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18 November 2012 By Stephen
Lendman Bullies choose easy adversaries
to pummel. Equal fights are shunned. It's the same in
schoolyards or battlefields. America and Israel operate this
way. They avoid foes able to give as much as they
take. Rogue governments never say they're sorry. During Cast Lead in January 2009,
Professor Jeremy Salt wrote "A Message to the brave
Israeli Airmen." His comments apply to what's now
ongoing. What's it like firing missiles at
people you can't see, he asked? Does it help being unable to see
who you're killing? Is your conscience eased by
inflicting disproportionate force on people unable to
fight back and civilian infrastructure? Are you comfortable about
slaughtering civilian men, women, children, and
infants? Does this weigh on your
conscience, or are you at ease? Do you sleep well or have
nightmares about men, women and children you killed at
home, in beds, kitchens, living rooms, schools,
mosques, at work, or at play? Do farmers in their fields,
mothers with children, teachers in classrooms, imams
in mosques, children at play, the elderly, frail or
disabled threaten your security? Do you ever question what you've
done and why? Have you no shame, no sense of
decency, no idea of the difference between right and
wrong? Do you know the law? If so, why
do you violate it? Doing so makes you complicit in
crimes of war and against humanity? Do you know that?
Do you blindly follow orders or
have a mind of your own? Have you murdered civilians
before? Will you do it again if ordered? Will you keep following orders
blindly or do the right thing? "Brave" Israeli airmen, soldiers,
sailors, and other security force personnel are
cowards. They've acted lawlessly for decades. Palestinian suffering is a way of
life. Imagine living every day not sure if you'll live
or die. Imagine young children growing up this way. Do
Israeli children know what Palestinian ones endure?
Are they told? Do they care? Do their parents? Israel's moving thousands of
troops and heavy weapons to Gaza's border. Mossad-connected
DEBKAfile said: "Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny
Gantz and the high IDF command are pushing for the
ground operation, Stage B of the Pillar of Cloud
operation, to start without delay. The prime minister
and defense minister prefer to wait." Another potential holocaust
looms. Civilians always suffer most. Israel and
America willfully target them. It part of the imperial
strategy of both countries. Human lives don't matter,
just conquest, dominance, and exploitation. Cast Lead took a terrible toll.
Missiles, bombs, shells, and illegal weapons were used
against defenseless people. Mass slaughter and
destruction followed. Horrific crimes of war and
against humanity were committed. Responsible officials
remain unaccountable. Security Council no-fly zone
protection wasn't ordered. Over 1,400 Gazans perished. More
than 80% were civilians. Over 300 were children.
Around 5,300 were injured. Over 1,600 were children or
infants. Israel willfully targeted them. Neighborhoods, schools,
universities, mosques, hospitals, UN facilities,
fishing boats, civilian factories and workshops,
municipal buildings, charitable foundations, civilian
infrastructure, and other noncombatant sites were
bombed and shelled. Farmland was bulldozed. Power
facilities and irrigations systems were destroyed.
International leaders were indifferent about human
slaughter and suffering. Only three low-level Israeli
soldiers received punishments too minor to matter. The al-Samouni family lost 27
members. Salah Talala al-Samouni saw his mother blown
apart. Rocket and shell fire killed his two-year old
daughter, father, aunt, cousin, and entire family.
Media scoundrels said nothing. They support Israel's
worst crimes. Under siege, Gazans haven't
recovered from Cast Lead. Now they face the prospect
of more war perhaps worse than 2008-09. International leaders share
culpability through silence, indifference, and/or
complicity. Washington is involved in all Israeli
wars. Weapons, munitions and funding are supplied.
Political support is given. Obama told Netanyahu, go ahead
and bomb and shell at will. Call it "self-defense" and
pretend no one knows it's not. On November 15, the
Senate unanimously passed a non-binding supportive
resolution. Not a single profile in courage expressed
opposition. AIPAC thanked Obama and Senate
members for supporting Israel. Gazan civilians and
resistance fighters are maliciously called terrorists.
They're heroes, not criminals. On November 14, Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) national director Abe Foxman expressed
support for Israeli bombing and shelling, saying: "Israel has shown tremendous
restraint in the face of the unceasing rocket and
mortar fire launched from Gaza. This operation is
directly targeting the leadership responsible for
these attacks, as well as the warehouses and
facilities housing their weapons." "No country in the world would
stand by and tolerate such attacks on more than a
million civilians." "The international community has
a clear obligation to condemn these attacks and to
support the actions taken by Israel against Hamas and
other terror organizations operating in Gaza as Israel
carries out its basic duty to defend its civilian
population." For almost a century, ADL fronted
for Jewish supremacy. It backs occupation harshness.
It's mindless about Palestinian suffering. It conducts
smear campaigns against critics. Its entire history is loathsome.
Israeli crimes are called self-defense. It plays the
same blame the victim game as Israel, Washington,
AIPAC, and other Zionist organizations. Only Jewish
rights matter. Palestinians are criminalized for
defending themselves. Israel agreed to halt military
operations during Egyptian Prime Minister Hersham
Kandil's visit. He and Egyptian cabinet ministers
arrived in Gaza Thursday. He'll return Friday. Israeli
attacks continued. At Al Shifa Hospital, Kandil
visited victims. He denounced Israeli attacks, saying:
"This tragedy cannot pass in silence, and the world
should take responsibility for stopping this
aggression." Cairo will try to mediate a truce, he
added. Since Saturday, over 40
Palestinians were killed. Hundreds more were injured.
Many are in serious condition. Dozens of air strikes
continue. Death and injury numbers may rise
exponentially. Current figures underestimate the toll
because some victims lie beneath rubble. The International Middle East
Media Center (IMEMC) said Israel conducted 30 sorties
in less than 30 minutes on Friday. At 10PM Thursday,
the IDF said it struck 70 targets in the previous
hour. Civilian sites and government
buildings were bombed and shelled. Two UN schools were
struck. Heavy damage was reported. The Ahrar Center
for Detainees' Studies said a church under
construction was targeted. IMEMC said, "Children, infants,
women and elderly are among the casualties, including
children whose bodies were severely mutilated and
burnt due to Israeli shells. A pregnant woman and her
unborn fetus are among the killed." Gazan resistance fighters said
they won't honor truce conditions as long as Israel
keeps killing Palestinian men, women, children,
infants, and the elderly. On Thursday evening, a Beit
Hanoun home was bombed. Three children died. One was
nine years old. A 10-month old infant was killed
when another home was struck. Through early Friday
morning, at least eight children, a pregnant woman,
and two elderly men died. Thirty thousand IDF reservists
were called up. Military leaves were cancelled. Tanks,
armored vehicles, and troops are mobilizing on Gaza's
border. Invasion looks ominously likely. On November 16, Mathaba said the
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) War Crimes Commission (KLWCC)
"received numerous complaints on the atrocities and
possible war crimes committed against the Palestinian
people." On November 20 and 21, two days
of open hearings will be held. Commission members include former
Magistrate Musa Ismail, former Universiti Teknologi
MARA (UiTM) Dean Zulaiha Ismail, Center for Global
Research Director Michel Chossudovsky, and two former
Iraq UN humanitarian coordinators - Hans von Sponeck
and Denis Halliday. On November 16, Alternative
News.org headlined "No safe haven: Civilians under
attack in the Gaza Strip." An eyewitness visited Al
Shifa Hospital. Many injured Gazans are in serious
condition. Forty-year old Salem Waqef
suffered brain injury. He's in a coma on a ventilator.
It's unclear if he'll survive. Ten-month old Haneen Tafesh was
admitted unconscious. She suffered a skull fracture
and brain hemorrhage. She's also in a coma on a
ventilator. Doctors said her condition deteriorated
since admitted. Hours later she died. Ahmed Durghmush suffered brain
trauma. Shrapnel penetrated his skull. Brain matter
protruded from his head wound. His condition also
deteriorated after surgery. Throughout Thursday, emergency
room staff were handling numerous arrivals. Injuries
range from easily treatable to severe to life
threatening. Justice Ministry public
information director, Khalid Hamad, was at home when
shelling targeted a neighbor's house. Israel "targeted
civilians deliberately," he said. "The Israeli forces
don't make mistakes." Thirteen-year old Duaa Hejazi was
brought in "bleeding a lot." She sustained upper body
shrapnel wounds. Pieces are still embedded in her
chest. She sent a message to other Gazan children,
saying: "I say, we are children. There is
nothing that is our fault to have to face this. They
are occupying us and I will say, as Abu Omar said. If
you're a mountain, the wind won't shake you. We're not
afraid. We'll stay strong." Al Shifa director general Dr.
Mithad Abbas explained the dire conditions under which
hospital staff must cope, saying: "When those cases arrive at our
hospital, it is not under normal circumstances. They
come on top of the siege, the blockade, which has
resulted in a lack of vital medicines and required
medical supplies." Al Shifa lacks essential
medicines, some equipment and supplies. They include
antibiotics, IV fluid, anesthesia, gloves, catheters,
external fixators, Heparin, sutures, detergents and
spare parts for medical equipment. Power outages exceed 12 hours
daily. Small amounts of fuel maintain operations at
those times. Dr. Abbas said his supply will be
exhausted in days if current conditions continue. He doesn't know where the next
missile or shell will strike. Perhaps Al Shifa will be
targeted. Israel considers all civilian sites fair
game. On November 15, the Global BDS
Movement issued the following statement in part: "Stop a New Israeli Massacre in
Gaza: Boycott Israel Now!" Despite biased Western media
reports, Israel "initiated and escalated this new
assault on the eve of its upcoming parliamentary
elections, underlining the time-honored Israeli
formula of Palestinian bodies for ballots." "Israel will continue its
belligerence, aggression and state terrorism unless it
is made to pay a heavy price for its crimes against
the Palestinian, Lebanese and other Arab peoples." "It is high time for BDS against
Israel. This is the clearest path to freedom, justice
and equality for Palestinians and the entire region." At issue also is a pending
November 29 vote on Palestinian UN non-member observer
status. Israel and Washington have gone all out to
subvert it. Member States have all the more reason to
support Palestine. In less than two weeks we'll know. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah urged Arab leaders to use all means to halt
Israeli attacks on Gaza. "No one is telling Arab countries
today, 'Please go open your borders and begin the
operation to liberate Palestine.' What we want is to
end the attack on Gaza." This is everyone's battle…We're
not asking you for a solution. We're asking for
effort." "Some say the Arabs don't have
the courage to stop oil production. Decrease your oil
exports or raise the price a little and you will shake
the United States. You will shake Europe." "Brothers, if you can't cut off
oil, decrease your production or raise the price. Put
on some pressure. No one is calling for armies or
tanks or planes." Nasrallah called Israel's Gaza
attack "criminal aggression." Multiple crimes of war
and against humanity are committed. Much is at stake in Palestine,
the region and beyond. Washington's aggressive wars
continue. New ones are planned. Israel's a key
partner. Both countries have imperial agendas. War
features prominently in achieving them. Michel Chossudovsky calls
attacking and invading Gaza "part of the broader
US-NATO-Israel military agenda." Based on what's
happened post-9/11, expect the worst ahead. 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
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