8/2/2019 Top 5 Lies About Israel's Assault on Gaza

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Top 5 Lies about Israel's Assault on GazaIsraels violation of the cease-fire predictably resulted in retaliation from militants in Gaza who fired rockets intoIsrael in response. The increased barrage of rocket fire at the end of December is being used as justification for thecontinued Israeli bombardment, but is a direct response to the Israeli attacks, notes Jeremy Hammond.

Lie #1: Israel is only targeting legitimate military sites and is seeking to protect innocent lives. Israel never targets civilians.

The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated pieces of property in the world. The presence of militants within a civilianpopulation does not, under international law, deprive that population of their protected status, and hence any assault uponthatpopulation under the guise of targeting militants is, in fact, a war crime.

Moreover, the people Israel claimsare legitimate targets are membersof Hamas, which Israel says is a terrorist organization. Hamashas been responsible for firing rockets into Israel. These rockets are extremely inaccurate and thus, even if Hamas intended to hitmilitary targets within Israel, are indiscriminate by nature. When rockets from Gaza kill Israeli civilians, it is a war crime.

Hamas has a military wing. However, it is not entirely a military organization, but a political one. Members of Hamas are thedemocratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people. Dozens of these elected leaders have been kidnapped and held inIsraeli prisons without charge. Others have been targeted for assassination, such as Nizar Rayan, a top Hamas official. To kill Rayan,Israel targeted a residential apartment building. The strike not only killed Rayanbut two of his wives and four of his children, along withsixothers. There is no justification for suchan attack under international law. This was a war crime.

Other of Israels bombardment with protected status under international law have included a mosque, a prison, police stations, and auniversity, in addition to residential buildings.

Moreover, Israel has long held Gaza under siege, allowing only the most minimal amounts of humanitarian supplies to enter. Israel isbombing and killing Palestinian civilians. Countless more have been wounded, and cannot receive medical attention. Hospitals runningon generators have little or no fuel. Doctorshave no proper equipment or medical supplies to treat the injured. These people, too, arethe victims of Israeli policies targeted not at Hamas or legitimate military targets, but directlydesigned to punish the civilian population.

Lie #2) Hamas violated the cease-fire. The Israeli bombardment is a response to Palestinian rocket fire and is designed to end suchrocket attacks.

Israel never observed the cease-fire tobegin with. From the beginning, it announced a special security zone within the Gaza Stripand announced that Palestinians who enter this zone will be fired upon. In other words, Israel announced its intention that Israelisoldiers would shoot at farmers and other individuals attempting to reach their own land in direct violationof not only the cease-fire but

international law.

Despite shooting incidents, including ones resulting in Palestinians getting injured, Hamas still held to the cease-fire from the time itwent into effect on June 19 until Israel effectively ended the truce on November 4 by launching an airstrike into Gaza that killed fiveand injured several others.

Israels violation of the cease-fire predictably resulted in retaliation from militants in Gaza who fired rockets into Israel in response. Theincreased barrage of rocket fire at the end of December is being used as justification for the continued Israeli bombardment, but is adirect response to the Israeli attacks.

Israel's actions, including its violationof the cease-fire, predictably resulted in an escalationof rocket attacks against its ownpopulation.

Lie #3) Hamas is using human shields, a war crime.

There has been no evidence that Hamas has used human shields. The fact is, as previously noted, Gaza is a small piece of propertythat is densely populated. Israel engages in indiscriminate warfare such as the assassination of Nizar Rayan, in which members of hisfamily were also murdered. It is victims like his dead children that Israel defines as human shields in its propaganda. There is nolegitimacy for this interpretation under international law. In circumstances such as these, Hamas is not using human shields, Israel iscommitting war crimes in violationof the Geneva Conventions and other applicable international law.

Lie #4) Arab nations have not condemned Israels actionsbecause they understand Israels justification for its assault.

The populations of those Arab countries are outraged at Israels actions and at their own governments for not condemning Israelsassault and acting to end the violence. Simply stated, the Arab governmentsdo not represent their respective Arab populations. Thepopulationsof the Arab nations have staged mass protests in opposition to not only Israel's actions but also the inactionof their owngovernments and what they view as either complacency or complicity in Israel's crimes.

Moreover, the refusal of Arab nations to take action to come to the aid of the Palestinians is not because they agree with Israels

actions, but because theyare submissive to the will of the US, which fullysupports Israel. Egypt, for instance, which refused to openthe border to allow Palestinians wounded in the attacks toget medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals, is heavily dependent upon USaid, and is being widely criticized within the population of the Arab countries for what is viewed as an absolute betrayal of the GazaPalestinians.

Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been regarded as a traitor to his own people for blaming Hamas for the suffering ofthe people of Gaza. Palestinians are also well aware of Abbas' past perceived betrayals in conniving with Israel and the US to sidelinePDF Creator - PDF4Free v2.0 http://www.pdf4free.com

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8/2/2019 Top 5 Lies About Israel's Assault on Gaza

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Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been regarded as a traitor to his own people for blaming Hamas for the suffering ofthe people of Gaza. Palestinians are also well aware of Abbas' past perceived betrayals in conniving with Israel and the US to sidelinethe democratically elected Hamas government, culminating in a counter-coup by Hamas in which it expelled Fatah (the military wing ofAbbas' Palestine Authority) from the Gaza Strip. While hisapparent goal was to weaken Hamas and strengthenhis own position, thePalestiniansand other Arabs in the Middle East are sooutraged at Abbas that it is unlikely he will be able to govern effectively.

Lie #5) Israel is not responsible for civilian deaths because it warned the Palestinians of Gaza to flee areas that might be targeted.

Israel claims it sent radio and telephone text messages to residents of Gaza warning them to flee from the coming bombardment. Butthe people of Gaza have nowhere to flee to. Theyare trapped within the Gaza Strip. It is by Israeli design that they cannot escapeacross the border. It is by Israeli design that they have no food, water, or fuel by which to survive. It is byIsraeli design that hospitals in

Gaza have no electricity and few medical supplieswith which to treat the injured and save lives. And Israel has bombed vast areas ofGaza, targeting civilian infrastructure and other sites with protected status under international law. No place is safe within the GazaStrip.

Jeremy R. Hammond is the editor of Foreign Policy Journal (www.foreignpolicyjournal.com), a website dedicated to providing news,critical analysis, and opinion commentary on US foreign policy from outside of the standard framework offered by government off icialsand the mainstream corporate media, particularly with regard to the "war on terrorism" and events in the Middle East. He has alsowritten for numerous other online publications. Contact him at:jeremy@foreignpolicyjournal.com. This article appeared in thePalestineChronicle.com.

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