The brutal Israeli aggression and airstrikes on Gaza continue and the helpless Palestinians have no hope of international intervention. The UN Security Council has called for a halt to the violence but is reluctant to take immediate action. The US and EU policy of double standards continues to condemn Hamas as an obstacle to peace for its refusal to accept Israeli occupation. The Israeli attack on Gaza is far from that state's first act of aggression. It has always been a nation of assassins throughout history. Scores of Palestinian leaders have been murdered by the Israeli occupiers of Palestinian land, including the paraplegic Sheikh Ahmed Yassin who was assassinated by a missile fired by an Israeli helicopter gunship while he was returning home from early morning prayers in a wheelchair. And now the French are assisting in the investigation of the death of Yasser Arafat which many suspect to have been the result of Israeli poisoning. Israel has never been shy about freely using American-supplied weaponry to mow down Palestinian protestors including children. It is now also embarking on the theft of Palestinian agricultural land and water. American activist Rachel Corrie who dared to support the Palestinians was killed by an Israeli tractor. Her murder was played down by the American media and the strong Israeli hold on America stopped an award-winning play about her from being performed in New York. The whole world has to put up with the arrogance of Netanyahu who has openly involved himself in US domestic politics with little or no objection from US lawmakers. He arrogantly attacks and calls for the veto of any resolution, however mild, against Israeli terrorist acts in Palestine. Noam Chomsky in his recent visit to Gaza described it as hell. Jewish bloggers and prominent human rights activists have denounced Israeli brutality in Gaza, but words are meaningless and do nothing to stop the violence. When all is said and done, Israel continues to have the support of the United States and the European Union. The support of the West is what emboldens Israeli occupiers to continue their apartheid rule. The myth that has been told in the West to justify the Israeli occupation of Palestine is that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and that the Palestinians are terrorists and the Arabs are threatening neighbors. These claims are far from the truth: Syria is a defanged state, Egypt and Jordan have peace treaties with Israel and Lebanon is at the mercy of Israeli attacks. The fact is that Israel is a powerful state, armed with nuclear weapons and has the support of stronger Western allies. Its weak Arab neighbors are no match for its military power and its systematic designs to create a Greater Israel. The helpless Palestinians are left to fend for themselves with no one to come to their rescue. They are brutalized for daring to fight for their freedom and for a life of dignity. The Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip is a crime against humanity and the failure of the US and EU to rescue the innocent Palestinian population from Israeli brutality is equally inhumane. Gaza has been under siege since 2006. It has been described as an open air prison. Israel exercises military, political and economic control over the West Bank and Gaza. The Gaza blockade continues and although the US and EU are reluctant to put an end to inhumane acts of Israeli aggression and brutality, they are nonetheless quick to reprimand Hamas and to label them as terrorists for attempting to fight back in their battle for survival. The Israelis scoff at any sympathy extended to the Palestinian people. Israeli citizens continue to manipulate and distort reality and describe Palestinians as militants who should be tried for war crimes and other crimes against humanity. They add that the Muslim Brotherhood should also be tried for crimes against humanity, and they ask the UN to charge Hamas for this ongoing terror. In fact the UN has repeatedly raised its humanitarian concerns about Israeli aggression to the Israeli authorities, however Israel has never been punished or restrained even after killing 1,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza in 2009. Israel continues to justify its actions with arrogance and contempt for Palestinians who are resisting the occupation of their land and are retaliating against aggression. Israel is built on stolen land. In 1948 Zionist militias evicted Palestinians from their land and destroyed their homes and farms. Over the years thousands of Palestinians have been murdered by Israeli airstrikes and armored incursions into Gaza and the Palestinian territory. Large numbers of women and children are either in jail or continue to suffer under inhumane circumstances. Unfortunately the Western media plays down this Israeli brutality in its news coverage and attempts to justify Israeli atrocities in Occupied Palestine. According to the UN, over half of the civilians in Gaza are children and yet Israel has no qualms about blocking the supply of food, medicine and fuel. It has committed war crimes without any punishment or international boycotts as were imposed by the international community on Iraq and now on Syria and Iran. Israel claims that it is defending itself from rocket attacks from Gaza, rockets that are being launched in retaliation to the continued Israeli blockade of Gaza. However over the years, the over-exaggerated fear of Palestinian rockets has done little damage as compared to brutal Israeli airstrikes, the Gaza blockade, the Israeli settlement expansion, the imposed sanctions and boycotts, the erection of the racist separation wall, the banning of construction of Palestinian homes, the closing of Palestinian institutions, the imposition of heavy taxes and the loss of Palestinian livelihood by uprooting olive trees and confiscating land. However, what is more alarming is the American and EU support for the Israeli blockade, because this is what allows Israel to act with such impunity and arrogance. Israeli acts of genocide against the Palestinians will not stop the Palestinian resistance movement. No amount of lies and justification will make the Arab street abandon the Palestinian cause even if some Arab leaders sign peace treaties with the Israeli terrorist state. Israel wants to abrogate treaties. It has always been defiant in its refusal to accept a two-state solution. It refused the peace plans presented by Arab states and still claims that the Arabs are a threat to Israel. It is outraged at any criticism and refuses to define its national borders. Israelis continue to twist the truth and repeat their lies to justify their murders and their theft of Palestinian land. Israeli settlers who evict Palestinians from their homes show no remorse or sympathy, labeling the people of Gaza as terrorists to legitimize their brutal behavior against the rightful owners of the land. Palestinian factions need to join together to confront the formidable Israeli enemy. Hamas should go on a diplomatic offensive and reevaluate its policies. Divided the Palestinians do not stand a chance, but if they are united they will be in a better position to defend their land. Meanwhile, Egypt has condemned the airstrikes on Gaza and Egyptian PM Hisham Kandil went to visit Gaza to show support. The time has come for Egypt to open the border crossing and allow help to enter Gaza. America and the EU must take a stronger stand to protect the helpless Palestinians and put an end to Israeli genocide. Arab and Muslim countries need to devise a more effective strategy to end the genocide against the Palestinian people and to pressure Israel and its allies to accept the Arab peace initiative and end the Arab Israeli conflict that has deprived the entire region of peace and stability. — Samar Fatany is a radio broadcaster and writer. She can be reached at [email protected]
