and/or demanded they
end.
Israel does what it pleases with impunity. Palestine's
Nakba never ended. It continues now. It's embedded in
Palestinian consciousness. It reflects an ongoing
journey of pain, suffering, loss, and injustice.
Daily life replicates Palestine's tortured past.
Occupation harshness threatens Palestinian culture,
heritage, and existence. Draconian military orders
alone create oppressive conditions. They include:
o No. 92 giving Israel control of all West Bank and
Gaza water;
o No. 158 stipulating that Palestinians can't
construct water installations without (nearly
impossible to get) permit permission, and those built
will be confiscated or demolished;
o No. 1015 requiring Palestinians get permission to
plant trees on their own land;
o No. 128 authorizing the IDF to take over any
Palestinian business not open during regular business
hours;
o No. 107 prohibiting Arabic grammar, Crusades
history, and Arab nationalist publications;
o No. 101 banning gatherings of more than 10 people
without advance notice with names of participants;
o Nos. 811 and 847 letting Jews buy land from
Palestinian owners with or without their consent;
o No. 998 requiring Palestinians get permission to
withdraw funds from their bank accounts;
o No. 818 authorizing how Palestinians can plant
decorative flowers;
o No. 329 preventing the right of return; and
o Nos. 1649 and 1650 turning all West Bank residents
(including native born ones) potentially into
"infiltrators;" doing so makes them vulnerable to
deportation, fines or imprisonment without IDF-issued
permits.
Imagine daily life under these conditions and much
more. Brutalizing repression terrorizes Palestinians
ruthlessly. Israeli provocations instigate conflicts
and full-scale wars.
Fingers point the wrong way every time. Palestinians
are blamed for Israeli crimes. Peace, stability, and
freedom remain elusive. Operation Pillar of Cloud
resolved nothing.
Israel got away with murder and mass destruction.
Conflict didn't end. It continues. Washington and
Israel assure it. They're partners in crime.
On Thursday, a day after both sides agreed on
memorandum of understanding terms, Israeli soldiers
shot and wounded four Palestinian youths.
They approached Israel's security fence. They
threatened no one. They displayed Palestinian flags.
In response, soldiers opened fire.
An IDF spokesman said they "began rioting." He lied.
Friday morning, Israeli soldiers murdered another
Palestinian youth in cold blood. Live fire wounded
another 19. They gathered near Israel's border
peacefully to pray.
Incidents like this and greater provocations happen
often. Netanyahu pledged to stop them. He lied. He's
been caught red-handed lying many times.
After pledging to pursue peace, he called doing so "a
waste of time." He admitted wanting to destroy
Palestinian authority and existence.
He knows he'll get Western support for claiming
self-defense. Washington collaborates with and
endorses all Israeli criminality.
The Israeli Lobby boasts about having US
administrations and Congress in its pocket. Israel
gets away with murder with impunity. It happens every
time.
Israeli policy reflects the worst of criminality and
duplicity. Palestinians know what they're up against.
Conflict will resume whenever Israel plans it. Under
Netanyahu, it's certain.
A scurrilous Haaretz editorial lauded him. "In praise
of Netanyahu," it headlined.
It admitted that diplomacy could have avoided
conflict. "But once (Netanyahu) decided on a military
operation, (he) demonstrated relative restraint."
Imagine calling hundreds of Palestinians murdered or
injured "restraint." Imagine how many families lost
loved ones. Imagine mass destruction impossible to
rebuild easily under siege conditions.
Imagine shocking crimes of war and against humanity.
Imagine Israel again getting away with murder. Imagine
editors who know better praising what they should
condemn.
"Restraint" showed "strength," they said. In other
words, they killed, injured, and maimed fewer
Palestinians than during Cast Lead.
"It's clear that the Goldstone Report….penetrated
deeply into the consciousness of Israeli
decision-makers…."
It did no such thing, of course. Internal whitewash
followed. So did Ban Ki-moon's handpicked commission.
It absolved Israeli crimes. Goldstone himself fell
from grace.
Despite irrefutable evidence, he softened his initial
criticism. Dark forces got to him. He capitulated. In
the process, he sold his soul, honor, character,
dignity, and high-mindedness. He failed dismally
trying to explain.
Israel remains free to kill and destroy again. It
takes full advantage.
Haaretz claims conditions now "could well herald the
onset of a new era…" It hopes ceasefire terms will
improve living conditions in Gaza.
It ignored blockade lawlessness. Palestinians haven't
had a "new era" in over 64 years. Nothing changed now.
Instead of condemning Netanyahu and likeminded
hardliners, Haaretz editors "expressed (their)
appreciation of this government and its leader for the
relative restraint they displayed."
It's hard imagining editors who know better would
claim what's categorically false. An unnamed Gazan
woman put a human face on Palestinian suffering.
On November 20, her letter from Gaza was published. In
part it said the following:
"The situation here is really terrible and it's
getting worse day after day…."
"This morning, the Israeli F16 military jets hit our
area twice. The first time, they hit the building of
the council of ministers with 5 huge missiles just a
few homes away from our home."
"Our home was shaking like an earthquake, and our
windows broke and shattered everywhere, and I felt the
missiles inside our home. It was very scary. Of course
serious damages happened to all surrounding buildings
in the area."
"The first time, the Israeli F16 military jets hit
Palestine stadium, which is located in the
neighborhood next to my neighborhood, with 4 huge
missiles, and caused some damages to my home as well."
"I heard the huge explosions and saw the flames and it
was very terrifying. We see and feel death very close
with each bombing. Israel is bombing everywhere in
Gaza all the time by air, sea and land."
"Nowhere to hide….Nowhere is safe….We don't have
shelters. We just stay at home so all of us can die at
once if a missile would strike our home."
"We are still recovering from the trauma of (Cast
Lead). How will we recover from this?"
"This is insane….How much is too much?….I hope this
madness will stop as quickly as possible."
On June 14, 1956, Jack Kennedy gave Harvard's
commencement address. Politicians don't speak that way
today. His entire talk included scholarly references
and quotes. It was an impressive example for young
graduates.
He reminded the audience that political leaders once
"traded in the free commerce of ideas." They achieved
important results at home and abroad.
The link between US scholars and politicians lasted
over a century, he added.
Where freedom is endangered, he said, politicians and
intellectuals "should be natural allies, working more
closely together for the common cause against the
common enemy."
They must decide whether to be "an anvil or a hammer."
He concluded saying "if more politicians knew poetry
and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world
would be a little better place in which to live on
this commencement day of 1956."
He was assassinated perhaps for believing war isn't
the answer. He'd deplore what's going on now. He was
chastened by the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. He fired
CIA director Allen Dulles and his assistant General
Charles Cabell.
He once said he wanted to "to splinter the CIA in a
thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds." That
alone was reason to kill him.
He opposed America's growing Southeast Asian
involvement. After initially sending troops and
advisors, he changed course. He refused to send more
and wanted ones there gradually withdrawn.
He called Pentagon generals "crazy" for wanting to
nuke Soviet Russia. He said he "never had the
slightest intention of" attacking or invading Cuba
during the 1962 missile crisis.
He swung to peace, away from war, wanted nuclear
weapons abolished, and the Cold War ended. He favored
"general and complete disarmament."
He signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty with the
Soviets. In October 1963 (weeks before his
assassination), he signed National Security Action
Memorandum 263. It called for removing 1,000 US troops
from Vietnam by year's end and the remainder by
December 1965.
As president, he underwent a spiritual transformation.
He changed from cold warrior to peacemaker. He opposed
Israeli nuclearization. He wrote Gen-Gurion and told
him. He also supported Palestinian liberation.
On June 4, 1963, he challenged Wall Street. He signed
Executive Order (EO) 11110. It constitutionally
empowered the federal government to create and "issue
silver certificates against any silver bullion,
silver, or standard silver dollars in the Treasury."
It's believed he ordered the Treasury Secretary to
issue nearly $4.3 billion worth of United States
notes. Perhaps he had in mind replacing Wall Street
controlled Federal Reserve Notes.
Whether or not he wanted the Fed abolished or
nationalized isn't clear. Had he lived and served a
second term, imagine the possibilities.
Peace instead of war? Government closer to serving
everyone? Perhaps more mindful of people needs?
Michael Harrington's "The Other America" expose of US
poverty affected him enough to want something done
about it. Who can know what might have followed.
America has no Jack Kennedy today. For sure, neither
does Israel.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached
at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is
titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit his
blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
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