Thursday, July 17, 2014

Israeli State Terrorism in Gaza

by AJAMU BARAKA
“Protective Edge,” the cartoonish name given to the latest Israeli military offensive against the occupied people of Palestine, is representative of the inverted reality whereby the 1.7 million captive and largely defenseless Palestinians in Gaza are the vicious aggressors against the peace-loving settlers of Israel. Similar to the inverted reality in the U.S., where the myth of the innocent settler was created to justify the systematic slaughter of Indigenous peoples, the genocidal policies of Israel are camouflaged by the transformation of its position from an armed colonial invader to one of victim.
This repositioning is aided and abetted in the U.S. by a corporate media whose world view and angle of reporting is framed by the innocent settler narrative. This narrative simultaneously liquidates and normalizes the colonial relationship between the colonizer and the colonized so that the occupied territories are not occupied but transformed into “disputed” territories  and all forms of resistance on the part of Palestinians becomes terroristic.
Informed by this imperial vision, the corporate media not only parrot Israel’s victim narrative but go even further with the creation of the two-equal-sides fiction. Mainstream coverage laments how both sides are locked in battle or a spiral of violence, giving the absurd impression that the violence in the occupied territories is a conflict between two forces with similar power and equal moral standing.
It should be clear that attempting to conceptually equate the force of the state of Israel, one of the most powerful militaries in the world, with a resistance movement of a captive people trapped by land and sea in an open-air concentration camp on one of the most densely populated strips of land on the planet is a position that is fundamentally immoral. Yet for most editors and reporters in the U.S., pro-Zionist liberals and their counterparts in the Christian Zionist movement as well as some elements of the European press and public, the conceptual blinders of white supremacist colonial consciousness makes it impossible to see the immorality inherent in this construction of the so-called conflict.
The position for most of the world is that the latest assault on the Palestinian people is a war crime and an ongoing crime against humanity. That position was affirmed by the international Court of Justice, which ruled that as an occupying military power Israel has an obligation under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to protect the rights of civilians under military occupation. [i]
Within this legal framework, the killing of civilians under occupation, indiscriminate shelling of Palestinian communities, collective punishments, house demolitions, arbitrary imprisonment, the theft of water and other natural resources and the building of settlements in occupied territories are all considered war crimes and crimes against humanity.[ii]
That is the real story that should be communicated to the general public in the U.S. But instead, the public is being led to believe that the Israeli military assault is a legally and morally justified response to aggression from Hamas. From this perspective there is no special responsibility on the part of the Israeli authorities to protect the rights of Palestinians under military occupation, and the actions of the Israeli government in response to the killings of the three Israeli teenagers is seen as a measured and rational response.
Colonialism and the humanitarian fraud
Only the most naive believe the current military assault has anything to do with “defense” issues related to the symbolic resistance offered from Hamas via the firing of rockets into Israel. Honest commentators on this issue know that Israel provoked the response from the Palestinian resistance with the mass repression it launched in Gaza after the killings of the three Israeli teenagers in order to use the response to justify its attack on Hamas. An attack meant to destroy the newly established unity government of the Palestinians.
The colonialist mentality sees any resistance, no matter the form, as illegitimate, punishable by death and unrelenting terror. That message is clear for Palestinians as their homes are reduced to dust and the people dig out the bodies of their children, spouses, fathers and grandmothers. The other message communicated to Palestinians, once again, and which they understand all too well, is that compared to the lives of the settlers their lives are worthless and there is no “responsibility to protect” for them.
The assault on the people and the institutions of Gaza has as its objective the eradication of the people of Gaza – not necessarily in the physical sense, only because at this stage in global consciousness any such attempt would galvanize universal opposition, but to erase Gaza as a functioning society, to destroy it politically, culturally, spiritually and psychologically. A process that IIan Pappe refers to as “incremental genocide,[iii] that whatever the label is terroristic in its’ most naked, brutal and devastating effect.
When genocide or systematic ethnic cleansing is not a viable option, reducing the indigenous population to a weak, terrorized and dependent condition is the next best thing for settler policy. The targeting of the civilian infrastructure and governing institutions by the Israeli military makes it clear that this is the objective of the current attack on Gaza.
The international community has failed to hold the Israeli state accountable for war crimes and other serious violations of international law over the last four decades. Human rights organizations and United Nations special procedures have produced detailed reports on the crimes committed by Israel over the last four decades without the perpetrators being brought to justice.[iv] And when it comes to Israel, humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect is exposed as the imperialist ideological construct that it is.
aImages of Palestinian children being dug out of bombed-out residential buildings have not resulted in calls for humanitarian intervention to save a population that may be the most brutalized on the planet today. Instead weak and pathetic calls are made for “both sides” to show restraint and protect “civilians” as though a distinction can be made or is ever made between combatants and non-combatants when it is the whole people who are seen as the enemy by Israeli authorities.
Richard Falk, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights points out the hypocrisy of the West when it comes to Israel.
“…instead of condemning such recourse to massive violence as “aggression” that violates the UN Charter and fundamental international law principles, the reaction of Western diplomats and mainstream media has perversely sided with Israel. From the UN Secretary-General to the president of the United States, the main insistence has been that Hamas must stop all rocket attacks while Israel is requested ever so politely to show “maximum restraint”.[v]
What is the future for Palestine? Is reconciliation possible within the context of an ongoing colonial relationship? Is a two-state solution still viable with more than 500,000 settlers occupying almost half of the land that was supposed to be the Palestinian state, a land base that is just 22 percent of original Palestine before the establishment of Israel?
Frantz Fanon argues that:
“One world, either that of the settler or that of the native, must be destroyed to bring the colonial system to an end. Not simply a military defeat or a political deal – the total destruction of the other mode of living.”
As the Israelis continue to steal Palestinian land, murder, degrade and humiliate Palestinian people, and create “facts on the ground” that make it impossible to establish a viable, independent Palestinian state, it is becoming clear that the only solution to the original sin of the Zionist project is authentic decolonization where the presence, humanity and sovereignty of the colonized is restored.
Authentic decolonization is the only solution because the inner logic of the colonial/capitalist process suggests that Fanon’s assertion is correct – that there can be no reconciliation of Palestinian self-determination and independent development with the continuation of the Israeli state as a settler state. Because even within the framework of the so-called two state solution, the material basis of the Israeli colonial project is dependent on the continued expansion and expropriation of Palestinian land and the subordination of Palestinian people.
So while some Palestinians and their supporters still hope for a two-state solution, Israeli rulers also understand Fanon’s position that “only one mode of living will survive” and are moving to destroy Palestinian resistance. This is the real story of Gaza and all of the occupied territories – an ongoing crime that degrades all of us who are forced to witness it.
Ajamu Baraka is a human rights activist, organizer and geo-political analyst. His latest publications include contributions to two recently published books “Imagine: Living in a Socialist USA” and “Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral.” He can be reached at info.abaraka@gmail.com and www.AjamuBaraka.com
 Notes.

[i] See “Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/131/1677.pdf
[ii] For a summation of the relevant articles of the convention related to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, see Francis Boyld, “The International Laws of Belligerent Occupation,”http://www.ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/boyle.html
[iv] The reports on Israeli violations are too numerous to detail here but the comprehensive UN examination of Israeli violations reflected here:http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/12session/A-HRC-12-48.pdf
is an example of detailed violations without any effective follow-up.

BRICS Leaders Challenge Global Financial Order by Creating Emergency Reserve Fund

News | 17.07.2014 | 08:57
 
The much-anticipated BRICS Contingency Reserves Arrangement (CRA) signed during the sixth summit of the world’s five largest emerging world economies will serve as the necessary assistance to the countries in two cases, the head of the Russian Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina said.
"This is the so-called preventive mechanism, when there is pressure on a [country's] balance of payments, to avoid a speculative attack on the national currency," Nabiullina told journalists on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, outlining the first reason for a country to request access to such resources.
"Or there is a short-term liquidity deficit which happens when a country sees a massive capital outflow," Nabiullina added, explaining that CRA ensures effective protection of the national currencies from financial volatility.
Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Urjit Patel stressed the larger-scale implications of the deal, which mirrors the International Monetary Fund, and is intended to help the BRICS and other developing nations free themselves from Western dominance in international finance.
"I think is an important signal that BRICS countries are willing to take the lead in changing the way we think about the financial architecture of the world," Patel said during the summit in Fortaleza.
Focusing on the practical implementation of the deal, Head of Russia’s Central Bank, noted that the CRA is still subject to ratification in accordance with the legislative regulations of the constituent countries, with a special operational agreement to be concluded among the central banks of the BRICS countries.
Reports in China's official media following the move to set up the CRA and a BRICS development bank highlighted the opportunity that comes with the agreements to tap market potential and diversify exports.
"The exhilarating outcome is due to the joint efforts from BRICS members to deepen their economic cooperation and tap their potential by innovative means and methods," China’s Xinhua news agency said in a comment.
The BRICS emergency pool of currency will total $100 billion, with Russia's contribution amounting to $18 billion, and provide a buffer in conditions of capital volatility, overcoming the lack of short-term liquidity and rapidly offsetting fiscal deficit triggered by economic turbulence.

"irananders" über Gaza/Palästina

Krieg in Gaza und das Erstarken der ISIS in Großsyrien





Vorbereitung einer israelischen Bodenoffensive in den Gazastreifen.
Im Folgenden geben wir zu Dokumentationszwecken ein uns vorliegendes, inoffizielles iranisches Schriftstück über die jüngsten kriegerischen Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Israel und Gaza im Zusammenhang mit der Erstarkung der ISIS in Großsyrien, aus Gründen der Lesbarkeit redigiert und leicht gekürzt, wider.
Die israelischen Luftangriffe auf Gaza, die Belagerung von Gaza und das Töten wehrloser Menschen, Frauen und Kinder sind Ausdruck von Gewalt und Menschenrechtsverletzungen.

Israels Angriff auf Gaza und die amerikanische Unterstützung für den israelischen Staat zeigen, dass die Bekämpfung des Terrorismus von den USA und einigen anderen westlichen Ländern sowie von Ländern, die behaupten, islamisch zu sein, nie ernsthaft war. Einerseits haben die ISIS in Syrien und im Irak, die Verletzung der territorialen Integrität dieser Länder, das Töten von Muslimen, Christen und Juden und die israelischen Angriffe auf das wehrlose Volk von Palästina nur ein Ziel, nämlich zu versuchen, die „Achse des Widerstands“ gegen Israel zu brechen. Andererseits stellen diese Angriffe eine Missachtung aller humanitären und moralischen Prinzipien und des Völkerrechts dar. Leider sind einige arabische Länder der Region, indem sie die Terroristen in Syrien und im Irak unterstützen, auf Israel hereingefallen; obwohl sie die Politik Tel Avivs kennen, sind in die Falle Israels getappt, das muslimische Völker spalten will. Heute müssen die Menschen in Gaza für den Fehler mancher arabischen Staaten, die die ISIS unterstützen, bezahlen.

Die israelischen Angriffe auf das Volk von Gaza sind mit der UN-Charta nicht vereinbar. Die Israelis haben diese Methode mehrmals getestet, dass eine Ausdehnung ihres Territoriums in Palästina weder durch Verhandlung noch durch Krieg möglich ist. Nach Angaben von Abdel Bari Atwan, dem Chefredakteur von „Rai al-Youm“, haben alle früheren Premierminister Israels ihren Versuch gemacht, den 360 Quadratkilometer großen Gazastreifen zu besiegen und dem Raketenbeschuss und dem Widerstand seiner Bewohner ein Ende zu setzen, doch sie alle sind gescheitert. Die Raketen der Palästinenser wie ihr Widerstand wurden mit aller Kraft aufrechterhalten. Darum muss man sagen, dass Benjamin Netanjahu auch keine Ausnahme ist und ihm das gleiche Schicksal widerfahren wird wie seinen Vorgängern.

Die Unterstützung für die Takfiris und die ISIS, die heute die Politik Israels umsetzen, ist der größte strategische Fehler mancher westlicher und arabischer Regierungen. Die Gefährdung der Sicherheit im Irak und in Syrien durch die militante ISIS wird nicht in diesen Ländern begrenzt sein. Es ist selbstverständlich, dass die Sicherheit der Länder der Region miteinander verbunden ist. Wenn Länder wie der Irak und Syrien und das palästinensische Volk nicht genügend Sicherheit haben können, wird auch kein anderes Land sicher bleiben.

„Fassungslos in Gaza“: Jürgen Todenhöfer -Reportage zu Israels Bombardement

Journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer schrieb gestern auf seinem Facebook eine erschütternde Reportage über die Lage im Gaza-Streifen.
Journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer schrieb gestern auf seinem Facebook eine erschütternde Reportage über die Lage im Gaza-Streifen.
Foto: Screenshot Facebook / Jürgen Todenhöfer

„Fassungslos in Gaza“: Jürgen Todenhöfer -Reportage zu Israels Bombardement

Epoch Times, Mittwoch, 16. Juli 2014 12:30
Die eskalierende Gewalt zwischen Israel und dem Gaza-Streifen hat mittlerweile über 200 Palestinänser und einen Israeli getötet. Das berichtete die Nachrichtenagentur AFP heute morgen. Ein Sprecher der örtlichen Rettungsdienste, Aschraf al-Kidra, bezifferte die Zahl der toten Palestinänser auf 203 (Twitter). 1520 Menschen seien seit Beginn der Offensive vor acht Tagen verletzt worden, so die Süddeutsche Zeitung. Nach UN-Angaben ist jedes vierte Opfer ein Kind.
"Fassungslos in Gaza"
Am gestrigen 15. Juli veröffentlichte JournalistJürgen Todenhöfer auf Facebook eine Reportage aus dem Gaza-Streifen. Zusammen mit seinem Sohn hielt sich der 73-jährige Kriegsgegner mehrere Tage im Krisengebiet auf. Er habe Opfer-Familien besucht, sei durch ausgebombte Häuser geklettert und durch überfüllte Krankenhäuser gegangen, schreibt er. Über sich stets das bedrohliche Surren israelischer Kampfdrohnen.
Todenhöfer beschreibt die Gefechte zwischenIsrael und Gaza als ungleichen Kampf, in dem der „David aus dem winzigen Gaza selten trifft“. Die „weitgehend wirkungslose und dilettantische Schießerei der Hamas und des 'Islamischen Jihad'“ seien nicht „mit den massiven mörderischen Raketenschlägen der Israelis zu vergleichen“, so der Beobachter. Israel betreibe eine „völlig hemmungslose Bombardierung der 1.8 Millionen Ghettobewohner von Gaza“ mit Hilfe von Kampfjets, Raketen, Hubschraubern, Schiffen und Drohnen.
"Hemmungslose Bombardierung"
Die militärische Intervention sei unverhältnismäßig, so der Autor, für den jedes einzelne Opfer eines zu viel ist. 193 palästinensischen standen gestern noch null israelische Todesopfer gegenüber. "Schlagzeilen wie 'Israel unter schweren Beschuss' stellen die Tatsachen auf den Kopf", so der Autor. "Gaza liegt unter schwerem Beschuss!“

Todenhöfer bekam von der israelischen Menschenrechtsorganisation B'tselem am Wochenende die Information, dass seit Beginn der 2. Intifada am 29. September 2000 bis heute 1.110 Israelis getötet wurden. „Im selben Zeitraum töteten die Israelis über 7.000 Palästinenser. Darunter über 1.500 Kinder.“ Der Autor fragt sich, wie Israels Ausrede der „Selbstverteidigung“ zu diesem Zahlenverhältnis passt.
Viele Opfer sind Kinder
Auch berichtet Todenhöfer von persönlichen Begegnungen mit den Opfern der israelischen Bombardements:

„Lange saß ich gestern am blutverschmierten Krankenbett des einjährigen Ismael. Er wurde von einer israelischen Rakete am Hinterkopf schwer verletzt. Wird er überleben?

Anschließend war ich am Krankenbett der 6 Jahre alten Shaymaá. Sie wurde an Bauch, Rücken und Leber verwundet. Ihre Mutter und zwei ihrer Brüder wurden getötet. Doch das weiß sie noch nicht.

Und wir standen erschüttert vor dem Krankenbett der 9jährigen Maria. Ein israelischer Raketensplitter steckt noch in ihrem Kopf. Sie hat durch das, was sie erlebt hat, die Sprache verloren.

Wenn ich über Gaza nachdenke, blutet mir das Herz. Die Welt aber nimmt fast alles widerspruchslos hin. Sie lässt zu, dass die Wahrheit über diesen Krieg in fast grotesker Weise auf den Kopf gestellt wird. Auch das ist eine Schande.“

http://www.epochtimes.de/Fassungslos-in-Gaza-Juergen-Todenhoefer--Reportage-zu-Israels-Bombardement-a1167640.html