Gaza and Palestine 101 for Americans – Chris Kanthan
One should ask, “Why are Palestinians protesting?” before cheering for their death in Gaza. Blaming Hamas is a talking point that hides many facts and realities. In the last two days, 65 Palestinians have been shot to death and 2000+ have been shot or otherwise wounded – including 200 doctors and nurses and a couple of journalists – by Israeli snipers. Number of Israelis injured? ZERO!
The general narrative of Israel’s propaganda is: “We shoot only Hamas terrorists who are rushing our fence to kill us all. Our action is self defense!” However, there are videos like this one where one can clearly see Israeli snipers shoot an unarmed old man who is just waving a flag. Then, seconds later, the snipers also shoot a doctor (dressed in bright, distinct clothes) who rushes to assist that victim.
These people are inside Gaza, they are far away from the “Israeli border”, and they present no danger to Israeli citizens. Shooting in such scenarios is undoubtedly an international war crime.
Double Standard
Let’s recognize the hypocrisy. If a similar situation had occurred in Iran, the US government and the media would cry crocodile tears and turn it into a spectacle.When 20 violent protesters were killed in Libya (after the mob burned down government buildings and killed some cops), the US and EU passed UN resolutions to bomb Libya. In Syria, as soon as some Al Qaeda protesters died, Obama said, “Assad must go!” and imposed sanctions and then flooded the country with mercenaries. In Ukraine, when the violent Neo-Nazis attacked the police, US/EU firmly told the Ukrainian president that he shouldn’t retaliate! In Russia, whenever protesters simply get arrested, the media cries a gallon of fake tears.
But, in Palestine, protesters’ lives have no value!
Palestine Overview
Most Americans don’t understand how the everyday life of an average Palestinian is constantly and violently disrupted by Israel.
Palestinians are forced to live in two areas – West Bank & Gaza. It’s almost impossible to go from one to another. Israel controls the borders.
Gaza is the largest open air prison in the world. It’s surrounded by giant fences/walls. Conservatives in the USA (many of whom are cheering the killing of Palestinians) cherish the Second Amendment to protect themselves from a tyrannical government who may put them in a FEMA camp … which is ironically what Gaza is!
Life in the West Bank is miserable because the Israeli military are right there every day and everywhere. Every day, Palestinian children and adults have to go through all kinds of checkpoints and searches and harassment.
Palestinians are literally under a military occupation. There are hundreds of Israeli-controlled checkpoints in Palestine. Every checkpoint may take an hour or more to go through. Imagine going to work or college and spending 2-3 hours every day in frustrating and dehumanizing checkpoints!
There are no basic rights – like our Bill of Rights – for Palestinians under Israeli occupation. It’s a totalitarian nightmare. Even boys and girls in Palestine are treated like adult terrorists.
The apartheid nature of the state of Israel is unmistakable. Can you identify below which road is for Israelis and which one is for Palestinians?
Israeli military can and do barge into homes at the middle of the night, wake up people, harass, arrest, overturn furniture and literally do whatever they want.
Israeli Settlers
Israel keeps expanding, stealing Palestinian land and building new towns. The Jewish colonizers come into an area, destroy Palestinian homes and kick people out. While the Palestinians cannot retaliate, the settlers can beat up or even shoot at the Palestinians. Settlers are rarely prosecuted even when they commit heinous crimes.
Why Throw Stones?
Many Americans ask, “Why do Palestinians throw rocks?” Well, why does this kid throw a rock at a tank?
Logically it makes no sense, but it shows how much frustration and hopelessness Palestinians suffer from. Palestinians throwing stones is mostly symbolic and probably therapeutic, from a psychological perspective.
Look at this guy below who lost both his legs when Israel bombed Gaza in 2008. A few days ago, he was shot to death by Israeli snipers. His name was Fadi Abu Saleh. He knew he couldn’t hurt a single Israeli with his sling, but he had to fight somehow. He preferred dying with dignity while fighting against oppression.
In most situations in Gaza, the protesters are far away – perhaps 200-500 yards – from the Israeli soldiers, and are just throwing stuff in an open tract of land. Look at the pictures where the protesters were shot to death. There are no Israelis or even any Israeli buildings or roads as far as the eye can see:
Israel puts Palestinians in an open prison and then:
– controls all the resources of the people inside
– deprives them of basic liberty and freedom
– bombs them once in a while, even using chemical weapons like white phosphorus
– and then shoots them to death if they protest.
That’s Gaza.
Finally, here’s a picture of disappearing Palestine since the 1940’s. It’s basically genocide and ethnic cleansing in slow motion.
Israel doesn’t want peace. Because, if you have peace and defined borders, Israel has to stop expanding. So the only Machiavellian solution is to keep the fight going on. Do you see? If you have an enemy, you can keep killing them and grabbing land/resources from them, which will be “totally justified”. And thus the tragedy continues.
Chris Kanthan is the author of a new book, Deconstructing the Syrian war.. Chris lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, has traveled to 35 countries, and writes about world affairs, politics, economy and health. His other book is Deconstructing Monsanto.. Follow him on Twitter: @GMOChannel
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