*****
https://nitter.net/OwenJones84/status/1711399026027819473#m
No cause on earth justifies the slaughter of civilians, and Hamas' sadistic murder of partygoers and kibbutzniks was an outrage.
The same basic commitment to civilian life in Gaza, or indeed anywhere else, should apply. It does not.
If asked, the vast majority of people will answer that human life is of equal worth regardless of nationality, ethnicity or religion.
In practice, many do not actually believe this.
Some deaths matter far more than others: a hierarchy of death. Palestinians are near the bottom.
This is the inevitable consequence of occupation and colonisation.
When European states subjugated their colonies, they rationalised that subjugation by stripping their colonial subjects of their humanity.
They were lesser, inferior people, and thus could be treated as such.
However this current nightmarish episode ends, there is only one certainty: far more Palestinians will die and be maimed.
This has been an absolute iron rule and certainty in decades of occupation.
So far this year, 248 Palestinian civilians, including 40 children, have been reportedly killed by Israeli forces and settlers.
There has been almost no interest in any of these deaths because Palestinian life is simply not deemed to be of any worth or importance.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem have all concluded that Israel operates a policy of Apartheid.
Apartheid functions by depriving its victims of any common humanity: the dehumanisation of Palestinians sustains it.
Half of Gaza's population are kids.
Gaza is an open air prison, subjected to a 16 year long blockade from air, land and sea.
80% of its population rely on international humanitarian aid to survive.
The conditions there are self-evidently intolerable.
When the Israeli government orders a total siege of Gaza, with "no electricity, no food, no fuel", justifying collective punishment - a war crime under international law - on the grounds "we are fighting human animals", they are adopting the rhetoric of genocide.
Culpability for the atrocities which will undoubtedly be committed in the coming days, weeks and months will be shared with Western governments.
Israel is their ally, armed and backed by them - just as the future of the Palestinian people has been disregarded by them.
Some will try to absolve themselves of cheering on this bloodbath by simply blaming Hamas, and claiming that Hamas is responsible for all the coming bloodshed.
No. Every atrocity committed by the Israeli state is a choice, and their bullets and bombs will slaughter civilians.
All of this will end only when Jews and Arabs alike have security and control over their own futures.
The problem remains that only Israel's security is understood and respected. There is no official widespread acceptance that Palestinians deserve security of any sort.
At moments like this, defending common humanity becomes controversial, deemed even extreme: that Israeli and Palestinian civilian lives are of equal worth, and that every death is to be equally mourned.
Truth and context will be dismissed as apologism.
Well, that makes it more important to defend humanity and truth, and that means opposing Israel's Western-backed onslaught on Gaza, opposing every civilian death, and demanding a lasting peace which accepts Palestinian freedom and Israelis' security cannot be divorced.
*****
Monbiot silent for now. Corbyn had this, which was mercilessly attacked in the comments from the usual suspects:
'The unfolding events in Israel and Palestine are deeply alarming.
We need an immediate ceasefire and urgent de-escalation.
And we need a route out of this tragic cycle of violence: ending the occupation is the only means of achieving a just and lasting peace.' - https://nitter.net/jeremycorbyn/status/1710632920950489167#m
What if the 'route out' of this is further escalation, the involvement of Hezbollah, Iran, maybe Syria, maybe Russia, to finally subdue the racist pariah state of Israel and force it to make concessions to Palestinians and the imprisoned population of Gaza? In the absence of other options and the total failure of every other path tried so far due to Israeli intransigence, I would say pacifistic calls like this are deeply unhelpful, and even undermine the ability of Palestinians to resist effectively and achieve some measure of justice. Following the advice of well-intentioned, complacent western liberals has got them precisely nowhere for decades. In fact it has made their situation worse. So maybe the liberals should stfu for a change and let the Palestinians decide their own course of action.
Tell your story; Ask a question; Interpret generously
http://storybythethroat.wordpress.com/tell-ask-listen/
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