Israel and Gaza: Stop the Carnage, End the Lies

More Palestinian cartoons at bendib.com/palestine

The article below is by far one of the best analysis on the current Palestine-Israel conflict published in our mainstream media (NST). I like the way ISIS CEO, Tan Sri Jawhar Hassan put his views in condemning the Israeli aggression and the way he discerns facts from lies. I also find it intriguing to read the strong words put forth in the article. E.g. commenting on Israel's massive worldwide propaganda -

"It is the corruption of truth on a colossal scale."

"The real issues are 40 years of illegal occupation, relentlessly expanding illegal settlements, suffocating blockades, closed border crossings, countless UN resolutions contemptuously ignored and violated, and disproportionate and indiscriminate use of overwhelming military force."

"The world must end this gruesome charade and stop Israel from perpetuating this grave injustice. Israel cannot be persuaded. It must be forced to return to its 1967 borders and honour the relevant UN resolutions for a just settlement."

I guess the above quotes pretty much sums up the whole bloody issue.

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NST: Israel and Gaza: stop the carnage, end the lies
By Mohamed Jawhar Hassan (2009/01/12)

THE image that Israel has carefully constructed of itself, for its own people and for the world, is built on a grand lie. It is the corruption of truth on a colossal scale. It reminds one of the words from the song Jerusalem Tomorrow:
I could tell a tale,
I could make it spin,
I could tell you black was white,
I could tell you day was night,
Not only that, I could tell you why.
Back then, I could really tell a lie.

Israel's pervasive influence on the power and media centres of the world; its cynical manipulation of words like democracy and terrorism which automatically evokes positive feelings towards it in the West, especially in the United States; the deep guilt that Christian Europe feels for the unspeakable horrors it visited on the Jews through the centuries and especially during the Holocaust; and Israel's projection as a small power under dire threat from larger Arab neighbours, all aid in the spinning of the myths and the lies.

A top-notch communications machinery with glib spokespersons is part of six decades of sustained deception.

These are some of the lies as they relate to the ongoing assault on Gaza:

- Israel says Hamas broke the ceasefire late last month by resuming rocket attacks into its territory. The facts: the ceasefire was for a period of six months ending Dec 16. During the ceasefire rocket attacks were to end and humanitarian supplies resumed fully. The rocket attacks ceased, but Israel only allowed about 20 per cent of the humanitarian aid in. Israel also broke the ceasefire on Nov 4 when it entered Gaza and killed six Palestinians, all to stop a tunnel being built that would help inhabitants smuggle in scarce supplies. This provoked the rocket attacks. Israel's November incursion was timed to happen when all eyes were on the presidential elections in the US, just as its invasion now is timed to inflict maximum damage before president-elect Barack Obama assumes office.

- Israel says it is forced to attack Gaza in self-defence to stop the grave threat from rockets fired by Hamas. The fact: Hamas launched rockets into Israel as a sign of defiance and to dramatise the suffocating blockade of Gaza. According to the Carter Centre, Hamas rockets have killed only three Israeli civilians in the last seven years. According to the Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem, Palestinian rockets took 13 Israeli lives in the last four years, compared with more than a thousand Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in just the past two years. This is the grave threat that is Israel's excuse to invade Gaza.

- Israel says its goal is only to dismantle Hamas' ability to fire rockets into its territory, and that it does not target civilians and takes care to avoid civilian casualties. These statements are made by no less than their prime minister, foreign minister and defence minister. The facts: a merciless air and land assault that is now into its 16th day, killing and maiming over 4,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians including women and children. The destruction is complete, a la Lebanon -- hospitals, schools, homes, buildings, and electricity and water supplies. Even international humanitarian convoys are bombed. Gaza is a killing field. It is literally a prison encircled by walls and land and sea blockades. No people on earth, including Israelis, Americans and Europeans, not to mention Malaysians, will want to live under these inhuman conditions and submit without a fight.

- Israeli leaders and spokespersons never fail to use the dreaded word "terrorists" to describe the Hamas fighters. The word is repeated again and again for good effect. As the numbers above attest, the real terrorists are the Israeli armed forces. Israel is terrorism incarnate. The modern-day barbarism has little equal: it texts Gazans to evacuate buildings when they have nowhere to run, then it cold-bloodedly bombs the buildings.

- Israel and its friends say they do not want to deal with Hamas because it does not recognise Israel and is not committed to a peaceful solution. The facts: one of the first acts of Ismail Haniyeh after being democratically elected prime minister in October 2006 was to send a message to United States President George W. Bush offering a long-term truce in return for an end to Israeli occupation. His offer was not even acknowledged. Hamas also agreed to any peaceful settlement worked out by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas if it was later approved by a majority in a public referendum.

- Israel denies a humanitarian crisis of its making in Gaza. The facts: every humanitarian assistance body active in Gaza, including those under the United Nations, will vouch that a disaster of immense proportions exists in Gaza. The strangulation of Gaza began well before the invasion. The noose is being tightened beyond tolerable levels now. All the media images give lie to the Israeli denials.

- Israel says the issue is smuggling of weapons, Hamas rockets and terrorism. The real issues are 40 years of illegal occupation, relentlessly expanding illegal settlements, suffocating blockades, closed border crossings, countless UN resolutions contemptuously ignored and violated, and disproportionate and indiscriminate use of overwhelming military force.

- Israel and its friends urge the people it has evicted and dispossessed by force to follow the path of peace and not violence. They urge peaceful negotiations. But peaceful negotiations have got the Palestinian Authority and Fatah nowhere. Israel keeps playing for time, expanding settlements all the while in pursuit of its real objective: a Greater Israel. Any wonder then that those who lose hope throw stones, fire rockets and become suicide bombers?

- Israel milks the Holocaust to the full to gain sympathy. It portrays itself as the victim, a weak state under constant threat from predatory Arab and Persian neighbours. It is civilised, a democracy that respects international law and human rights. It is only exercising its right of self-defence.

The facts: present day Israel is no longer a victim of the Holocaust. It is the perpetrator of one. This one is not as dramatic as the last, but it is just as real in the profound mass pain and suffering it inflicts.

Civilised countries with unfettered military power can unleash the most barbaric acts of war and destruction, and Israel is one. Israel is the fourth most potent military power on earth. It has breached international law many times, and it perpetrates humanitarian crimes in the name of justice, freedom and democracy without batting an eye.

The world must end this gruesome charade and stop Israel from perpetuating this grave injustice. Israel cannot be persuaded. It must be forced to return to its 1967 borders and honour the relevant UN resolutions for a just settlement.

The major powers must stop abetting Israel. They cannot shield the aggressor from international law. They cannot arm the occupier and deny arms to the occupied. They cannot condone oppression and humanitarian disaster. They cannot resist mounting international outrage and growing domestic opposition.

Governments are constrained from speaking out. But those that have diplomatic relations with Israel can recall their ambassadors and, if necessary, suspend diplomatic relations until it complies with international law and respects the will of the international community.

Non-government organisations and the people have more freedom to act. The demonstrations around the world are just the beginning. Their capacity to make a difference can be compelling. Even the most hardline governments, those that tolerate the use of war and overwhelming force to bludgeon others into submission, must relent and heed the voice of the people.

When Israel finally agrees to a ceasefire after wreaking maximum carnage, the chapter is not closed. The people must not quickly forget the slaughter. The perpetrators must be brought to justice in an international court.

The issue of Gaza and Palestine is not about race, religion or nation. It is about decency, dignity and humanity.

Tan Sri Jawhar is chairman and CEO of ISIS Malaysia. The views are his own.