until there were none....

The depressing, crushing spectacle of extreme violence and mayhem unleashed across Israel and Palestine over recent days is a reminder of the depths to which humanity can sink.

To see complex historical, cultural and geopolitical questions – let alone humanity and decency – reduced to a ceaseless cycle of hatred, death and destruction is hard to stomach. We gaze at our TV screens aghast, we hear the threats, counter-threats, and the endless justifications and commentary. Meanwhile, the bloodletting goes on – and on. Western politicians, weighed down with simple binaries, take sides and in so doing obliterate any sense of context or complexity that might help us understand how this mess occurred in the first place.

Israel’s vengeance will not make for a better world By Richard Hil

Projecting the colours of the Israeli flag across the Sydney Opera House, declaring unflagging support for a state that for decades has thumbed its nose at UN resolutions and violently oppressed a besieged and impoverished population, is morally abhorrent.

The attempt to erase such concerns over recent days has been startling. At this point, to call for some acknowledgment of the origins of the conflict is to court accusations of siding with terrorists. And yet, as US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, arrives in Israel to demonstrate the US’s unwavering support, Israel is imposing an illegal blockade on Gaza (cutting of life-saving electricity and preventing passage of urgently needed medicines, food and other supplies) as bombs rein down with impunity on a narrow, congested strip of land occupied by 2.3 million people.

How can this be? Why has nuance been shed and historical memory so conveniently erased? Such abstractionism is of course continuing the egregious practice of labelling anyone who dares criticise Israel as antisemitic. This is absurd and ludicrous, and entirely misleading. In the meantime, we have the leader of the most extreme right-wing government in Israel’s history banging his fists together on TV urging extreme violence upon the people of Gaza. He urges them to flee to a checkpoint on the Egyptian border, knowing full well that it’s closed. So, in effect, the people in Gaza are trapped in a hellhole that day-by-day is being reduced to rubble. All this under the watch of the US, Britain and Australia.

Hamas’s attacks were horrific and utterly unacceptable; there’s no denying that. Many innocent people lost their lives, and the human suffering is unimaginable. But to then offer unwavering support to Israel, minus any mention of current and past wrongdoing, borders on the insane. It demonstrates a cruel, collective indifference. And Australia is complicit in this by implicitly endorsing the long-term suffering of Palestinians as Israeli government priority.

There are so many other ways western and other political leaders (including those in Israel) could have responded to a violent attack on innocent people. Instead, an entire population has to suffer the consequences of Hamas’s actions. It’s certainly not the first time that ordinary people in Gaza have paid the price. Just Google the statistics. There’s not a hint of compassion in any of this. Simple vengeance, even if this involves the mass slaughter of innocents appears acceptable, and is duly overlooked by western powers, apart from some glib calls for restraint.

Few would deny the right of a state to defend itself from violent attacks, but what does this mean when the response is so indiscriminate. This is where moral condemnation butts up against the impulse to wreak vengeance. Moreover, in rounding on all pro-Palestinian protests, we leverage unaccountable, organised violence. It’s striking that senior conservative politicians in Australia have questioned calls for restraint in the current crisis, as if this is appeasement. It’s ridiculous, as is the suggestion of sending more ammunition to the Israeli military.

Responding to protests in New York City, the Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez noted that these, “did not speak for the thousands of New Yorkers who are capable of rejecting both Hamas’ horrifying attacks against innocent civilians as well as the grave injustices and violence Palestinians face under occupation”. At least this statement reflects some sense of what is going on in the Middle East. It recognises all injustices when they occur – and calls them out. But it also invites a deeper historical understanding. Hamas has done terrible things, and the Israeli state has treated the Palestinian people cruelly and illegally since 1948. This is not a matter of moral equivalence, but a statement of historical fact. To ignore the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, to turn a blind eye to the assaults and killings, daily humiliations and impoverishment of the Palestinian population is to be complicit in their long-time suffering.

Rather than meeting violence with more violence, attention should turn toward how peace with justice might become a reality. Whatever else recent events demonstrate, it’s that oppressing people and subjecting them to even more violence is the road to failure. How many more times does that lesson have to be learnt?

It is worth remembering the words of former Norwegian Prime Minister, and new NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg who in the wake of the 2011 mass murder of 70 young people by right-wing gunman Anders Breivik said: “We are still shocked by what has happened, but will never give up our values…Our response is more democracy, more openness, and more humanity.” He vowed his country would not seek vengeance; “we will answer hatred with love”. In a later news conference, Stoltenberg added: “The message to whoever attacked us, the message from all of Norway is that you will not destroy us, you will not destroy our democracy and our ideals for a better world.” This better world does not include blind rage and vengeance, or continuing oppression and violence.

This is a very different mindset that invites power to create that better world. Until and when human rights, social justice, antiracism, nonviolence and peace with justice are accepted as foundational principles – and embraced in good faith – nothing in the Middle East will change.

https://johnmenadue.com/israels-vengeance-will-not-make-for-a-better-world/

the children....

By Jessica Corbett

“Where is the outrage we saw when Israeli children were killed?” asked a co-founder of IfNotNow.

Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes across the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ weekend attack have killed at least 1,100 people in the besieged enclave, including 326 children, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

Gaza-based Hamas launched a major surprise attack against Israel on Saturday, a Jewish holiday, and the Israeli death toll has now surpassed 1,200. The far-right Israeli government and Israel Defence Forces (IDF) responded with Operation Swords of Iron, bombing Gazan residential, medical, and educational buildings, and intensifying a 16-year blockade of the region.

Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), which has documented cases of over 2,400 Palestinian kids killed by Israeli forces and settlers since 2000, has so far confirmed 105 of the 326 deaths.

“Intensive Israeli bombardment throughout the Gaza Strip, lack of electricity, Israeli airstrikes on telecommunications infrastructure, and the unprecedented rate of daily child fatalities has resulted in a lag between confirmed fatalities by DCIP and the overall total child fatalities published regularly by the Ministry of Health in Gaza,” the group said.

Responding to the new Ministry of Health figure, Yonah Lieberman, a co-founder of the American Jewish group IfNotNow, asked on social media, “Where is the outrage we saw when Israeli children were killed?”

DCIP’s Miranda Cleland said that from her time with the organisation, she has learned that “all the dead Palestinian babies in Gaza won’t humanize Palestinians to the Israeli war machine, funded by the U.S. government, cheering on their killings.”

The United States gives Israel $3.8 billion in annual military aid under a 10-year deal from 2016. U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that his administration had begun sending additional assistance and he will seek further support from Congress.

The American group Jewish Voice for Peace argued Wednesday that “the U.S. must work to immediately de-escalate to prevent the further loss of life, and not fuel and exacerbate the violence by sending more weapons to Israel. There is only one way to end violence: to address its root cause, 75 years of Israeli military occupation and apartheid. We must end U.S. complicity in this systemic oppression.”

Some members of Congress have spoken out against Israel’s recent killing of Palestinian civilians. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that while he welcomes the Biden administration’s offer of “solidarity and support to Israel” following Hamas’ deadly attack, “we must also insist on restraint from Israeli forces attacking Gaza and work to secure U.N. humanitarian access.”

“The targeting of civilians is a war crime, no matter who does it. Israel’s blanket denial of food, water, and other necessities to Gaza is a serious violation of international law and will do nothing but harm innocent civilians,” he stressed. “Let us not forget that half of the 2 million people in Gaza are children. Children and innocent people do not deserve to be punished for the acts of Hamas.”

Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP, noted Wednesday that the IDF is expected to continue ramping up its operation.

“Israeli forces are destroying entire neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip as an apparent full-scale ground assault is imminent,” he said. “Immediate humanitarian relief is necessary to protect civilians as Israeli forces prepare to intensify attacks and Israeli officials declare their intention to commit further war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is seeking $104 million to provide humanitarian aid across the Gaza Strip and beyond over the next couple of months.

“What is unfolding is already an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy. Whatever the circumstances are, rules apply in times of conflict and this one is no exception. Aid to civilians who have nowhere to flee must be immediate: water, food, medicine,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Wednesday. “It is of utmost urgency that access to humanitarian assistance and protection be upheld for all civilians.”

Catherine Russell, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), this week has also emphasised the necessity of ensuring access to humanitarian aid in the region, along with denouncing all recent attacks on civilians, especially kids.

“I am also deeply concerned about measures to block electricity and prevent food, fuel, and water from entering Gaza, which may put the lives of children at risk,” she said. “I remind all parties that in this war, as in all wars, it is children who suffer first and suffer most.”

First published in COMMON DREAMS October 11, 2023

https://johnmenadue.com/israeli-airstrikes-have-killed-over-320-children-in-gaza/

By Gus Leonisky at 14 Oct 2023 - 4:03am
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vengeance....

Over one million Palestinians living in the northern Gaza Strip have until midnight on 13 October to make their way south as hundreds of thousands of Israeli troops are expected to storm the besieged enclave.

The order was relayed to UN officials in New York late on Thursday, as Tel Aviv has said fleeing Palestinians will not be allowed to return “until we say so.” Almost half a million Palestinians have already been displaced by the Israeli onslaught.

“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said about the order.

“This is chaos; no one understands what to do,” Inas Hamdan, an officer at the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza City, told AP.

“Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if … you’re going to live,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), adding that there is no way to mobilize wounded and elderly patients inside hospitals.

Hamas officials dismissed the orders, calling on Palestinians to “remain steadfast in your homes and to stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war waged by the occupation.”

“We affirm that all governorates of the Gaza Strip, whether north or south, are [active targets]. The process of displacement or departure from the north to the south is illogical and constitutes a threat to the lives of our honorable citizens,” officials in Gaza stressed.

Tel Aviv made the announcement as warplanes pounded the world’s largest open-air prison for the seventh consecutive night, destroying 750 targets and killing about 250 Palestinians in a single day in what is described as “collective punishment” for the historic Al-Aqsa Flood resistance operation.

As of Friday, the death toll of the Israeli blitz stands at over 1,500 Palestinians – a third of whom were children.

Although Israeli officials claim their indiscriminate bombing campaign hits only “terrorist” targets, the reality inside Gaza is the opposite: the bombs have destroyed entire residential neighborhoods, dozens of high-rise apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, and even Gaza’s complete stock of solar panels.

Furthermore, the attacks have failed to make any significant dent on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) forces, who have operated underground for years.

Israel has also completely cut off electricity, water, food, and fuel for Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis for the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped inside.

Human rights organizations on Thursday confirmed that the Israeli air force has also been using internationally banned white phosphorous bombs on Gaza’s civilian population.

“White phosphorus, which can be used either for marking, signaling, and obscuring, or as a weapon to set fires that burn people and objects, has a significant incendiary effect that can severely burn people and set structures, fields, and other civilian objects in the vicinity on fire,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

“The use of white phosphorus in Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, magnifies the risk to civilians and violates the international humanitarian law prohibition on putting civilians at unnecessary risk,” it added.

https://www.theinteldrop.org/2023/10/13/israel-sets-deadline-for-1-1-million-to-flee-northern-gaza-as-ethnic-cleansing-campaign-worsens/

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By Gus Leonisky at 14 Oct 2023 - 4:48am
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