When Iraq invaded Kuwait,
immediate economic sanctions were applied followed by military action; when
Russia invaded Ukraine, economic sanctions followed; Israel invades Gaza, breaks
humanitarian laws, ignores human rights and the Geneva convention, and
continues to defy international law by building settlements in the West Bank,
of which 60% is under military occupation, and no action is taken against
sacred Israel. In fact, it’s still poor Israel, the victim, ‘defending’ the
borders by attacking: hospitals, schools, water plants, sewage works and even
small children playing on the beaches are not spared.
Which border is Israel
protecting, given the continuing annexation of the remaining territories of
Palestine? Even if we accept Israel is under attack, the right to defend is not
unconstrained, and yet, the Israeli response has been. And rightly many have
raised the issue of Israel’s disproportionate response to the ineffectual Hamas
rockets. What is Israel really defending here? How many casualties and how much
damage has Israel suffered compared to the Palestinians? Can anyone show one
image of an Israeli house being reduced to rubble? On the contrary, the CNN reporter captures a
group of Israelis cheering the attack on a hill top; they feel safe enough to
stand on the border, and watch Gaza being bombarded with drones and missiles as
if they are at a drive-in movie. So, where is this fear of Hamas and its
rockets?
Israel’s violation of
international law during the conflict is on many levels: attacking water
plants, the sewage systems, hospitals, schools, and children playing on the
beach are some of the clear examples. And still there is no accountability, no
outrage, no calls for international action, other than how Israel can be
persuaded and bribed to stop this murderous adventure.
Therefore, is there a reason why
Israel continues to get such special treatment? The real anti-Semites of the
far right would answer the question sarcastically, using the Biblical reference
of the chosen people; the Jews are privileged in the eyes of God, thus it gives
them the right to ignore international laws, applicable only to the lower
gentiles. Some of the militant Rabbis would seriously endorse this too. Just to
clarify the theology, the ‘chosen’ people here are those selected to bear the
responsibility of the divine message and guide humanity; it is a burden rather
than a privilege.
Nobody can seriously argue that a
religious text gives Israel a special privilege to violate international laws. A
more plausible primary answer for Israel’s privilege is that - any country will
have immunity if it is backed by one of the five members of the UN Security
Council with veto power. Israel is backed by the US, UK and France. This support
is achieved through the Zionist lobbies and businesses having disproportionate
influence in government, finance, and the media.
Indeed, Israel enjoys immunity
through the help and support of the Western powers; it is like a colonial
outpost in the Middle East. Any American politician criticising Israel would
find his career over. Despite the protests and the images here in the UK, very
few MPs have spoken out against the atrocities in Gaza, rather some have chosen
to recycle the one-sided Israeli propaganda – self-defence. This duplicity
reflects the simple point that Palestinian lives are not worth as much as Israeli
lives.
Apart from the political
establishment, the Zionists and their supporters have an immense grip on the
media. Through the deliberate manipulation of the mass media, an innocent image
of Israel is created; it is the perpetual victim, always acting in self-defence
against the angry Arab terrorists.
Even when Israel strikes it is benevolent,
because they issue couple of minutes warning to evacuate a premise, before it
gets bombed. What’s the logic here? If you warn, the Hamas operatives are going
to be first to vacate the premises, before the women, children and the old. Even if they managed to run, where will they
go? All the borders including ‘Islamic’ Egypt is closed, not even the sea is
open for escape. The end result is massive levels of civilian casualties; the
warning is just a political gimmick.
The secondary reason for Israel’s
special treatment comes through the influence of the fringe but influential Zionist-Christians,
whose political wing is the neo-conservatives group, which formed the backbone
of the Bush regime. They see Israel is an extension of the Judeo-Christian
civilisation - which has been prophesied as a necessity, for the second coming
of Christ, thus it must be defended at all cost. Now you can see why the Palestinians do not
appear in their radar. Consequentially, the US veto has been applied many times
to save Israel, along with the funding and supplying it with arms.
Yamin Zakaria (yamin@radicalviews.org)
Published on 20/07/2014
London, UK
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