Gaza (1967- ), also known as the Gaza Strip, is a 40-km long piece of the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Israel, where an eighth of all Palestinians live. It is 6 to 12 km wide. In land and people is roughly the size of the American city of Philadelphia.
Most fled there in 1948 from what is now Israel when Jews drove them off their land. At first they lived in tents. The tents have long since become houses.
Even what little they have left Israel takes, like Gaza’s offshore gas fields, worth at least $4 billion.
In 1967 Israel took over the Gaza Strip. Although Israel pulled its military and Jewish settlers out of Gaza in 2005, it still controls the land, sea and air. It kills people and destroys buildings in Gaza at will. It has little regard for innocent Palestinian life. Every now and then it makes war on Gaza, like in Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009) and Operation Pillar of Cloud (2012).
Israel’s excuse for war is self-defence. Gaza is good enough at keeping ceasefires that that is just an excuse, not a true concern.
A shabby, unequal conflict: Israel has an army, navy, air force, missile defence system, atom bombs, all the latest military hardware and over 175,000 men under arms. Compare that to Gaza: some homemade rockets and 15,000 men under arms.
Gaza is an open-air prison where 38% live in poverty. Israel pretty much controls what goes in and what comes out – food, medicine, oil, building supplies, spare parts, people. By bombing wells, desalinization plants and power stations it keeps Gaza dependent on Israel for water and electricity.
Israel started the blockade or siege – an act of war – in 2006 when Hamas came to power there in clean, democratic elections. Israel tightened the siege in 2007 when Hamas defeated an American and Israeli-backed attempt to overthrow the government by means of Fatah. In 2010 Israel eased the blockade somewhat.
Egypt does not completely open its border with Gaza to keep peace with Israel and military aid flowing from America.
As a genocide, Gaza is at stage 6, preparation, the stage just before all-out mass killings.
International law: Cutting Gaza off from the world is against international law. So is boarding a ship in international water and killing people, as Israel did to a Turkish supply ship headed for Gaza in 2010. So are its (and Gaza’s) war crimes in Operation Cast Lead as listed in the United Nations’s Goldstone Report of 2009.
America protects Israel’s war criminals with its veto at the United Nations. The very same America that provided them weapons to carry out their crimes.
Israel is not serious about peace. Why should it be? America blindly supports it all the way.
America is not serious about peace either: it is a huge arms dealer. Think of America as a drug pusher and Middle Eastern countries as its junkies.
Every Apache helicopter and every F-16 jet that flies over Gaza was built by Americans, putting money in their pockets and food on their tables. Every Israeli “operation” against an all-but-defenceless Gaza is a trade show.
See also:
1) in 1948 when Israel “drove” the Palestinians off their land, you fail to mention the Arab armies descending on Israel to finish what Hitler started.
2) you forget to mention the months of rocket attacks from gaza aimed at civilians in Israel, where was sense of fair play then?
3) you forget to mention the UN declaring the blockade is legal even if the attack on the Turkish ship was excessive.
Just say it: it’s okay for Hamas to wipe Israel off the map
Gaza shares a border with Egypt, as well as Israel,so they can transact any business or border crossings through that border, but Egypt limits them greatly; yet you choose to leave out that fact. Your entire article reads like a Hamas pamphlet.
U.N. recognizes state of Palestine
The General Assembly votes by a more than two-thirds majority to upgrade Palestine to a “nonmember observer state.”
http://news.yahoo.com/palestinians-win-implicit-u-n-recognition-sovereign-state-002420090.html;_ylt=Aizg90aXnBqSz3qheC7rAyCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNrczJtZjloBG1pdANNZWdhdHJvbiBGUARwa2cDNzk5YzY0YzItNTRlNC0zYTM2LTkwZjItNmFiMDg4NzQwYWYwBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNtZWdhdHJvbgR2ZXIDNzNmODFlY2MtM2E5NC0xMWUyLTg0NGUtM2NkOTJiZmYyMDE2;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3
Maybe this is why I was expecting Abagond to do a post some how related to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
This event may be a real game changer in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict in the long run.
I was listening to the radio yesterday and happened apon a christain (should say white/albinic christain station) station ,and they very pro israeli anti Palestinian.
why are white/albinic christain conservatives so supportive of Israel?
Also the yahoo news article I read anoucing the about repeatedly stated how “disappointed the U.S. was and how The U.S felt it was unfortunate.
Which lends evidence to the statement that the american government indeed any national government and its citizens are two different things.
Reblogged this on Congotronicartfxambassy's Blog.
Just want to point out that most of the people in those refugee camps wanted to leave for Egypt in 1948 but were rejected at the border by soldiers who DID NOT wear Stars of David.
@ Edwin Rowe, Albert Newell
Good point, Egypt does share some of the blame and I need to say something about that in the post. But as a moral argument it hardly excuses Israeli and American actions.
@ BadWolf
That is a reason for Israel to fight a war, not a reason for ethnic cleansing – what Hitler called Lebensraum. Just as Hitler wanted to clear out Poland for German settlement, so the Jews want to clear out Israel for Jewish settlement. The irony is that the Jews, if anyone, should know better.
What you do not mention is that nearly all of those rocket attacks came after Israel broke a ceasefire and started killing Gazans. As I said in the post, Gaza is good enough at keeping ceasefires that Israel does not have good reason to go to war.
You are talking about the Palmer Report, which was something of a political fudge to smooth things over between Israel and Turkey. Boarding ships in international waters and killing people is against international law. When Somalia does it no one has any trouble calling it piracy. But when Israel, America’s Special Child, does something wrong it is like suddenly no one can see straight. Also, the Palmer Report only talked about the naval blockade, not the blockade as a whole, which is against international law:
http://www.thenewstribe.com/2011/09/14/un-experts-declare-gaza-blockade-illegal/
I never said that or would. That is Hitlerian thinking. See #1.
@ Mbeti
From what I understand many of them think Jesus will not come back till the Jews return to Israel. Also, most of them are racist and therefore have a hard time seeing that what Israel is doing is wrong. After all, it is like what their own forefathers did to the American Indians.
@ abagond, If you were an Israeli prime minister and you were to be extremely conservative in your decision making process for the safety of your people, and you reviewed the history of Israel since 1948 including prolonged aggression from neighbouring states culminating in repeated declarations of war, and then you were to turn towards the Palestinians in the last 10 years and see:
Hamas’ 2007 electoral win in Gaza, (an organization dedicated to retaliation and the removal of Israelis); Palestinian suicide bombings in densely packed urban areas; missiles launched into Israeli civilian areas; and a lot of anti-semitic rhetoric and refusal to accept Israels right to existence etc.
Then you were to consider that enough of the Jewish population is still around that was significantly displaced or directly affected by the Holocaust.
If you were the Israeli prime minister charged with the defense of your nation … would you grant Palestine an independent state? Especially, with the specter of retaliation looming over you once the Palestinians were given the territory and resources to proliferate their own arms/armies?
I mean there is a reason why they have been in deadlock this long … Israeli prime ministers since 1948 have felt uneasy at granting Palestinians sovereignty for a reason … and considering their post and responsibilities it might be even understood (although hated).
Just saying …
LOL. SMH.
P.S. How is Gaza good at keeping ceasefires when they just (less than two weeks ago) fired missiles onto Israel, starting this new episode of fighting?
Reblogged this on Mbeti's Blog and commented:
In Honor of This Event
U.N. recognizes state of Palestine
The General Assembly votes by a more than two-thirds majority to upgrade Palestine to a “nonmember observer state.”
JT, so Israel is afraid of retaliation? I wonder why? Could it be because they know they’re wrong? That Israel has murdered and oppressed the Palestinian people for far too long, for no other reason than to take the Palestinian’s country and leave them as pitiful beggars within their own land? All in the name of creating the Jewish state using the same genocidal tactics that the Germans used against the Ashkenazi.
The Jews cry, ” Never again!”. To give that rallying cry true meaning they should have meant never again for ANYONE ,ANYWHERE , EvER AGAIN. But the Jews did not seem to mean that. The Jews seem to mean they as a people will never be weak again and that they will now become the aggressor who lies, kills and oppresses to take what they want. They see themselves for what they have become and now JT, they are afraid they may have created that same monster within the Palestinian people.
Someone please tell me, how is it that the Palestinians have to pay for what the Germans did to the Jews? One group of Europeans IN EUROPE were systematically murdered by another group of Europeans IN EUROPE and a group of people of color in a completely different country have to pay the price with their land and their resources. How is this fair?
If anything the Germans should have been forced to give the Jews a portion of land within their borders so the Ashkenazi could create a state of their own. Why couldn’t European nations make a place for the Ashkenazi Jews (aka their fellow Europeans) within Europe? After all, it is the EUROPEANS that have persecuted the Jewish (converts?) for the longest time. The Palestinians were forced to pay the price instead. It seems as if the Palestinians were the victims of some residual, tail end colonialism.
Basically, Europeans understood they made the mess, but they decided they were powerful enough to make the people of color in Palestine pay the price since Europeans had all the power.
Can someone answer another question? If the Ashkenazi Jews ( long time converts?), have the right to re-claim a land they were not actually from, why can’t the Indians have America back? They are ACTUALLY from the America’s. America should stand behind that repatriation movement.
Looks like this post is bringing out the racist.
@JT
Hamas’ 2007 electoral win in Gaza ,A democratic peaceful election.
Palestinian suicide bombings in densely packed urban areas, missiles launched into Israeli civilian areas; and a lot of anti-semitic rhetoric and refusal to accept Israels right to existence etc
For no reason at all – not targeted assassinations by israel,not killing of noncombatent elderly,females and childern,not deliberate destruction of homes and repeated and regular confiscation of land,etc etc
And I didn’t google or wikipedia this,no its been drill into my memory be the regular tv and radio news during most of my adult life.
Think the f”’ ”k about it
if a advanced and powerful miltary supported by the most dominant and aggressive nation on the planet sent a tomahawk helicopter to do a targeted assassination of some “miltant” in your community and kills your aunt or grandmother ,you’d still say hey they got a “right” to exist!?
oh I’m sorry I’m talking to people who also don’t have a problem with enslaving people,genociding people off the land etc etc
Not saying that Israel has no right to exist or anything but can anyone shed light on why this particular spot in the Middle East was chosen and who made the decision when there were people already living in that spot.
@ BellaSparx
You are assuming that Gaza broke the ceasefire. In fact it was Israel. As well as the ceasefire before that and the one before that and the one before that.
Gaza is hugely outgunned. They are not about to pick a fight with Israel out of the blue. On the other hand, they are not going to play holy martyr either and stand by and do nothing as Israel kills Gazans.
The fact that Israel repeatedly breaks truces shows that it has not true fear of Gaza.
@ JT
If it were left up to me I would AT LEAST:
- stick to any ceasefire I had with Gaza and the West Bank.
- stop the Jewish settlements on the West Bank.
- tear down the separation wall.
- push for a one-state solution where the human rights of both Arabs and Jews are protected and respected in a liberal, secular democracy.
- give Palestinians serious reparations of some sort.
- make Jerusalem the capital.
in whatever order most makes sense.
Most countries manage to get along with their neighbours, more or less – because they have to. Israel does not – because it has been spoiled by American power. Since American power will not last for ever, it needs to ease itself off of it now while it still has time and buy itself the best post-American future. Otherwise it is courting its own destruction.
@ Mbeti,
I am just going to disregard the “bringing out the racist” statement. I dont know if that was directed at me but if it was i think it was an ignorant statement to make. There are two sides to every disagreement. Did i say that I thought Israel was right? No. I said Abagond if you were an Israeli prime minister …and then proceeded to detail why i think there is a deadlock in the first place. This is from a political perspective – not from a “what ought to be” perspective.
If it were up to me, I would never have given Israel the land rights to Palestine to begin with. But that was not my decision to make and it would be pointless to ruminate about the what ifs.
Lets deal with what is and avoid slandering one another.
@ Abagond,
I agree 100% – Israel needs to make serious concessions to the Palestinians. I don’t think the two state solution will solve it and I dont know how well a 1state solution will go down with either parties. Hence why this thing has been insolveable for so long …
But i like your ideas as usual.
@ Jadapoo1
Not seems – they were! Are! It is straight-up settler colonialism. Like whites in South Africa or America. And just as racist in what it assumes about the worth and value of people of colour.
Chaim Weizmann, who would later become the first president of Israel, said at the time the British decided to give part of Palestine to the Jews:
Abagond, Arabs were considered “several hundred thousand negroes”? I’m sure they would LOVE to hear that. So, the wronged group of Europeans ( converts to Judaism?) conspired with other Europeans ( people that had oppressed them in the past ,and at that time the present,) decided to come together and agree that ” several hundred thousand negroes” ( Palestinians) would pay the price for the wrong done to the wronged group of Europeans (Jews) Well, that’s mighty White of them.
What a way to settle a dispute among cousins with ” several hundred thousand negroes” absorbing the collateral damage. Basically, the deal was, “This is your chance at your own shot at manifest destiny. We know you’ve been wronged by us, but there’s no way in hell WE’LL be paying the price. Get your hands dirty the way the rest of us did. Kill some darkies, clear their land and make your own way in the world. We’ll help you where we can, but this is the best we’re willing to do. Take it or leave it”. And the Jews simply said, ” Sounds good, we’ll take it.”. For shame…
So Abagond and Mbeti, how do explain the palistinian parents dressing their children up as suicide bombers? How about that muppet like character (in a bee suit) that sings a song about killing the jews and driving them into the sea? How is it that you can ignore decades of terrorism (Munich in 1972 for example) by palestinians directed at Israelis yet look at Gaza, which was given to the palestinians in 2006 as an open air prison. You do know that palistinians lived there when the jews ran the show right? You do know that when the jews left, the palestinians fouled their nest and reverted back to tribal battles between Fatah and Hamas – both palestinian organizations.
You want to equate the palistinians with American patriots who fought the British and won the country, but they’re just not like that, if you’re intellectually honest. Their own brothers have left them in refugee camps since 1948 to keep the issue stirred up. Jordan kicked them out in 1972 becuase they became a nuissance (tried to over-throw King Hussein). Why don’t you ask Egypt to take them in? How about Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Why is it that you only want to see Israel sacrifice for these people?
@JT as you like ,just you did presenting your one-sided argument of an Israeli prime minister.
and the first commenter ,oh no he/she/it wasn’t racist or bias, naa its just me;-\
as to the rest of your comments I could care less.
“Not seems – they were! Are! It is straight-up settler colonialism. Like whites in South Africa or America. And just as racist in what it assumes about the worth and value of people of colour.
Chaim Weizmann, who would later become the first president of Israel, said at the time the British decided to give part of Palestine to the Jews:
“With regard to the Arab question – the British told us that there are several hundred thousand negroes there but this is a matter of no consequence.”
Wow – so africans,african americans,native americans and contemporary arabs seems to have a common experience of racism.
I wonder what component or part of racism is colonialism?
I been reading and studying and long ago I viewed myself as pathetic for not knowing in advance the abuse coming my way ,and after all these years of continual/constant abuse I’m still “learning”!?
Even more so for my/our collective communities.
Still this is what they will probably never say openly – how they plan regularly/ daily on maintaining a overwhelming advantage and perpetuating it generation after generation.
@JT as you like ,just you did presenting your one-sided argument of an Israeli prime minister.
and the first commenter ,oh no he/she/it wasn’t racist or bias, naa its just me;-\
as to the rest of your comments I could care less.
“”
@ Mbeti,
Likewise, I could care less if you care less or not. Don’t run your mouth about others with ignorant statements. I am not going to say i think i know what you are. Don’t try and say that you think you know what I am. It doesnt speak well to your character.
Mbeti, I’ve got to chime in on your thoughts of common cause between blacks (african americans or africans) and arabs. If you do a little reading, you’ll find the arab world subjugated much of black africa, taking and keeping slaves legally up until the 1960′s.
I get that you are sore over being discriminated against or that your ancestors were slaves of some other culture – maybe mine (I’m white by the way), and that is your right to feel that way, but don’t confuse your feelings with actual history. Muslim cultures enslaved and killed many more blacks than white european cultures have. They are not your friends.
I have been in Israel, in Palestine and in Egypt and let me tell you: this stuff will go on as long as those people want. There is enough blame to go all around.
And another thing. when David killed the warrior Galaut, the biblical Goliath, that mercenary was fighting for the local philistean chief. Now what are the palestinians called in arabic? Yes, philistene. So that gives you a little perspective for this conflict. It has been going on roughly 3400 years so do not get over excited if it does not come to an end this month.
[...] "Gaza (1967- ), also known as the Gaza Strip, is a 40-km long piece of the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Israel, where an eighth of all Palestinians live. It is 6 to 12 km wide. In land and people is roughly the size of the American city of Philadelphia." – MORE - [...]
@sam
Philistene was a title applied to the people in Palestine and they don’t necessarily hold any real relation to the biblical Phillistenes.
However I believe genetics support that Palestinians are very closely related to the Jews, which is pretty good evidence that they are descendants of the Ancient Israelis.
Which actually makes the Palestinians… Jews. Or at least some time in their history since they’ve clearly converted at some point in time.
Which makes the conflict all the more stupid and decidedly less ancient.
I’m sorry to disappoint you but if the black people think they might be better treated by muslims than by white people, they might want to reconsider. White people practised slavery for a relatively brief period, muslims have always done it and never stopped it:
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/saudi-offers-castrated-african-slave-for-sale-on-facebook/
On their behalf i would like to say that they enslave not only black people but all non-muslim people are considered less worthy.
A link from frontpagemag.com founded by
David Horowitz infamous right-wing conservative :Contemporary Racist
surprise surprise
Like I said
Looks like this post is bringing out the racist(plural).
I am seeing many, many misstatements here. It would take an article to answer them all. Looks to me like the echo chamber effect. I read the same false information over and over because people quote websites they’ve read which quote propaganda and plain ol’ made-up stuff.
Off the top, it wasn’t just Ashkenazi Jews killed in the name of Nazi racism. It was Sephardic Jews too. And BTW, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jews all overlap genetically — significantly so. All related and in the same Jewish family. Don’t kid yourself. They are united, marry and mix together totally, always have.
Hebrew is the original language of that region, not Arabic. Arabic came from way down south, today Saudi Arabia. They invaded.
Many “Palestinians” came into the area from Egypt and other parts within the last 200 years because when the Jews started coming back it brought in a lot of jobs and prosperity. They weren’t from there. Mark Twain toured the Holy Land and remarked it was desolate with very few inhabitants. Was he lying too?
Hamas wants to destroy Israel. It’s in their charter. Why do they shoot missiles into Israel when they know Israelis must respond? They want to wear Israelis down even if it means their own people get hurt. They launch missiles from within civilian areas, including areas near schools and hospitals. They dare Israel to destroy their rocket launchers located in these areas. The leadership of Hamas meet in bunkers under hospitals because they know Israel would not bomb a hospital. PLACING WEAPONS OF WAR IN CIVILIAN AREAS IS A WAR CRIME.
Israel could be a very positive force in the region, but the Muslim public is allowed only negative news about Israel. They never are told of all the Arabs that Israeli doctors treat in Israeli hospitals and the many cooperative business ventures between Arabs and Jews in Israel or that Israeli Arabs have a high standard of living and want to keep their Israeli citizenship. Instead they get told that Jews kill Muslim children to use their blood for baked goods (yes, this was on Saudi TV and broadcast all over the Arab-speaking world). The crazy propaganda is unrelenting.
All the security measures in place against Gaza are because Gaza is a launching pad for terror attacks. No terror attacks and no missiles would result in a lifting of restrictions by Israel. Israel does not want war with Gaza. Egypt has clamped down on Gaza too and STILL does even with the new Muslim Brotherhood government. Why? Because they fear that Gaza will destabilize Egypt eventually as a proxy for Iran (those rockets can point to Cairo, too). Yes, it’s more complicated than you ever thought. And who is meeting with Israel to map strategy behind closed doors? Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Jordan for starters because they all view Iran as their main adversary due to the Shi’ite desire to dethrone Sunni Islam as the dominant Islamic force in the region.
The Gaza flotilla unfortunately had hard-core jihadists aboard that one boat who attacked the Israelis. There is a video where they show all the weapons they were planning to use against the Israelis. Meanwhile Israeli troops thought they were dealing with peace activists and were totally unprepared for the attack once they boarded the ship. That was the only ship where there were casualties.
Mideast news is heavily distorted and Israel gets a lot of defamation that is undeserved. They are doing the best they can in a tough situation. Their adversaries want them destroyed. Other states in the region, if the government falls the people remain. The difference is if the Israeli government were ever to fall the people would be killed and the Jewish State destroyed. Israel will NEVER allow that. They went through one holocaust. They won’t ever lose the only safe haven they have ever known.
@Sam yes, it’s true. There are whole clans in the Palestinian areas that are now admitting they know they are descendants of Jews. Some converted to Islam about 200 years ago. Some of these clans were the most militant in fighting Jews to prove to their neighbors their loyalty to Islam. Now some are saying they might return to their Jewish roots openly and it depends on the Israeli government’s response to them. Conversely, many Jews, including, and some studies say, especially Ashkenazi Jews, have DNA similar to Palestinian DNA, indistinguishable from it for a percentage of their lineage. It is common for both Jews and Palestinians to have a small amount of sub-Saharan African DNA, but the Palestinians have more percentage-wise, so they tend to be a little darker on average, though some are lighter than Jews.
@Edwin Rowe
sounds reasonable and you make some vaild points but there is still the taint of bais.
However its to be expected in a complex and contenttious issue.
So that’s how it works – facts that are inconvenient to your story you get to say “racist” and maket it go away.
Good night Mbeti, you’re not ready for a constructive dialogue.
I really wish that Stephen Harper would reassess his decision to align himself so closely with Netanyahu:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/01/benjamin-netanyahu-stephen-harper-palestine-un_n_2225084.html
He has just put the government of canada into the George W. Bush model of blind support for Israel. Which ironically Netanyahu referred to as “principled approach”.
Yet Hillary is calling their decision to expand building in Jerusalem setting back peace process:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/12/02/hillary-clinton-israel-has-lack-of-generosity-lack-of-empathy-for-palestinians/
Which is euphemistic for you are being a callous moron that could care less about the Palestinian life and national interests. Grow eff up.
Thanks Hillary. Looking forward to seeing you in 2016!!!
@Riverside_rob
dude how did you know it was night where I was at that time?
never mind forget about it!
but I wasn’t labeling some of the commenter’s here racist because the facts are “inconvenient” nor to “make it go away.”
I was labeling them/you racist because that’s the label I use for people especially albinic/white male people who insist that they do no wrong and have been and currently are justified for committing slander(lies),theft ,rape and murder.
I’ve been concerned about this shit way before there where even blog’s or the internet was just getting started.
I was just remembering how years ago I was in the county jail for some minor charge and even then I was reading the paper ,hearing about this shit and writing commentary to myself to better comprehend it and talking about it to anyone that would listen.
So As to serious dialog Bring It – And I’ll do my best comply.
I really like this site because it gets into serious issues and there is a degree of open-mindedness. I don’t like to characterize anyone in a knee-jerk fashion because I don’t like when that is done to me.
On the issue of Gaza, an interesting person with her own deep Middle East experience is Brigitte Gabriel. She is a Lebanese Arab and a woman of color, where most Lebanese are not. But that’s just an aside. Her experiences growing up in Lebanon with Israel right across the border gave her unique insights into the region.
Her story is not likely to be found on most sites. Here is a link that’s a very short account of her life experience in Lebanon:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/882938/jewish/Warning-the-Western-World.htm
I’ll provide a link of her addressing an audience soon, so it’s possible to listen to her story directly.
You may not agree with her conclusions, but she deserves to have her story heard. This woman has paid her dues.
[...] •November 30, 2012 • Reblogged from [...]
Do the Israeli’s have a racist term or dehumanizing term, either in general use or generally known about in Israeli society, used against Palestinians?
sheeesh, well do they … ?
Here’s a video that deals with racial attitudes in Israel. The final scene is very revealing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=C827im3LCWg
I don’t know of any specific term, though.